Thrift Store Takeover

The weather may have kept me indoors tonight, but I’ve created a plan for taking over New York’s thrift shops in the next few weeks. Lately I’ve lost interest in shopping at commercial outlets, partially because it’s no fun to shop when all it does is make me realize how poor I am, and partially because I’ve decided I need to develop my own personal style and graduate from the Vandy polos and pearls of yesteryear; a quest only possible if the cost of experimenting and attempting to revamp a wardrobe is minimal.

My first stop will most definitely be Green Village, a 10,000-square-foot “down-and-dirty” junk shop in Brooklyn housing sporting equipment, electronics, furniture, housewares, books, and best of all, clothing by the pound ($2 a pound or $1.50 a pound for 50+ pounds). Unfortunately, the shop is closed most upcoming weekends and doesn’t stay open too late on weeknights, so I guess I’ll just have to go straight from work and do my shopping in shifts if it turns out to be as amazing as everyone says.

While I’m in Brooklyn, I’ll probably also hit up Buffalo Exchange to help me cultivate my inner hipster before heading back to the Upper East Side to make the rounds at the local Goodwill, Housing Works, and Salvation Army.

Who knows, maybe I’ll even visit some of the consignment shops of the Upper East Side (in the name of research, of course) to see if it’s possible to dig up anything for less than $20 or if it’s simply used designer goods for “less” (Read: prohibitively expensive for a recent grad eating spaghetti every night).

Don't worry. I'll be back with photographic evidence.