Thrift Store Finds - Amuse Bouche #9

Hello! This is Amose Boosh and I'm Bridget. I'm extra excited today. Here, you're getting a little bit of Bridget before our weekly release of Dinner Plus Drinks on Sunday, and this week it's finally time. We're talking about thrift store finds. I feel like I needed to put in like a special Macklemore track there, but I didn't want to get sued. So you're with the same old Amuse Boosh uh music that you get every week. So it is the long-awaited first thrifting version of Amuse Boosh. But by long-awaited, I mean that I'm confident none of you have actually been really excitedly waiting for this, but I have been excited to be talking about this topic with you. I love thrifting if you don't know that. Um I've been thrifting for years. Like like thrifting before it was a topic of conversation, before it was cool, before resellers existed. Or I mean maybe they did, it just like certainly wasn't what it's like today. Um, I used to go on the hunt specifically for kitschy t-shirts. Like I remember only going into the little boys section and like seeing if I could find, or even the men's section and looking for like extra large boys or small men shirts when I was much younger. And so this was, you know, and obviously a much smaller size when I could fit into Little Boys XL. But um, this had to be 15 years ago, probably more like 20 years ago. Um I can't remember when it became exciting when I shifted from having to have everything new from Abercrombie and Fitch to being like, no, t-shirts from Goodwill are cool. So depending on where you live geographically, you'll have any number of thrift stores in your area. Um, sadly for me, my most like quote, local thrift shop, which is not a local uh entity, I understand, although they are franchised by region. Um it my the the thrift shop I most readily go to is a goodwill. Um we have a couple like smaller ones nearby, but it like one rack of clothing we're talking and like a few house goods or um, so I I frequent that one as well. Um, but it's not the same kind of, you know, as going on a hunt at Goodwill. So in general, I can happily say that I love Goodwill, and I acknowledge that like many mission-based nonprofits, there are also inflated salaries of some higher-ups, but um, I do plan on chatting about that specifically a bit more in a later episode. Um, I have a lot of thrift-related episodes on the docket. I can't decide if I'm gonna do them all in a row here or kind of split them up, but um, but for today, I'm living on the high of some fun thrift store finds. So I love nothing more than like this is ridiculous, going to a thrift store and being so excited because you found like this amazing deal. Um, it's silly, but it gives me joy. It's a thing that it's a thing that makes me excited. So I I especially love having a mission when I go to Goodwill. Um, so someone says, hey, I'm really on the hunt for like a black blazer if you see one. Okay, cool. I've I have a note in my phone, a running note that is goodwill. And it's things that you know my friends or whomever have mentioned that they might be looking for. So having a purpose at Goodwill is always nice. It gives me a reason to go there instead of just like browsing for no reason. But um I definitely go and browse for no reason sometimes. So for me, it's like the thrill of the hunt. Like you are assigned this task, and if you succeed, A plus. That's always I've always been motivated and driven by that. I mean, I'm a goal-oriented person. So give me a task and I will complete it. So even if it's finding something at Goodwill, I honestly side note, that would be just like a dream job. I'm gonna be your stylist, but only buying things from Goodwill. So, you know, if you're in the market for that, hit me up. So sometimes I like to go and just find things for myself too. And the last time I went to Goodwill, I scored big time. And it wasn't just for me, it was also for my um kids, specifically Elliot. So I want to tell you guys about the things that I found to get you maybe a little bit excited if you're not sure about the thrift store shopping or if it grosses you out or whatever. I want to tell you some of the things you can find, um, talk through a little bit about the pricing and and go from there. So the most recent time I went to Goodwill, I had a few small missions. Um, a friend of mine had requested a few pieces of maternity clothing, which Goodwill is a great place for that because like you use it once or twice and then you have nothing to do with it. Get rid of it. Um, a cabinet, like a shelf and a cabinet situation for an office of a friend of mine. And I was looking for myself for a few summery dresses because it is just like ungodly hot, and while I feel like I have a lot of dresses, I'm always on the hunt for more. Um, and then perhaps like an awesome outfit for a wedding that I have coming up um at the end of September, because you know I'm not going to a real store to buy a dress for a wedding. Um, and I could just re-wear one that I have, but that's not really my style either. So before I tell you about the awesome items that I found at Goodwill, I just wanted to mention a couple things. Um, first, every week Goodwill has a tag sale. So depending on the color of the week, so like this last time I was there, yellow was the color of the week. Anything with a yellow tag is 50% off. So the tags are colored based on like when they arrive in the store. So last time I was there, green tags were clearly the latest arrivals. You can tell if you go to Goodwill semi-regularly, uh, like I do, like these were the hot ticket items that clearly would have already been snagged up by someone. Um, where yellow ones are ones that have been in the store longer longer. And then there's of course blue, pink, you know, other colors in between, and I don't know all the details of the rotational system, but if you find something on whatever color of the week is, you get 50% off. I'm saying that because it will relate to one of the items I talk about later. Uh next, the pricing at Goodwill specifically, and I think thrift stores in general has definitely gone up. Um, this is due to a number of things, but um, resellers have become a big part of the game where people are um buying things at Goodwill and reselling them on sites like eBay or Poshmark or Mercari, and I definitely want to do another um Amose Bouche about that as well. So there are a few other thrift store topics that I plan to cover, uh whether they be right in a row here or if I kind of space them out. I think I'll space them out for you. But anyway, also thrift stores are cool now. Like they didn't always used to be cool, so they're popular, just like any other business, supply and demand. People want to shop there, um, they're raising up their prices. So I I have a lot of thoughts about thrift stores and pricing, and I think it's sad that people that actually need to use thrift stores for um, you know, maybe a job interview and they don't have a business suit. I hope those people can still go to a place that has an affordable option. Um, so anyway, lots of thoughts about that, but we'll get into that on a different episode. Um, the other two things, quick things I want to say, uh for years my friends, a couple of my friends have been like, you need to write a book about thrift shopping. Write a book about it. And I'm like, that's ridiculous. I'll probably never write a book about it, but mostly because I'm not sure it's interesting. But there are a few tips that if you're not sure about shopping at a thrift store, I want to say. First, don't touch everything. You don't have to, you know, generally I'm not a very patient person. And a lot of people in my life think it's funny that I thrift shop so much because you have to be patient, you have to dig through things and you know, search. I I think you can walk down the aisle of a thrift store and you do not need to flip through every shirt. I can easily like walk and say, don't like this pattern, I don't like this fabric, or hey, I recognize this because retailers like Target donate items that have lived their sales cycle at Target. They donate them to thrift stores at Goodwill, Salvation Army. I'm sure there's more, those are just the ones I know I've gotten pieces from that was originally new with a Target tag, went through the sales cycle there and didn't sell. So instead of it going into a landfill, it goes to a thrift store and people have the opportunity to purchase it there. And definitely a lot of my Target clothing is from Goodwill. I will go as far as like, wow, we really love this $25 dress at Target, which is very inexpensive, but I won't pay $25 and I'll just like wait and risk it and see if I can find it at Goodwill because it's kind of a fun game. So anyway, the other thing is unfortunately, if you don't like trying things on, I I mean, maybe this is for you, maybe not, but I you need to try everything on at a thrift store. You don't know if the item has been shrunk or if it the manufacturer sized it crazy. I mean, I own things from like a size four to 14, all from Goodwill. I have definitely put things on that this will never fit and it does, or it I I 100% have a shirt I can think of off the top of my head, if not plenty of shirts, that have clearly been shrunk in the wash, and so they're a much larger size. Um, so anyway, those are two quick little tips about shopping at a thrift store. And then if you're in um the southeastern Wisconsin, Northern Illinois region, I can tell you that two quick things that Goodwill has implemented at least. Um they are no longer accepting returns, which honestly I think is great. Like you're buying something from a thrift store if you don't want it because you were too lazy to try it on or you are having buyers' remorse at the $5 you spent on the shirt, just donate it back to Goodwill then. Um I I have I have some strong feelings about treating a thrift store the same as a retail boutique. I don't think you should do that. So this is a used piece of clothing that you're buying most of the time. Just donate it back, okay? So anyway, they're not accepting returns. The next thing, that was really serious sounding. Sorry. I just feel I feel like people are probably mad about the no returns thing and so silly. Um, the next thing is this is especially cool for something in the Midwest. I know a lot of coastal uh towns, cities, you know, states have been doing this for years, but it's not very prevalent in the Midwest. But Goodwill is no longer offering plastic bags, so you have to bring a reusable bag. Um, on my most recent trip to Goodwill, the cashier felt so bad. And honestly, I just forgot because this is a very new thing to the Goodwills here, and and really to any stores around me, um, that you have to have a reusable bag. You know, besides places like Aldi, I can't think of another place that requires you to. So I am on board with that. I think it's fantastic. I think it's probably one of the only ways that we're going to, you know, get plastic bag consumption under control. So um, they felt so bad, and I was like, it's no big deal. I always have reusable bags in my car. I will carry the items out there, put them in a bag in my car. Everything was great. So be kind to your thrift store employee if they're not giving you a plastic bag. Someone is certainly making them do that, and there's a good reason behind it. So, with all of those bits of knowledge, I want to tell you about a couple amazing finds. I hope you find this a little bit interesting. Um, I want to start off that all of the things I bought, I bought a whole bunch of stuff, but um I always go up to the register with like kind of a dollar amount in mind. I'm like, all right, not gonna spend more than this. And I, as I'm waiting in line, I um take all the hangers off and just kind of like do a little bit of mental math, and then ooh, this made the cut, this didn't make the cut, and you know, whatever. It's a little fun game. So these are all this is all more than I would normally spend on a thrift store item. You know, normally I'm like, eh, maybe like $8 or under, $5 for a shirt. But I of course take into brand um into account like the quality of the item, the brand, the longevity, etc. So here we go. First item. I'm gonna tell you. Some people really hate and definitely judge me, and that's fine, for purchasing shoes at a thrift store. I was wishy-washy about this for a really long time. So I did a lot of research about um cleaning shoes and cleaning items from thrift stores in general. And so my personal opinion is that I feel comfortable doing it. Um, certainly do not judge if you do not feel comfortable buying shoes, but I'm gonna tell you about two pairs of shoes that I bought. So this first item is a vintage pair of Ralph Lorraine black like mules. Um, they're a little like, oh, I don't know, but I think they're really awesome. I'm gonna post a picture in the show notes. Um, I think I can do that, of the items that I'm talking about here, here. But these Ralph Lorenz shoes are super comfy, super like throw on with a pair of jeans or with a dress or with shorts, if you're fancy like that. And they were a yellow price tag sale. So I ended up paying $10 for them, which, you know, uh, it's a little much. But um, I'm gonna get, you know, you can tell that they have been worn before, that they have survived for years and years and years. They're a design style from many years ago. Also, I'm gonna give them a shot for a while. They're a great fall para shoe. I'm all about uh all about that, purchasing little things for the season ahead. So the next pair of shoes was the item that was kind of on the cusp when I was doing the rough math in my head of I'm gonna spend under this amount of money when it's all said and done. These shoes ended up fitting in. They were $15 and they are a brightly colored, super fun pair of New Balance sneakers. So we're not talking like running shoes. Um, this is an everyday, you know, cross-trainer type of sporty look. Put them on with my leggings, you know, looking like I'm soccer mom dropping off my kids or whatever. Um, I wear them all the time. I ruined a pair recently that I also previously got at Goodwill. Um, so this pair is comfier, it is not very well worn, so they have a lot of life left in them, but these shoes are usually retail, I think like $65 or so. So I'm happy with the $15 that I paid for them, but they almost didn't make the cut. Then next, I have this fall wedding coming up that I mentioned. And the bride and I uh at uh we recently did like a bridal shower bachelorette kind of joint event for her. She had a beautiful like pants jumpsuit, and we were talking about how awesome jumpsuits are and how it's like it's pretty fly, but I don't think I can pull that off. They just like generally don't look good on me. But I found a Hunter Green new with tags Kelvin Klein jumpsuit. And I'm talking like a pantsuit. I don't even know if I guess I don't know if jumpsuit's the right word. It's a pant suit, um, but the one it's one piece, it's got like a ruffle on the shoulder, and it's structured really well, so like it just is beautiful. And I happen to have these beautiful mules in my cart, so I put on the Ralph Lorenz shoes with it so I could see how it looked with heels, and man, now for $20, I've got a brand new outfit to wear to the wedding in the fall. Uh so it little stuff like that is so exciting to me. It's silly to a lot of people, I get that, but um, you know, it retails for $80. The, you know, so this is just a fun little like, I'm not gonna probably walk into a Macy's and pick up a Kelvin Klein anything, but this is just um, you know, you could tell it's whatever. It's a nicely structured, lovely pantsuit. Here we are. So I've got a really cool outfit for the fall wedding, I'm jazzed about. And lastly, I love this especially because it's not for me, um, but it's for Elliot. And he is hard. I always look for my kids at thrift stores. If you have kids, you know that they just burn through clothes. And man, if you're gonna, if you're new to thrift shopping, just maybe try with your kids. You will see like the amount of clothing you need for a child in a day, you don't need to spend full price on that clothing that they will live in for like a week. So I've been doing this for my kids for a long time. Um, Elliot's really hard to find things for because boys kind of um tend to ruin their clothing a bit more than I I have found at least, and people are just like throwing clothes at me for Lucy, and I just don't I just don't have as much for Elliot. So I was just quickly looking through some shirts for him. He's really into hoodies. Um, I found a great hoodie for him, but nothing to write home about, just his favorite color, and has a hood and pockets per his request. Um, but I did find a Patagonia puffer coat for him. And Patagonia is one of those brands that like always gets me really excited because you know what a great quality um and how long Patagonia products last. And of course they're super trendy looking and it's very cute. But they're a hundred, you know, this coat I think was $110 when I looked it up retail. Yes, it's used, it just needs to be washed, but other than that, no tears, nothing. It's his size and it was $13. So I am so excited about those four fines. And like I said, so I paid $10, $15, $20, and $13. So all of that is a little more than I would pay usually for thrift store fines, but I analyzed it, I'm super excited about it. My kids don't know any different, you know, they don't need to um go to school thinking that they're in thrift store finds like that old connotation from I feel like I don't know, maybe I don't know when that was a thing where you kind of that was a thing that was made fun of and now it's cool. Like, thanks, McLeamora, again. So anyway, when I got these things, my cashier was so excited for me. She like I geeked out with her because like who else do you talk to when you're by yourself a goodwill and you're excited about this? No one really uh else in my life gets as excited as I do with a good find like this. Okay, except maybe my sister Brittany. Thank you, girl. She loves thrift shopping like I do, and she I should have just done a try on for her, she would have loved it. So the whole time um I was like going through the cart and buying things and finding things, was like, I can't wait to tell someone about this. But maybe I'll just talk to people on my podcast where no one asked about it and they can't yell at me. So I appreciate you guys listening. A quick peek into my love, love, love for thrift stores. Um, I will in the future dive more into like the reselling market. I I briefly touched on that last week. The bins, which is goodwill outlets, if you didn't know about that. Holy cow. Uh, thrift con uh and a few other things like I mentioned previously about uh Goodwill and and thrift stores in general and kind of their market and their popularity and what's happening with the pricing structure at thrift stores and things, because I think it's fascinating. So happy thrifting. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for listening. Bye bye.