Tips for Thrift Shopping

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great week so far. Before my internship last semester, I was in need of more professional clothes I could wear. I bought a few things from the stores, but didn't have hundreds of dollars to get a nice variety of items. My mom and I went to the local thrift store just to see what they had. I was surprised by some of the items I found. I got a couple of shirts from Express, Old Navy and a few other brand name items. I was able to get quite a few shirts for a few dollars a piece. It does take a little bit of time to look through things, but I feel like it is worth it. Today I wanted to share a few tips I use when I thrift shop. It can be overwhelming when there are isles and isles of clothes and it can be tough to find a place to start.

1. Decide what you are looking for. Are you looking for casual clothes or items for work. Sweaters, short sleeves, tank tops etc.
2. Have particular colors in mind. The local thrift store around me has things organized by type of clothes and color. So if I am looking for a blue sweater, I can easily locate all of the blue sweaters. It makes it easier to start with a few of my favorite colors and look through other colors later on if their is time.
3. Look for things you would pick up in a store. I know that if I wouldn't pick up something in a store, I most likely would not wear the item and it turns into wasted closet space.
4. Try things on. Make sure the item fits well and that there are no stains or holes. There is no use buying things that will just sit in the closet because they don't fit well.
5. If you can sew/ alter clothes, don't be afraid to buy things that may need altering. I am learning to sew and have done a couple of basic alterations to shirts. The nice thing is if I mess up, it was only a few dollars wasted.
6. Have fun! Try on clothes that you wouldn't normally pick up- you might end up liking it.

Do you have any tips for thrift shopping?
Thanks for reading!