True story, my ex and I are were friends with this couple who didn't make a lot of money. J was an ex-stripper now working for the Post Office and L worked as a security guard. They rented a tiny condo and drove beat up cars they would buy from the auto auction. We would go to their house for dinner a few times a week. L was a particularly good cook being raised in South Carolina he had a penchant for the Lowcountry way of cooking. We remained friends for quite some time up through the time I got pregnant with my daughter.
One day I was not feeling the greatest and stayed home from work. My house was visible from the main road and J saw that my car was home and stopped by. She asked me if I wanted to go get something to eat with her so I obliged even though I felt like complete and utter shit. We ended up going to IHOP and afterward she said she wanted to go to the Thrift Store. I had seen Village many times but never gone in. I told her I would go with her as I was looking for a dresser to put in my nursery. Something I could fix up and put my DIY touch on.
We walk in and she starts looking at jeans. She says, "Oh look they have plus size stuff, just go around you'll find stuff." First off, I'm not wearing anything that anyone else may or may not have had on their person at any damn given time in their life. I headed to the back where the house goods were and they didn't have any dressers. Damn I thought, this was a wasted trip I could be at home in bed eating ice cream.
J comes and finds me to tell me they have maternity clothes. First off, I didn't wear maternity clothes when I was pregnant. Its hard to find cute plus size clothing, it was IMPOSSIBLE to find anything cute in plus size maternity clothes. She persuades me to go with her to the section and its all hideous polyester crap.
I politely told her no thank you and went back to the house wares. I found a cute silver tray that would be perfect in my bathroom for holding my jars of shells.
Little did I know that a few short years later this would become my go to place for clothing. After I had my daughter funds were obviously a lot tighter. Day care was running me $1200 a month and insurance went from $125 a month to $300 a month. I had to make due with what little money I had to spend of clothing.
Around the time my daughter was two and a half I lost 100 pounds. Nothing in my closet fit. Shopping was a whole new experience. I went to H&M to fill my closet with basics that could be integrated into my current wardrobe. I decided to stop by the thrift store for something for my house and while walking through a cute sweater caught my eye. It looked brand new and was a couple of bucks. I knew I could get it dry cleaned just in case.
I perused one of the isles and found a few cute shirts with the tags still attached. I went and looked and the dresses, found a few I liked. I think I spent around $20 got some nice grabs.
This set up the foundation of what would be my thrifting adventures. I go in at least twice a week as the merchandise is constantly coming in. The store offers 50% of certain color tags on Sundays and Mondays. They also offer 33% off a different color on Mondays only, usually off of the newer just in items.
They have 5 dressing rooms located in the back. The store is very neat, organized by Women's Clothing, Men's Clothing, Kids, Shoes, Housewares, Linens, and Kids Toys. Be sure to check the knicknack section you never know what you are going to find there. If you are looking for Women's Sweaters make sure you go through the Men's Sweaters. The people who sort and put up the clothing can't always tell the difference. I have found so many cute Women's stuff misplaced with the Men's clothing.
Best time to get in there is when they open or an hour before closing. The hours listed on the website are right except they open at 9:00am on Sunday.
Coming in frequently is best because Aunt Edna dies at least once a week. Ok not funny, so I find so many high end scarves and clothing in here I joke that Aunt Edna must have died and no one knew the gold mine she had in her closet. They have one of the best scarf selection I've seen anywhere. The men's ties are usually designer Ralph Lauren, Hermes, Lanvin, Salvadore Ferragmo, and more!
The funniest part is things like Forever 21, Ralph Lauren Polo, Old Navy, and Target brands are priced about what you pay if you went to the store or a little less. The real designer stuff is a complete surprise as I picked up 2 Hermes scarves for $4.90. I scored Hermes tie for $3.90. But if you want the Ralph Lauren one they wanted $19.90.
You must know what you are looking for when you are going through the racks. Have plenty of time if you want to get good stuff. I know that sounds so cliche and you've read it on every blog but it so TRUE! If you are short for time you will be short on finds. Nuf said!
Just to name a few designers I have found:
Emilio Pucci
Lanvin
Hermes
Salvadore Ferragmo
Vera Neumann Scarves for days!
Vintage Halston
Chanel
Louis Vuitton
Information for Village Thrift Store is below:
Address: 13770 Smoketown Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22192
Phone:(703) 897-1635
| |||||
| Hours: Mon - Sat 9am - 9pm, Sun 10am - 6pm |
No comments:
Post a Comment