Listen to this article
You never know what kind of hidden gems you may find until you look in a Salvation Army Family Thrift Store.
Follow Grace as she shares her insights and helpful advice on finding fashionable clothing options at The Salvation Army Family Thrift Store in Hemet, California.
Grace shares creative wardrobe choices and ways to give new life to thrift store items, all while saving a buck!
Below is a transcript of the video edited for readability.
Grace: What do we think about the grandma sweater? I like the color. I think it’s really cute but I don’t really know about the grandma lettering on it. I’m a little bit too young to be a grandma.
Hey guys, it’s Grace and I’m here with Share Change and we’re at The Salvation Army Family Thrift Store in Hemet, [California]. Today I’m going to be bringing guys along and showing you some tips and tricks on how I like to thrift.
Tip #1: Invest time
A tip and trick that I think makes a successful thrift shopping trip is it takes kind of a lot of time, so you have to make sure that you are looking through each section even if you don’t think you’re going to find anything. Usually the best stuff is hidden between all of the racks so you have to be patient and willing to invest some time to find the best pieces.
So, this is something that I think is super cute and in style. It is a mock neck black top and you can find these in a lot of stores for a lot more expensive. Right now, it is $7.99. This is a USC turtleneck and it’s actually vintage and these are super cool to pair it with jeans or you could even put it with a skirt. It’s super fun and very in style right now. These are one of those things that you find that is definitely a no but it’s super fun to look at and just be like someone wore this and donated it and now someone will use it for…I don’t know.
Tip #2: Take a second look
Another thing about thrifting is you have to give everything kind of a second look. You have to see what it could be and not what it is, not just discount something because you’re not sure about it. Because a lot of those things end up being one of the favorite things out of the find. This is really cute and I think I’m going to add it to the cart of items we’ve picked up today. I’m going to add this one. This one is super, really cool too and I’m really excited to try this on and style it. I feel like this is golden and I really like it. Here you go.
Tip #3: Check the men’s section
We’re gonna move on to pants and one of the other tips that I have is for jeans. High-waisted jeans have made a big comeback and for girls a tip is to look in the men’s section because surprisingly, they fit just the same and they are so fun so comfortable and so cute and so we’re gonna go take a look at all of the denim that they have here. So, I don’t feel like I’m finding anything in the jeans right now but it still doesn’t hurt to look and some days you get a win and other days you don’t.
I like the shoulder pads in this. Like what was the purpose of shoulder pads? They gave you that extra powerful feeling. I also like linen shirts and this one is super cute. It has a little bit of stains on it but I think if you’d give it a nice wash you won’t be able to notice it as much.
So, this is a section I will not be needing but, they have some really good maternity items which is good because you’re not pregnant forever so you might as well get it for a discount. Then also scrubs, which I don’t need but if you were going to be a nurse for Halloween, this would be a great place to start. Coats…kind of fun. The skirt is a little bit fun and I feel like this would even look good with the shirt that I’m wearing right now. Okay so we’re gonna go check out the men’s section and see what we find over there.
Tip #4: D.I.Y. outfits
So the men’s section is super helpful because sometimes you can find shirts that are really cool that you can end up cutting and croppings that fit you better. I just like the looser fun feel and you can just find really cool graphic tees as well in the men’s section. For me, I personally love oversized fitting clothing so it’s a perfect kind of way to pick something out. What the men’s section is good for also is DIY, which is do-it-yourself. So, you can find any kind of shirt and if it’s a little bit too long all you have to do is cut it with a pair of scissors and then you got yourself a super cute crop top.
This is like Where’s Waldo. If I was going to be Where’s Waldo for Halloween, I would for sure get this. I think I’m gonna add it to my cart because this would be a really great costume piece. So like I said the men’s section is a great place to find graphic oversized t-shirts which are super in style right now and also super comfortable. So when you are thrifting, don’t just limit yourself to one section you can literally check out the entire store you always find some of the coolest stuff.
So I think we found some really great things today and I’m excited to try them on and see how they look. So, I’m gonna be showing you a few of the pieces that I picked out while I was shopping and what I’m loving, what I’m taking home and what I’m going to leave.
So, this jacket I found on one of the racks and it is actually really fun and out there. I wouldn’t normally pick out something like this but something about it was just super fun. It has all these fun colors and shapes. It looks like apples and pretzels. So, this- I don’t know if I’ll take home just because a little bit out there but this would be perfect for someone who has a funkier style and wants to just wear something super fun. This one I really like and I really like the colors. I like the white. I like how it comes up all the way. I always loved about thrift stores, just the cool things that you can find and just the things that you’ve seen in magazines, things that you’ve seen on other people and it’s always cool to find them for yourself.
So this one is definitely a cool piece and I might take it home. So this is also another really cool little jacket. It is a gingham black-and-white print and honestly I am super impressed by this find. I think I found it in the woman’s blazer section. It’s super lightweight and really on trend. I think it looks good with even this little outfit. Vintage just means that it’s one-of-a-kind and no one else is gonna have something like this. So I probably will take this home.
So this was one of the first items I picked out and you can see it is the black turtleneck, kind of short sweater. I really like how simple it is. You can literally just put it with anything. It is a blue tag which means it is 50 percent and I don’t think anyone can go wrong with staple pieces like this in their closet. I think this one was six dollars so that makes it probably like three since it’s a 50 percent off, so that’s a really great deal. So I really like this one as well and I liked that it’s a great deal.
So the another one of the white tops and I picked out. I really like this one it is super loose and super comfortable. It has the buttons going down the middle again and like I said, oversized is key. I love that you can tuck it in I love that you can kind of also wear unbuttoned with a shirt underneath. If you wanted to you can also tie the bottom and make it kind of a tie top and I really like that will be able to give the shirt a second life. So don’t ever discount something because it’s not your size because honestly anything in the first or you can make it work so this one is actually one of my favorite. I feel like this could be a contender of one that we take home.
If you’re going to go to a costume party, a Halloween party, this would literally be perfect. You could wear it as a dress and you could be a girl version of Where’s Waldo and I really like that. So the best thing about thrift stores is if you need something for a party, a costume party, or you need to like make an outfit that resembles something, this is the best place to find that kind of stuff because I’m not even kidding you can find stuff every time. So although I wouldn’t necessarily wear this out on a regular basis this would be a great pick if you were going to dress up as someone else.
Okay so I kind of showed a lot of fun, out there pieces but thrift stores are great for the basics so this is just a black tee. This was one of the shirts from the men’s section that I picked out and what I love about this shirt is that it is literally just a black t-shirt but you’d be surprised at what kind of stores will sell this for almost $30 so I like to go to the thrift store to find this. I just have it tucked in right now with my jeans but when I get home I can also cut this just a little bit so that it’s not as big and kind of boxy but this shirt is like three dollars and fifty cents which i think is a great deal and everyone always needs basics and their closet then is like the number one thing so this top it’s a great steal. You look like you got this from a nice store and you did. So this is a staple piece I definitely think that this could be a contender to take home.
So this is another oversized blazer. Now that I have it on it kind of looks like a doctor’s coat so but I really love the oversized blazer. It is something that is super kind of fun to wear. You can wear it with pants, you can wear it as a dress and it’s super cute. This one has shoulder pads which I’m not too into but this could be good for you. This is a woman’s work coat, I think it’s like $12. It’s just perfect.
So this one is super fun and casual and is literally just like a pink pullover. I have seen these on so many websites for so much money this is super cute. This one is also a great deal, for like $3 and I love just the color. I think it looks good with my hair and I love it with jeans but you could also wear this with leggings, you wear it comfortable or you could wear it out and I love how it has a little mock neck. I am a big fan of comfy clothes and all you have to do is literally wear it like I’m wearing it now with some boots, some jeans and then necklaces and you got yourself an outfit. So this one is definitely one of my top contenders to take home.
Thank you so much for coming along and shopping with me today. Be sure to check out your local Salvation Army Family Thrift Store. Let’s see what you can find!
Do Good:
- See more videos like this in our video feed.
- It’s not just a shirt…your purchase at The Salvation Army Family Thrift Store saves lives. See how The Salvation Army fights addiction.
- Did you know The Salvation Army served more than 23 million Americans last year fighting hunger, homelessness, substance abuse and more—all in a fight for good? Where can you help? Take our quiz to find your cause and learn how you can join in today.
Download this page as a PDF
