How To Buy Thrift-Store Clothing You’ll Actually Wear

Thrift stores are the perfect place for me to shop: they usually have tons of junk that I would never want, and just a few things that I do.  When I head into a store that sells new stuff, I’m tempted by about 90% of it.  At thrift stores, I’m only tempted by about 10% of it so it keeps my “gimmies” in check. :)

However, I’ve admitted that I’ve wasted lots of money at thrift stores in the past.  I buy something because it’s a great deal and not because I really need or want it.  The clothing area is a big area of money waste for me – I see something that doesn’t fit quite right, but it’s such an amazing deal or quality brand that I can’t pass it up.  It comes home with me, I wear it once, it sits in my closet, and then after six or twelve months, heads right back to Goodwill.

I’m getting better, though.  I’m trying to focus on buying clothing that I will wear, and in doing so, I’ve had to learn why I like what I like and why I don’t like what I don’t like.

Here’s a checklist that I mentally go through when shopping for clothing – especially at a thrift store, but even other stores.  I would love to hear how you make sure the clothing that you purchase at a thrift store is something you’ll actually wear, too!

For all clothing:

✓ Shirt lengths: if there is one thing that has change for the better about clothing styling over the past few years, it’s that shirts tend to be longer.  Remember a few years back when it was cool for the bottom of your shirt to just brush the top of your jeans?  Yuck.

You can usually tell if a shirt is proportioned oddly by simply laying it out in front of you and taking a step back.  If something strikes you as odd about the length of the shirt in proportion to the sleeves, skip it – you probably won’t like the way it fits and it’s probably out of style.

✓ Stretched-out necklines: stay away from any neckline on a cotton shirt that is a little “loose”.  Stretched-out necklines are a sure-fire way to kill your desire to wear an item, and there’s really not a great way to fix it.

✓ Bright/faded colors: bright colors at a thrift store are a great thing.  If someone else has already owned the garment and it’s been through a few washings and the color is still vibrant, it’s probably going to stay vibrant for you, too!  Likewise, if something is faded, it’s likely you’ll never really feel great wearing it, even if it fits well.  It will always feel “used”.

✓ Zippers, buttons, and snaps: make sure they’re all there and that they work.  Try buttoning and unbuttoning the buttons to make sure it’s not going to drive you crazy because the holes are too small for the buttons.

✓ Versatility: or, what do I have to go with this?  Be cautious about buying items that you have absolutely nothing to go with.  It’s possible the reason the original owner donated it is because they couldn’t find anything to go with it, either!  If you can’t think of something specific that you already have or know exactly what you’d need to buy to wear it with, skip it.

✓ Color hue: I haven’t quite figured out how to conquer this, but I know that more than once I have purchased an item that was just perfect, except that the hue was  a bit off and didn’t quite go with anything.  I have a pair of purple leggings that were purchased inexpensively for my one-year-old – purple leggings should be versatile, right?

Well, we have several shirts and dresses with purple in them and I have yet to find one that actually goes with those purple leggings!  They are a very pretty hue of purple, but obviously not a hue that’s frequently used.  Stay away from hues that just seem to be a bit “off” of the norm; you may have a hard time matching them up to other things in your closet.

✓ The iron factor: if you hate ironing, skip any garment that doesn’t look like a simple washing will smooth out the wrinkles.  Some wrinkles may be there simply because the item was thrown in a box and sat there for months before it was donated; other wrinkles – especially along hemlines – will clearly not dissipate with a run through the washer and dryer.  If you don’t like to iron, avoid any item that rolls up or looks “smashed” around the edges.

✓ Brand: look for quality brands.  I don’t stay on top of the latest fashions, but I do know what brands are the cheaper, low-quality ones that tend to fit oddly or wear out more quickly!  And, you can often tell the quality of a brand by looking at the tag/logo.  Nicer brands just have nicer logos!

The shirt I put back on the rack after googling the brand name.

I recently saw a shirt that I liked, but wasn’t sure how well it would fit and  couldn’t really try it on because, well, I was nine months pregnant and I really don’t plan on maintaining that figure forever. ;)  I didn’t recognize the brand, though, so I googled it on my phone, and quickly found out it was a Target brand (Go International).  Target’s clothing quality and sizing can be so hit or miss that I instantly knew it wasn’t a good choice for me and put it back.

If you’re evaluating everything else about the garment, the brand doesn’t matter so much because you’ll rule out cheap clothing by some other standard.  But, it’s nice to know if the item you’re buying is from a brand that’s made well and tends to fit well.

A great read for thrift store fashion inspiration is my friend Jen’s Frugal Fashionista series!

Specifically for children’s clothing:

✓ Adjustable waists: an adjustable waistband makes the question of “will this fit my child?” a whole lot less of an issue, plus, the pants with adjustable waists are usually not the bottom-of-the-line brand.

✓ Diaper-leakage area: check infant clothing for stains around the diaper leakage area.  These types of stains can be difficult to get out without a lot of effort.

✓ Collars: I personally can’t stand collars on baby clothing, for one reason – they never sit flat and are always up in baby’s face, getting caught in spit up and what not.  If a collar does not sit flat on the hanger, it probably will not sit flat once it’s on a child, so keep that in mind and be prepared to iron the collar, be annoyed by it, or maybe sew a few stitches to keep it lying flat.

✓ Knees: especially on boy’s clothing, check to see how much wear is left in the knees.  Decent jeans for boys are difficult to find used because boys wear through the knees so fast, so to me, if a pair is a little worn in the knees but has some wear left, and is reasonably priced, I’ll go ahead and buy it because it’s still cheaper than buying a new pair that’s going to end up with worn out knees, anyway.

More things to consider:

It’s always a good idea to try clothing on before purchasing it – yes, even used clothing.  I admit that it can be kind of a yucky thought to try on something that someone else has worn, before you wash it, but then again, you probably have no qualms about trying on new clothing at a store – new clothing that’s probably been tried on by a few other people, too.  My guess is there’s probably not too many germs left in something that’s been sitting in someone’s closet, unworn (otherwise they wouldn’t be donating it), for a few months.

If something doesn’t fit perfectly or you just don’t love it on you, skip it.  Try to get away from the temptation of taking it in or letting it out unless you are really, really consistent about doing that type of thing.  Chances are, if it doesn’t fit you off the rack (yes, even off a thrift store rack), you’ll let it languish in your closet.

Steer clear of clothing that has a defect or something that needs to be “masked”.  Don’t kid yourself that you will feel great wearing a t-shirt with a stretched-out neck, even if it’s hidden by a cute scarf.

Do jumping jacks in the dressing room.  Bend over, kneel, sit down… Sometimes what fits well when you’re standing in front of a mirror is positively uncomfortable when you’re actually doing the things you do every day.

Never, never be tempted by something just because it’s cheap.  I’ve wasted probably hundreds of dollars on items I purchased not because I loved them, but because I liked them and they were “only $1″.  Resist those one-dollar steals and then when you find something that you love for $10, you’ll have the money for it.

If you have a smartphone, put it to work for you.  I mentioned earlier that I recently used it to Google a brand name that I was unfamiliar with.  I’ve also used it to convert the size of a shirt that was a European brand.

I try to remember that everything is at a thrift store because it didn’t work for the original owner.  There are lots of reasons someone might have donated it, but if something is just a little “off” and you can’t figure out what exactly, that could be exactly why it was originally donated in the first place.

Most of the time, clothing that looks great and is flattering makes a woman feel good about the way God made her.  If you can look in the dressing room mirror and say “I feel really good in this outfit!”, it’s probably a wise choice.  If it doesn’t make you feel great, you probably won’t regret leaving it behind.

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I would love to hear what types of things you look for when you’re shopping for clothing at thrift stores!  Do you have a mental checklist that you go through when evaluating a purchase?