Guest Post: Thrifting, Greatest Hits

RantWoman's mind is on needs for sartorial upgrades. RantWoman has NO time right now, which is fine because she has no money either. But RantWoman is delighted to procrastinate briefly with an electronic excursion into the world of used clothing retail.



First RantWoman reality: RantWoman is a woman of size. This means that most of the time RantWoman finds thrift stores unbelievably hard to deal with. RantWoman has mixed success finding her sizes; RantWoman just has NO patience for the hunt.

Here RantWoman needs to make a big shout out to Two Big Blondes at 26th and Jackson in RantWoman's 'hood. Two Big Blondes consistently offers things in sizes RantWoman wears as well as even bigger sizes too. RantWoman would never mind more Tall options but does tolerably often enough to keep coming back.

The stock is a mix of wearable used and retail price tag still on brand new. Two Big Blondes has shoes; RantWoman has terrible experience with used shoes and usually resorts to retail for shoes. Two Big Blondes stocks purses, scarves, hats and sundry other accessories. RantWoman tends not to buy these items much, much less from Two Big Blondes, but they also are there for people who must do one-stop shopping.



RantWoman is happy to offer the rest of this post to a friend and partner in email procrastination, She Who Does Not Pay Retail, edited only VERY lightly: RantWoman acknowledges some fear that favorit thrift store locations might be a little bit like favorite fishing holes: one shares only VERY carefully. RantWoman hopes she is wrong.


She Who Does Not Pay Retail writes:
I am regularly scoring Brooks Brothers, Talbots, and Pendleton pieces at the Goodwills of Bellevue, Renton, and Edmonds, as they intersect w/ work/ appointments. Often enough, I'll spend 'happy hour' in a thrift store, waiting out traffic. Why not? I may not pay any more than I would for a drink and some appetizers, no calories, and I can fondly recall where I was when I scored some glorious item or another.



The Goodwill 'boutique' store on Westlake in SLU has yielded a few things -- including a Ralph Lauren silk crepe skirt everybody loves, $20, vs the original $140, according to the tags. Dresses up and down and dances faaaabulously ;)



Tommy Bahamas pink silk pants for $30. Woot! A icelandic sweater, lined, gorgeous pattern for $20. Stunning. Speigels little-black-dress-type a-line dress for $20.



The Brooks Bros. pieces, both gotten for $20 apiece, are a LINED linen plaid skirt -- with nicely matched plaid, and a fitted navy blouse that is *hot*. Both had the tags for a substantially larger figures on them.



I am not an 'easy' size, so this is pretty awesome. Discovering I'm best served in Talbot's 'petite' line -- for lengths (obviously due to my scoliosis) is really cool -- and I never set foot in their store, nor glanced at their catalogue.



I now own TWO pairs of Talbots silk capris. One, I found in BALLARD, after deciding not to take them in Edmonds... they're embroidered, and hard to miss.... and were 1/2 off when I 'ran into' them again. $10 embroidered silk pants. Huh.



I do ok w/ Value Village, but not nearly as well. I recommend the Lynnwood VV, the Burien (read: Normandy Park) VV, and the Kirkland VV, in no order of preference -- when I get there, the Ballard VV is pretty picked over. I got a pair of Miu Miu boots for $15 this winter that stun me. Miu Miu is a Versace line, marketed at Nordstrom and Nieman-Marcus, starting around $300. All I can figure is they got left at the airport, or a very spoilt child didn't like what her stepmother got her, or had a VERY bad break-up.



I think I found my navy Mephisto sandals there, as well. Anyway, I now own Mephisto sandals that were essentially new, for less than $20 -- I think $12. I also own a stunning wardrobe of Clarks, Danskos, and others high-quality shoes I found essentially unused, the same way. My new-to-me handbag wardrobe really delights me. It's SO fun to find matching bags that you like for $6-12. Neato ;) With a bottle of neatsfoot oil, a couple $2 wallets came right back to life. I have a new-to-me Wilson leather overnight-type bag in red leather, gotten for $15, that exactly needed some hide food rubbed into it.


I hope you have as much fun w/ your 'upgrade' as I have, Virginia ;)


She Who Never Pays Retail,
Regent of Redemption and Resale