Walking into a thrift store yesterday, I almost fell flat on my face. The good news is, the store happened to be Valueland: a dingy, eccentric, and outdated but loveable thrift center. I don't know if there's a store on the planet where the people in it couldn't care less whether you happen to trip on air walking up to its doors. But I must say, regardless of its status in the eyes of the people around here, it happens to be my favorite place to go when I'm in need of some cheering up. It doesn't have a reputation for being the cleanest, most up-to-date establishment in the area, but it never lets me down.
The things inside of that store never fail to make me smile. All the outdated and ridiculous clothes, the horrible but somehow fascinating furniture, even the mismatched and patterned collection of houseware items, are always original and not once have I found something there that I liked, and then found it somewhere else. It just doesn't happen. By far my favorite find from any thrift store was from Valueland. I went in there to find an old Christmas sweater for a White Elephant gift, because let's face it, as much as I love the store, they've always got ugly clothes to spare. After looking, I wasn't finding anything that I fancied in the women's section, and on my way over to the men's side, my eye just fell on this suitcase. Not just any suitcase, oh no. This suitcase was blue, perfect size for just carrying things around in because you can, and splashed in a loud, multicolor 70's floral print. Now, I only had a few dollars on me, and I couldn't buy both a sweater and that gem of a suitcase, but I was in love the second I saw it. And the fact that it didn't smell like it had stored wet socks in it for thirty years was just one more reason to adore it. It was something I knew was a once in a lifetime find, and I just couldn't pass it up.
So needless to say, I marched out of that store, suitcase in hand, and I huge grin on my face. My joy grew when my mom rolled her eyes at me when she saw my treasure. She knows that it's impossible for me to go into a thrift store and not come out with something, and usually that something is unusual and out of ordinary. She's still not used to that. I don't think she ever planned on her daughter wanting to shop in used clothing stores rather than at the mall. But what can I say? They have unmatchable better prices, and I know for a fact that no one is going to show up wearing the same outfit as me. I can't help but not love every inch of thrift stores.
The only exceptions are usually Goodwill. No offense to them, especially since I'm just one person, but I'm not a fan of their clothes. All the clothes they have there are simply outdated, not vintage or fun. Once in a while I'll come out of there with something classic or still in style, but as far as finding fun, real vintage gold, they don't score so high with me. BUT, they always have good "stuff." By stuff I mean teacups, jewelry, old toys, and just junk. It's definitely fun to look.
So that's it. My very first entry. Good? Probably not. Sufficient? Maybe. Oh, well. Maybe they'll get better, or maybe I'll be the only one to ever read this. No matter, I will continue to write about my marvelous and sometimes treacherous adventures.
Love and Hugs.