It began for me one typically grey Vancouver day when a friend of mine (Who later became my accomplice and fashion sharpshooter) entered a grungy East Vancouver thrift store. Together we entered the building and separately we shopped. We both scoured the racks searching for treasures. Twenty minutes later, my life changed. My sharpshooter friend rushed up to me holding something luxurious and black in her hands. Before I could ask if she was successful, she ecstatically showed me her - mint condition beautiful crafted, exquisitely tailored Dolce and Gabbana Skirt Suit. I could hardly believe my eyes. Truthfully, I had a twinge of jealous surge through me, and it surged again when my beautiful friend put the $30 D&G suit on and it fit her like a glove. This experience changed thrifting for me. Since that fateful day I religiously scope out the blazer sections of thrift stores, and have learned a few things about finding exceptional deals.
RULES
1. Learn luxury fabrics. In a sea of polyester finer fabrics can stick out just enough if you know how to find them. A year of my life I spent in a high end clothing store, I attribute any ability I have to canvas the fabrics to that year.
2. Learn luxury labels. 15 years of my life I have spent in Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair and other magazines, so my catalog of reference labels is substantial but still growing. Knowing high end brand names helps with the process of sifting out the average for the exceptional.
3. Learn to spot knock offs. My guess is that if that Louis Vuitton bag's strap is fraying its probably not authentic, so why bother spending $15+ on a fake when you can hold out for that lucky break when a real one is kicking around.
4. In my experience, if you start shopping and see a few higher end names it likely means that a wealthy donor recently made a drop off, and there could and should be more where "that" came from. This is my hint to keep shopping.
Eventually I'll post a few other rules I follow and a few of my favorite finds.
Happy Thrifting
