One of the best presents I received this Christmas was $50 in gift certificates for Savers/Value Village from my future in-laws. Can you imagine?! I didn't even know that such a thing existed. Now, like the Goodwill, Savers is no little backwoods thrift shop, but when you are given FREE money, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
With my gift certificates burning a hole in my pocket, I decided to stretch my gams and walk the eight blocks to our neighborhood Savers. You may be asking yourself why I don't frequent a shop so close to my house more, and that is because the only good thing I have ever found there has been a cassette tape of Ray Lynch's Deep Breakfast (which appears to be selling for $12.99 on that website, so I guess I got a deal). Free from the constraints of taking money out of my rent to pay for thrifted items, I found shopping at my neighborhood Savers to be much more pleasurable.
I typically do not purchase a ton of media thrifting. Sifting through records at thrift stores is a huge time suck (like jewelry, as Laurie just explained, the thrifting market is saturated with people looking for good records to resell or hoard, which leaves stacks and stacks of Barbara Streisand and polka albums with little redeemable material.*) and most books and CDs you can find at the library for free.** Still, I always check out the VHS section, in the vain hope that someone has been dumb enough to part with their copy of Purple Rain. Since I was shopping with gift certificates, however, I decided to treat myself to some goodies—a book on herbalism, Encino Man on VHS (love me some Pauly Shore), a Hall and Oates album (this was an impulse purchase) and two CDs we have at work that I have been coveting, Elastica and the Boogie Nights soundtrack.
The real, surprising gems, however, came in the form of clothes (naturally). I am in love with this Icelandic wool jacket! I have been in the market for a vintage wool jacket with stripes and this one fits perfectly, with great belling action on the sleeves and the bottom. LUV it.
I am super stoked about this bright blue, 90's long sleeved mini dress. I normally hate long sleeves, especially on dresses, but when you pair them with a short little skirt, they are unmodest enough for me. I am also a huge sucker for 80s and 90s apparel tags (I think someone could do an entire thesis topic on how the names of brands during this time reflect the societal issues in which they came about. I mean really, Positive Attitudes? Style To Go? Nuggets? And this one, In Charge?) and I thought this deserved a special shout out.
The best part? I still have $20 left! Stay tuned for more ways to spend $50 in gift certificates at Savers!
*Tip: You may be more adventurous than me with your musical tastes, but I have found that even if an unknown album looks cool, chances are, it isn't. Record execs figured out a long time ago that putting a hot hippie chick on a record cover can be used to sell something that doesn't remotely sound like a hot hippie chick.
** Libraries rule! Support your local library!
CUTE jacket
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