Tips & Tricks for Thrifting

Over the years, I’ve had handfuls of people ask me about thrifting and I’ve wanted to do a little story on it for a long time now! I’m so excited to share a few of my tips and tricks I’ve slowly picked up throughout my thrifting process.

1)      If you’re new to thrifting, try to take on a couple different shops to figure out your groove. I’ve really enjoyed making rounds around town and finding different places that I know are good about having selections of jeans, jackets, etc. Options abound all over Kansas City: on 39th St, you can find Donna’s Dress shop for all things girly and frilly, in the West Bottoms you can comb through endless floors of vintage for days, or you can even head out to Lawrence and really make a day of it!

2)      Once you find your shops, watch out for deals that happen on specific days & times, (for example, on Mondays, Salvation Army does deals with certain tags being 49 cents, etc.)

3)      Leave plenty of time for yourself to take it all in – When I’m not looking for one specific piece, I try to leave myself a couple hours to really dig in. Thrifting can definitely be a labor of love, so I suggest treating yourself to a nice coffee beforehand– we’ve got the scoop on that!- and going on a day when you have an open morning or afternoon to enjoy browsing.

4)      The fitting room is your best friend! Don’t worry so much about sizing of a garment on the label. So many times I’ve found awesome pieces that are vintage & I thought would never work, but after trying them on they turned out being some of my favorite!

5)      Have fun with it! One of the reasons I love thrifting so much is that it allows me to incorporate unique, and sometimes silly pieces into my everyday wardrobe. (An added bonus? It’s guilt free shopping! My last haul pictured here was only $29!) It’s also really awesome to see how much style has changed over the years, and get a small peek into another era. I truly feel like I get to give someone else’s clothes a new life, and that’s been so much fun!

I hope these tips inspire & excite you to give thrifting a try sometime soon– for some good places to get started, here are my favorite thrift stores:

1) City Thrift - 7440 Wornall Road

2) Kulture on 39th - 1301 39th St

3) Savers - 2251 NW Barry Rd

4) Salvation Army in Independence - 1535 East 23rd St S

5) Troost39 Thrift Store - 3922 Troost Ave