Go Blue, Live Green...Really?

Must I be the first person to admit to shopping at thrift stores and not be ashamed? If you were wondering, I SHOP AT THRIFT STORES AND I DON’T CARE WHO KNOWS IT! Not that the cat is out of the used bag I invite other thrifters to stand up here with me, the view is quite nice *Tips hat to fellow U of M clothing blogger Lauren A*. For a community that relishes recycling and canvas tote bags, people are awfully shy about where they shop and what they spend. Everyone is so wrapped in what they look like that they forget that purchasing new clothes, shoes, and accessories produces waste and helps drain the worlds resources. By shopping at places like Goodwill, Value Village, and other second hand stores, money is saved and so are resources.

I like to do my part in saving the earth at Value Village. The first time I experienced Value Village I was walking around Capitol Hill with two of my good friends (thrift shopping is always more enjoyable when accompanied by people as adventurous as yourself). We ventured into the old building, which was surrounded by hipster bars and cafés. At first our trip to Value Village was a grand joke. We tried on outlandish shorts, ridiculous hats, and made fun of the multitude of bizarre objects. I found a pair of horrendous black, neon pink and teal Bermudas, made out the strangest tracksuit material, they were almost to terrible to speak of… but as soon as I discovered a pair of retro blue pants and my hipster friend found a red plaid blazer we were in gear.

Value Village on Capitol Hill is two stories high. Rack after rack of used women’s clothing, T-shirts, blouses, and jeans call the first floor home – in addition to Halloween props, accessories, and hats. The second floor houses cookware, knickknacks, appliances and men’s clothes, and my favorite, TIES! Half of the back wall is devoted to ties. You won’t find necessarily the most professional assortment of ties but there is a fun assortment. All in all our excavation produced 7 For All Mankind denim, ties and some neat vintage pieces, with all of that we headed to the dressing rooms. While dingy, a bit dank, and lacking mirrors, they did serve their purpose. Value Village provides Seattle with casual, funky, and some professional pieces.

The reason that I like Value Village so much is because everything is organized and sorted by size. Crossroads Trading CO (while high end and hip), Goodwill, and Salvation Army help give thrift stores a bad name. In all of those locations, treasure after treasure can be found except for that they are covered in unorganized piles of rubbish. I don’t care what any other thrifter says, my time is valuable and straining through heaps of rubbish does not make the experience of thrift shopping “more fun”. In addition, At Value Village, the staff doesn’t try to make their customers self-conscious about their fashion picks, unlike Crossroads and Buffalo Exchange. Yes, the employees are generally hipsters but Value Village chooses to employ nice hipsters. With all of this said, help your wallet, your style, and your earth and go get some second hand stuff.