How to Find the Best Stuff at the Thrift

Sharing my best secrets as a secondhand-savvy shopper

Believe me when I say nothing is both more humbling and affirming than working with teenagers all day long. 

Humbling: Feeling good in my outfit one day, a student asked me “How old were you when you started wearing shoes like that, Ms. Fraser?”

And don’t even get me started on the teen boys’ reactions to my leopard Crocs that I wore to summer school daily. 

Affirming: This summer (in said Crocs I might add) I bumped into a group of my students thrifting together at our local Value Village and they were in awe of the finds in my cart. That day the thrift gods had smiled upon me, and my students’ jaws dropped when they saw the Marc Jacobs pink crossbody bag and other treasures I’d curated. 

What I realized that afternoon was that by now I have a well-honed ability to turn on my internal Sheikah slate (iykyk) and seek out super cool finds. I haven’t always known how to do this, so I want to share a few tips for you if you're feeling thrift-curious or have come up empty in past attempts. 

How to find the best stuff at the thrift: 

Get in the mood. Set the tone. Make it a whole experience.

Thrift moods I love:

1. Saturday and Sunday mornings. I love to enjoy my first coffee at home from the comfort of the couch, sip on a breakfast smoothie while getting dressed, and then enjoy my second coffee from a travel mug on my way to a local thrift while listening to a podcast.

2. Fridays after work. To-do list all checked off, I love to treat myself to a McD’s cheeseburger from the drive thru while listening to a podcast then swing around the corner to the Value Village near my school.

3. With my best friend mid-afternoon on a Saturday, preferably before or after lunch at a local Italian place or brewery in our neighbourhood.

4. With my other bestie who I don’t see nearly as often but who goes on the best thrift field trips with me all over the city. We can shop for hours together, hit literally every section in the store at least once, and gossip loudly across the racks between sharing finds for one another. 

Seek colour and texture

I don’t flick through every hanger on the rack, but I do brush my hands lightly over each item and have a laser-sharp sensor for the colours and fabrics I’m seeking. I could find a pair of Lululemons, a Christian Dior button-down, or anything 100% silk with a blindfold on.

Know your brands

I have a lifetime of capitalism under my belt, and you just might too 😁! All those years of fashion magazines and Gap Khaki commercials combined with my ever-increasing age have given me a level of brand awareness that I didn’t even ask for. I try to find balance between visually filtering for labels I’m familiar with and stopping on new brands that I’m curious about. Which brings me to my next point… 

Google is your friend

When I find a label or a product that I don’t recognize but that gives me pause, I look it up right there in the aisle (or later in a more peaceful area) to decide if it’s something I want. 

Know your measurements and sizes

Not every thrift store has fitting rooms so having a general idea of what will fit you is helpful. When in doubt, my strategy is to grab a size 14 pair of Old Navy jeans which are abundantly found at the thrift and that I know fit me like a glove. I then use them as a marker to hold up against other pants or dresses to see if it is a corresponding size. Alternatively, a dear friend thrifts in nude coloured spandex under her clothes and drops trou mid-aisle to try stuff on. That works too! 

Be strategic

If you have limited time, don’t hit every single section every time you go thrifting unless you are out of town or will never be able to go to this store again. If you do have access to local thrift stores, hit them often and at different times of the day and week. The beauty of secondhand shopping is that no two trips are alike. 

Edit your cart

The most essential part of any thrift trip is putting anything that is a maybe or a yes in your cart while you’re shopping and then taking yourself off to a corner at the end to have a word with yourself and throw unnecessary crap back out of the net before checking out.

Finally, I think a precursor to a good thrift trip is knowing what you like, and that can take time. So don’t be hard on yourself if you have a thrifting fail and generate good thrift karma by swapping unwanted stuff with other thrifty friends, donating back to a good cause, or learning to mend.  

And if this all sounds like too much, try easing into an online shopping experience like Poshmark or your local Facebook Marketplace. I share my talent and love for the hunt by listing pieces here in my shop alongside my own pieces I no longer want, so take a look and let me know if you see something that catches your eye! 

Happy shopping, friend!