Hello Eve, Hello Amber!!!

A couple of months ago I was web surfing, and I stumbled upon your blog. I truly enjoy it, and it never fails to inspire me to come up with new ideas for my personal wardrobe. I am familiar with MANY thrift shops in my city. The only problem is, I live in the East Village/Lower East Side of Manhattan in NYC. My area, which was once a thrift store paradise, is now becoming trendier by the minute, and along with that, ridiculously expensive. Many of these stores have been around since before the 80’s, and are still standing, but they are no longer the same. These so-called “thrift stores” of 2008 are burning a hole in my wallet. Although I wasn’t alive in the 80’s (I’m fifteen years old!), my mother was, and she herself is a thrift store fiend. Since I have to earn most of my money on my own (which is not much), I can’t afford to purchase clothes that are pricey. I have also noticed that you have price listings for the clothes you are wearing in your pictures. Never in the past two years in Manhattan have I seen a pair of shoes as cute as your electric blue pumps selling for four dollars. I want to know where I can purchase interesting clothes in NYC for reasonable prices. What should I do?

Thank You darlings,
please write back!!

Your Truly,
Cassia.

Wow, what a pickle Cassia! I feel for you. One advantage in living in a small town is that the thrift store pickings are much less, well, picked through. Here are a few suggestions.

Get a friend with a car. Drive to the suburbs for your thrifting. Or save up your nickels and plan a roadtrip (preferably with a responsible adult, your mom sounds like she would make the ideal thrift-shopping mate) and make stops in every tiny town you come across. If you think about it, all the best thrifters on wardrobe remix live in small towns! Almost every town with a stoplight will have a thrift store. Do a once or twice a year stock up on tasty, cheap vintage!

Organize a big naked lady party! It isn’t as dirty as it sounds.

Raid your parents’ closet. More than likely your mom has decided that her acid-washed mini skirt would look better on you. And maybe your dad will let you borrow his fedora.



Learn to sew! Reinvent the stuff you already have or use some cheap vintage fabrics to make a sundress!. After I’m done with this, I’m going to turn some thrifted royal blue 70’s cords into cigarette pants to wear with said electric blue heels.

Almost forgot about Garage Sales! Check the listings in your local paper for garage sales around your neighborhood. Some of my favorite and most cheap finds were at garage sales. Especially watch for awesome costume jewelry and accessories. I found an awesome vintage flight bag and an amazing nautical necklace for 25 cents each!

Thanks for your email and happy thrifting, Cassia!

More Painfully Hip thrifting advice:

Pulling it Off 101: 4 steps to maximizing your wardrobe and completely rocking your own unique personal style