Buying clothes at Salvation Army/Goodwilld - stigma?

In My Humble Opinion
41

Oh, goodie, another Goodwill (Opportunity Shop in Aus parlance) thread!!

When my kids were little, I was an Op Shop junkie. Kids clothes get grown out of, not worn out, for the most part, and it seemed criminal to me to spend mega bucks on crappy new stuff when I could spend minimal $ on good quality groovy stuff for them. They didn’t know the difference, and people complimented them on their outfits regularly.

When they were in their early teens they got a bit skeeved by the ‘stigma’ so I resorted to buying their clothes new. That hurt (financially), especially when they discovered the allure of ‘labels’ and wouldn’t settle for Target or other chain clothing.

Today, apart from one son who is still a fashionista and wouldn’t dare walk into an Oppo (he’s got a snobby girlfriend he’s trying to impress!!), the others have seen the light!! For them now, it is an honour to be fully outfitted via an Op Shop. My youngest son (18) has a particular knack (and has befriended a worker in a ‘boutique’ Oppo who saves stuff for him she knows he will like). This kid now wears $250 jeans and $160 shirts etc for under $10. He is chuffed, and a walking fashion statement to boot.

My daughter is a bit more eclectic, and doesn’t care for labels provided the stuff looks cool. And on her, it always does, no matter what the combination of colours and styles might produce…on anyone else it would look garish and weird, but she can get away with it, lucky bitch. And it’s Goodwill all the way down.

My other son just wants to wear clothes that fit and doesn’t give a damn what they look like. He would rather spend his money on books and DVD’s…bugger clothes.

Me? I’m sitting here in my Levi 501’s that I bought a couple of years back (new) for $1.00, and a summerweight sweatshirt that cost a whole 20c. I’m still addicted to Op Shopping, but nowadays I don’t have to find stuff for the kids (although I do on occasion still find something amazing and bring it home for them.) Instead of shame, they revel in the fun and savings to be had.

42

I think you’d be on the correct side of an English class divide!

In the absolutely excellent Watching the English[amazon.com], it’s noted that upper-middle class and upper class people are far happier to shop in charity shops than the lower-middle and middle-middle classes, who would be aghast at the idea.

The whole (rather cliched, but backed up by decent insights in the book) idea is that the upper and lower ends of the spectrum have nothing to prove, whereas the middle, burdened by status anxiety, feel the need to “look the part”.

Make of that what you will!

Cymro

43

Uh? The only time that came up at school for me was when five of us went to class with the same T-shirt (in the same day or not), when you saw someone with clothing you’d noticed in a store’s window, or when someone liked what someone else was wearing and wanted a similar one. You guys actually talked about “where you get your clothes”?

I love thrift and “charity” stores. You can get great stuff, they’re happy to take what you don’t need any more, and it helps people.

The people from El Patriarca (they have a different legal name now) have this yearly circuit, where they spend each month in a different town. When they come to mine, you can bet those tents get full! I’ve seen a truck that was getting bought off faster than they could put things on shelves so finally one of the managers figured they’d just sell the items off the truck’s back.

44

Shhhhhhhhh.

I tell people it doesn’t smell of urine, mothballs and mustiness anymore…and then decided it is best to float those beleifs around inorder to keep the deals for myself.

45

I’ve never purchased clothing from a thrift shop, and as someone upthread mentioned, I have no good reason why (except that back in the day, they never carried my size anyway). But I donate tons of stuff to my local place. Expensive suits and party dresses that have only been worn a couple times. I think I might take a look and see if I can find some jeans. I don’t wear suits anymore, but I think that’s where the best bargains are.

46

I’m actually hoping to find some professional clothes there. I’m trying to dress more professionally for work (angling for a promotion), but I don’t have $500 to drop on three or four dress suits (cough and the nice size 6 dress suits that I have don’t currently fit cough). I’m hoping I’ll find something decent at the Salvation Army.

E.

47

I have a three year old, and in the past three years I have gone from married with no money, struggling and on welfare (for two months only, while looking for a job) to making a very nice income as a nurse.

And I still shop thrift stores for my son’s clothing (with a few new outfits thrown in here and there) and for myself (harder to find stuff that fits for me, but I at least 2/3 of my tops come from there.) Serving bowls, my entire crazy obsession with Corelle Butterfly Gold dishes plates etc, all Thrift.
My mother had a problem with used clothes, until I took her along one day. “These are really nice” Yes. My son’s paediatrician used to compliment me on how nice my son was drressed. And honestly, the good quality name clothes I buy at the Sally Ann, VV or others last longer and wear better than the nice new outfits my mom buys Foolieboy at Walmart and Zellers. My best score, however was an outfit for my friend’s daughter… leggings and a smock dress, with a good name label… and the store tag from The Bay… 50 dollars new, three at Value Village.

My boyfriend will buy used things at yard sales, or at thrift or pawn shops. He doesnt like used clothes though.

48

If it were not for thrift and consignment stores and garage sales, then the entire Hallfamily would be walking around naked. About the only thing I buy new is undies, socks and shoes. Hallboy went to school this morning in a heavy London Fog boy’s coat that was a steal for $1 at a garage sale last summer. Right now, I’m wearing a Lane Bryant sweater and skirt that must have cost around $100+ if purchased at the LB Store, but I got it for under $30 at a consignment store.

I’ve been in a funk this winter because my favorite purse that I bought for $10 at a consignment store two years ago is absolutely falling apart from so much use, and I can’t seem to find a replacement I like as much.

Years ago, I first got renters insurance and would have been ahead of the game if the house would have burned down and I would have gotten all the insurance money to replace everything in the house, since almost everything we had was purchased at garage sales or “repurposed” from being found.

49

In this day of recycling, I can’t image why there is a stigma. I live in an area where many people wear clothes a dozen times and then give me to the Salvation Army. Instead of wasting resources by buying a new $100 jacket, I can recycle someone else’s for $5.

I own a beautiful multi-colored jacket with large letters on it. Everybody asks me where I found it. “At the Salvation Army for $3.” At my office’s Xmas party I wore a pair of over the knee white leather boots and a matching wide white leather belt. $12 at the Salvation Army.

50

On those very rare occasions when someone looks askance at me for thrifting, this is the “justification” I trot out for them.

I have bought lots of nice wool, silk and velvet clothing at the thrifts… and I cut it up and make crazy quilts out of it. Do you have any IDEA how expensive those kinds of fabrics are at the fabric store?? :slight_smile:

51

I have always shopped at Salvation Army. They are a good place to donate stuff to and they’re also a good place to shop. I like to buy brooches there, as well as shirts and jackets.

So, you have to wash / dry clean it. I do that with new clothes too. Who knows who tried it on before you?

The only one I don’t shop at is Variety Village…a for profit store.

52

You know, I have NEVER once thought of doing this. :smack:

I’ve never done a crazy quilt like this because I balked at spending the money on the fabric. Umm…I know what my next quilt is going to be! :smiley:

E.

53

Hell yes I do.

I have a girlfriend (a doper) who buys wool sweaters at thrift stores, ravels them, and then washes, dries, and knits new stuff with the wool.

54

I admit I am picky about what clothes I will buy for my son, but I am not picky about where I get them. So if I see something I like, I will buy it at the mall, Target, yard sale, consignment, wherever. I think it is hard to find boys’ clothes that aren’t just footballs and trucks all the time, and I refuse to buy the cartoon character stuff (at least not yet, maybe if he get old enough to ask I will buy him a favorite item or 2 but I think most of that character merchandise is cheap and ugly).

I will say that some consignment stores (Once Upon A Child, I am looking at you) are overpriced for some things. I find used clothes there sometimes that I know came from Target that sell for the same price or like $1 less than at the store when on sale. If I can buy the shirt new at Target for $5 I am not going to pay $4 for it used. You can sometimes get a better deal buying new when stuff is on clearance. Salvation Army and Goodwill are the cheapest though, but the ones around us can be hit or miss. Sometimes I have gone and sorted through tons of stuff just to find one halfway decent item, so I don’t go that often anymore. I have better luck waiting for the yard sales in certain neighborhoods to start. The best is when I can find shoes, once I got my son 4 pairs of brand-new looking shoes (complete in boxes) name brand, probably better quality than my own shoes, for like $10. That season he had brown dress shoes, black dress shoes, several pairs of sneakers - he was stylin!

I also save by buying off season for next year, and clearance stuff. It can be hard to guess sometimes though when they grow so fast, trying to buy a year in advance is a little tricky. Right now I am happy just because he is in toddler sizes and can wear the same clothes for a whole season! Woo! Mall stores like Gap and Gymboree have huge markdowns right before their next season starts. Anything they have left in the last season (for example, winter and holiday items are super cheap now) will be greatly reduced because stores are getting their spring lines in now. I often buy Gap or Children’s Place or Gymboree clothes for 75 to 90% off. (Does anyone pay full price at Gymboree? Their stuff goes on sale so fast and their regular prices are nuts!) Children’s Place is a little more reasonable, and I always have one of their club cards for 20% off. I hate paying full price for anything though.

55

Ann Taylor Suits, Doc Martin Sandals, etc. at Goodwill/Salvation Army? Some of you guys are pretty lucky - The thrift stores here (Cleveland area) are chock full of crap and clothing rejects from the 70’s and 80’s.

56

I don’t know if I’d necessarily brag about shopping at such a place, mostly because of the perceived stigma. OTOH, who the heck cares about where you shop? Your baby certainly won’t give a rat’s patooty where his latest garment came from!

And I’ve donated outgrown kids’ things to Salvation Army - so I know there are nice things to be had (a friend of mine makes money off of eBay by cherry-picking her local SA store and reselling).

You could always shop there and forget to mention it to your DH :slight_smile:

57

I think the stigma could be lessened if they changed their names (the names Salvation Army and Goodwill will always be associated with the poor), and also if the stores were cleaner and better maintained.

58

I don’t care about a stigma one way or the other. If they have what I want and need at a price I’m willing to pay, then what anyone else thinks about it doesn’t matter.

59

It depends on the store and the donating clientele, I think. Last time I went thrifting I found a used Dooney and Burke handbag. It was $15, so the person pricing it had some idea of its value, but I was stunned to find it at all (I didn’t buy it- classic D&B is a little too middle-aged for my style). The same store had several purses from Marshalls and TJ Maxx that still had tags pricing them at over $100 regular retail, and there was a Prada wallet (that I felt was a knock-off). I did get a 3-cup Cuisinart, though. And I have a friend who found a Kate Spade bag once. So it happens.

60

You gotta go somewhere full of young, hip, rich people.

When I lived in NJ, I’d hop across the river and shop at the Salvation Army in Chelsea. With all those fat-pocketed, fashionistas in the neighborhood, I could always find some good stuff. And whenever I was there, there were always people coming in through the doors with bags and bags of donations. The prices at this particular Salvation Army were steeper than normal, but still cheap.

When I was studying for my qualifying exam, everyone kept telling me to get a Campbell’s biology textbook. One day I pop into the SA and what do I find sitting on the shelf? A Campbells! It was a little worn and it wasn’t the latest edition, but it was exactly what I needed. A book like that is worth $60 on the market, but I got it for $4. I felt like the luckiest person in the world.