The Thrift Store Experience: Imagination at Work

The "Thrift Store" experience is a unique one because it encourages, calls forth and promotes, one's ability to re-create and re-vision. This is perhaps one of its most gratifying attributes. It allows you to be creative without the guilt of "chopping up" a beautiful shirt, skirt, or pair of pants, simply because you spent $2-8 to buy them in the first place! Even if your creative endeavors turn sour, you only lost out on a pack of cigarettes instead of a full tank of gas.

The creative aspect of thrift store shopping invites the imagination to go to work, excitement its driving force. As I'm going from rack to rack, the first things I ask myself is, "what can I make from this already made thing, how I can create and transform it to fit my individual fashion style?" The idea of picking out a piece of clothing that you normally wouldn't wear in order to turn it into something you would, is incredibly exhilarating.

One of the most common misconceptions about thrift store shopping is that you can find any outfit, piece of clothing or accessory you're looking for. WRONG. The truth is that you can find almost anything, if anything at all, with an inexpensive price tag. There are those fabulous occasions when everything you're looking for pops up in exactly the right places, made in the right colors, sizes and styles. However, there are times, (and I've had many), when 3 hours of rummaging, trying on, putting back, and rummaging again, proves fruitless. For some, this is a frustrating and unbearable process that ruins the shopping experience. For others, me included, it is what makes the "Thrift Store" experience an enjoyable one.