Thrifting Around Boston!

We are in college and we are broke. Each week we watch our money slip away towards our dry-cleaning, bills, Starbucks and weekend shenanigans. That leaves us little time left for shopping- and style is important. Our personal style allows each of us to stand out in this big Boston city. So, where can we buy those stop-and-stare pieces and still afford food? Thrifting is a godsend. It allows us to keep some money in our pockets and refrain from supporting corporate stores which put all of our local favorites out of business. Don’t forget you can sell clothes you no longer want and get money in return. So check out some of these thrift stores to buy and sell at!

Poor Little Rich Girl
121 Hampshire Street Cambridge, MA
http://www.shoppoorlittlerichgirl.com/vintage-clothes-boston.html

Poor Little Rich Girl was voted Best Vintage in Boston in 2011. The relatively small thrift shop is separated in two rooms- both packed full of treasures. The main room sells recent clothing and accessories from stores such as Gap, Urban Outfitters, Old Navy etc., but the employees make sure to only take interesting pieces. 

The second room is the vintage room, filled with past pieces dating back decades. Each piece sold Poor Little Rich Girl is special and unique- most being funky or classic beauty.

Spring is at our fingertips- but the weather isn’t quite there yet. As Lady Gaga called it on her twitter, mint colors (pastels) are in for the spring, as well as floral prints! Here’s some pieces sold at Poor Little Rich Girl that meet the pastel trend but are for the weather as well.

The Garment District
200 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
http://www.garmentdistrict.com/?gclid=CN2cmfXRya4CFYOo4AodjlwBBg

The Garment District offers basically anything you’d want to find. This thrift shop is two overzealous stories with endless clothes- do not plan to see it all in one, or even five trips. The first floor offers clothes priced by the pound- and each pound is ONE DOLLAR. They organize clothes in an OCD type fashion- with categories as specific as ‘60s and 70s Women’s Suits’. For the thrifter who knows what he or she wants- this is ideal. 

And don’t worry- if acid wash jeans make a comeback, they have an entire organized rack of ‘em. Another fun trend to try out is the pastels of the vintage 20s-40s women’s tops. They are an exciting fashion trip to the past. These delicate sequined and beaded tops are classic and fun for spring- and most are a mere $20 or less!

The Garment District offers walls of sunglasses, and hundreds of shoes- ranging from all color shades of cowboy boots to platform heels from the 70s. The heels and cowboy boots are certainly worthy of being checked out.

The first floor of the Garment District is known for two things. One being an excessive amount of costumes- jewelry, bedazzled bras, flapper dresses, and of course, DJ Pauly D headphones. The second part- which is the most exciting part of the Garment District- is the clothes-by-the-pound section. With such an abundant amount of clothes coming in on a daily basis, low-end or out-of-date clothes are literally tossed into a massive pile. This is not for the beginning thrifter (or anyone afraid of pawing through things). For some though, it’s a haven. Do you know how many shirts equal a pound? A lot. Personally, I have succeeded in finding a wool blazer, floral-patterned dress, and cropped sweater in ‘the pile’, for a total less than $2. So check it out!

Other awesome thrift shops around Boston include:

Buffalo Exchange
180 Harvard Ave (In Allston) Boston, MA and 
http://www.buffaloexchange.com/

Buffalo Exchange offers name brand clothing at a cheaper price. They work to stock their shop full of interesting pieces, as well as what is trendy at the time. Come here for cheap Urban Outfitters, Forever XXI, American Apparel, and H&M pieces. And if you go- bring your own bag! Buffalo Exchange donates 5 cents to a charity of your choice for each bag you save during your purchase.

Goodwill
520 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
965 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA
470 West Broadway, Boston, MA
678 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, MA
http://www.goodwill.org/

Don’t forget Goodwill! Honestly. Some of the best pieces in my wardrobe are from Goodwill. Prices are cheap, and most have an abundance of of colorful and printed sweaters. Goodwill, however, only takes donations, so don’t go there looking for money. Try not to be put off by the fact that it’s not a trendy thrift store- there’s gold to be found, promise.

Good luck on your thrifting adventures, and let these fun, fresh, floral and pastel new articles take you into spring!