Thrifting Slump

[Sprocket]

I am in a 'thrifting slump'!  I haven't found anything worth buying at any of my local haunts in a month.  Has this ever happened to anyone else?  When will it end? =)

-Sprocket

[Jay2TheRescue]

I am in a 'thrifting slump'!  I haven't found anything worth buying at any of my local haunts in a month.  Has this ever happened to anyone else?  When will it end? =)

-Sprocket

I have not found anything worth buying lately as well, and it certainly has not been for a lack of trying.  I just got my tax refund recently and have over $2,000 that I could spend, but have come up with nothing.

-Jay

[SecondhandSophisticate]

I have found that things are slower in the summer, and then pick up in the fall. Having said that, I have not found anything in the way of clothes/shoes which I have set out to find, as I need them, but have found a vintage Emilio Pucci scarf with an incredible 60s design for $1, an art deco up lamp for $2, a painting from Haiti for 4.50 and a Glidden pottery piece for $3.  Ohhhh and let me not forget my perfect Corning Ware lidded casarole in the Floral Bouquet  pattern (1973-74, I believe) for 2.50. 

I mention these because I didn't set out to find them. I really need summer clothes and I can find nothing to wear, but I did find these incredible pieces that I had to have because of their uniqueness and beauty. So maybe the opportunity may not be in exactly what we set out to buy, but rather in what we find.   

I do understand the frustration of not scoring, Even my husband said to me, "Wow, you are on a roll!" because I've gone for weeks without picking up a thing. And I still can't find anything to wear!

YMMV, of course...

Ciao,
SeSo

[Sprocket]

Thanks for encouragement...I won't give up =)

[Magpie18]

I have found a lot of clothes & shoes recently BUT almost none of them are summer wear.  It seems all I am doing is cleaning & storing stuff -- almost everything is cold weather items - pumps, lace up shoes, woolen sweaters, coats & jackets.  I can't find what I need now but I am set for the future

All I can say is keep trying.

[Scott]

Definitely do not give up. Both May and June were very slow for me. I only found one good thing in thrift stores each of those months ... and I hit the thrifts at least twice a week if not more often. I agree that summer months are usually slower than fall, but things are bound to take a turn for the better soon. Good luck!

[ChrisMiss]

Definitely the stores don't seem to have as much "good" stuff in the summertime.  Lots of people on vacation, spring cleaning is done, garage sales don't happen as much so not as much donated either.  I don't give up even in the summer, I'm on a mission to find great bargains.

[secondhandnation]

Lately I have the superpower which involves me being able to find amazing items I don't currently need.  Right now, I'm looking for home textiles and outdoor living decor and all I can find are fabulous clothes, craft projects (I prefer to craft in the dead of winter) and kitchen items, none of which I need!

If I bought everything I found that was good at all times, regardless of need, it sure wouldn't be thrifty, would it?

[Cookie]

I had a thrift store manager in San Francisco tell me yesterday to just keep in mind what I'm looking for and I'll find it.  Apparently it works all the time for him.  He wanted a mannequin for the store window, and then all of a sudden he had four donated to him from The Gap.  Now he just wants a mannequin with a head, so he's meditating on that.  It's worked wonders for me when I want a book.  Just for fun, I wanted to read Deenie again by Judy Blume and relive my 13-year-old life, and the next time I thrifted I found TWO copies.  Then Good Buddy's cousin recommended House of Sand and Fog as a good read.  The next day I went into the thrift store and looked at the books intently.  I didn't see it right away, but as I meticulously looked at each title, there it was.  It just jumped out at me.  Also, I've heard that looking in children's toys can yield some treasures because other thrifters hide things there thinking that most thrifters don't bother pawing through stuffed animals and dolls.  Try going to the messiest thrift store in your town and digging deep through the areas you usually don't care about looking in, which for me would be sporting equipment and board games, and maybe you'll find a hidden gem.

[Scott]

I had a thrift store manager in San Francisco tell me yesterday to just keep in mind what I'm looking for and I'll find it.  Apparently it works all the time for him.

I've tried this in the past, and unfortunately it never works for me. I find that if I am NOT thinking about what I want or need, I am much more likely to find it. Lately I've been trying to find some cool patio furniture, and keep coming up blank. I blame that on the fact that I am focusing too much on it.

And as to thrifting in the Summer, I hate to say so ... but try garage sales to supplement your usual thrifting. My fiancee came home after taking the dog to the vet this morning with a great little set of vintage Russel Wright White Clover dinnerware she picked up at a yard sale during the trip across town. What a great find!

[Sprocket]

You guys, and gals, are awesome!  I am going to try all the suggestions you've given me...persistance, meditating, garage sales.  All of them.  Thanks.

-Sprocket

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Oooooooooo, Scott, Congrats on your beloved's ~great~ find!  And yes, I do agree with you on focusing too much, because that has been my experience. 

I am so into looking for fabulous summer clothes right now---t-strappy sandals, red or yellow flats, linen separates, and all I find is winter clothes (nice for those in four-season areas, but useless to us here in the land of the eternal summer) or dreadful polyester plaids However, I have found beautiful items, as I mentioned in my previous post (above), without even letting the idea of finding those particular items enter my consciousness   

Did I "need" the Pucci scarf, the Haitian painting, the Deco up lamp, the mint Corning ware?  No. Actually,  I have food and shelter and love and my health, so I don't "need" anything As far as the clothes go, I don't "need" them,; I can keep wearing the few pieces I have that still fit (ahhhhh, middle-age ); I am very blessed. And I know I can always go to a regular store and get my "needs met", if push comes to shove.

I thrift because it MAKES me use my imagination---creating "something" from someone else's nothing is, for me, better than sudoku or a Rubik's cube or a crossword puzzle.  Because to me, putting thrifted things together, puts me in touch with my individuality, the flame of creativity that is uniquely mine, yet is dependent on the whole. There is a sense of individual interconnectedness.

So when Cookie talks about that meditation thing, I understand that so well. Because when I am  seeing to just to see for the pure joy of seeing, I see many things I might miss otherwise

Don't mean to go all philisophical on y'all Thrifting does me more aware of all the beauty in the world.

PS:  The vintage Pucci scarf I found is his VIVARA pattern, one of his most beloved designes...VIVARA means "LIFE" or "to live" in Italian.  I feel it is a very auspicious message from the Gods! for me, and for us all!

Ciao, Bellas, and ABUDANZA! 

SeSo

[Vintage PurseLover]

Ok SeSo.....I am in envy right now with you and your Pucci scarf you lucky duck you.I love everything about Emilio Pucci.Ok Dianne...snap out of it.Have you posted a photo of it?If not....puhleeese post at least one picture of the Pucci scarf!!!
Dianne

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Diane, I barely know anything about Pucci except that his incredible designs helped define the 60s "mod" fashion and are incredibly collectible today. So once I post ithe scarf, which I hope to do this weekend, can you please share your knowledge?  I would love to learn!

I was rummaging around in this little thrift and found the Vivara. Up until I held it, I had never actually seen a Pucci or touched one.  It has little Emilio Puccis all over it, in very tiny print, worked into the design, but all I could make out in the light of the thrift was "Emilio".  A woman standing next to me concurred that it said "Emilio" and liked the print.  I didn't know it was a genuine Pucci until I got it home and researched it. Then I almost fainted   How did it wind up in a basket for a dollar?  How did everyone else miss it?  It is just gorgeous, and I am debating about wearing it or hanging it as art (and when you see it, you will understand why!)

Ciao!
SeSo

[ChrisMiss]

SeSo, you expressed the thrifting experience so well.  We don't really "need" anything.  We're there for the hunt, the thrill of finding that great find, etc. 

I have a very limited space so as I keep upgrading my wardrobe I have to get rid of something to make room for it.  I'm slowly weeding out the less expensive stuff, like Wal-Mart brand and adding in better label and quality of clothes. 

It does seem that the season we're in there isn't much to find.  Summertime I find more winter coats out there and long pants.  Wintertime I find more shorts and light blouses.  Since I'm always trying to stay in the nice weather wintertime seems to be when I find the most in shorts for us.  Though I have found some really nice stuff this summer too. 

What I don't seem to run across at a thrift store are the "vintage" aluminum lawn chairs.  I find the low beach chairs but not any of the chairs with webbing.  I've kind of been looking for a year now and haven't stumbled across any at a thrift store.  I hate the new ones; they are such cheap quality and aren't very comfortable either.  I'm going to try and hit some yard sales and see if any turn up.  Maybe I should meditate about them.  Think lawn chairs....