best thrifting road trips out of nyc?

[mshammer]

my best friend and i want to get out of the city for a few days and do some serious thrifting.  anyone have any good ideas for routes, towns or shops that are their favs?  not sure what direction we will be driving, but hope someone can point us in the right direction!

[valleythriftshopper]

I can't say what the best route out of NYC would be, I guess you would hit the most thrifts if you headed toward another large metro area, but if you want to take a very pretty scenic route I would recommend you drive up through the Berkshires of Western MA, which is a very pretty area.  The Berkshires are known as "antique alley" as many New Yorkers drive up that way and into Vermont as well to go antiquing.  There are many very affluent towns in this area.  I saw a recommendation for this store in Pittsfield on the Retro Renovation site:
http://retrorenovation.com/2009/04/07/antiques-in-the-berkshires-midcentury-treasure-hunt/

There are also several thrifts in Pittsfield, which is more of a working class city surrounded by very affluent communities, so they might be pretty good.  There are also lots of museums & stuff to do including a tiki bar in Lenox, MA which is supposed to be awesome (here's a review:  http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=18566&forum=2&3).  And a good outlet mall in Lee.

Maybe not the best thrifting area outside of NYC (although I would hit some yard sales in those tony towns too!).  But a good weekend scenic drive route/thrift combo. 

[lamberts]

well that's easy. The metro Washington, D.C. area (including Baltimore) has the best thrift stores.  Feed by lots of rich neighborhoods, think tanks, universities, transient population of politicians every four years, NGO's etc. its a thrifters dream.

[valleythriftshopper]

Good advise!  Also now that the warm weather is here you can check out all the yard sales & estate sales in Westchester & other affluent areas in & around NYC.  It's tough to get up early on the weekends, but yard sales really do blow thrifts away for the most part- even though I love thrifts too!

[Jay2TheRescue]

Yeah, there are some good shops to go to in the DC area, but I like thrifting in Richmond.  You get older stuff, and the prices are cheaper.

-Jay

[brooklyn70]

well that's easy. The metro Washington, D.C. area (including Baltimore) has the best thrift stores.  Feed by lots of rich neighborhoods, think tanks, universities, transient population of politicians every four years, NGO's etc. its a thrifters dream.

I'm going to be in the D.C/VA area next week.  Could you recommend some places?  I need to start looking for summer close:)

[Jay2TheRescue]

Unique Thrift is usually a nice place to stop by.  Mondays are 25% off days, so if you do go on Monday go early for the best selection.  If you travel out towards Dulles airport The Closet and The Bargain loft in Herndon are must-stop places.  There's also a great church thrift hidden in the back of an industrial park across the street from AOL in Sterling...  I can't remember the name of it, I just drive there.   Next week I'm off the 7th - 9th.  I'm already going to a community rummage sale/flea market in Stafford on the 9th  There's also usually a Lions club rummage sale the same day nearby.  That leaves the 7th, because the Closet is only open Tues, Thurs, and Sat.  If you want to hit Sterling/Herndon with me let me know.

-Jay