My Favorite Thrift Stores, Part I: Goodwill

I've always been a huge fan of buying pre-loved (a.k.a. second hand) clothes, but back in Singapore, the selection was pretty limited and the stores tended not to be conveniently located, so I couldn't thrift as much as I wanted. That, however, has changed since I moved to NYC, where there's an abundance of thrift stores scattered across the city!

Ever since I started thrifting here, I haven't been able to shut up about and every time my I tell my friends about it, I'll start pulling up photos of my favorite thrifted clothes to show them, and they'd often ask me which thrift stores are my favorite... which is why I thought I'd do a three-part series about my top 3 favorites, because why stop at just one, right?

First up - Goodwill! I have to give these guys a shout out and they will always be on my radar because I've bought lots of great stuff from them.

My favorite store is the one located at 258 Livingston Street in Brooklyn. I've only been there once - when I did the Instagram takeover for their Bridal Expo - but it's really big and has a huge variety of items for both men and women. I also want to mention the West Village store on W 8th because they have a lot of high quality pieces there, and it's really near the PATH station if you live in Jersey City or Hoboken!

I also have to share this with you because it's my proudest thrifting achievement of the year - I recently bought a $5,250 Claire Pettibone bridal dress for just $69.99. Yes, you did not read it wrong… I paid just 1.33% of the original retail price.

Here’s the dress:

Screenshot from my Instagram takeover, because I haven’t actually worn it IRL. I had it cleaned

and I’ve kept it away for a special occasion.

I've been telling all my friends about this because I'm so proud of it, and best of all, my hubz also likes it a lot! That's a pretty big deal because him and I have very different taste in fashion and we don't usually agree on things like that, so the fact that he actually likes it as much as I do just means this dress is THAT awesome!

I've worked with Goodwill quite a bit this year, so I've visited their HQ in Astoria twice now and I've seen how hard these guys work to process all donations in order to ensure that only good quality items hit the shelves.

Here's an infographic to summarize what you're contributing to when you shop at Goodwill:

Graphic from Goodwill NY/NJ

I don't know about you but it sure makes me want to show my support by thrifting there as much as I can!

Also, I was on their billboard in New Jersey (along Route 22), so how could I not love them?? They have been so great to work with and I've met some really cool people at the photoshoot!

The good peeps I met at the photoshoot!

Top row: Zack, Antonio, Cynthia, Vanessa Mack / Bottom row: Sparkles, Mark

Photo by Mortimer Visuals, edits by Sparkles, styling by Marcie, hair by Jasmine Forcer, make-up by Shakira Hunter

The digital billboard on Route 22, North Plainfield, NJ

Mark and I took a mini road trip down Route 22 on a Lyft because neither of us could drive, but we REALLY wanted to make sure we saw the billboard for ourselves before it was taken down, and I'm so so glad we managed to catch it in time! Our Lyft driver was really nice about it - He parked on the road shoulder and let us take all the photos we wanted before driving us back to where we started! Needless to say, we tipped him generously for his patience!

I know of friends who have bought brand new items for as little as 75 cents, so if you're reading this, I hope you’ll show Goodwill some love by visiting one of their stores! Your dollar can sure go a lot further here! It's kinda really perfect for shopaholics who don't have huge budgets or don't want to spend too much on clothes. There are a lot of new clothes, some with tags still on, but even if the clothes are not new, they WILL be in good condition, and I just feel better knowing that I'm helping - however little - to reduce textile waste.

If you'd like to go thrifting with me, drop me a message on the "Contact" page! I'm always up for a good thrift session with a fellow thrifter!

Also, if you're another organization running thrift stores and you'd like to work with me, definitely drop me a message because I would LOVE to work with you and show my support in any way possible.

Part II of my favorite thrift stores will be coming up next!