Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with thriftstore

Thrift store smell

bokinney — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:48:41 -0800

What is that thrift store smell? What makes thrift stores smell, and why do they all smell the same? Is it just a mix of general funk and b.o., or is there some chemical they are spraying on everything?

Looking for charity shops and South Asian clothing in London

jb — Sat, 19 May 2007 09:33:04 -0800

My friend and I would like to go clothing shopping in London, UK at charity shops and other cheap places. We're in Cambridge right now, so we'd be coming down for the day - but we have no idea of where to begin.

Specifically, we're looking for large charity shops (aka thrift stores) which would have a lot of selection; I especially like the Salvation Army, since they seem to be a fraction of the price of any other charity shop I've found in Cambridge (we're both looking in the £2-10 range, rather than the £10-30 range). We're going to stop by the Camden market sometime just to see what it's like, but I was hoping people could direct us to some cheaper places - we don't mind hunting among old sweatshirts to find the odd gem (as we did today in the Cambridge Sally Ann). We're looking just generally for interesting dresses (I was hoping we might find an evening gown for her for an event coming up, but it would have to be pretty unusual to get my friend into it), tops, skirts, trousers - okay, mostly we're just out to have fun digging through odd clothes like we were playing in a dress-up box. (And being able to afford what we find is fun too).

We're also interested in finding more South Asian style clothing - we both really like Indian fabrics and cuts, especially the style of the kameez top to the salwar kameez suit, or other, similar tunic-style tops. I've seen some online, but those are generally silk festival clothes, where we're looking for cotton and more casual styles. Are there any good places in London to find casual, cheap South Asian clothes, either second hand or new? I think both of us would prefer slightly more conservative (like long sleeves) to some of the more "designer" styles I've seen online.

Of course, we'd love to hear about charity shops which just happened to have a lot of South Asian clothing donated to them.

what's the best thrift store in San Francisco?

autojack — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:51:51 -0800

What are your favorite thrift or specialty clothing stores in San Francisco? I'm going to a costume-ish party on the 17th where the theme is basically "classy eveningwear." I'd like to wear a top hat, a monocle, some appropriate jacket/shirt/pants combo, and carry a cane. The event is also "slippers only," so some classy casual footwear would also be helpful.

Apart from the hat/monocle/cane bit, I'm not even sure WHAT to buy (spats?). The more pressing question, though, is WHERE. I think once I find the right store or stores, I'll know the other stuff when I see it. I live in San Francisco, the Mission and Castro are both very close to home, and I'd like to get this stuff cheaply if I can, so higher-end costume stores may not be ideal. I'll take any suggestions you have though!

BBW costume ideas

DecemberRaine — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 19:40:58 -0800

I'm a plus size BBW looking for unique (and cheap!) costume ideas for Halloween. Any suggestions? I have a Halloween party with a pagan group to go to on the 21st. I will also need a witch costume for the actual night of Oct. 31st as well as both faerie AND pirate costumes for Oct 14th, so I'm trying to minimize the amount of costume-buying and general costs. I'm a size 22/24 (plus size) so finding clothes at thrift stores can be difficult, but I am definitely going to try. Any ideas for costumes that would be a bit unique, and that I might be able to play up the whole bbw thing?

Cheap, black tie or alternatives

godawful — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 09:20:05 -0800

How would you go about finding a cheap tux in New York? Otherwise, what's the craziest way to satisfy a "black tie" dress code? I think I might go to a party on Friday night for which the dress-code is black tie. However, judging by the people who are throwing the party, we're not going to be having polite conversation and sampling hors d'oeuvres. It's going to be more like a crazy fancy dress do.

So, rental is out and there's no way I'm buying a new suit for this. How can I somehow match this dress code by Friday night for under 50 bucks?

So I guess I'm looking for particular thrift store recommendations, and also costume ideas.

I hereby rule out a Chippendales-style collar and cuffs job.

I was thinking of getting a huge suit and trying to make a Mr Creosote (Monty Python's Meaning of Life) style costume. Any ideas to make this feasible?