The Virtue of Thrift and the First Tip

Thrift is indeed a virtue, so if there's a store with that in the name it might just be virtuous to shop there instead of other places. Why? Here's some of my reasons:

• What better way to fight materialism than to buy the "toss-outs" before they get shipped to South America? In some cases these items are not the best of quality, but they'll serve a purpose and in that case I feel fine buying there. Whereas shopping at a retail store stocked with sweatshop merchandise draped over anorexic manikins makes me feel icky. There's a cycle in clothing where you buy something, feel satisfied, then become unsatisfied and toss it - this is a bad cycle. Since we're not so shaky in our understanding of things, we can capitalize on this and draw something from it - like a good shirt.
  
• Thrift stores have real clothes. As in clothes made by people in the USA - and made to last! You can find some seriously top shelf (talking thousands brand new). It takes patience, but that's the next point...
• You don't always get what you want. To build a wardrobe from thrifting can take years, but in the end you can have a great wardrobe (fir for a man) at a ridiculous price. This built-in patience, I think, is a good thing. Instead of saying, "I want this, so I'm going to this store and I'll get it" you must have an idea of what you're looking for and then wait until it shows up. This requires consistency. Which brings us to the first tip of thrifting:

It ain't easy so stop by often. Learn to drop in at thrift stores when you get a moment and just glance around. Don't look at everything, just survey what's there and if something stands out (color, size etc. - looks right) then examine it. If it lacks holes and smells (both of which can be fixed sometimes) then pay the $1.75 and get back on the road. Expect to find nothing most of the time, but there are days when you just can't believe what you find. One of my first trips I found a pail of Allen Edmonds in my size practically new. These shoes are 300+ new, and you can send them back to the manufacturer at any time for re-crafting. I'm still wearing them years later, but soon I'll send them off to be renewed again. I'll have these shoes the rest of my life - quality, comfort, style... yeah, that was a good day.

And if you're reading this on folding chair in sweatpants, read this article to get started:

Dress Like a Man