I grew up in Olympia, WA, and on one of the main drags lived a Value Village. I can remember many, many days combing through the racks for new treasures to take home. We once made the mistake of bringing my grandparents, who relished their additional AARP discount, each eagerly pushing a cart around the store and filling it completely.
Value Village was where I was trained how to shop. We didn't shop there because we were "poor," never thought it was "gross," were never too good to be there. We were a typical upper-middle-class family - both of my parents worked in state government. My daycare was nicknamed the "Yuppy Puppy Club." But my mom and I enjoyed the hunt. We loved our trips to Value Village. We knew each time we went, we'd find something completely unique and relatively inexpensive. It was an adventure we knew would be worthwhile. This explains why I've always loved the thrill of the shopping for shopping's sake, why I am unashamed about tracking down the clearance rack, why I love my job so much and why garage/yard/estate sales get me so amped up. After all, as my first PR supervisor said, "If you can do tech PR, you can do anything." Starting at Nordstrom isn't nearly as rewarding as the training ground of Goodwill, Saver's, The Waterville Thrift Shop and the like. It's incomparable.
So, before Macklemore made it cool (#hipstermoment), I was also combing the thrift shops for something sweet to add to my respective home and wardrobe collections. To this day, one of my favorite finds is a random chair my friends and I found in the Saver's parking lot, "reupholstered" with some peachy tie dye fabric on the seat and purple tulle on the back and bottom (a chair tutu!). It currently lives in the guest room of our apartment.
The jacket you see here was purchased at the Capitol Hill Value Village (amazing selection!) about three years ago. My platonic life partner, Zach, and I found it together. I think it was about $30. We call it my "fierceness." Something about fur makes me a fiercer person - boobs out, chin up and booty tooched. I often put it on when I'm feeling down, or for special occasions. It's like champagne: There's always a reason to pop a bottle. It just feels so next level.
The jacket you see here was purchased at the Capitol Hill Value Village (amazing selection!) about three years ago. My platonic life partner, Zach, and I found it together. I think it was about $30. We call it my "fierceness." Something about fur makes me a fiercer person - boobs out, chin up and booty tooched. I often put it on when I'm feeling down, or for special occasions. It's like champagne: There's always a reason to pop a bottle. It just feels so next level.
What's your fierceness? Do you have a defining thrift shop moment? We're poppin' tags, people!
Shades: Tom Ford via Nordstrom
Fierceness: Capitol Hill Value Village
Top: Project Social T via Nordstrom Rack
Photos: KT Eng