Fall clothes on a budget

How to use thrift stores to restock your wardrobe

Emma Hillermann

As the temperature has started to drop, many people have traded in short sleeves for long sleeves and shorts for pants. If you are like me, you may have noticed the lack of fall clothes in your closet, but don’t worry—I have tips to help you upgrade your closet on a budget.

The first thing you will need to do is choose your thrift store. Goodwill, Shop Around the Corner and Grace’s Merry-Go-Round are good places to start. I usually start at Goodwill and work my way around town in order to find what I’m looking for. Find a store that works for you and don’t be afraid to ask when new hauls of clothes are coming in and when the store is being restocked because that is the best time to thrift.

After choosing your store, set aside time to go and browse the store. Thrifting takes time, and if you don’t have time, you will feel rushed and may glance over an article of clothing that you might have bought. Once you get to the store, slow down and look at everything. This might take awhile, but trust me, once you find something you love it will be worth it.

Along with time you need patience. You may not find what you are looking for the first time you go to the store so you may need to go multiple times before you buy anything. This happens to the best of us, so don’t give up.

Don’t only look in the section that fits you. Things get moved around so you might find a medium shirt in the plus-size section. Personally, I look in the men’s section to find a bigger selection of nice sweatshirts, so you can use tricks like that to help utilize your thrifting.

In order to get the best experience and find new clothes, you have to keep an open mind. This will help you find things that you might not usually wear and can open your eyes to new styles. Thrifting is something anyone can do if they give it a chance, so next time you need new clothes, start at a thrift store.