Value Village

I feel like I am admitting to a dirty, little secret: I have been shopping at Value Village (Say it like Va Loo Va Lage, it sounds fancy)  lately … for clothes.   (Funny that no one ever admits to that … )

I have no problem garbage picking or garage sale-ing, but in both of these, I just take household items.  Things I can bleach and scrub.  Used clothing has always been hard for me to wrap my head around.  The hardest thing for me is the fact that I am a germaphobe to a certain degree.  If I can bleach it I will take it, (i.e. a trolley) obviously, coloured clothing items can’t be bleached, so shopping for second hand clothing has always been a bit an odd endeavour for me. 

As I have lost thirty pounds, I have been walking around with the arse of my dress pants dragging down to my knees; not attractive, nor professional.  And let’s be frank, I am on a very tight budget.  I had done a clothing swap last year, which was awesome; free clothes, right up my alley!  (I had no problem wearing my friend’s clothes, as my germaphobe-ness knows my friends are clean people!)  In the interim, I recently started shopping at Value Village.

One fateful day last fall, a friend of me asked me if I wanted to go with her to Value Village, I said sure, as I was bored and had nothing to do.  I wandered through the household section as I normally do.  My friend was digging in the racks of clothes.  I started following her around chatting and as I did, I started to peruse the racks.  I was surprised how new stuff looked.  In some cases, the original store tags were still on some items.  I also really like the prices, $4.99 for a nice shirt, $7.99 for a pair of jeans.  I was hooked!  … Sorta.  I had a hard time the first few times trying clothes on in the dressing room, I just kept hoping and praying the person who owned the items before had washed the items.  (Which they did, I am sure, as all of the clothing smelt good, no funky odours.) 

Since then, I have become quite good at digging through the racks pulling out new items, or nearly new items.  I also have become a HUGE fan of their 50% off Mondays, which seem to happen once every other month.  (If you join their Super Savings email list, you get to go in on the Sunday before hand to beat the traffic!).

Some of my favourite purchases to date:

Alfred Sung Grey Dress - $12.99

Steve Madden Clutch - $3.99

Buffalo Jeans - $12.99.  I paid $9.09 as I had a 30% off coupon. Brand new, never washed or worn, I could tell.  Tags were removed though.)  I looked them up, they are regular $118.

Funky necklace - $3.99 (I get a ton of compliments on this, I love it)

I have yet to purchase shoes.  My germaphobe ways won’t allow it.  You have to stick your bare foot in a used shoe.  (Ladies dress shoes, that is.)  You can’t really scrub a shoe, or throw it in the washing machine.  (I once caught Athlete’s Foot trying on shoes as Winners.  Gross.  And it hurt.  True story.  This added to my germaphobia.)  

Non clothing related: I LOVE my lighthouse candleholder.  $4.99. 

Going out and scouring clearance racks for $20 or $30 pants is not in the cards for me.  I’d rather spend $30 and get two pairs of pants, a sweatshirt and two shirts that are new or nearly new.  

Few tips for shopping at Value Village:

Do not be embarrassed.  Many people shop here.  For some reason, people don’t talk about it much.

Try not to be too germaphoby.  Every clothing article seems to be washed before hand.  I like to think of it this way.  If someone was kind enough to donate an item, they most likely washed it before hand.  Seriously, even the jeans are not all stretched out like they were worn for the day before being discarded.  If your are really germaphoby plan to shower afterwards.  (Really, though the clothing is no different then trying on in a store that sells only new stuff.)

Wear socks.  The change room floors for some reason are really dusty. 

Be prepared to dig.  Everything is well organized, by size and clothing type.  But you have to search through each item.

If you see something you like, buy it then.  The store is only one ofs, so if someone buys it while you sit there hmming and hawing, you will miss out!  Chances are, if you like it, someone else will too. 

Keep in mind all proceeds go to help a charity, often the Canadian Diabetes Association.