Comments on: Thrift Store Shopping Like a Pro — Inspection

By: CJ

CJ — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 21:04:41 +0000

Beautiful late 50s tweed suit with faux mink trim. Black and White. Very posh and high end. It smelled sooo bad. After a few dry cleanings and airing out – it did get better. That was before I knew about the trick of spraying 1 part vodka 3 parts water to take out funkiness…but some things are just too yucky to salvage. The Vodka trick is from Jamie Bryant – Mad Men Stylist.

By: allyjo

allyjo — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 02:17:46 +0000

I just brought home the cutest top. The zipper was broken.

By: Angela

Angela — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 03:20:29 +0000

I once found an (unused t.G) but loose condom in a thrift coat I tried on; another time I was going to try on a sweatshirt, when I realized one of the sleeves had been sewn closed at the elbow (belonging to a one armed man) but the biggest fail I had was a gorgeous vintage 1940s gray tailored jacket I had to have. It was in perfect shape. It was my size. perfect. I have no clue as to why I didn’t notice the problem until after I got it home: it was permeated with the worst body odor I have ever smelled in my life. I tried dry cleaning it, it made no difference at all! That was the one thing I had no creative fix for it!

By: Lauryn

Lauryn — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:34:33 +0000

In reply to Samantha Davis.

Have you tried just replacing the zipper, or cutting it out and fastening it with something like buttons?

My worst thrift fail was finding an amazing brown riding trench that fit me perfectly, with flawless blue satin lining, and immediatly throwing down the $20 and getting out of there. But, of course, as soon as I got home, I put my hands in the pockets…. And there was a huge hunk of already chewed gum in the left pocket.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:06:04 +0000

In reply to Tanya. woah! I've never found mold in a coat before! Ugh ... was totally in a basement before you snapped it up ;-(

By: Tanya

Tanya — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:03:28 +0000

My recent thrift fail…..burgundy and leather are both in this fall so I snatched up a burgundy leather matrix looking trench coat from my local thrift. When I got home, I noticed that not only was the lining coming undone on both arms, but that there was an icky smell. I looked inside of the lining of the jacket and found mold!!! That was $11 that I had to throw in the trash.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:43:40 +0000

In reply to deborah. Deborah you know what, reading your comment just now about not reaching into coat/jacket pockets is so spot on. Actually I just shivered at the thought. I've definitely put my hands in a lot of dark thrifted places in the past but you just may have been inspired me to be a bit more cautious. GOOD CALL ON THE VACUUM CLEANER!

By: deborah

deborah — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:32:52 +0000

My fails usually revolve around thinking the resale value for something is higher than what it really is. And of course, not checking for stains. I bought a vintage YSL gown for $85! and didn’t realize it had stains on it. Two trips to the cleaners later and the stains are still there.

I refuse to put my hands in pockets because I don’t want to touch crumbs, snot-rags, etc. I pat the pockets for a bulge and will open them, but my hands don’t go into dark recesses. When I get home I’ll get out the rubbermaid gloves, sanitary wipes and sometimes the vacuum cleaner to clean out pockets and purses.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:14:36 +0000

In reply to Serena@ Thrift Diving. Hi Serena! Thank you so much!! I am not a "thrift diver" so I need to give your site a thorough read to pick up your experiences and insights! We should work together sometime soon. Please email me anytime! XO

By: Sammy

Sammy — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:04:49 +0000

In reply to Jamillah. Hi Jamillah! EEK! See that IS a classic thrift fail-debacle, but it is a valuable lesson to learn and I'm grateful you learned it! Were you able to return for credit at least?