Thirteen Dollars at Seconds on Third: A Thrift Store Review

SECONDS ON THIRD:

A thrift store review

I had such a lovely fourth of July up north in the Black Lake/Rogers City/Onaway area. (Check out a photo album of shots I posted from over the weekend at my photography page here!). One of the highlights of my weekend was stopping in to Seconds on Third (what a cute name, right?), a local Roger's City thrift store and non-profit on Third street whose proceeds go to the most excellent cause: Shelter Inc. in Alpena. What does Shelter Inc. do? They provide counseling, shelter and rehab services of all kinds for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault. They use the money from their thrift stores to fund everything from one on one therapy to operating their safe house for clients.

I had a chance to chat with store manager Renee Roeske, and I was interested in what type of demographic they served. Were many of the the clients female? "The shelter has only females living there," Renee said. "But they've helped males in the past, too--it's open to everyone. They've put male victims up in hotel rooms."  

The program is amazing full spectrum care for people of all sexes and ages. The thrift store's themselves double as locations for on site counseling, which is busy at some locations and a little more quiet at others. "We haven't had many individuals lately at the Roger's City store", Renee mentioned. "That's a good thing!"

Interested in donating? Do it here! Also check them out on Facebook!

 ON TO THE THRIFT STORE!

IT WAS AWESOME! FIVE STARS! Definitely stop by if you are in the Rogers City/Onaway area...I highly recommend it!

The first thing I noticed about the thrift store upon arrival was that it was clean, bright, and well organized. Though it was a small space, there was a really great collection of fun household items, jewelry, coats, women and men's apparell, furniture, shoes and other odds and ends.

EVERYTHING IN THE STORE WAS HALF OFF! That was music to my ears. I couldn't believe what I walked out of the store with for only thirteen collective dollars. See my treasusres below!

This cute floral chair was $2.50 cents the day that I arrived. I would have brought it home had I the vehicle to do so!

There were lots of clean, well sorted kid's clothes. 

Those plaid shorts were 25 cents (half off!)!

This super cute (and spotless) Calvin Klein trench was marked 6, so it would have been $3. Too bad it was a little big on me. The lady next to me mentioned that it would be worth buying to sell on Ebay, which I agree with! However, I'm into good thrift karma, so when something doesn't fit me...I leave it for the next lucky customer.

SO, WHAT DID I COME HOME WITH FOR THIRTEEN DOLLARS?

An adorable and perfectly fitting jean jacket, a cute pair of strappy bronze heels in perfect condition, a BRAND NEW pair of tan and brown suede Bass saddle shoes (that I was so excited about), three cute necklaces (including a fun gold and tiger eye bolo style strand) and a bronze studded strap bracelet.

OH! And a genuine leather tasseled shoulder bag, a genuine leather vest, and a genuine leather skirt that all fits me perfectly (Don't worry--I'm not wearing all the pieces together, haha!). Say what? Yeah. That's the kind of deal I'm talking about. Hands down the easiest thirteen dollars I've spent in a while!

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P.O. Box 797

Alpena, MI 49707

Tel: (989) 356-2560

24-Hour Toll-free Crisis Line – 

(800) 396-9129

E-mail: ContactUs@shelterincalpena.org

Thrift Review: My First Impression of Second Impression

THRIFT REVIEW:
My First Impression of Second Impression



5 out of 5 Thrift Chicks

Approaching this two story business transformed from an antique brick home on Fulton street in downtown Grand Haven, Michigan, my first impression was already a good one...I knew from the ivy growing up the side of the building and the creaking front door that I was going to love it! 

Many a time, Second Impression had been recommended to me. I must admit, I don't always spend much time in consignment stores because I don't always love the prices as much as I love the merchandise.  However, upon entering the front door of Second Impression, I was already in love with the shabby chic, Victorian melange of eclectic fixtures, shoes, jewelry and clothes.

Second Impression does have items that are reasonably priced, and they also run tag sales on their merchandise. For a "nickle-and-dimer" like me, it's good to know that prices are negotiable--which is a big plus!

The fantastic thing about Second Impression is the two stories of the home that are CHOCK full of well sorted, sized and categorized clothes and shoes--all of which are in very good condition. This is a place that you can go to with a certain item in mind--and find several of them in good shape, with differing sizes. Upon my first visit, I hoped to find a moto style jacket and a pair of genuine leather short high heeled boots, and I met that goal. 

Items are sorted by color, design, function AND size--which I absolutely love. I can also say for the plus size ladies out there  that I noticed there were a really wonderful selection of smart pant suits, beautiful dresses, blouses and other selections for sizes all the way up to 20 and above.

Did I mention you can bring your clothes in for trade? The best part about Second Impression is the fact that you can bring selected clothing in for either cash or store credit, though at the moment I hear that their surplus is rather full and they are only accepting selective items.

Also worth mentioning is the men's clothing section, located in its own separate room upstairs, complete with casual and formal wear as well as coats and shoes.

 

 

 

Looking for a faux or real fur? Second Impression has you covered.

The magical upstairs houses formal wear in all sizes and a downright fairy-tale-like dressing room with a chandelier and vintage dressing mirror.

 

     

All photos (c) Pineapple Chantal Photography

Overall, my first experience with Second Impression was really wonderful--I absolutely loved the ambiance and the employee working was kind enough to stay open late for me, as I didn't realize my "in-the-thrifting-zone" meandering had taken me almost a half hour past closing time!!!

I've since returned and I plan on doing so often--I'd encourage the same to you! I'm giving Second Impression five out of five thrift chicks!

Second Impression

310 Fulton St

Grand Haven, MI 49417

(616) 846-7377

Regeneration New & Used Clothing in Detroit, MI

REGENERATION NEW & USED CLOTHING in Detroit, Michigan



5 out of 5 Thrift Chicks

I really enjoyed visiting this thrift resale shop on last New Year's eve! Shown above is my "score" from the trip (and trust me, I used restraint in NOT returning home with more)...a vintage double strand twisted beaded necklace in bronzy gold. Shown below--one of the many ways I've worn it over the last week! (I love it so.)

Read on below for my review of this Detroit based clothing/apparel store! (P.S., the hat and dress shown below were both thrifted items for less than $2 each!)

First impressions of Regeneration was that it was clean, well organized, and very well stocked!





They had a great selection of vintage and thrifted designer bags. I REALLY wanted to take this Dooney and Bourke home with me....and looking at it now, I regret leaving it behind! However, it was marked $15 and I just get a bigger thrill out of finding them on my own for cheaper.







Great selection of used and vintage jewelry!







I REALLY wanted to take this Betsy Johnson bag home. 



Couldn't help but love this sweater!

Overall, I'd say Regenerations has a nicely selected and wide array of apparel; lots of vintage, designer and funky. They also boast a large collection of jewelry and hats, and a great selection of shoes and coats! Things are well organized and the environment is fun and nicely decorated.

My only gripe was that some of the prices seemed slightly inflated; but honestly, for as much "good stuff" as there was packed in to one small store, I'd say convenience and high levels of great stock PLUS nice dressing rooms make this thrift store a 5/5 for me.  Even if it is more about perusing and digging through racks than laying down cash!

This would be a great place to come looking for a specific item, or a new thrifted outfit in a pinch (when you don't have time to dig for cheaper prices).  On average I think you could buy a dress, shoes and jewelry for around a total of $25-30, which isn't bad when you consider they are unique and/or vintage items.

If you're ever in D-town, check it out! Contact details below! 

www.regenerationclothing.org/

126 E. 14 Mile Road 
Clawson, Michigan 48017 
Phone: 248-589-0500 
Email:shop.regeneration@att.net

Thrift Review: Salvation Army on Alpine in Grand Rapids, MI

On Black Friday, I normally run from civilization and crouch in a well stocked, airtight bunker and "wait things out". This year, I thought thrifting couldn't possibly be as bad as a department store...and it wasn't...BUT...it was still a little nuts.

I present to you my first thrift store review...with many more to come!

Thrift Trick Score: 3 out of 5

Today's location:

Salvation Army Family Store

3900 Alpine NW

Grand Rapids, MI

Map it/Location Info

First impressions of the store were that it was quite large and quite well organized. It also seemed fairly clean.

As you can see, the clothes are color organized.

NOW...I like the way this looks, but I don't particularly love the way it affects my shopping. Yes, I suppose if I were looking for a color item, it would be very helpful! And sometimes that is the case.

However, things AREN'T organized by size here. Therefore, it's a crapshoot as you start looking through the racks. Sometimes this doesn't bug me but for some reason, on this particular occasion, it annoyed me. Am I weird? I don't know. You tell me.

The other problem I had was that, right out of the gates, the clothes prices were a little high. The few pairs of shoes I looked at were priced at seven dollars (nothing fancy about them) and a somewhat long vintage blazer (I'd say late 70's) was priced at 19.99. That took my interest down about three notches. All the clothes I looked at were priced higher than what I would have liked to see (and were a hodge podge of sizes) so I started to tune clothes out and I moved on to jewelry.

There was a huge collection of items. I can't say that anything impressed me on a "I have to have that" level, but it did seem more reasonable than clothes. Again, the bottom line for earrings and such were $2. Not terrible but for a tarnished pair of old hoops...it's a little much. (FYI, Goodwill in Norton Shores prices much of their jewelry at $1, but that's for another entry.) I will say that there was quite a variety. If you were looking for a specific KIND of piece, I would recommend this store's jewelry case.

Housewares started to get more reasonable. This precious little Saki teapot with a cute folding case was $2.99. Darling with the exception of one problem--it was missing a cup. I'm not a Saki drinker but if I were one, I would have snatched this right up anyhow. Too cute!

The catch of the day for me was the Marushka print. I know--you might be looking at this seagull and lighthouse concoction thinking, what??? I can't help but be attracted to these vintage screenprints. They were quite popular in the 70's and beyond and now are very collectible (check out this cool Marushka blog) and I can't stay away from them. I have a small collection that I hope to grow. There are many different Marushka's--some are just downright wacky (like unicorns and penguins) and then others are quite tasteful, like some of the tree and foilage prints you might see on the blog above.

Either way, I've taken to collecting these for the last ten years and there is now a Marushka wall in my home--an idea that I stole from a friend of mine who has a giant and impressive collection in his Grand Rapids bar, "The Meanwhile". I'm so jealous of some of his prints.

The best part about finding this rather large print was that it was quite UNDER priced, at $3.99! Scoreboard! I snatched it up in a second and for me, it made the whole trip worthwhile. I went home and promptly hung it on my livingroom wall (pictured below)! Yes, it is totally hodgepodge and I love it. It makes me look like a crazy eclectic hipster and...I guess if the shoe fits, I'll buy it.

In conclusion, overall impressions of Salvation Army on Alpine in GR are as follows:

--Well organized/clean/lots of parking

--Organized by color, not size (downfall for me)

--Overpriced clothing/shoes

--Reasonable or even reduced houseware prices

--Decently priced and large variety of jewelry

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