Can We Go Thrift Shopping?

A comprehensive local thrift guide

Second-hand stores, vintage shopping, consignment and thrifting have all been on the rise in global popular fashion culture. Buying used clothes provides a refuge from consuming fast fashion, which is often reliant on inhumane labor and environmentally harmful practices. 

Whether the goal is to find unique items to curate a sense of individual fashion or to go easy on your wallet (it’s refreshingly cheap), the culture transformation has raised ranks of shoppers faithful to the thrift store.

Since coming to college, I have been on the prowl for a favorite second-hand spot, adding thrifted pieces from across San José, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz to my eclectic wardrobe. 

Here are some present store picks in terms of expense,proximity and, of course, clothes.

Goodwill

Goodwill is at the forefront of many people's minds when it comes to thrifting. If you’ve heard of thrift stores, you’ve heard of Goodwill. 

The Goodwill on Meridian is a personal favorite. Picked over by other college kids, the aisles are filled with a bit more of a dead-old-people vibe–a diverse array of what some would call outdated clothing that is slowly cycling back into style. 

Goodwill is ideal for basics (I will always have it to thank for some of my favorite jeans) but it also boasts something unique from the other destinations on my list: home furnishings. 

Moving into an apartment, house or other college accommodation you may call home is horrendously expensive–one must buy a daunting amount of stuff. My housemates and I granted ourselves some level of immunity to the financial downfall of moving into our home by visiting Goodwill–acquiring brand new china plates with matching bowls, sets of cups that would surely sparkle if we washed them right and potentially-haunted old paintings to adorn our walls. 

Adjacent to the surprisingly large furniture section, Goodwill also features a considerable collection of once-fad books (there's nowhere you will get a cheaper novel than at the thrift store).

The tank tops are never more than $5 each, a painting more than $12 and the jeans $17 (and even that is rare).

“Goodwill fulfills my personal mantra: you can get everything you need at the thrift store.”

And on top of having almost everything you could ever need, it is divinely dirt cheap.

Black and Brown Vintage

In a sharp departure from dirt cheap, and on the other side of San José, Black and Brown Vintage seeks to serve a very different clientele than Goodwill. 

While second-hand stores like this–proudly set apart as Vintage–can sometimes come off a bit pretentious, they have undeniable appeal.

Black and Brown Vintage is gorgeous. The location boasts two floors of consignment and vintage, displaying well-recognized (though often fast fashion) brands supplemented by genuine vintage, complete with a small section of designer that made my eyes bulge out of my head when I checked the price tags.

The most affordable items are often not vintage, but rather resale of current items: Levi’s, Urban Outfitters, Free People, etc. Some of these brands are fishy in their ethics–basically the equivalent of fast fashion like Shein wearing glasses and a fake mustache.

While these companies aren’t always ethical, I can always absolve my guilt by buying their stuff second hand. It's hard to not subscribe to buying fast fashion, because many people like keeping up with the trends in how they express themselves with what they wear. Finding upscale resale that suits your style is an easy step in curbing supporting unethical brands. 

Even outside of designer, the store is generally pretty pricey (hence the word Vintage); I would never recommend it to a friend looking to thrift for the sake of being thrifty.

Still, I made out with two pairs of Levi’s (one with tags still on) that were $35 each. I am a denim devotee, so after weighing my decision I thought this was financially sound.

Black and Brown could offer a reliable, long-lasting staple like jeans, a jacket or a unique statement item for special occasions, but I probably wouldn’t do my run-of-the-mill thrifting there. 

Crossroads

For many, this is the archetype of upscale resale, and probably my most frequently patronized second hand store on the list. 

My mantra (as you may recall, “you can get everything at the thrift store”) is fulfilled by Crossroads only in part. You can’t get furniture, nor books, nor 20 year old Crock Pots that are collecting dust, but they have most of the clothing options you could hope for. 

Crossroads, one of the closet thrift stores to campus, is just a ten minute drive away. As the doors swing open, patrons are greeted by a central vintage rack filled with a weird, bright array of what I think are the best clothes in the store. 

Outside this section, the store has both mens’ and womens’ sections of considerable size, a startling amount of shoes, bags and purses and a selection of designer items presented high on the walls throughout the store.

Much of what Crossroads has to offer is second-hand fast fashion. It takes a moment to get acclimated to the consignment store experience as someone who learned to thrift at Goodwill-esque stores, but stores like Crossroads can be really helpful to fill the gaps in your wardrobe that you can’t normally get thrifting while still maintaining an environmentally friendly method of shopping. It’s perfect for formal dresses, professional attire or a wardrobe refresh.

Most of my gym clothes have been selected from the store’s racks (I’m of the opinion that anyone who says getting workout clothes second hand is gross is wrong), along with an array of vintage shirts and some of my staple purses and jeans.

While nicer items climb up to the mid-$30 range, most items are somewhere between $12 and $20, which, while not Goodwill prices, is still economically sound. 

Crossroad’s Achilles heel, though, is what drove The New York Times to announce the death of the Golden Age of the Thrift–resold cheaply made fast fashion. 

Abbot’s Thrift
Abbot’s Thrift, located in Felton (just outside of Santa Cruz), is, for many students reliant on Ubers, skateboarding or biking, one of the more inaccessible options. But if you have access to a car, or are in the Santa Cruz area, Abbot’s is my personal favorite thrifting stop in the area. 

Downtown Santa Cruz is congested with vintage, and given the central city location, prices usually climb out of the range of what I consider financially feasible. 

Abbot’s, about 15 minutes off the beaten path, is a refreshingly rudimentary thrift option. 

The giant red barn is labeled “The Abbot’s Antiques Collectables Fine Art,” though upon stepping inside thrifters are greeted by racks and racks of clothing.

Abbot’s seems to have everything but the kitchen sink. On the right, rows and rows of bookshelves are organized by niche genres. Glass cases at the front are filled with antique jewelry. Towards the back are toys, tables, mirrors and artwork in dusty frames, a startling amount of wetsuits, bikes in considerably commendable condition, golf clubs, short boards, odd bits and bobs and some startlingly affordable furniture–some permanently marked by ominous dark stains. 

Abbott's Antiques has a little bit of everything, so each good find (like the store itself) grants the satisfaction of finding a needle in a haystack. But there is also satisfaction in all the totally weird shit you are going to find at a thrift store like Abbot’s. On my last trip to Santa Cruz, I came home with a plush animatronic hamster that, at the push of a button, serenaded me with the songs of The Beach Boys–complete with a surfboard and swim trunks.

After Earth Day and tUrn Week, environmental consciousness is (hopefully) at an all time high, so it's a great time to consider hitting the thrift. The easiest shifts in being more friendly to the planet are the small ones, so adjusting where and how you shop can be an easy start. In finding thrift stores that cater to you, you too will find that you can transition all your shopping to second hand.