Fashion Dogfight....A Great Adventure for Hardcore Thrifters.

A couple of times a year you can make your fashion dollars stretch to the max if you are vigilant, patient and have great stamina. Those of us who are familiar with Goodwill Industries' semi-annual $2 clothing sale will tell you that it is quite an adrenaline rush and well worth the time and effort invested in shopping it. We patiently wait for the flyers to come out a couple of weeks before the event and then make sure that we put aside the budget and the time to be able to do it right. I usually start out a couple of days ahead of the date, casually visiting my favorite branch locations and staking out choice items that I would like to have. This year the prize for me was a 1950's red velvet "glamour era" coat with the original faded label that I spotted at a Goodwill that is about five miles away from my home. I toyed with the idea of buying it at full price ($20), knowing that it would never be there and I would not get to it in time otherwise. I sadly walked away from it. I always pick the location that is closest to home (2 blocks away) and that I can get to before the doors open. I go about half an hour before closing the previous evening and strategically position my favorite goodies in a place that I can get to immediately upon crossing the threshold in the morning. I am there before the doors open....poised and ready to grab one of the few shopping carts and do a "supermarket sweep". I run and scoop up my previously selected items and then quickly run through grabbing random good stuff and throwing it in my cart. You do not have time to carefully examine items....you snooze, you lose. You can always put back unwanted items, but if you hesitate, they will not be there if you go back. Almost everybody makes a dash to the coat rack first. Fur and leather fly through the air at almost sound-barrier breaking speed. The fancy dresses go next. Within half an hour the checkout line will reach almost to the back of the store, so I make sure that I gather my purchases quickly and make it to the checkout as one of the first customers. I then go on to my next location, knowing that by the time I get there people will be leaving and I can get a parking space. I started out at about a quarter to nine on Friday. I managed to grab a parking spot and within three or four minutes the lot was completely full. On my way out I secretively motioned to a lady that I was leaving so that she could have my spot. Another driver saw me and tried to steal the spot but I pretended to go a different way so he kept going and she got the spot. He then proceeded to scream curses out of the window. Oh Well!! I then took a chance and headed to the store where I had seen the beautiful red coat. Not a snowball's chance in hell, thought I, but then who knows. OMG!!! The coat was still there!!! Hallelujah and praises to the Lord and my shopping angel! I scooped up a few more choice goodies, I, quivering with joy and emotion, and was able to leave the store within half an hour. Onward, hardcore shopper! More territory to cover. I headed to another store, where by this time the parking lot was an insane sea of cars parked, double parked, and idling. I somehow got a "parking angel" spot (my angels always take care of me)and made my way into a post-apocalyptic scene of surreal shopping frenzy, as though if people did not buy these items today they would have to go naked for the rest of their lives! Manners were out the window....children were out of control, with parents nowhere in sight. Clusters of hunched over people in different areas of the store hovered over gargantuan piles of booty, flinging unwanted clothing over their shoulders!! I must say, that of all the locations, this was the most uncivilized. I made a real quick run through and got in line, where I discovered that I was dragging a hitchhiking pair of shorts that had attached themselves to my purse! Sheer lunacy! It took me about 45 minutes to check out of this one, but on my way through the line I spotted a pristine rolling suitcase (which I had been looking for) for the give-away price of $20! SCORE!! The nice thing about these sales is that they do not get sold down to garbage. Goodwill keeps restocking goodies all day long until the sale is almost over on the second day. Knowing this, I went home for a lunch break and a nap. (much needed). I then hit another store about an hour before closing and then again the next day. All in all I got some great stuff for myself and for resale purposes....ah, the thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of the treasures found. I took a pic of some of my favorite finds, among them the beautiful vintage coat, a Ralph Lauren tweed and velvet "hunting jacket" as a gift for my friend, a brand new Asian kimono, a hand-knit and embroidered sweater and a intricately beaded netting blouse. If you are not claustrophobic and can deal with drama and commotion,if you are a true thriftaholic bargain hunting junkie, then I thoroughly recommend this adventure. I might add that people used this sale as an opportunity to send clothing to relatives in third world countries. At one of the stores the two customers in front of me had approximately $600 in clothing! (That's 300 items, folks!)