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11.1 FANTASTIC THRIFT FINDS; DISCOUNT CLOTHES AND CLOTHING.

by Sharon Mills

It's amazing what you can find second hand

My younger daughter started high school this fall and decided she had to have a pair of camouflage pants. For the last couple of years we've been deluged with catalogues of cool teen clothes. The camy pants in the catalogues ranged from $40. to $60. We went to an Army/Navy store and found them for $17. She could try them on to make sure they fit, and we didn't have to pay shipping and handling. She also bought a camy top for $6. which was similar to some we'd seen in the mall for $20. (Luckily, the top is a different color or we'd lose her in the back yard.) The store also carries college sweat shirts, work clothes, Adidas and Reebok shoes, cotton bandannas for under a dollar and serviceable, inexpensive raincoats.

My other daughter brought me into a 60's shop in town. It's like a head shop and sells candles, incense, books, jewelry, old record albums and posters, and lots of clothes just like the ones I wore in high school. She tried on several A-line, sleeveless shifts which cost about $30. each. None of them fit right, not that I would have spent that much for them. I told her that I always see the woman who owns the place shopping in the two thrift shops I like best. The next day, I went to the thrift shop and bought a black linen sleeveless a-line for $2.00.

Speaking of thrift shops, I also found two wet suits for $8.00 each. Both kids surf. The smaller one fit Lindsay. Hilary had just inherited one from a friend who bought a new outfit for about $100. I figured if she didn't want the medium one, we could sell it for a lot more than $8.00, but she wants to keep it as an extra.

At the end of a season many thrift shops have bag sales. The customer buys a paper grocery bag for $3.00 and can walk out with whatever will fit in it. Last spring I got a bunch of long sleeved jerseys, a couple of pairs of shoes, some jeans, T-shirts, sweaters, and the piece de resistance: a Halston, fully lined, suede sports jacket for my husband.

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