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11.2 MORE THAN THE USUAL 90% OFF; EVEN THRIFT SHORES HAVE REGULAR SALES; DISCOUNT CLOTHES AND CLOTHING.

by Sharon Mills

There are two thrift shops in our area that I especially like. One benefits the humane society and the other is run by a church group. The retired gentleman who works in the church shop told me the other day that all of the money the shop takes in goes to charities in this county. It helped fund 12 organizations this year, giving $9,000 to Meals on Wheels, for example.

The Humane Society has only one sale a year, at Christmas, but has uniformly low prices. For example, all dresses, whether K-Mart brand or Donna Karan, cost $1.00, and all shirts, tops and blouses, whether holey T-shirts or silk evening wear, cost 50 cents. The ladies who work there put aside toys, Christmas decorations, gift items and what they deem better clothes for their Christmas sale. Theirs runs for three days, and they put out new items each day.

The church run thrift shop almost always has some kind of sale going on. At the end of February, it has a "bag sale" during which shoppers get as many items as they can stuff into a grocery bag for $3.00. During the year, it has other sales depending on the season and on how many articles have been donated. A sign on the door will announce "ladies' tops - buy one, get one free" or "all men's sport jackets half off." At the end of the August, all summer clothes are buy one, get one free, and for the last two weeks in November everything in the store is half price. I bought a hand tailored, fully lined, Harris Tweed sports jacket for $1.50. Unfortunately, it wasn't especially tailored for my husband, but it looks great on one of my daughter's friends.

On one of those half price days, I saw a man fill 6 giant black trash bags with clothes for $135.00. I asked the ladies if he had a group home or something and was told he has a shop in a college town. The students buy his "vintage" clothes, and the college drama department relies on him for costumes. I figure he could probably sell one of those $1.50 sport jackets for $15. or $20.

While the church is having this sale, it gives winter coats to people referred by Social Services and has a rack of coats on the sidewalk. These are free for whoever needs one.

Like the other shop, the church thrift shop has a huge Christmas sale for which it has been saving "like new" stuff all year. Instead of just adding this merchandise to what's left from the half price sale, the workers empty the showroom and re-fill it, wheeling out new racks of clothes and tables of appliances, nick nacks, jewelry and gift items. Last Christmas I bought my daughter a wall rack to hang her surf board from.

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