thrifting...

I like to be thrifty. My mother says I am frugal. I like to be practical. So, when it comes to buying clothes, I like them cheap. Not the dirty or less quality kind of cheap, but the worn in and well used kind of cheap. That’s why I sometimes, well most times, shop at goodwill, the Salvation Army, or the thrift stores in downtown Omaha. This kind of shopping is tricky. It requires going through racks and racks of acid wash mommy jeans, musty sweaters, and floppy t-shirts. I love it. In the mean time there is a frantic search for that one unique item, for less than five dollars of course. It gets tiring pushing the clothes aside and looking at the tag for size and price. However, when I am with friends it makes that search all the more enjoyable. The really ugly and revolting 1980’s blazers or formal dresses are pulled off the rack and commented on, tried on, and brought back to life. I or one of my friends will come out of the dressing room enacting the clothing. A neon-colored swish suit would require a silly workout routine and an impression of Richard Simons. A gaudy eighties formal dress, with an excess of poof sleeves, would be considered the next gown for prom or just to accompany plastic jewelry or tidal wave bangs. Most of the ugly or extremely unfashionable items found are eventually put back on the rack. Then there comes the time that all the hard work pays off when I find the thrifty deal between the compressed racks of clothing. It usually ends up being a pair of designer jeans that fit perfectly for five dollars or a sweater for ninety-nine cents. Whatever the item, the hunt and pursuit of these thrifty items are always an unpredictable adventure. You never know what you can find between the racks.