Road Trip! Thrifting in Dallas.

Last weekend, my girlfriends and I made a trip to Dallas for a girls' weekend.  Of course, I couldn't go to another city without checking out the thrift scene.  We decided to visit a few Goodwills, since I'm pretty partial to them.

Our first stop was the Goodwill located in Garland at 1661 E. Northwest Hwy.  

 
I found this Pins and Needles cardigan from Urban Outfitters for $2.99.  That's it.  After two hours.  Not exactly the haul I was looking for.  On to the next stop.

Pins and Needles cardigan, retail - $45, thrift price - $2.99!

Our second stop was also in Garland at 3106 N. Shiloh Rd.  

 
This store was enormous so I was really hopeful that we were going to be lucky.  I left with two items this time, a Ralph Lauren blazer for $9.99 and an Original Penguin silk dress for $5.99.  That's it, after several hours combing the racks.  Not to be deterred, we headed to one final location before they closed.

Ralph Lauren blazer with crest and fab gold buttons, retail - $300, thrift price - $9.99.

 

Original Penguin silk dress, retail - $250, thrift price - $5.99.

At this point, I'll have to admit, I was feeling quite discouraged.  I knew that there had to be a Goodwill in the city where the good, name brands ended up.  There always is.  The problem was I only had one day to find this elusive Goodwill.  So, I pulled out my top secret thrifting notebook and...I'm kidding, I just asked the cashier where the best Goodwill in the city was.  Luckily, she was kind enough to steer me toward their corporate store at 3020 N. Westmoreland.  After the dismal day we had had, I have to admit that I didn't hold out much hope for this location either.  Maybe Houston really was an enigma and the thrift stores in other cities just weren't going to be as great.  

We pulled up to the store one hour before closing.  I usually need two+ hours to thoroughly shop so I was going to have to be strategic and quick.  Within the first five minutes I had hit the mother load!  I had finally found the "good" Goodwill in the city.  Over the next hour I pulled high-end label, after high-end label off of the racks, Carolina Herrera, Juicy Couture, Robert Rodriguez, Escada, Lilly Pulitzer, Christian Louboutin (really bad condition), etc., etc.  Now, not everything was in tip-top shape so they didn't all come home with me, but quite a few did.  

Juicy Couture corduroy blazer, retail - $225, thrift price - $4.99!

Escada denim skirt, retail price - $380, thrift price - $2.99!

Lilly Pulitzer Eliot blouse, retail price - $118, thrift price - $2.99!

Brand new Robert Rodriguez raffia jacket, retail price - $525, thrift price - $4.99!

Anthroprologie We Love Vera blouse, retail price - $88, thrift price - $2.99!

So, in the end, it was a GREAT thrifting day, but it didn't come easy.  We shopped from 1:00 to 7:00, non-stop and looked through massive amounts of clothing to find these few gems.  The lesson of the trip was to not get discouraged if your first few outings don't pan out.  It's thrifting, and it's unpredictable.  Eventually, if you have enough patience, you'll score a major find...and then you'll be hooked like me!