Happy Wednesday! I am so excited to share some tips and tricks to thrifting as a plus size woman with you today! If you follow me on social media, you have most definitely heard about my upcoming event with Goodwill! I'm so excited to share all of that with you at the end of this post, but I decided to wait until the end for all those coming from my social media since they've already heard about it!
As a plus size woman, there are different challenges to shopping at any store, let alone a thrift store. I will admit, it's no easy feat. But I do have some tips and tricks that I think might be able to help you out on your next trip to Goodwill!
1. TRY IT ON. I remember my mom telling me this advice growing up and I would roll my eyes in disgust (*imagine angsty pre-teen Sara here*), but she was definitely right! There have been so many times that I would have missed out on a favorite piece of clothing had I not taken the chance to try it on! Often times when clothes are worn and thrown in the midst of other clothes, it's hard to see the potential in it. My advice would be to try on EVERYTHING that has even the slightest of interest to you! There have been times where an XL fits me when I'm normally a 2x. There have been times where I liked a pattern but didn't know how I felt about the cut. But I tried it on anyway, and I ended up falling in love! Bottom line, if it has any hope: TRY IT ON!!
2. DON'T GET DISCOURAGED IF SOMETHING DOESN'T WORK OUT. There have been many times I have spent a good chunk of time in the dressing room trying on 20 items of clothing for only 2 things to work out. It just happens sometimes! But do not get discouraged, because it happens to all of us! I always say that the biggest trade off for shopping at Goodwill is less money for more time! At other stores, you are paying more for the convenience and the abundance of one specific item. While it is nice to have the luxury of being able to size up or down if something doesn't work out, paying $3 for a shirt versus $30 always makes it worth it for me! The great thing about living in a big city are that there are plenty of Goodwills at your disposure. If one location doesn't work out, move on to the next!
3. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. This is a big one for me as a plus size woman. There are several locations where I just don't find a lot of plus size options! Make sure to notice the area you are in. In the neighborhood where I live there are a lot of athletes, health junkies, and physically fit individuals. Those are definitely not bad things in the slightest, but when I go to the Goodwill's in those locations, those are the clothes I find! Small sizes for small people. I encourage you to venture out to other neighborhoods to see what locations seem to have bigger donations of plus size clothing and stick with those locations! I tend to notice in the Phoenix area that I always have more luck in Tempe! College towns are great for this because there is a wide array of people of all styles and shapes and a bigger chance for donations that are more up your alley! If I didn't venture out of my neighborhood Goodwill, I don't know if I'd continue shopping there either! Now I have favorite stores I ALWAYS stop by! My current favorites are Elliot & Priest, Ray & Rural, and Guadalupe & Rural! (Warner & Kyrene is also in the usual rotation!)
4. IT'S HOW YOU STYLE IT. Far too often I hear "I never find as many cute clothes as you do!" And I have to say I beg to differ!!! (Well, for my Phoenix peeps anyway, I can't vouch for other states). There are so many clothes I have that would NOT look cute if it wasn't styled right! Challenge yourself to see what it would look like with a belt, hat, scarf, or accessories! Those things alone can take an outfit from a 2 to a 10! Any time I'm shopping I'm envisioning the piece as an end result, not always as is. For example: I found a button up long denim dress. First glance, it looked like a dress my grandma wore in the 90s. When I tried it on my first thought was to cut it down to a short dress and cinch the waist. When I got home and decided to see what it looked like with a belt first, I fell in love and so did everyone on my social media! Either way I would have styled it, I was buying it with a different end result in mind. And with it only being $1, it's always worth the risk to see how you can transform it! It takes a little bit of creativity to see how you can transform a piece, but I love the artistic challenge! This is also why I like to check out the men's section from time to time! I found two of my favorite jean jackets in the men's section! I also love looking through button ups for a classic oversized button up look or nice work attire! And with how cheap the T-shirts are, there is plenty of room to cut it up into a fun crop or anything that fits your style!
5. ALL PLUS SIZES ARE IN THE XL SECTION. Most of the time when you walk into a Goodwill, you see it divided into sizes. Small, Medium, Large, and XL. If you are a 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X or more, your sizes will be in the XL section! I have only been to one Goodwill where larger plus sizes were divided into the XXL section, and that's because that location always has an abundance of plus sizes! Most of the time they do not sort out the XL section between XL and above, they are all just thrown into the same section! And while that can be annoying to some, I think it's great to know that there is still a chance you will find something in your size!
6. MAKE A DAY OUT OF IT. Many of you have noticed that when I post my thrift hauls in my Instagram Stories that I come home with huge hauls and always wonder how I find so much! And the reason for that is I make a whole day out of it and stop by at least 3-4 locations! My hauls are always collective hauls and I find that I am much more successful by hitting up multiple locations in one day! Plus, being in the Phoenix area, you have a lot of Goodwills close together so you don't have to venture too far to find your next one! I love shopping until I drop, so this is a cake walk for me ;)
I hope these tips were helpful! If you have any more questions, I'd love to answer them on my Instagram or Facebook, so don't hesitate to message me with your questions!
Now for my favorite part of this post! For those that haven't heard yet, I am currently collaborating with Goodwill of Arizona to bring you an amazing yearly event: The Reclaimed Fashion Event! Me and 10 other influencers have all hand picked items that match our style for you guys to shop from! The event will kick off with a meet & greet followed by a panel, which I will be speaking on with 3 other woman and an amazing moderator! Then after the panel the shopping of our items begins!
The event will be at the Priest & Elliot Goodwill, Saturday April 27th from 2-5pm! Make sure to get there right at 2 to come say hi and to see our panel before the shopping begins! I hope to see you all there, I can't wait! And a fun little surprise! ;) Come take a picture with me at the event at our photo booth and enter to win a $100 visa gift card!!!
Saturday, April 27
2-5pm, Elliot & Priest
7850 S Priest Dr, Tempe, AZ 85284
If you want to see the full promotional video that's below, you can visit Goodwill's Instagram here or Facebook Page here, or you can always visit my profiles to see them, as well!
xoxo, Sara