Hey, St. Louis thrifters--enjoy the Shrewsbury Value Village while you can! The store is closing Jan. 12, with 50 percent off all merchandise through the rest of the week.
I've lived in St. Louis under a year and a half, though I could say without hesitation I've visited that Value Village at least twice a month (if not once a week) throughout the duration of that time. It's become my favorite thrift store in the entire area.
I caught the thrifting bug from my grandmother, so I've always sought out a good place to rummage wherever I am. During my first year of high school I had to walk after school to my mom's workplace, which was just a few blocks from a Salvation Army store. Every Friday became thrift day. When I went away to college, I'd hit up the Unique Thrift Store in Uptown during my evenings off. In the Chicago suburbs, it was a Salvation Army store in Downers Grove.
It didn't take me long to find the Shrewsbury store--when I moved here and began covering Crestwood and Sunset Hills, it was one of the most convenient stores to visit. It took even less time to learn to love it, because they offer one of my favorite thrift features: a colored sale tag of the day. And they didn't have the thing I loathe most at resale shops: a dozen of the same clearance rack castoff donated by a nearby department store.
Perhaps because I was raised in an area where a bi-annual rummage sale was a highlight of the season, I've become partial to a specific type of thrift store: the junky-looking ones. I don't mean hoarder-level stacked to the ceilings--but disheveled enough that the hunt is a challenge. Not to say that Value Village is junky. While the ceiling often leaks, it is a pretty well-organized store (and I don't mind the leaks). The amount of merchandise can seem daunting--a thorough pass through the women's department took me anywhere from a half hour to 45 minutes--but you know where to find the skirts, the long sleeve shirts, the vests. The effect: you feel like an archaeologist every time you stumble upon a great steal. As exciting as it is to buy a new piece of clothing you really love, I think that sensation is amplified when that item feels like it was delivered from the cosmos directly to you. (Often it's from some old lady's musty closet, as opposed to the cosmos, but I digress.) In the past year I've found some of my favorite new (old) pieces there--from the interview outfit that secured me my current job, to a blouse that perfectly emanates a look I wanted to steal from Kendi Everyday--and many of them at less than $2.
I braved the snowy roads for a final visit this past Tuesday because it made my heart sick to think I'd lose out on some of their last goodies. My take is pretty respectable: two blouses with embroidered details, a circle skirt, and three great new head scarves. I also snagged a long string of silver beads (which need to be tarnished up) and two other pieces of jewelry, all for under $11. [Writer's note: the sequined shirt pictured was not purchased at Value Village; it was simply me testing new ways to layer.]
Check back on Monday and I will share some of my all-time favorite Value Village buys. I'm hoping to make one last stop this weekend!
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