I'm not a department store shopper. Not even when there are sales or coupons or discounts for opening 22% store credit cards. I'm not crazy about outlets. In many outlets here prices aren't much better than local sale prices which is good if you're okay with paying those prices. I get things at discount stores like WalMart sometimes but usually when I get them home I find I don't really like them.
So for the last ten years I have shopped almost exclusively at thrift stores. I find nice things in the $1 to $3 range at our two best local thrift stores. There is a lot of merchandise at these stores, at least in the area where I live. It's not sorted by size and the stapled on cardboard taps usually just say the price so you have to look inside the garment for the size. It's time consuming and you have to go cover a lot of ground if you want to find something good because the percentage of nice clothes to not so nice is small.
I have developed a thrift store technique. I skip sections that are grouped in colors I'm not shopping for. After that I don't really look at the stuff. I go by fabric which means that I have to touch everything but I'm pretty fast. You can't examine each item visually and go still go through hundreds in a reasonable amount of time. So if the item is the right color and fabric is something I like (usually cotton knit or cotton blend, but also rayon and silk) I make a space in the rack and look at what feels right.
I try to keep basic styles in mind. I like v necks, for example, better than round. Long skirts over short, etc., but I will look at other things. I did better when I wore a small size because people are forever outgrowing things or dieting down to weights they can't maintain (as I was doing then). I check out the tag next. I look for size, and label. I like labels from stores like Old Navy, some designers, and unfamiliar labels are okay too, if I like the item.
Usually I have to go through large amounts of clothes to find a few items I want to buy. I pretty much ignore the colored tag sales but I do shop on discount days when I can get there early. Thrift store shopping isn't necessarily a quick trip for me but I love finding treasures buried among the cast-offs and I honestly never tire of buying a nice piece of clothing for a couple of dollars.
