Shopping on a Budget: The Best Thrift Stores in NYC
New York City is one of the best cities for shopping in the United States. The wide selection of shopping malls, boutiques, and luxury stores offer a diverse array of places to choose from for your next shopping trip. But one of the best parts about shopping in New York City are the many thrift stores located throughout. If you’re shopping on a budget or looking for designer and vintage items for cheaper, there's guaranteed to be a thrift store in New York City that fits your needs. Here’s a list of the best thrift stores to shop at.
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vintage thrift shop
This thrift store is located at 286 Third Avenue, between 22nd and 23rd Streets. It has a boutique setting with donated, gently used-quality merchandise. They sell women and men’s clothes, shoes, accessories, and jewelry, as well as furniture, artwork, lamps, houseware, and rugs. The selections change daily.
The inside of the store is very rustic, with flower-printed wallpaper and multiple different lamps hanging from the ceiling. It has a vintage garage aesthetic. Clothes are hung on racks along the wall, and the furniture is displayed in the center. The furniture have unique patterns and colors, some pastel floral-printed, others neutral-toned and striped. The store has a lot of interesting pieces for sale.
Proceeds benefit the United Jewish Council of the East Side, which delivers hot lunches to disabled and housebound residents in the Lower East Side, and to the three senior centers there. The Council also gives van service for the disabled and elderly, and after-school tutoring and job training for the youth. This thrift store offers a nice selection of discounted merchandise while also helping those in the community in need. So, you can shop on a budget, and feel good about it!
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AuH2o
AuH2O is secondhand, vintage, and upcycled shop located on 84 E. 7th St. in East Village. They’re branded a “thriftique” because they’re a boutique that offers thrift store prices. The name comes from the owner Kate Goldwater’s last name—“Au” meaning gold and “H2O” meaning water. The boutique sells affordable clothing, shoes, accessories, and jewelry in unique styles.
The inside of the store is designed like a typical boutique, with clothing and purse racks neatly lining the walls and shoes on shelves above the racks. Racks of bright-colored clothing can be found outside of the store as well. It’s smaller compared to other thrift stores, but it has a lot to offer in terms of style.
The clothes fit a rustic and bohemian theme. There are also lots of items with colorful patterns and designs. If you’re looking for creative pieces, this is the place to go to! The boutique also features racks with items that are permanently $5 and $10. If you’re not local to New York City, you can still shop at AuH2O through one of their online shops. The boutique is open for online shopping on Etsy, Depop, and Instagram. There’s only one of each item on the online shops, so make sure to check them out before everything is sold out!
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Looks vintage
Looks Vintage is a small business located on 684 Broadway. They sell clothing for men and women, and accessories such as bags, wallets, jewelry, headwear, eyewear, and footwear. The clothes are very sporty and streetwear-style, but there are also unique, vintage-looking loungewear items. Featured brands include Nike, Adidas, Fila, Polo, and Guess.
They also have a website for online shopping. The only clothing featured on the website is tops as of right now. But there are tons of accessories from luxury brands currently on there. This includes bags and sunglasses from brands such as Burberry, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and more. The prices of the designer items are also very reasonable, with Gucci bags ranging from as low as $140 to $260.
The inside of the store has multiple racks of printed tees and unique bomber jackets. The inside of the shop is expansive, and one wall is completely dedicated to shoes. There’s even a wall stacked to the top with hats! The store is very reminiscent of a sports store, with the organized jacket, shoe, and hat walls.
The shop also holds multiple sales. On the website, they list multiple sale items, as well as a $50 and under section. Every month, they have a $5 sale that includes premium luxury brands. So, if you’re looking for vintage luxury finds at low prices, this is the shop for you!
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city opera thrift shop
This is a small business thrift shop owned by the New York City Opera and located on 513 W 26th St. They sell women and men’s clothing and accessories, home decor, and vintage items. The clothing features a lot of colorful, patterned vintage pieces. They have basic to high-end styles, with an ever-changing merchandise selection. They also sell luxury brands, such as Celine, Valentino, Coach, Chanel, and more.
The shop features stunning vintage collections and donated items. They offer curated, collection-based thrifting that is sustainable. Each collection focuses on a different design passion—Vintage, Fine Art, Designer and Couture, Design From Around the World, and Seasonal Collections, to name a few.
The inside of the store is stunning, with large crystal chandeliers adorning the ceiling and mannequins modeling opera attire. The shop even has a second floor which houses more clothing and is surrounded by a wooden terrace. The store is designed like a luxury boutique, with cases of gorgeous jewelry on one side of the store, and vintage and luxury clothes on the other side.
Recently, the shop had a collaboration with Capsule Auctions and the Geoffrey Beene Foundation, which featured window displays with original illustrations and bespoke mannequins from the Estate of Geoffrey Beene. Proceeds went to the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The shop provides customers with a carefully-selected range of gorgeous pieces while also supporting great causes.
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housing works thrift shop
This thrift shop has multiple locations across New York City, such as the Chelsea store on 143 W 17th St. They have an online shop that includes an e-shop to thrift clothes and an online bookstore. They also have an Auction House, where shoppers can bid on furniture, artwork, fashion, and more. The online website features various vintage items with different styles, some classy and fancier, others colorful and bold. Their bookstore includes all donated items and volunteer staff. They sell books, media, and gifts, as well as some clothing and houseware items. The bookstore also has a cafe that sells coffee and wine.
The shop holds events, such as Member Appreciation Month, where members can enjoy 20% off in February at both the bookstore and thrift shop. Other events include happy hours and movie showings at the bookstore, and Design on a Dime Public Sale Days where shoppers can get even more discounts on already discounted items.
Other events that the stores hold are coat drives and upcycle drop-ins with Fab Scrap, where you can bring your own clothes to the store and choose from a selection of Fab Scrap fabrics to create cool patches on your clothes. It’s a sustainable and fun way to improve some items in your wardrobe!
Housing Works also focuses on raising awareness about the AIDs epidemic and homelessness crisis. They carry out non-violent actions such as phone campaigns and civil disobedience. The advocacy program also accepts donations. The shop is currently accepting new volunteers, so if anyone is interested in helping a business that supports a great cause, you can go to their website to learn more about how to become a volunteer.
conclusion
All these thrift stores offer an extensive collection of unique vintage, luxury, and secondhand pieces to add to your wardrobe. These businesses not only offer a sustainable way to shop, but they also allow customers to shop on a budget and support great causes at the same time. If you’re looking for discounted vintage and luxury items or creative and rare pieces, these thrift shops are perfect for you!
