Q&A Monday: What NOT to Thrift

Table of Contents

Don’t let the title fool ya! This week’s Q&A Monday has nothing to do with these guys:

Snarky McSnarkersons

If you were hoping some mean skunk-haired lady and her fay cohort were going to show up and berate you for your fashion choices, I’m sorry (and I think you might have something wrong with you).

Nonono. This week’s question is:

Q: “What don’t you buy when you go thrifting for future refashions?”

A: There’s very little that I won’t consider as a future refashion.

But here are a few common clothing maladies that I won’t mess with:

Stains

Stains make me all sorts of squeamish and grossed out, especially if they’re of the food or biological variety.

Eeeewww…Someone was a sweaty Betty! :/

There are plenty of tricks one can try to remove a pesky stain, but they don’t always work. Unless I’m just absolutely in love with a piece of clothing or I know I’ll be removing the stained part in the refashion, I treat those stains with extreme disdain.

Pilling

You know what I’m talking about. Don’t you just hate when your sweaters get those nasty balls of lint all over them?

Take a chill pill

So do I. If the item is really nice other than the pilling, I’ll just take an old razor and shave the pills off (electric clothes shavers are a waste of your time and money, friends). But usually when I see pilling, it means the garment is of poor fabric quality, overwashed, or both. Best to stay away from these unless you want to spend hours with your razor and a lint roller every time you want to wash the thing.

Weirdo Smell

Whoa! What’s that smell????

Kitteh understanz.

It’s normal for thrift store duds to smell a little weird. But if your chosen future refash reeks of White Diamonds, gasoline, or some other overpowering stench, you might want to take a pass on it. Some strong odors are just impossible to get rid of, no matter the number of washings.

Worn Out

This one makes me sad.

Sometimes I stumble upon something that could have been absolutely PERFECT…except it’s just completely worn out.

Even I can’t fix this.

Unless there’s a part of the fabric you know you can harvest to make a trim, a pocket, or some such, it’s best to move on. I’ve turned down really well-made designer pieces that were lovely at some point in time, but were just too worn out to save.

It’s okay. It fulfilled its destiny.

What are your thrifting dealbreakers?

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34 Responses to Q&A Monday: What NOT to Thrift

UNDERWEAR! I see so many thrift shops with racks of underwear and bras and swimwear and I just get skeeved out! Probably, PJ pants, too, as I fear that someone might have slept commando in them.

Oh Good God yes!!! That should just be assumed!!!!!! 2nd hand undies give me the heebie jeebies too! And you’re not alone of the PJ thing either! 🙂

Totally agree on the underpants! I also pass up things that are too expensive to refashion. A $15 item had better be perfect for me as is, because that’s too much of my clothing budget to mess up in a failed refashion (and we all know it happens sometimes!).

First, CANNOT stop laughing at Seamssewsilly’s comment. I will add beat up shoes — just like worn out items, shoes cannot just not be helped — some need to be simply thrown out. And, ew, the thought of someone’s foot sweat and Lord knows what else!

I hear ya. Some of the shoes I see (especially old gym shoes) are really grody and past their useful lives. :/ I WILL buy thrift store shoes if they look completely unworn though. 🙂

Oh yeah, ew, gym shoes. And, agree — I have gotten some great shoes over the years thrifting!

I would say … things that are too small. Sometimes I can fix that by adding some fabric here and a bit of fabric there, but generally, that’s way too much work for this fashionista.

Pills on sweaters doesn’t always mean poor quality. I’m a knitter and sometimes yarns that contain mohair or baby alpaca will pill, especially if it’s a hand knit garment. It’s just the nature of the yarn, super fine, super soft. Like you said, just skim over it with a razor to keep it neat and clean looking.

Yep. Nice sweaters are totally worth the effort. 🙂

I’m a new reader, and love your ideas. Not such a fan of your opening comment. A derogatory comment about someone’s sexual preference is not called for. And, honestly, have you seen the show? Those people are dressing horribly. You’ve posted some not nice comments about clothing you’ve found that others have tossed into a charity bin. Time to refashion your words 🙁

Nononono…I wasn’t saying a thing about the guy being gay. Look up the definition for fay. It means elfin and perky.

I don’t think it’s okay to be mean to anyone for how they choose to dress.

Didn’t mean to offend.

I’ve read this blog for a long time and I can honestly say that I don’t believe Jillian’s words are ever used to be offensive or judgemental at least not intentionally… and she clearly has a lot of friends of all sorts of persuasions. 🙂 Hope that doesn’t seem rude in return… it’s not intended to be anything other than reassuring! Have a great day!

As someone who works for a charity and receives heaps of unwearable clothes donated to us, it is not helpful and only a hindrance to our work. Some items should be thrown out, not dumped on a charity’s doorstep, they are simply leaving rubbish n our doorstep. Just because some people have little money, doesn’t mean they have no dignity or are willing to wear dirty, smelly, completely worn out clothes. I agree with Jillian’s discernment over what not to refashion, and from reading her blog for a while have never seen anything that is intended to offend or put anyone down. She’s just not made that way!

Peroxide with a little Dawn and maybe some baking soda, rub in and let sit for an hour, a few, or over night. Then rinse some and launder. Has gotten out every stain I have ever encountered – thrifted or non-thrifted. Even on fabrics of all colors. It is like magic! So you do not ever be concerned about buying something with a stain unless it is high-priced and not worth the risk, or if it a delicate fabric that you do not want to wash. You will be amazed! Same for smells, and I have a very sensitive nose. I have gotten the most extreme smells with baking soda, the peroxide/Dawn mix, and/or vinegar. If extreme, let it soak for a while in the wash cycle before moving on to the rinse. Have never had to do more than twice, and usually once does the trick. Like I said, I have a very sensitive nose.
Many of my cheapest and most favorite clothes had stains of some kind, and almost all smelled bad to terrible. It is the nature of thrifting! Part of the adventure!

Really???? I would think the peroxide would bleach out the clothes…but it doesn’t? That’s cool! I like Oxyclean for getting rid of food or bio (ewwwww) stains. I’ll have to try your method. 🙂

I agree with the underwear thing – EWWWWWWW! And stained items gross me out, too!

I’m still chuckling over the muddy/greasy/oily/justplaindirty and holey sweatshirt!!!!

There two kinds of undie-type clothing I’ll buy – nighties and slips. I don’t wear a slip often, but under formal wear it helps smooth out the bumps and make a dress hang well. And nighties? no cooties involved, not even imaginary ones, as long as you wash it just like any other garment you buy.

Great idea for a post. A different take altogether on how to thrift successfully.

Great post and I agree on your NOT list and the underwear/nightwear thing is just gross!
As for shoes…. Ones that look mega new and still have new smell only touch my feet – not about to risk foot diseases just cause the shoe looks nice though. I usually stare clear of them myself.

Don’t you looooove when you find shoes that still have their original tag on them???? 🙂

Yes I love it. Rare but I love it

Think you hit the no’s on the head. The only other thing I avoid….because I don’t know how to fix… is an item that has weird stretch or pucker spots from wear or shrinking. If you have a fix for that I’d like to hear about it. Also I don’t knit so a sweater that has a large hole that I can’t fix….small holes that are near a seam or a not an obvious spot I can fudge.

Sorry-but I have to stick up for Stacy and Clinton. Anybody that helps women deal with a lack of self confidence is fabulous in my book.

But the first thing they do is humiliate the woman by criticizing her current clothes in the most unkind ways and flinging them in a garbage can. I can’t condone that kind of “help”.

that is what television does to people. they are always nice to the people once they are done cutting on the clothes. :c)

Let people wear what they want. Those two always seem to give the lady an inverted bob (that will require monthly hair appts to keep up…hard to do if you’re a busy mom), red hair or highlights (which fades really quickly unless it’s constantly redone…once again…not always the best choice for busy ladies), and a wrap dress.

They all end up looking the same.

There are no “rules” for fashion. It should be fun. Remember when you were little and got to pick out your own clothes, and how fun that was? That shouldn’t have to go away. You shouldn’t be shamed into conforming to what some “style expert” (groan) thinks looks best on you.

Self-proclaimed “Style Experts” can all bite me. They’re ruining creative fashion.

I got my colours done and will soon have enough money to get my body shape/style done. The colour palette helps me identify what colours look fabulous on me… The body shape/style will help me choose clothing styles that look fabulous on me. A great way and starting point to go by and not restricting. I don’t have to stick to them and I am allowed to break the rules. So style guru’s always go by what they themselves like. It’s a shame really. Each person is an individual.

I like the idea of getting your colors “done”. It was an outdated practice, but is it coming back? It’s good to know what works for you shape too. A lot of people don’t realize it, but I’m a total pear shape (narrow shoulders, and my bust is 5″ smaller than my hips). It’s good to know how to compliment your shape and coloring. But I’m glad that you agree it’s okay to break the rules and have fun! 🙂

Good laugh with all the replies. Initially, I was going to post about the yuckiness of thrifted, pre-used underwear (I shudder). Since that has been taken care of I wanted to ask if location of the thrift store yields better goods? I’m not too far away from Hollywood and am considering an expedition.

Oh yes. Location is important. I know nothing of the LA area, as I’ve never been there. However…go to more off the beaten path places outside of the city. Try wealthy suburbs or rural areas. Those have been my best bets. 🙂

I wholeheartedly agree! And I have a question for your Q & A series. It’s about dying clothes. I have a super beloved pair of jeans, but they’re about 8 or 9 years old, and they are seriously faded. I was thinking of dying them with navy dye, but I am just wondering, after you dye a garment, does it get special laundry treatment? Do you wash it by hand a few times to make sure no dye is bleeding out or do you just throw it in the wash? Thank you! Rookie Dyer 🙂

Ooh I too want to know about washing after dying clothing as I don’t want all my clothes the same colour.

As a rule I wash absolutely EVERYTHING I own in cold water only. After dying, you should be okay to put the jeans in with other clothes (as long as you rinsed them thoroughly after dying), but always use cold water. It will preserve your clothing and save money on your electric bill. 🙂

dyeing…not dying. No suicide over jeans here. 🙂

Thank you! Also, bwahaha, my jeans were suicidal for my entire comment! Really bringing down the tone around here, Krug!

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Q&A Monday: What NOT to Thrift | ReFashionista