Easy Vintage Shopping with Thredup

Back in my day, so old, eBay was the primary way to shop for vintage and second hand clothes online. Broke as a joke, I still managed to save but was hesitant to purchase anything too expensive. I was a college student and would wile away the hours between classes browsing for items out of my price range hoping to find that one elusive deal around the corner.

After gazing longingly through endless online selections for longer than intended my eyes would beg for mercy. Eventually I walked away, virtually, and admitted defeat. My style has evolved over the years so it's okay that the pieces I coveted back then, long boho dresses and embroidered Mexican style dresses, I wouldn't wear now. The only type of pieces I still love are vintage tees, specifically concert or band tees, that are worn, soft and have sporadic holes.

I've heard about thredup through the grapevine of the internet and ordered a clean out bag to facilitate my long overdue clothing purge. I put off ordering anything from thredup until I had a need or occasion to shop for. Otherwise I would browse for hours just like in my college days searching for some magical piece with no idea what I wanted. Unfortunately, I do have an occasion to shop for which is my grandmother's memorial service. As someone with a proclivity for black I was sure one of my black dresses hanging in my closet would work. To my surprise most of them were not appropriate, way too short or tight, or don't fit anymore.

I browsed other websites before I gave thredup a chance. Even though I wanted a more conservative black dress the selection was lacking. It being May, the off season for black, didn't help. The dresses were either skewing too young and club appropriate, too short, tight or sparkly or the exact opposite too matronly, dull and shapeless. The selection wasn't great but I've always been a meticulous researcher on the internet and offline so I'm used to the hunt.

Last year I also experienced this when trying to find a bridesmaid dress for my Maid of Honor. I zeroed in on a few contenders with the price and missing sizes constantly taunting me. For this occasion I had two options. I could bite the bullet and go to these stores in real life which could be a total crap shoot in terms of time and money wasted. The other option was ordering the black dresses online hoping they would fit. It turns out I had another option which my email reminded me of.

An email from thredup beckoning me to shop with my beloved new customer coupon was waiting in my inbox. Always a sucker for a good deal I decided to browse. What's the worst that could happen? I searched for nice black dresses and was greeted with more dresses than I'd seen on all the other websites combined. They still had dresses that skewed younger and older but many fell into the middle ground I was looking for being appropriate and flattering.

In the end I picked three dresses from designers I've heard of before, Tadashi, Loft and Anne Taylor, after much agonizing. At least one of these should look good and fit correctly. Any rejects could be returned so I was confident in my selections. I decided to browse through some of my favorite brands. I found a great black striped Marc Jacobs cardigan that would easily integrate into my closet. I also found a black belt with a gold buckle perfect for high waist jeans or cinching a dress or over sized shirt.

In total I got five items for a couple dollars more than my top contender black dress from another website. The coupon definitely made the deal sweeter so I took the plunge and submitted my order. My items arrived within plenty of time for the service in a fun teal and white dotted box. To my surprise all of the dresses fit which is great because I am prepared with an arsenal of little black dresses for any occasion. The Marc Jacobs cardigan I probably won't get to wear until fall since I bought it right when the weather starts heating up in Texas. The black skinny belt looks even better than it did online and I've already rocked it a couple times.

I don't like dissing companies but for the best deals thredup beat out the competition for this shopping challenge. I would say my experience with thredup was great since I wasn't sure what to expect. It's fun to shop through other people's clothes for a discount especially when they are still wearable and only gently worn if at all. This was a great online vintage shopping experience and if you are on the fence about thredup just browse their selection. The clothes speak for themselves.