I was always especially lucky when it came to finding cool, swanky, vintage jackets on the cheap. My daughter often commented that it was some sort of superpower I had, but admitted later that she just didn’t have the patience to sift through the crap to find the gems, and that all the energies swirling around in a second-hand store just aren’t really her vibe. I am sure there are others that feel as she does. But I am 100% team thrift!!

I digress; you see, the reason I am on a rant about Value Village now is for one simple and STUPID reason. They closed all the dressing rooms during the pandemic, and instead of reopening them after the return to “normal,” they decided to just take them out altogether. No more changing rooms. I mean, WHAT?!? I can’t buy clothes without a fitting room! I HAVE to try things on! Have you seen my ass???

See, if you are shopping there primarily for clothes like I do, you have to pay for them to be able to take them home and try them on, and then if it doesn’t fit… you can’t even get a refund! Nope, you can only take it back for a store credit…with tags and receipt of course. So now you have to go back and sift through the racks again, looking for more things to take home that also MAY NOT FIT! (Especially if you are someone who does not have a cookie-cutter shape/size.)

Now, you may find yourself in a never-ending thrift shop store-credit loop nightmare, so I suggest you spend your credits on things you CAN try on in the store, like jackets and shoes, OR visit the housewares section instead. When I asked about the lack of fitting rooms, the clerks at Value Village said that people were using the stalls to shoplift, and getting rid of them was to prevent theft. But for me, it has prevented shopping. The thrill is gone. Value Village has lost its value. Goodwill has also eliminated their dressing rooms, stating that people would leave piles of clothes behind and make a mess out of them. And I just can’t help but wonder… if other clothing stores can manage their dressing rooms…why can’t these establishments? I feel like the amount of money it would take to pay someone to hand out the little dressing room numbers and check your items before and after entry…like literally every other clothing store does…has got to be significantly less than the money they must be losing from people like me who no longer shop there for clothes. Or is it only me? Am I the only one who thinks it’s ridiculous to sell clothes without access to a dressing room, AND without a refund option? Is everyone else able to just eyeball an outfit and know that it fits? And with gas being so expensive, having to return multiple times to try and put together an outfit or a wardrobe, makes the cost effectiveness of thrifting, not very cost effective.

Who made this decision? Who thought this was a good idea? Did they think it would improve their bottom line? And I wonder, has it??? I have so many questions!!! BUT, I also have answers! Thanks to our friend and local fashionista Fred Novak, I have been introduced to all of the wonderful thrift and vintage clothing shops in downtown Tacoma, specifically on Broadway between 9th and 7th Streets, in and around Antique Row. Mecca Mercantile is a favorite, and to me, it could be considered the anchor thrift store to several others right there within walking distance. On Broadway, there is Peppermint Tuna, Urban Squirrel, Dhabadashery, SYC, They Them Vintage, as well as Stories Thrift and Gifts and a few more inside the winding maze of the mad hat-ish building that is Sanford and Son. Definitely a full day’s worth of thrift and vintage shopping! Admittedly the pricing isn’t quite as thrifty, but neither is anything else post-pandemic. Even so, they are still cheaper than most brand new clothing stores, and the items are much more curated than Value Village and Goodwill, which means there are more gems and less crap, subject to your personal taste of course. And let’s not forget that buying secondhand keeps things out of the landfills! So, this budget cheap writer and artist says SHOP THRIFT but forget Value Village and Goodwill until they bring back the fitting rooms. Ain’t no one got time for that nonsense! End rant.