Bagging Fashion Trophies in Portland, Oregon

Bagging some serious fashion trophies at a Portland, Oregon, thrift shop.

SAVE ON CHIC | Stuff like this never happens to me, so when it finally did I was gobsmacked—though I shouldn’t have been, because my former sister-in-law Ruth, a Portland attorney with a sharp mind and a gimlet eye for bargains, had been telling me for years that Portland’s Goodwill thrift stores were awesome places to find top brand apparel.

Boy, she wasn’t kidding. On a recent trip to the City of Roses, my former hometown, she took me to a downtown Goodwill “boutique” where, in fewer than 30 minutes, I found the following: a pair of gleaming, never worn Tod’s white patent leather penny loafers; a pair of never worn BCBGirls silver flats with a perforated floral design; a great white Banana Republic skirt strikingly like one I had kicked myself for not grabbing last summer; and a beautiful butter-soft brown leather jacket from Armani Exchange. My total bill for this recycled merch came to $107 U.S. (with No Sales Tax—gotta love this state). What would I have paid had I got the goods new and at retail? I’m guestimating more than $700 U.S. before taxes.

The New York Times reported last summer that the Goodwill’s NYC store is a “brand aware” laboratory of sorts for the loose confederation of 2,200 thrift stores that make up Goodwill’s universe, but I find it hard to imagine that it could hold a candle to the Portland operation. Goodwill’s huge superstore in southeast Portland is immaculate, brightly lit and has a café. It is also as systematically organized as any Target store, which may have accounted for it posting (in 2008) twice the national sales per square foot of any Goodwill (according to The Oregonian). While I did find top brands at the superstore and I would go back, it took some looking. At the downtown boutique, the high-end fashions jumped off the racks—easy pickings for a diehard frugalista. —C. Rule

In Portland, Oregon, Goodwill Superstore is located at 1943 SE 6th Avenue. For store hours, call 503-238-6165.  In downtown Portland, Goodwill on 10th is located at 838 SW 10th Avenue. For store hours, call 503-595-1040.

Photo: C. Phaisalakani