Thursday, January 31, 2008

Thrift Store Review: GOODWILL I-45 SPRING CYPRESS

When I first moved here, I kept looking for a thrift store that would compare to my beloved Faith Farm in Florida. I had a hard time finding any. It took a lot of searching and word of mouth and luck to find the ones I have found. I would have really appreciated a thrift store guide, so I will be posting reviews in the future of thrift stores that I am familiar with or have recently gone to. I might throw in an antique store review here and there if I get time.

I think this may also be called a Goodwill Select store. They have a convenient location next door to drop off donations before you go in to buy more. They are located on the east side of 1-45 at 1417 Spring Cypress Rd 111B in Spring, Texas. They're in a shopping center right off the feeder road near a McDonalds.

I have to say this is the nicest Goodwill I have been in. The book selection was slim pickings, but there were some treasures in the toys. My son was very excited to get Hungry, Hungry Hippos (complete, $2), and we got this made in Israel bead toy for $.69 (see photo).
Totally worth it. It kept the toddler occupied for twenty minutes!
But this store is all about CLOTHES. Racks of men's suits and dress shirts, and twice as many racks of women's clothing. I haven't even told you the best part. They are all organized by color. All the long sleeve shirts together then broken down into reds blending into oranges into yellows and greens, blues, black and whites. Then there is short sleeve shirts then tank tops then dress shirts. Many of them still had store tags on them, like a lovely new Banana Republic shirt that, sadly, did not fit me. I was in heaven with the blue jeans though, which were also sorted by color - light denim, standard blue, dark denim, black. Ooodles of brand names, many had European sizes. The really nice brands were ridiculously small, like Hollywood small, but I found plenty of Gap and Levis to try on. I was only limited by time and money, and at $7.99 a pair, I only bought one pair.
If you are looking for a sundress, cocktail dress or semi formal, check out the wall of dresses. Oh, how I miss prom. I totally splurged on a $9.99 cream colored satin dress with a rosy ribbon waist. It still had the dry cleaning tag on it - ready to wear. Not a clue when I will wear it, but then it wouldn't be a guilty pleasure.
This is also a great stop for kids and baby clothing, which were much more reasonably priced. Much of the kids clothing looked barely worn. I'm not sure what kind of kids these people had, but I suspect I don't know any of them. I was able to find new long sleeved shirts for both boys, only $1.99 a piece. I'm fairly certain they've already put stains on them.
All in all, a really clean and well organized thrift store with brand name and like new items. Downside - high prices.
Here's a sample of prices:
Board Games $1.99-3.99
Books $.49 and up
Infant/Toddler 1 pc $1.99
Kids Shirts $1.99
Ladies/Mens long sleeve shirts $5.99
Dresses $7.99 and up
Jeans $7.99

You will probably find mostly upper middle class people shopping there. I was taken aback by a woman talking very loudly into her cell phone as she perused the dresses. "He doesn't care about me. He gave me this $4000 pin, and I don't even wear pins. I took it back to the store and got a fantastic pearl necklace. I showed it to him and he was angry. He wasn't even happy for me. He just doesn't get it. He doesn't care about me. Do you know he is always getting me roses and I don't even like roses!? I like lilies." Hmmm, I'm not sure that a thrift store is the best place to have such a conversation. I just had to share that because I simply cannot understand a woman complaining about recieving roses.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

while I cannot understand her being so ungrateful about it...I do understand what she meant-- who cares that he brought you roses if you have told him for years you desire carnations (at a fraction of the cost!). It's not about how much money he was spending- but about listening to her-- personally. She may have been super tickled with one hand picked daisy instead of 2 doz. roses. However-- I am sure this was all rooted in something MUCH deeper...and this was just today's addition to her list of disappointments.

Anonymous said...

I just love Goodwills. We have a great one here in West Palm. There is a clearance center that charges by the pound. We have found Chanel purses and leather hats and other goodies.
Who doesn't like roses! That relationship is doomed. All about me!