Bloomington thrift shops see spike in popularity

Hidden amid the sea of second-hand sweaters and racks of worn jeans was the perfect party outfit.

At last, Kathryn Vance, an IU freshman, found it: a floral print shirt complete with shoulder pads.

For $4.50, the Goodwill find was a bargain.

“We tried to find something tacky,” Vance said.

In lieu of high heels and mini skirts, Vance and other college students are shopping at second-hand stores to find outfits for thrift-shop-themed parties.

Vance said she believes the recent spike in popularity is a result of the song “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks.

“When we were in my room getting ready, we played the song to get pumped for the party,” she said.

Vintage Vogue, 422 E. Kirkwood Ave., officials noted a possibly parallel spike in sales.

“We definitely have seen an increase in sales in the past few weeks and an increase in college kids coming in,” said Zevon Adkisson, a sales associate at the store.

Vintage Vogue is a boutique brand of Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana that receives higher-end or designer donations, with all proceeds funding employment and educational services in central Indiana. The Kirkwood location is the first store of its kind in central Indiana.

Adkisson said several college-age customers have come into the store in search of thrift shop outfits.

“One girl came in and saw we had those hats with the scarves that you put your hands in,” he said, referring to what is also known as a spirit hood. “She freaked out and said, ‘Oh my gosh! This is in the music video.’”

But thrift shopping is no new trend.

“For me personally, I don’t have a lot of cash,” he said. “And here we are not trashing anything. This is a good way for us to still make money, but also to save money.”
Indianapolis resident Sharilyn Bodi said she stops at the store every time she comes to Bloomington.

“I go to thrift stores to find bargains, to find treasures,” she said.

The bargains at the Salvation Army store at 111 N. Rogers Street ranged from the 25-cent clothing rack to a $50 furniture set.

Emily Redenbarger, an IU employee, looks for her favorite treasures: books.

Her desire to thrift is an inherited “family value” to get the most out of a dollar, she said as she held a thick stack of 10 books.

In town, she is able to go thrift shopping often at various local thrift stores.

“Bloomington has been blessed with a variety,” she said.

Tiffany Marcon, a cashier at the Salvation Army store, said she is not sure if there has been a noticeable increase in college students because they come in frequently.

She hadn’t heard of any thrift-shop-themed parties based on Macklemore’s song, but she said the store is a popular location for themed college parties.

“They just do different things,” she said. “Every year they do the ugly sweater parties.
A new one was the girls were dressing up as boys. I don’t know what the boys were wearing,” she said with a laugh.

Students also come to buy IU apparel for a fraction of the price it costs at another store, she said.

All the proceeds benefit people in need in the community, Marcon said.

“We help people with food, clothing, utilities,” she said. “We just had a job fair. We hold church services and run a day care.”

The philanthropic aspect, she said, is another reason customers are attracted to thrift stores.

“You give a dollar here, and you know it does good for others,” Redenbarger said. “It’s a two-for-one deal.”