Hand-me-down shirt from mama, $1.50 brooch from Unique, $2.00 vintage shorts from Unique, $15 sandals from Marshalls
Happy Memorial Day! I hope you've been enjoying your long holiday weekend - here in New Jersey we've definitely been lucky with some gorgeous summer weather. Instead of being down the shore like most of my Jersey counterparts I've been stuck at home studying - scheduling a licensing exam the Friday after MDW definitely wasn't the smartest decision I've ever made! However, you better believe I made sure to give myself a shopping break! I started my morning yesterday by checking out Unique Thrift's Memorial Day Sale.
If you're not familiar, Unique Thrift is a pretty large thrift store chain that currently has 30 locations, with a large amount of them here in New Jersey. What's fun about Unique stores is that they are HUGE - I would say the size of a Marshall's/TJ Maxx, and carry EVERYTHING; clothes, shoes, jewelry, toys, furniture, electronics, accessories, housewares, you name it. As they say on their website "...a quick trip to Unique Thrift store has been known to turn in to a day long adventure", and they're not kidding! You could easily lose track of time there. Prices are definitely good, especially for what you may come across tucked in their racks - shirts and blouses range from $3.99 to $6.99, dresses for less than $10.00, and shoes in the same range. They also have a "special section" of sorts behind the registers where they keep more expensive items such as designer brands, fine china, and smaller electronics.
What drew me to Unique this weekend was their holiday sale. Every long holiday weekend the entire store goes 50% off on the holiday, with a special preview day for their VIP Loyalty Club members the day before. Being in the Loyalty Club is totally free, and is similar to most loyalty programs at other retailers; you earn points for your purchases, and in return have access to sales and receive additional discounts and coupons. This weekend they had an additional incentive - if you downloaded their Unique VIP App to your smartphone, you could enter the store an hour earlier on preview day.
I wasn't sure what to expect, so I arrived at the Union, NJ location around 9:45 AM; 15 minutes ahead of the early access time. Others clearly had the same idea as me, which I was expecting! There were about 20-30 people already patiently waiting for 10 o'clock. The line would continue to grow before they opened the doors. At exactly 10 they came out and began letting people in, checking each person's smartphone for the app. People rushed in and grabbed precious shopping carts, ready to load them up! I wasn't coming in looking for anything in particular, so I took my time wandering the aisles and sections.
There was a lot to look at in the jewelry section; they had multiple cases, all pretty packed:
A lot of it was fun costume pieces, and everything was very reasonably priced. I've been getting into wearing brooches lately, so I picked up these three cuties, along with some fun beads!:
With the 50%, I paid $9 for the three necklaces and the three pins!
I also came home with an adorable handbag, a pretty vintage scarf, and a nice Ann Taylor top. However, my find of the day was definitely these vintage shorts!:
How cute are they!? I was giddy when I picked them up off the rack, and even more so when they zipped up perfectly! They were priced at $3.99, so with the discount they were $2.00!
Overall it was definitely a successful shopping trip, and I would absolutely go to a 50% off event at Unique again. After doing it once though, I have some advice:
- If you're planning on trying on clothes, come wearing a tight camisole and leggings/tight shorts. Unique only allows 3 items in the dressing room at one time, and you're required to leave your cart outside the dressing room. Some people were stealing items and entire carts from people trying on! To avoid this and having to go back and forth from my cart, I ended up trying on only the bottoms in the fitting room, and tried on all of the tops over my cami in front of another mirror in the store. Next time I wouldn't even bother with the fitting rooms.
- Definitely try to get there early. Once they opened the doors at the normal time of 11am, there was a huge rush of people. By the time I left around 11:30, the racks were noticeably more empty. To get the best selection, and to to shop with a little more ease, it's worth it to get there for 10:00 am.
- Come patient and ready to be around tons of people! You'll be constantly maneuvering amongst other people's stuffed carts, and sometimes waiting for an associate to be available to help you at any of the counters.
- Don't hesitate to flip through every item on the rack! Sizes can be in the wrong spots, and you never know what you'll come across!
Even though it's been low key for me, it's definitely been a well-spent Memorial Day Weekend. Enjoy the rest of your holiday loves! Until next time....
xoxo, Bettie
