Saturday, August 8, 2009

Very Green Birthday Eco-Friendly Shopping Trip

Eco-friendly, with the exception of driving to the west side. The good news is that most of the shops were within 5 miles of one another and the majority were on the same street. I make the claim of eco-friendly, because our goal was to purchase exclusively from vintage and resale stores. I thought it would be a nice lesson for my son, as part of his back to school shopping, though we did make a side trip to Urban Outfitters! Lessons learned:

  • Call first, we were disappointed to learn that apparently vintage stores are closed on Tuesdays. I made the mistake of comparing them to thrift stores (closed on Mondays)
  • There are often directories dedicated to antique stores, vintage and resale shops. My targeted stores were found by Googling "cool vintage stores, Cleveland area" and an article published in the local paper last year
  • Look for resale shops that specialize in well edited designer finds - we found some unbelievable deals on polo shorts, purses and graphic tees
  • Excellent places to find gowns for formal affairs that you know you will wear only a few times
  • Consider vintage, resale and antique stores for purchases of accessories, jewelry, dishes and dining sets
  • Most of these establishments can be found clustered in the same general vicinity
  • Get to know the staff, so that they can call you upon reciept of items on your list
  • Definitely not as convenient as going to the mall, but much more satisfying (mentally and financially) once you get the hours down and get to know the staff. Be sure to enjoy breakfast or lunch in the area from a local proprietor.
  • You will learn that you can save lots of money, while wearing one of a kind, unique pieces or wardrobe basics and save the environment

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