Thrift Shops

Welcome to "Clothes to Free," the weekly column where Money College blogger Alysse Dalessandro takes you into the collegiate world of high fashion, low prices and looking good while your wallet feels better. Got tips for Alysse? Leave a comment at the end of this story or e-mail...

While retailers struggle to sell anything no matter how much they slash prices, some thrift shops are raking it in. The guy who runs the Salvation Army's Chicago thrift shops says sales are up 26% -- and some people using the charity's other services are apologizing because they were regular donors...

The precarious financial position of the American consumer has led to a lot of headlines about thrift shops doing big business and for some second-hand store operators, the recession has been a godsend.But as the economy gets worse, it's causing trouble for some thrift shops. Why? Aggressive...

With bank balances in the danger zone and credit cards nearly maxed out, most Americans have been forced to adjust their spending habits, especially when it comes to things like new clothes. But just because we can't afford to spend, that doesn't mean we want to stop shopping! Still, there's only...

Have you been to a mall lately? It's sort of a depressing place. Lots of stores have vacated the premises, and with the clerks that are left manning the surviving shops and kiosks look like they're starved for social interaction. There's just no one there. The Christmas music playing over the PA...

As a girl, I was a perfectionist. I can remember my boxes of watercolors, and how I obsessively rinsed my brushes between colors so as not to turn them into a rainbow of blacks and browns. Pastels were even more precious, and took a soft touch to blend them on paper, but not on the instrument...

Part of the problem inherent in cookbook shopping is that it's really hard to take it for a dry run, first. You can get a feel for a pattern book by the photos of the finished object; for fiction, you can read a few pages and see if it draws you in. But you don't cook for how a meal looks, and all...

If you enjoy a hot beverage once in a while, you've probably felt it: the conviction that a lovely mug would make you happy. Do you know the domestic bliss encapsulated in that tableau; a clean surface, a project you enjoy, a mug that signifies your style? It's the still-life art as life.But...

There does seem to be something sleazy about the idea of buying someone a "thrift gift." How cheap can you be? Here's a different spin and all it takes is a bit of thought and creativity. Like any kind of gift buying, gift shopping at thrift stores is easier and more fun for people you know well....

For years, the only way sweaters made it into my wardrobe was because some woman -- sister, wife, Mom -- put them there. At $75 and up, sweaters never seemed a justifiable expense -- I was living in the South, the only cold I really dealt with were walks to the car in January, which I managed just...