U District's Thrifty Shopping Options
(Seattlest, say hello to Monica Cohn, one of our new shopping correspondents.)
The U District caters to students, but the new and used clothing stores on the Ave carry a wide range of styles that fit professional lifestyles. The great thing about these stores? Four to eight pieces of "new to you" clothing for under $100.
But that said, the U District’s thrift shops offer mixed results.
We started out at Crossroads Trading Co. (4300 University Way) which had too slight a men’s selection to interest our friend, though we marveled at the spaciousness of the store. The space to maneuver between racks and the trendy clothes gave the feel of being a new clothing retailer's store.
In the women's section we browsed clothes categorized old new and used, separated further into type and even color. But the clothes were too select and too few--nothing among the trendy, of-the-moment collection screamed "must-have."
At the Red Light (4560 University Way; also with a location on Broadway), we had the urge to buy a leather coat. Why? Because it was a cropped red leather coat. It was $100, though, the high end of the leather coats’ price range at the Red Light. Most were in the $70s, though they went as low as $25.
We held off, though, wanting to check out Goodwill's (4552 University Way) leather coats first. It was difficult to sift through the overcrowded racks; diving in for one hanger, we came up with two coats and three hangers. Goodwill's leather coats were all $15-$25, but none impressed us like Red Light's red leather one.
We left Goodwill without a purchase, but our friend walked out with a pair of Levi's for $15. He had agreed to this excursion, being in the market for a pair of jeans, but had been hypnotized by a sweater ($12) and hooded, lined corduroy jacket ($20) at the Red Light. The jeans at the Red Light were plentiful and cheap ($8-24), but none had managed to snag him.
On the other hand, it seemed as if he had to try on every pair of men’s jeans at the Buffalo Exchange (4530 University Way). "But they're only $8!" he wailed, while we pointed out that that didn't make them look right from behind. He ended up with the $65 Diesel jeans.
In the meantime, the mirror had called to us. We admired the reflection of the stunning woman in the Bebe coat dress. It was expensive by thrift shop standards: $40. However, we reasoned that the cost of the coat was offset by the cost of a sweater by Cartonnier, a brand we had never even heard of. Was it a sweater or a coat? It was tailored like a suit coat but it was made of wool so soft it felt like cashmere. And it was only $8.
In the end, we bought six pieces of clothing for just over $100. And any shopper's remorse is lessened by the fact that when we tire of these clothes, we can just sell them back.
