Everything is expensive now. It’s hard to buy anything without thinking to yourself, “How did I just spend that much money?!”
Escaping the constant overpricing of essentials and desirables alike is nearly impossible, but one way to do so is by thrifting.
Shopping for clothes and other goods at thrift stores has become wildly popular in recent years, but some people have still forsaken it and don’t even consider thrifting when shopping for the perfect outfit, furniture piece, etc.
Fresno has many options when it comes to thrifting, with everything from Salvation Army and Goodwill to vintage boutiques and reseller markets.
In Tower District and downtown alone, there’s several options less than a 10-minute drive from the Fresno City campus.
Some of those include:
Neighborhood Thrift (353 E Olive Ave & 3139 W Shaw Ave)
La Tienda Guild (708 E Olive Ave)
Bebe O’s Vintage Boutique (1130 N Wishon Ave)
Valley Thrift Center (820 E Shields Ave)
Valley Thrift Center 2 (516 N Chestnut Ave)
Mission Thrift (181 E Sierra Ave & 6036 N First St)
Anastasia’s Vintage (5577 N Blackstone Ave)
Summoned Clothing (2019 Tuolumne St)
Emerald Thrift Store (717 Van Ness Ave)
DAV Thrift Store (701 Van Ness Ave)
Salvation Army (710 S Parallel Ave)
Thrift Demon (1904 Fresno St)
Yoshi World (1410 Kern St)
While there’s definitely more, these are some of the ones I’ve been to and have had luck at over the years.
The front entrance of Neighborhood Thrift, located in the Tower District on Sept 4. (Photo by: Nicholas Polenz)
The first thrift store I ever visited, while still a kid that was discovering my fashion style, was Neighborhood Thrift.
Finding nostalgic, yet cheap sweaters, t-shirts, jackets, etc. was eye opening for me at the time.
I remember some of the stuff I found was from before I was even born, like a t-shirt from a 1993 student trip to Washington D.C. that I still have, at this point more of a memento than something I still wear, but fashionable nonetheless.
Neighborhood Thrift not only has clothes, but furniture, books, and other knickknacks as well.
They focus on hiring individuals that may have criminal backgrounds or other problems that affect their hireability elsewhere, and that has been a staple of their business since opening in 2008.
“We try to give individuals opportunities to work and get job experience to show that they are able to be productive in the work field,” said Kameisha Green, the Administrative Assistant at Neighborhood Thrift.
They give out blankets and clothing to unhoused people, and also work with schools in the area to provide clothing for kids through handing out vouchers and having clothing closets at the school.
“There’s students that might have it rough at home and aren’t able to get clothes,” Green said. “That’s why we have open closets where we’re able to provide clothes for them.”
Neighborhood Thrift is one of the bigger thrift stores in the area, but there are some smaller stores that also have some great finds.
One of those is Bebe O’s Vintage Boutique, located just off of Olive Ave on N Wishon.
Owners of Bebe O’s, Bebe & Marty, in front of their store on Sept 9. (Photo by: Nicholas Polenz)
Bebe O’s specializes in more high-end vintage clothing, making it hard not to find some fashionable and rare items from the past.
Though their selection is not as wide and cheap as some other places, they have great things to offer.
It started 17 years ago as a way to help kids who didn’t have enough clothes.
“I wanted to give back to the community,” said Bebe, the owner and namesake of the store, who was mentoring kids at the time and saw firsthand how they were treated poorly because of their lack of nice clothes.
“It started with one rack at home. We then bought 500 pounds of clothes and it took over the house,” Bebe said.
After a few months they moved into a store and five years later ended up where they are located now.
“From this place, we get to teach, work with kids in the community, do outreach, go into the streets to feed and clothe the homeless, we work with kids who have disabilities, or challenges,” Bebe said.
“We’re not rich in money but we’re rich in product.” she added.
Bebe then pointed to a large pile filling up the ground near where we were talking and explained that they were donating all of it in time for the winter months.
Before talking to Bebe, I had no idea of how active they were in community outreach, but it makes it even more worth it to check out their store.
Another thrift store worth mentioning that I feel is underrated is Valley Thrift Center 1&2.
Valley Thrift Center 1, located on Shields Ave on Sept 7. (Photo by: Nicholas Polenz)
These thrift stores are more similar to Neighborhood Thrift in aesthetic, and I’ve found some of my favorite clothes from their two stores.
The best part about Valley Thrift in my opinion, is their deals.
They have deals every day of the week, which can often be from 50-75% off the original price. I’ve walked out with a shopping cart full of clothes for no more than $20, wondering how it could be possible.
The inside of Valley Thrift Center #2 on Sept 11, where different colored tags indicate deals up to 75% off. (Photo by: Nicholas Polenz)
Though I’d like to gatekeep Valley Thrift, these two stores deserve the recognition as top thrift stores in Fresno.
Fresno City is full of students who love to thrift, with many relying on thrifting to get their clothes because of how expensive buying new clothes is now.
That, along with the fact that fashion styles from the past, like the 90s and Y2K, are becoming more popular with younger generations, is why thrifting is so valuable.
“There’s joy in finding something hidden that you usually wouldn’t find in a normal store,” said Dali, a psychology major at FCC, who mentioned that their favorite spots in Fresno were the Goodwill and Anastasia’s Vintage, which is a part of Mad Monk (a great spot for physical media).
One thing I’ve noticed is that thrift stores are almost always filled with heart. The people working at these stores care about their community and care about second chances. The items themselves are full of heart, rather than being straight out of the factory.
It always makes me curious as to who owned the item before I laid hands on it, who else’s hands had held it. To some that’s unsettling, but to me, that’s a part of the beauty of thrifting. To see items lined up next to each other, some made decades apart, all of them owned and perhaps treasured at one point, but now ready to be treasured by someone new, perhaps a young person finding their fashion style, or by someone looking for reminders of their past youth, or by some who may not be looking for fashion, but rather out of necessity to remain warm that night.
No matter who it is searching through the aisles, it’s beautiful to witness that person find something and see them decide that that particular item is a treasure to them, to give that item a second, or third, chance at usefulness. That to me, is why thrifting is such a worthy experience.