Savvy shoppers are always on the hunt for a good deal. Trust fund babies and lottery winners aside, stylish thrifters know to head to vintage shops when they're looking for champagne flutes on a beer glass budget.
Still, as the "vintage" trend continues to explode, there are a number of so-called "shops"that function as dumping sites for people's old junk. Experienced thrifters may learn to love the search for treasure, but no one wants to sort through piles of ratty, outdated clothing and racks of chipped dishware. Thankfully, Dallas has a number of vintage and thrift stores that put a lot of thought into curating interesting collections from their secondhand offerings. These are ten of the best.
Lula B's 2639 Main St; 1010 N Riverfront Blvd Lula B's gets a lot of credit for their selection of furniture, mostly mid-century, but this thrift-store-slash-antique-mall has so much more to offer. Spend a little time going through the piles of costume jewelry and stacks of old postcards that vendors use mostly as decoration for their bigger wares. That being said, I did score an old Herman Miller desk chair there for less than $100, so you shouldn't skip out on the furniture bargains either.
Curiosities 2025 Abrams Pkwy There could be no name more apt for this Lakewood shop than Curiosities. Those among us who find design inspiration in the quirky and utterly weird will certainly find something to love in this well-curated collection. A case of vintage jewelry is a particular gold mine, along with a china cabinet piled with buckets full of random, assorted small things, like old political campaign buttons, Scrabble tiles, and weird old coins. Even though this shop is small, give yourself plenty of time to check it out. There are thousands of treasures tucked inside.
Dolly Python 1916 N Haskell Ave Dolly Python is an obvious choice for a 'best of' list when it comes to vintage stores, but a lot of patrons who are used to junk shopping to get a deal are surprised when they see the sometimes hefty price tags on vintage goods. But Dolly Python isn't just a vintage store. There's no extraneous old junk, and every piece looks as if it was hand-picked to be part of their array of oldies and oddities. You'll pay a little more here, but how could anyone put a price on an ashtray that looks like a foot or a Beatles vinyl in mint condition?
Ross at Peak Thrift Store Corner of Peak and Ross At first glance Ross at Peak Thrift Store looks like the kind of place that is too dusty and cluttered to even bother with, especially for those of us who aren't "extreme thrifters." But if you can look beyond the piles of old furniture and stuffy space, treasures abound. The owners are always friendly, and are sometimes willing to haggle on an item if you're not too unreasonable. Some of the furniture here may be fixer-upper material, but isn't that why you have all those DIY Pinterest boards in the first place?
B4 2707 Main Street Geeks who grew up in the '70s or '80s will be in nostalgia heaven as soon as they walk through the doors to B4. In the front, it looks almost like a Toys-R-Us, assuming you got in a time machine and teleported back to 1986. Star Wars figurines, metal lunchboxes, and random old toys (Stretch Armstrong, anyone?) abound, and the back of the store is where music lovers will find a wealth of reasonably-priced vinyl, cassettes, and weird memorabilia.
Genesis Benefit Thrift Store 3419 Knight St This is the kind of thrift shop where serious thrifters do their shopping. Genesis Benefit Thrift Store on Lemmon is deceptively large, and packed full of clothing, housewares, and other old goodies. They have a surprisingly good collection of books, a clothing selection that is good for building wardrobe basics, and a nice selection of charming tchotchkes that will help give your space a little kitschy character. Best of all, the few bucks you will be plunking down go to benefit victims of domestic violence. Win-win.
Pandemonium 2726 N Henderson Ave Everything you could ever need for a tacky Halloween or "throwback Thursday" party can be easily located at Pandemonium! on Lower Greenville. The fashions of the '60s, '70s, and '80s are crammed into every corner of this tiny little treasure, but you'll occasionally find a hidden gem that will look perfect with the clothes you buy at Urban Outfitters and ModCloth. Sure, it's kitschy, but couldn't we all use a little more twee in our lives?
Thrift World 3046 Forest Ln You won't find a lot of high-end items here, though the clothing racks sometimes yield delicious designer finds. Hipsters can practically assemble an entire outfit here, especially considering the collection of items that will perfect a look that fits in perfectly with the early '90s flashback fashion that seems to be so popular among that crowd. The prices here are extremely reasonable, and it isn't uncommon to find an item that never saw a bit of wear before landing on their shelves.
Salvation Army Family Store (Oak Lawn) 5554 Harry Hines Blvd, Thanks to the converging of a variety of Dallas neighborhoods in the area, Salvation Army Family Store is a treasure trove of the highest order. Upscale and lower-end items are all mixed in together, so you're going to have to do a little digging. Most fans of this Salvation Army rave about the furniture selection, where you can find antique and mid-century finds without paying vintage store prices. On Wednesdays, you can score the absolute best deals because it's "customer appreciation day," and all clothing is 50% off. Be prepared for the crowds, though - you might have to elbow your way to that ridiculously underpriced Valentino blazer.
Voodoo Chile 5643 Bell Ave. If an acid trip could be recreated in a retail setting, Voodoo Chile would be the spot. This is technically a vintage store, but functions more like an art gallery for its eccentric owner, who claims that his name is actually Jimi Hendrix. Weird doesn't even begin to describe some of the items on these shelves, like the above-pictured mannequin-head-on-a-turntable contraption. There are also bedazzled "tobacco pipes," and a surprisingly solid collection of well-loved vinyl that you can buy on the cheap.
