The Seattle Goodwill annual Glitter Sale is the “super bowl” of thrift shopping! All throughout the year, all Goodwill locations in Western Washington set aside donations of premium brands of clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accessories, saving them for this one weekend sale in November of each year. A veteran of both thrift-shopping and the Glitter sale, it was hard to contain my excitement as I previewed this years sale.
From shoes, to handbags, clothing, vintage, and accessories, there is something for everyone if you have the patience to dig for treasures and the eye for the good brands. Several years ago I shopped the Glitter Sale for the 1st time, arriving to get in line at 5am on a cold, rainy Saturday morning in November only to find out I was number 223 in line. What the? I started taking notes.
Committed thrift-shoppers get in line as early as 10pm the night before, camping out on Dearborn in their tents and camping chairs. I will never forget my first Glitter Sale, as a scored a pair of never worn Christian Louboutin peep-toe black pumps and a fabulous black fur vintage jacket. The next year, I actually amped up my thrifting dedication and camped out on Dearborn in the rain with two of my dear friends that drove up from Portland. We arrived to set up our camping gear shortly after midnight, only to realize we were numbers 31, 32, & 33 in line. The dedication of thrift shoppers is no joke. I’ve never been a day after Thanksgiving shopper. Crowds aren’t really my thing. But an opportunity to score Chanel, Dior, Jimmy Choo, and more? Yeah, you have my attention. Although I ended up getting incredibly sick from this overnight adventure, I will always tell you it was worth it as a admire my black Manolo Blahnik pumps, black Jimmy Choo’s, Prada quilted purse, Christian Dior trench coat, vintage hand beaded sequined top and Prada rain boots.
What do I love more than hunting for treasures? Knowing that the funds I spend on my new-to-me designer pieces go to a good cause. The Seattle Goodwill is a mission-driven organization, working to address poverty and strengthen communities by preparing people for employment in the current and future marketplace. The Seattle Goodwill strives to be good stewards of all that they’re given to ensure the best future for their students, our community, their organization, and of course, our planet. Over the years, they’ve put an emphasis on environmental stewardship—and will continue down that path for many years to come. This is something very important to me. “Fast fashion” is one of the most damaging things to our environment right up there with plastic packaging that is ruining the lives of our wildlife. Also important to me, as someone who loves fashion and is a career woman and gal about town that attends a large number of various events (that to me require thought-out outfits), “recycling” of donated clothing and accessories is something we should all be doing. Make sure the pieces you donate still have good life to them. In fact, go one step further and spend a little more to buy well made items to begin with. (Insert shameless plug for recycling, donating, composting, and limiting packaging because it’s simply the right thing to do.)
Make sure to mark your calendar for this year’s Glitter Sale that will take place at the Seattle Goodwill Flagship location in downtown Seattle on November 10th & 11th. Don’t want to wait in line or camp out? No worries! They replenish the shelves and racks all weekend long. Happy thrifting!
Want tips on thrifting? Click here to read the Art of Thrift Shopping.
