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Times are tough. And not just because, in case you've been living on a glacier in Antarctica for the last six months and haven't heard, the economy sucks. But tuition is due soon. Which means you're probably debating whether you're going to go to school in February, or eat instead. And that's not going to save you the need to, every now and again, update your look with a new sweater or replace that pair of jeans you can now see through in patches.
Before you blow your student loans at Banana Republic, consider dropping by one of these low-cost alternative stores. Take a friend, and if all else fails you'll have a free laugh on an overly squishy couch about '80s furniture, Lycra clothes, bad posters, and all the other garbage people felt good enough to give away.
Salvation Army 2205 E. Colfax Ave., Denver
Salvation Army continues to be the best place to find 50-cent paperbacks and burnt orange living room sets. It's the worst of the worst when it comes to bric-a-brac, and the cheapest of the cheap when it comes to clothing.
The store on East Colfax labors between the glare of fluorescent lights and the hopelessness of industrial carpeting.
Clothing racks squeeze together as tightly as they can, but navigating the aisles isn't that much of a problem since the store doesn't exactly draw a crowd.
If you're looking for a cheap coffee maker or a used mattress or even a slightly worn pair of khakis, this is the place to go. Women's pants range from $3.95 to $5.20. It's the perfect place to pick up your white corduroys or maroon paisley velour pants.
If you're looking for something less soul-sucking, I'd suggest an M. Night Shyamalan movie. But hey, at least it's bilingual.
Best of the worst: Beaded necklace $4 Khakis $5.25 Wooden ice cream maker $5 Most frightening find: Broken fan $.50 Fabulous find: Vintage purse $9.99
ARC 6731 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood
The ARC on West Colfax exudes the comfortable feeling of thrift stores as you have always known them. Shelves and racks are thickly stocked with miscellaneous cast-offs, but aisles are wide enough for shopping carts, each equipped with an eight-foot pole topped with a tennis ball. The effect is a bit like watching tennis ball shark fins trolling up and down the aisles. Bloodthirsty bargain hunters abound. And if you're willing to scour the racks, you can find labels from Dickies to Dockers to Calvin Klein, all for less than $15.
Jerry and Pam Grubner, a Kentucky couple visiting Denver, said they always make the rounds to Denver's big ARC and Goodwill stores. Denver stores, they said, are far better than what they get back home, so they stop by to shop for their two grandsons. "People around here buy like crazy," Jerry said.
"Jeans are a little hard to buy," said Pam, "but it's always easy to buy shirts for six-year-olds."
Clothing is segregated by style and size all the way from the 4's and 6's to plus sizes. Though the end-of-aisle displays occasionally resort to plastic baggies of hair ties and other unknown but cheerfully colored sundries, most of the merchandise claims at least some vestige of order and aesthetic.
Except the furniture, of course, which seems to be the doom of every thrift store merchandise manager and inevitably falls into rows of lumpy cushions and shabby upholstery.
On Saturday afternoon, four of ARC's five tag colors were 50 percent off. That crops cheap prices down to being even cheaper than the hot dogs for sale outside. (And if you exit hungry, you could pass up the wieners for the wonders of Casa Bonita, which shares a parking lot with the thrift store.)
Browsing highlights: The Beer Machine $9.99 Pat Benatar's Precious Time on vinyl $1.99 Men's suit coats $9.99-$24.99 Women's pink-washed Gap jeans $5.99 Fabulous find: Tweed skirt $3 Most frightening find: Coffee mug emblazoned with the image of someone else's baby $.99
Buffalo Exchange 230 E. 13th Ave., Denver
The Buffalo Exchange doesn't deserve to be called a thrift store. Their self-described "recycled fashions" often claim price tags on par with items at Target. The benefit, however, comes with the bang for your buck.
Buyers employ a mysterious logarithm when scanning merchandise customers bring in to sell. Buffalo Exchange rejects almost everything. They don't take donations; they offer cash or store credit for fashions reusable for city hipster kids looking to catch the next anti-trend.
"[What we buy] varies day to day, even hour to hour," said one sales clerk. "It has to do with the label, the condition, and our stock."
Merchandise that has been on the racks for over a month gets marked down by 50 percent as the store tries to keep its stock fresh.
If you're looking for cheap clubwear, or to freshen up your outfit for work at Shotgun Willie's, Buffalo Exchange does offer some reasonably low prices for glittery tank tops. And the labels run as high as Gucci.
Also, keep an eye out for the Earth Day Dollar Sale on April 22.
On their racks: Women's pants $16-$42 Tank top with a December tag $3 Men's designer jeans $48 Most frightening find: Stripper heels $16 Fabulous find: Sweater from The Limited $25
Goodwill 21 S. Broadway, Denver
The Goodwill on Broadway claims one thing even some department stores lack: good lighting. Between that and the wood floors, you could be fooled into forgetting that this store is selling things people gave away for free.
And though they're not pouring champagne, there's free coffee and tables near the books if your shopping day has worn you down.
They've got showcases of purses and jewelry that require assistance. Some of the nicer shoes are only set out, in racks labeled with the appropriate sizes, one at a time to prevent anyone from pulling a try-on-and-walk-off. The staff is thick in the aisles at this store, resupplying the shelves with new merchandise that, according to store volunteer Enrico Leone, arrives every 10 to 15 minutes.
"I know where everything is in this store," said Leone. "I hide the nice items that come in hot, so when someone comes in and asks me for a gift, I can take them right to something good." He currently has stashed an anorexic donkey and a disappointed frog in a wedding dress on a back shelf he said most people overlook.
But the prices reflect the upscale nature of this outlet. Leone said he thinks they're a little high for a thrift store, which means merchandise stays on the shelf for a long time and the basement fills up with donations that have no shelf space to occupy.
The selection includes: Never-worn Isaac Mizrahi heels $5.99 Wood desk $64.99 Men's dress shoes $11.99 Most frightening find: Fish tank still full of aquarium clutter $7.99 Fabulous find: Best American Short Stories 2005 edition, edited by Michael Chabon $.99
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