the fashion void that is DC - A "Unique" Experience

And lame post titles are a go! There are many things I have been wanting to post about lately, but I gotta knock this one out of the way first.

So, yesterday's outfit was built for a shopping experience. And a shopping experience it was. I went to Unique Thrift Store in Falls Church, VA. Not knowing what to expect, I got up bright and early and decided to make a day trip of it.



And it's a really good thing I did, because combing the store itself indeed ate up my whole afternoon.

I don't want to bang out too many words right now, so I'm pasting the review I wrote on Yelp. What readers HERE will get here, though, is pictures! And maybe even a little added words. Haha.



The first thought that came across my mind as I walked into Unique Thift Store was, "this is INSANE." And it knows it too.

After walking almost a mile from the Dunn Loring metro station and crossing Lee Highway, the store's billboard looms over the horizon: "UNIQUE THRIFT STORE" in carnival font, as if it is the main attraction of the plaza also hosting a Gold's Gym, asian supermarket and Five Guys (popular burger joint in the area).



When you first walk in, you get the impression that you're in a Toy's R Us; there's a large white wall, a "foyer" of sorts, that leads you to where the store actually begins. I think it's there to add to the suspense.



As for the store itself, it is HUGE, supermarket-sized, as one reviewer mentioned previously. It's divided into two parts -- the first part has vendors selling counterfeit purses/fobby clothing and cell phones/Timberlands (?) reminiscent of a night market, except indoors. I kind of skipped over this part, as the plastic Coach and Prada purses, and rhinestone-encrusted Hello Kitty t-shirts were a little off-putting.





Okay, getting to the second part -- the "meat" -- so to speak. It's basically a huge warehouse stuffed with secondhand clothing, housewares, books and other random doodads. Among the clothing, it's pretty much standard thrift fare -- a few gems scattered among the mess. Except take your thrift store and times a hundred. Luckily, they had shopping carts, which I filled mine to practically overflowing. The prices are pretty good, though not -astronomically- so. $5 - $30 for most dresses. $15 - $50 for jackets. Coats and sequinned items can get to be over $50. Yeah, sequinned stuff, of all things. Even more expensive than leather! Tops can be a buck, though most are around $3 - $10. Okay, I guess that's still cheap, but I've been getting more and more stingy recently.







There's not much "crazy" stuff available, sadly (ie, acetate prom dresses, etc) but I -did- see an extremely bizarre pair of neon-pink, puffer overalls. Oh yeah, and doesn't that leather-and-shearling coat on the top right remind you of the Topshop Unique one (Aww, it's gone, I linked to the vest instead)? Except for, literally, 5% of the price?



Guess what section the rack of fur coats on the bottom right is from. WRONG. It's from the girl's section. That's right.

Did I mention there's no fitting rooms? Be prepared to strip to your skivvies, OR wear a romper under a skirt as not to violate public indecency laws. The atmosphere is fairly clean and organized, and when you decide to whittle down the pile in your shopping cart, there are many racks available for putting away stuff.

Other accessories were negligible. Nice boot selection though, especially of the lace-up, granny variety.



But wait! It's not over yet. Such a huge store warrants a huge review. Among the jewelry, prices ranged from single to triple digits, and the selection was rather small and behind glass cases. They've got some nice watches, but they're broken. Easily fixable though, and at $7, why not?



Almost done, I swear. I didn't look at the furniture, but there's a lot of it. And bicycles. And X-mas-themed stuff. Notably, they've got a music section, with boxes filled with old vinyl records and tapes. They were all around 50 cents to a dollar, so I'd pick some up; even if you don't necessarily know the band, the design of the cover is enough. Avoid the plentiful Barbra Streisand, though. And Barry Manilow. No offense.



I ended up walking away with a nice structured tan leather jacket ($20), a silky jumpsuit ($3.50), a striped girl's skater skirt reminiscent of the American Apparel high-waist spandex skirt (except only $4, in yo' face AA), a moss green, drop-waisted dress ($10) and the fan-shaped watch necklace ($7). Be sure to comb the children's sections, too -- honestly, the boy's and girl's outerwear were more compelling than the women's and men's. Seriously.

ALRIGHT, that's where my Yelp review ends. Here are a couple more tidbits:

There was a REALLY adorable girl's sailor jacket that I did not pick up because it doesn't really fit my style. It greatly reminded me of the jackets those eBay vintage shops sell all the time:



I was contemplating buying it anyways, and maybe selling it later, too, but I decided to be honorable.

Afterwards, I ate at Five Guys. Not to be confused with its fierce competitor, Four Sisters.



There was also an asian supermarket next door, so I stopped in for some snacks:



I haven't eaten any in so long! Nostalgia!

The area of Dunn Loring/Merrifield was a bit run down as well. Broken glass and abandoned buildings abounds. Here, we have the ghosts of KFC and Taco Bell past:





All in all: going to Unique Thrift Store makes a really good day trip.