More Halloween Items at Thrift Stores

Today I trekked over to Salinas after finishing work at Home Goods in Gilroy and it wasn't until 4 o'clock that I got back home to Hollister. Anyhow, while in Salinas I went to the Savers thrift store as I'd been hoping to do. Even though it's a week till Halloween, the store was quite crowded and was quite a mess and there were people still deciding in costumes. Because it carries new and used costumes and makeup an accessories, part of the store looks like an actual costume store. Like in other thrift store, used clothing is mixed in with the costumes. Everything from old fancy dresses (that one might be able to pass off for some costume), medical scrubs and sleepwear were mixed in with used costumes, including a French maid without the apron. And once again, graduation robes were in the costume racks. This is actually the store where, in 2005, I bought a red robe and white one from which I crafted my own half devil/half angel costume that year. A year earlier, I'd gone to this same store to look for peace symbol necklace for a hippie costume, actually finding a necklace with matching earrings. As eesm to always be the case in thrift stores at Halloween time, the navy blue and emerald green robes were present in the store (unfortunately, the blue one looks purple in the photo.


I was sadly unable to get any pictures of the cashiers who were in costumes. One was a woman in a purple cape, and another was a man in a clown suit and another was a man in a taco suit. I know this sounds like a sad missed opportunity and I agree, but the store was so busy and it never seemed like the lines would end. On the other hand, I got to see how busy a store can be just one week before Halloween. I'd gone not only to find blog material, but also to look for a 50s dress fro sock hop on November 7.  I did not find one, unfortunately and will be looking again later, probably at another store. 

Later on, I went over to the Salinas Goodwill.  Unlike those in Hollister or Gilroy (both of which are in the Silicon Valley store district), the store in Salinas doesn't carry items from Target, but still had plenty of used costumes.  Like at the other stores, several racks of used costumes were in the front area of the store and other clothse presumably passable for some sort of costume, and again those emerald green graduation robes. At least two of these robes were present in this store location. Strangely, all season, I haven't seen any graduation robes at the Hollister store.

And I found what appears to be Joker costume (see photo below), one of the popular ones from last year. In one of the adjacent racks is a red-and-white checkered shirt (a bit blurred in the photo). Upon seeing this shirt, I thought of those of farmer girl costumes made with shirts like these.   Someone would be in luck if they wanted to make one of these. And next to the Joker is a burgundy velvet dress that appears to be a used vampire costume.  

Like at the Savers store, there were quite a few people looking for a costume a week before the big holiday.   A couple were in there holding a used girl's costume with web-like sleeves to their little girl suggesting she could use it for a vampire.  She apparently didn't want to do that, as they put it back on the rack.

I saw something I'd half-expected to be thrown in with Halloween items at some thrift store somewhere, a sombrero from a nearby Mexican restaurant.  I'd gone to the said restaurant for my birthday one year and was given one fo these hats, which I eventually donated to charity.  

Trying to photograph this hat was impossible as I apparently wasn't aiming my camera correctly. (I'm still getting used to a digital camera and have trouble aiming at some things) so I just gave up on it.   Not much to see, however,  just the logo from this restaurant chain. 

I didn't make it toe Salinas Salvation Army store unfortunately, but in between my two thrift store visits, I made a trek to the Salinas Party City store, which I will be writing about tomorrow.