Thrifting – you know, the activity your boho chic friend or that hipster from Brooklyn on the one TV show does. It’s not something I had ever considered before this month, and spoiler alert, it’s pretty great! So whether you are a seasoned thrifter, or a newbie, I suggest you check out Clothes Mentor.

Where I’m from, thrift shops are not a thing—simply because we don’t have the consumer culture of the US — therefore, the concept of a“thrift” or consignment store is very new to me (probably heard of one only 8 years ago?). The first store I heard about that fit this category was Plato’s Closet. I occasionally would do a closet clean out and drop off my clothes there but I had no idea that there was a subculture of consignment stores right in my city.

When the wonderful ladies at Clothes Mentor reached out tome, I was really looking forward to stepping outside my comfort zone and having my first “thrifting” session. Of course, my first step was to browse their Instagram page; I was delighted to see that they have a ton of brands I love such as FreePeople, JCrew, and BCBG as well as high end designer brands. How could you not get excited about that?

I went to Clothes Mentor in Hyde Park; I have to say that the staff there was so friendly and helpful and showed me around the store, explaining the ins and outs of the process. What struck me was how organized this store was, it wasn’t one of those overwhelming experiences like TJ Maxx or Forever 21 can be where you don’t know where to start. There are “featured” items up in the front which for the top looks of the season, right now being Christmas sweaters, warm zip ups and New Year’s Eve dresses. Then, moving around the store you have everything organized by style (tops, bottoms, dresses, active wear) and every section is divided by color and size as well. The sought-after designer pieces are kept behind the counter for you to take a good look as you’re ringing out.

Clothes Mentor also provides an opportunity for you to“hold” designer pieces or popular pieces that they put on their Instagram by commenting “Hold” – but you gotta hurry, if you don’t pick them up within a certain time frame, they’re released for sale!

My first stop of visiting Clothes Mentor was my own closet.I looked for pieces that were still in great shape (and some still with tags. I know, I know) and brought a bag to sell before my shopping session. I had some CalvinKlein booties up for grabs, a pair of Sam Edelman flats (both of which have not been worn) and some tops and dresses. I was able to score over $60 for what I brought in and used it to pay for the pieces I picked up.

I picked up quite a bit while I was at Clothes Mentor: a gorgeous Aldo purse that looks brand new, a white Free People sweater which was perfect for my Thanksgiving — roomy for lots of eating 😊– and a BCBG sweater dress perfect for keeping me warm at work. My best find was the the earrings from their amazing rack where everything was only $6! 

Here are some of the shots from my “try on session”

If you are local and want to try it for yourself, there are some great promotions going on right now for the holidays. If you spend $25 on a gift card, you will get a little something to treat yourself: $5 to spend in the store (starting in January) and that is not capped, so $5 for every $25 you spend on gift cards. We all know that picky friend (like me!) who has everything but you want to get them the perfect gift!

I am looking forward to going back to Clothes Mentor and featuring my looks in upcoming posts. That earring rack is calling my name!

Thank you to Clothes Mentor for sponsoring this post. Checkout their locations in Anderson, Fields Ertel, Hyde Park and West Chester. They have individual Instagram accounts for each location which is ideal to check their inventory.