After Earth Day on Wednesday, sustainability is now the name of the game. Thanks to on-campus locations like the Thrift Den and surrounding stores like the Thrift & Gift Shop in Coventry and BLISS Marketplace in Willimantic, University of Connecticut students have no shortage of options when it comes to thrifting. But with thrifting comes unpredictability, and there’s no way to tell if a trip will bring a hidden gem or a throwaway piece. Today, writers of the Life section have come together to share their favorite thrifted finds, for better or for worse.
Maleena Muzio, Associate Life Editor
As someone whose wardrobe is almost entirely second-hand, my favorite thrifted item is incredibly hard to choose. I have compiled what I think is a perfect collection of clothes and shoes over the last few years from chain thrift stores like Goodwill and Savers, online sites like ThredUp and Depop, and I always make sure to check out the local consignment shops every time I travel somewhere new.
My number one pick would have to be a suede and faux fur jacket I bought from ThredUp in October 2024. The brown, slightly cropped jacket is made by the brand MontanaCo, and I assume it was made sometime in the 2000s. It has become a staple item for me, especially to wear in the fall, paired with a pair of brown (thrifted) boots.
There is no particularly interesting story associated with this item — unlike some of my many in-person finds or pieces that I found in Canada — other than the fact that I was aimlessly scrolling online looking for a fauxfur jacket while bored in my psychology lecture freshman year. Call it chance or call it fate, but regardless, I am so grateful that I stumbled across my favorite jacket and favorite thrifted item at that point in time.
Thaddeus Sawyer, Staff Writer
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge New York Yankees fan. If I’m buying something from a thrift shop, it probably has a New York logo on it. I also won’t spend more than $10 on anything. Some may call me a cheapskate, but I prefer to be described as frugal.
Both factors apply to my best find: A Dellin Betances bobblehead from a Yankee Stadium promotional giveaway. I collect bobbleheads, and for $8, the purchase was a no-brainer. It’s still sitting on my desk at home almost a half-decade later, right between David Cone and Gleyber Torres.
Max Muller, Campus Correspondent
I like to go to the thrift store in my hometown at least once every break, and there’s always cool stuff inside. I’ve found a lot of my favorite shirts and sweatshirts there, but my best find overall is a classy lobster lamp I found last winter. The lamp has a brass base shaped like the limbs and head of a lobster with a red stained-glass shell in the middle with the light inside. My mom thought I was weird for wanting it, but paying $8 for love at first sight is a pretty good deal.
The lobster wouldn’t be very bright by itself, but a few months after bringing it home, my mom found a similarly styled turtle lamp in our basement that has almost the same style as the lobster lamp. They’re happy shelf-mates, but ever since I found the turtle, I’ve been on a hunt for more aquatic animal lamps in every thrift store I visit.
Some of the other animals I’ve found include glass butterflies, stainless steel ants and plastic cats, but nothing can measure up to the lobster lamp like the turtle lamp has. While neither of them are useful for lighting up the room, they definitely make up for it in character.