At the beginning of freshman year, I made an observation as I walked down Comm Ave. As far as wear-to-class apparel goes, every female outfit at BU falls in to one of three categories: trendy athletic clothes, trendy real clothes, or the most-rare BU t-shirt and jeans.
As a freshman from a small-town public school (read: I wore leggings and a sweatshirt to school every day) this observation was striking and a little terrifying. I knew I had to keep up. So, freshman year, I wasted way too much money on Newbury.
Mom yelled at me all summer for spending a good portion of my work-study money on clothes. This fall, I found a way to keep her happy, my bank account fatter, and myself well dressed (For the most part. Leggings and sweatshirts still rock sometimes). Macklemore is also a huge proponent of my solution.
Thrift shopping. In Boston, it turns out, you can build a designer wadrobe off of the hand-me-downs of our super-wealthy, super-generous older residents who frequent Goodwill donation bins.
If you’re looking to make a quick trip, go to Goodwill by West Campus. Urban legend says that this location was voted the best Goodwill in the country, and after frequenting it I’d say that legend seems pretty legit.
A little further down Com Ave is Buffalo Exchange. The selection here is smaller, but nicer. The prices also run a little higher than Goodwill, but you can still get a “new to you” dress and leather jacket for under $30. That happened yesterday.
Finally, there’s the somewhat elusive Urban Renewals in Allston. This store only accepts cash, and while I’ve heard great things about it, I haven’t made it there yet. Apparently, though, they arrange their inventory by color. So that’s fun.
Happy thrifting!
