by Luke Winn

Outside the Village Discount Outlet on Halsted. - photo by Luke Winn

Chicago, Ill.-
Stale whiskey breath is the 10-foot warning I get from the man about to run into me. Not much room to maneuver in these tall, narrow aisles, so I'm forced to sidestep into a rack of raggedy v-neck sweaters. Apparently, my stumbling aislemate is a shoplifter of an unstealthly nature; he's stopped by a manager well before the door. An argument ensues.

It develops like this:
• Lifter protests, utilizing slurred profanity.
• Manager retorts, in broken English.
• Lifter raises fists.
• Manager brandishes a plastic ruler, a poor weapon.
• Lifter refuses to leave, claims he wasn't even shopping.
• Manager tells lifter he had already been banned from store.
• Lifter shoves manager.
• Manager smacks him repeatedly with plastic ruler.
• Cashier-women run from registers, yelping incoherently.
• Lifter punches manager in neck.
• Meanwhile, other shoppers make use of fracas as diversion to aid own shoplifting.
• Lifter attempts more punches.
• Lifter is subdued and forced out, screaming, by two other manager-types.
• The police are called.
• Lifter flees southward on Halsted.

I take a t-shirt that says "Bob-a-Ron Campground", a red windbreaker with a whitewater rafting patch and a blue dress shirt to the counter, where the cashiers have re-assumed their posts. I pay $3.10 and leave.

This is the price one pays for a quality t-shirt collection: Not much money, a few hours of a weekday afternoon and exposure to an urban scene Evanston can't really offer. For a prospective thrift shopper, Chicago can be a gold mine, if you know where to look.

Making a complete list of the city's thrift stores would be overwhelming and, well, pointless. You can effectively stick to one chain– yes, they too have been franchised – and get back on the el with stuffed, dank-smelling plastic bags, minus a few dollars from your pocket. I highly recommend Village Discount Outlet Stores, with 15 locations in the Chicago area.

Outside the Village Discount Outlet on Halsted. - photo by Luke Winn

The shoplifting comedy described above happened at the Village Discount Outlet at 2855 N. Halsted St., a short walk away from Belmont's main drag and the Belmont el stop on the red line. Eschew those overpriced vintage shops (Ragstock et al) for Village Discount's real deal; racks upon racks of t-shirts, polos, button-ups, pants and jackets, ranging from Must-Buy Classics to Horribly Stained. The clientele at the Halsted Store is pretty eclectic - a guaranteed mix of hip youths who've wandered over from Belmont, freaks, the homeless and your run-of-the-mill pennywise shoppers.

While this location has supplied much of my top-notch college apparel, the scene there is really what sets it apart. Every third trip or so I catch something eye-opening, from fights, to arguments, to cross dressers stripping in the aisles. The weird stuff is hard to avoid – the narrow, closed-in aisle structure simply doesn't facilitate comfortable browsing. Any important rumination (alternative, or just ugly?) on a busy day is usually interrupted by a shopping cart careening into your hip. And with no dressing rooms and one usable mirror, any test run of Village Discount's rags is a public affair; fantasy dressing room poses are out of the question.

If your taste requires a more relaxed thrift-shopping experience, try the Village Discount Outlet at 2032 N. Milwaukee Ave. From NU, take Western Avenue south, well past the Mark II all the way to Milwaukee Avenue. A right turn and the store lies a block or two past the White Castle, on the left side of the street. If you're worried about high-profile thrift stores being picked over by like-minded folk, this outlet is more out of the way, and might be a better bet.

Same traditional Village Discount feel on Milwaukee, same concrete floors, same cashier uniforms, similar smell, only the neighborhood is less friendly. What you sacrifice in safety and location, however, you gain in volume; this outlet is at least twice the size of the Halsted branch, with higher-level sorting – a "sports" shirts section, a separate rack for the undies, and even an extreme discount area, where shirts cost $.35 instead of the normal $.70. They put the extra room to use here, too – still no dressing rooms, but aisle space enough for a shopping cart and more than one accessible mirror. At Halsted, you worry someone will pop out of an aisle and nab your coat while you're pulling on a ratty tee; here, there's enough breathing room to make sure no one's close enough to pull off a stunt like that.

A longer list of Village Discount locations is in the Yellow Pages, if you're ambitious. And by all means, be ambitious – giving up and going to one of those vintage stores is the equivalent of selling out. So arm yourself with five bucks, a keen eye and some patience, and remember to always, ALWAYS wash your hands when you get home.

Luke Winn is still fascinated with Zubaz pants. You can reach him at l-winn@northwestern.edu.

ALSO READ: The Used Fashion Police How to filter the dirty racks - what to buy and what to avoid by David Bartholow

Back to the top of the article