Goodwill: my bane, my beloved.

I had a pile of donations to take to Goodwill today, so I figured while I was there, I would take a look around for some of the less magical clothing pieces of my Madam Hooch costume. Plus, I had a giftcard. (Huzzah!) (And, yes, Goodwill does have giftcards--it's part of their recent store-credit only return policy. Frown.)

Can we talk about Goodwill for a second? This store is, as the post-title suggests, my blessing and my curse. As a costumer who often works on a tight budget, it has often been my savior. Indeed, I shop there so much that I could easily draw you a map of the city and mark every Goodwill. (And show you the route I take to hit every single one when the Goodwill gods are feeling spiteful and I can't find whatever it is I need.) The Goodwill gods: these are the deities the rule over thrifting success or failure (see also: the fabric fairy). When they are smiling on you, you quickly find exactly what you need (once, I needed two identical pairs of brown size 14 men's wing tips. And I FOUND THEM AT GOODWILL!!! Amazing!) and when they are displeased, you will spend an entire day going to every Goodwill in town and come home empty handed. They are fickle, puckish creatures and you can never predict what they will do.

Now, like many thrift stores, Goodwills tend to be representative of their neighborhood. That is to say, fancy neighborhoods tend have more fruitful Goodwills. I don't shop at the Goodwill across the street from my apartment, I drive to the Goodwill on the edge of the more posh suburbs because I always have better luck there. And that was where I went today.

I wanted a white shirt collared shirt (you may recall I said I already owned one of these, but I checked my closet and apparently I own it no longer) and maybe a black vest. The gods were feeling neither overly generous nor particularly cruel. I didn't find a vest (though I saw a fur and pleather tube top that sparked a bit of so-bad-it's-good joy in my heart) but I did find a white shirt! A Brooks Brothers shirt, no less! It's quite lovely. The arms are a good length, the neck fits me well enough (could go down a half inch, still looks good), but the body needs to be taken in. Which I will do, though it feels a bit like vandalism on such a fine shirt. I also found a rad blazer. Not for my costume--I just like it and, last fall, made the decision to wear more blazers (but that's a story for another day).