The Twig Thrift Shop

I’m just curious if it is normal behavior that you treat your customers badly. It was my first time there and you had about 15 minutes until 230 and the lady wouldn’t let me through the door. I asked her why she won’t let me in and she just closed the door on my face. Thank you for letting me know where NOT to spend my money.

I love this gem of a place!!! I went on a Thursday night and plan to come back as much as I can before they close for the summer in June! All of the ladies were very friendly and one even humored my 6 year old by allowing her to help with punching holes in tags. They had a melting pot of clothing… but I found some great finds for super cheap!!! They had a $ 1 sale on orange tags and most shoes were only $ 5. Great way to stock up the closet with low prices and it helps out the community! I donated extra money after I realized how low my final sale was, just because they gave such a great deal. Love this place!

Love this place! They often have some sort of sale going on, and I’ve found some amazing pieces! Quality, gently used items at a low price!

This place had some great finds — quality brand clothing in good shape. The women in the store today were very kind. For context, I’m a twenty-​five-​year-​old female living in New York City.

After a year of frequent shopping-​bought my first item with a cigarette burn hole in it! Caveat emptor. Still, a great place to shop.

Went here on a Saturday afternoon. The shop was well organized. The volunteers who run the store were very friendly and helpful. Most of the clothing looks like recent production, not vintage, all good quality. Mostly name brands, like Banana Republic, Chico’s etc. I came at the end of the day, but the racks were stuffed full. One of the volunteers told me they constantly restock, they have a huge backlog of donations waiting to go out. I didn’t find any higher end designer items this visit, I think they save most of those for their once a year designer sale. Prices are great, I purchased a nice grey wool sweater that looks brand new for $ 6. Proceeds benefit the Hospital.
Overall: Great little thrift shop benefiting Inova Alexandria Hospital, limited hours but worth a stop.

Worth checking out, although hours are limited. Good selection of upscale brands, gently used clothing, well-​organized. Volunteer ladies are nice and cheerful, it’s really like a neighborhood thing, friendly atmosphere. I got the perfect cream blouse, but i fell in love with lots of other pieces and tried on tons! Just weren’t my size :(which makes me think I should come back again soon and see what I’ll find!:)

They treat their customers, or at least any customer who is not middle aged, white and wealthy — like dirt.
Me: Here is my coffee can I set it down on this table while I shop
Old Lady in an apron #1: no we have a place for that let me show you
(we walk back to the door I just entered, she opens it to the street, points at the window planter box)
OLIAA #1: put it there
Me: where? in the dirt?
OLIAA #1: yes, in the planter box, we don’t allow food in the shop
(I have shopped at this store for over 5 yrs and I always have coffee in my hand but this had NEVER happened before) stunned, I just stared at her. I offer to set it on the window sill instead then as I’m about to walk away and leave my coffee OUTSIDE on the street like Im a child who is going to spill in on USED clothing, I realize how absurd this whole thing is grab my coffee and walk back to the counter and say…
Me: I need to speak to a manager, something just happened and I’m very confused, I need someone to explain to me what is going on.
Enter the chorus of old women in aprons…
OLIAA #2: It’s true. We ask you to put your coffee outside in the planter. Nordstroms doesn’t allow you to bring coffee into their store.
Me, attempting to suppress a guffaw: Oh so now you’re Nordstroms?!
First I was in disbelief but now the insanity is just peaking in this place known for it’s designer clothes and the superior attitude of the volunteers who staff the place. But I didn’t have to wait long for them to make my point for me bc the next one to open her mouth said…
OLIAA #3: well we HAVE raised over 4M for the hospital! (she says w a triumphant humph as she crosses her arms and glares at me)
Me: and that makes it ok to treat your customers poorly?
OLIAA #4: no
Me: then if you want to compare yourselves to Nordstroms, maybe the least you could do for your customers is offer them somewhere else to set their drinks other than in the dirt!
OLIAA #4: you’re right (and she walks out)
and at some point I also managed to slip in: «and that’s why you have the reputation you do!» and at that moment there was dead silence. either bc they didn’t know what I meant, thought it was a compliment, or understood what I was implying. After years of shopping in OT and a lifetime of thrifting, I’ve never come across a store that so consistently looks down on it’s patrons, unless of course you are dropping off a donation of designer duds. Then you’re good to go. It is a well known fact among local/​regular shoppers that it’s not just the clothes in this joint that are high end, but the attitude as well. Secretly, in private, over cups of coffee on King st, we laugh and roll our eyes. But hell, I’ve seen them treat homeless who shop there worse than this so I guess I was due.
Oh, and I was wearing a sweatshirt that said: West Virginia. So maybe that’s why they treated me like dirt and told me to put my food in dirt bc if I’d be so bold as to wear a sweatshirt proudly proclaiming my association with a «backwoods, redneck, rural» state then that confirmed I was beneath them and deserved to be ramrodded by a whole flock of do gooders.
Will I go back? Sure, maybe, during the twice annual designer sale when the place is so packed the well intentioned rich white bitches should be too busy meddling in other peoples dirt I can wear a GWU sweatshirt and blend in, bc that is in fact where I go to school and I do in fact love WV and for me that is in fact not a problem. But rich old white ladies that have to treat anyone who questions them like an outlaw? You don’t deserve my respect. Take your 4M, keep doing good and let me put my coffee down on a table, not in the dirt. Thanks

The absolute best second hand boutique in the VA area. The volunteer staff are gems. Excellent customer service and it is for a great cause to help the Hospital not in someones greedy pocket. The prices are crazy cheap for designer and some non-​brand names but the clothes and housewares look and sometimes are brand new. During the week it closes at 230 but open on Saturday with extended hours.

Walking thru Old Town I came upon The Twig and what a find for me and my husband. I was lucky enough to stumble upon a high end and immaculate trench coat for Mike which fits him well and offers an air of mystery. For myself I hit gold in sweaters, shirts, suede jackets, scarves, and books. Now it is important to remember that these stores can be a hit or miss so go in with a open mind and eye, take your time and browse you to may find what you least expected.

Good selection of women’s clothes, some men’s clothes and thrift items. Very pleasant and clean shopping experience.

Cute. Not a huge selection but very well kept. I went looking for an ugly Christmas sweater and they had none. The sweaters they did have were actually nice and ones you could wear for the holidays. The staff was very nice and helpful. They directed us to another potential thrift store in the area.

This store is a GEM! I saw the great comments for this store and had to check it out! I am soooo glad I did because I got two cute dresses that fit me to a T. The best part is they are lightly used; great brands and they were under $ 15. I also found this aqua backless top that is a show stopper (kinda makes me wonder «who is crazy enough to given this up!») for about $ 6. I love this store and I will be popping in again next week!

Great thrift store! I found a super cute Ann Taylor blazer for $ 8 and a cool middle eastern artwork for my place. Staff was friendly and the prices were good. I saw a lot of clothes that were gorgeous but not my size. I guess that’s the danger of thrift stores!

This is the best thrift shop in Alexandria. It’s very small, but full of designer treasures, both vintage and new. The prices are very good. I got a Banana Republic dress for just $ 5, and an older pair of beautiful metallic Ferragamos (in the box!) for just $ 10. I also got a funky wool fedora for my hipster brother for like $ 3. The ladies who work there are volunteers, and generally extremely nice.
You must shop often in order to find the best stuff, but it’s worth it.
Once a year they have a special sale where they put out designer items that are collected over the course of the year. I saw Dooney and Burke handbags, Cole Haan and Ferragamo shoes and St. John outfits there this year. The prices are a bit higher, but the items are in very good condition and it’s hard to find premier designers in thrift stores.
They have strange hours so be sure to check online that they’re open before you go.

I will never ever set foot in this place again no matter how good they are supposed to be. I patronize the little monogram shop next door to them regularly and decided to stop by the thrift store along with a friend while in the area. The door was open but they were closing. (who knew?, it was our first time there) One of the ladies in there hollered in the most rude obnoxious way, «were closed!!! as in get the… out. Okay I too run a business and often times people come in after i am closed. The proper response is something like this. «Excuse me ladies but we are closing at this time but please come back and visit us again during our regular business hours which are…» If these ladies are the wives of doctors then their husbands need to teach them class!!! Then to ad insult to injury one of them (probably the rude one) stuck her head out the door as we were leaving and said were open tomorrow. Whatever lady, I will be over there again tomorrow to pick up my monogramming from the lovely classy ladies at The Little Monogram Shop shop but i will NOT be stopping into Twig Thrift Shop ever.

They close at 2pm, so we missed this shop on our first visit to Old Town. Didn’t get to hear entertaining stories like the other reviewer did, as the ladies working on that day were older, except for 1 or 2, and seemed very serious about their work.
For a small shop, there were A LOT of volunteers. More than shoppers at the time, with maybe 3 behind the register. I personally find this cute and lovely. Everyone seemed so happy to be there, and their conversation kept the place upbeat.
Thrift God was on our side, as it was a half off day, which made the prices even better than they usually were. In other words: absolutely amazing. Everything was half off except for their fancier items with pink tag. Not much vintage here, if that’s what you are looking for. Didn’t find much in women’s section, but the mens area downstairs was productive. We scored 3 pairs of mens shoes, a pair of Ballys for me (yes, I am a woman with man’s feet.) and 2 pairs of wingtips completed with shoetrees inside, all for $ 2 each. All those and an awesome guayabera shirt for a total of $ 8. What’s not to love :) If we were local, I would be hitting this place up all the time.

Every single time I visit here I find a deal. Thomas Pink button down for $ 12? Yep. Hugo boss dress shirts, 2 for $ 5? Check. Hard back book 4 for $ 1? Sure. Not many thrift stores have quality clothing and I’ve never been to one that actually had discounts and sales but they do here on a regular basis. My winter coats are from here (all 3 vintage, all three designer labels and all 3 less than $ 12)!! The tux I wore to Miss America this year is a vintage Nordstrom tux that I paid $ 6 for! This is a must stop shop in Old Town.

I have shopped at this thrift store for fifteen years. It has an assortment of good quality used clothing mostly for women and a small section for men. The selection consists of designer and gently used items donated by the very high income residents of Alexandria, Virginia. A lot of the clothing is from places such as Talbot’s, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Nordstrom’s, etc. Their prices are good and they have various weekly sales.
I have bought many beautiful cloths from the Twig. The shop is operated to support Alexandria Hospital’s free mammograms for low income and uninsured residents of Alexandria, so it is for an excellent cause.
The shop is staffed by volunteers of women who are wives of high income Doctors, Lawyers etc, and when you shop there, you get an earful of how the other half lives. This group of women would make a great episode of of «Housewives of Alexandria of Virginia.»
These conversations are always amusing and absurd to me and occur every time I shop at the Twig. I find it quite entertaining. I hear the ladies talking about how they will be vacationing in Hawaii, or how their children will be graduating from Cornell or Harvard or one of the Ivy Leagues, and their stressful decision to move into a beautiful seven bedroom home etc. One of the most annoying discussions I hear is the yearly Alexandria House Tour, which is some type of uppity tour of million dollar homes in the City. They brag and boast of how beautiful it was and who was there etc.
They usually are clueless about the prices of the used items in the shop and often you have to tell them what the prices are (the prices are listed clearly on a large piece of plastic billboard). This can be frustrating. The women are so busy gossiping and chit chatting that they do not pay attention.
The shop is only open September thru June. as a friend of mine joke, the fair ladies have to attend to have their expensive vacations. I once overheard the entire divorce story of one volunteer for an hour, while shopping. She discussed how her lawyer was very prominent and was located on Washington Street, how her husband was trying to to manipulate her, and how difficult it was having to move from her large Mcmansion to a smaller home in the Belle Haven area. Boo Hoo, I thought! Even when I brought my items up to the counter to pay for them the lady was still talking and seemed uninterested in assisting me. She quickly rang up my items and when I asked her to cut one of the tags off of the sweaters, so it would not tear, she proceeded to pull it off with her hand and say a hurried «Thank you,» before resuming her gay divorcee story. I usually hear other stereotypical middle age women woes, such as complaints about having an empty nest and how such. It is somewhat amazing that you see the actual volunteers take donations and keep them to buy for themselves, even though these volunteers obviously have more than enough to buy for themselves and do not need to by a thrift stores. I openly saw this woman buying items just donated.
Anyway, in the middle of June they have what they call a «Bag Sale» for $ 12 a bag you can stuff anything you want in the store. As I said, the store is great in that it has high end items for cheap and also a satirical look at high society. This makes for a unique shopping experience.