St Vincent de Paul Society

Thrift stores are great for a lot of things, but what I love them best for: costume shopping.
Yes, when I’m looking to create an outfit, whether it’s a 1940s gangster or a cowboy or, let’s day, a principal for a giant school themed event you are throwing, I always like to start in thrift stores and see if I can find something unusual and unique for cheap. And usually, I do.
This time around, I needed grey pants to match a grey blazer I already had for an upcoming party, let’s day a giant school themed event I was throwing. I was in the Newport area so St. Vincent it was.
I couldn’t have been happier with my experience. I walked in and was greeted by the staff. It’s a large two-​room store with clothes on one side and furniture and other things on the other. It’s a thrift store so everything feels … old but the clothes are clean and well arranged.
I went up to the woman at the counter and told her what I was looking for. She was happy to lead me right to the pants and help me find exactly the color I was looking for. When she asked if I needed anything else, I questioned what other things a principal might wear. We looked at hats, ties and suspenders. While I didn’t find anything I liked, I loved that she took the time to show me around.
All in all, $ 8 later, I had two excellent pairs of principal-​y dress pants. Mission accomplished. Thrift stores, you’ve done it again.

This store has been around for decades, although the stock does change regularly! It’s got some really nice finds now and then for thrift fans, and everything is reasonably priced. The staff is consistently friendly and you will likely be called «hon» or «honey».

This review is for my most recent visit. I hit this smaller location about once or twice a month on my lunch hour, since I work in Covington. If I have a few minutes to kill, I’ll swing by. I always find at least ONE thing I think I’ll use, whether it’s household items or baby clothing for the wee one, or even one trip, I found this rockin’ kids drum set that I purchased for a friend’s son. Total deal!
My last visit showed a new direction for St. Vincent, at least in this particular location. I always check out the furnishings in the window – sometimes things are marked, sometimes not. What was VERY obvious this time, was large tickets on certain «older» items that read «Circa 1920’s» or «Circa 1900’s»…I wonder? Is this an antique store or a thrift store? The chest of drawers (minus the rest of the bedroom suit) was marked $ 195.00!!! The item «could» have been from 1900, but it was more likely from 1940 based on design. I have little to no idea what «expert» among their mostly ALL volunteer staff they have pricing and dating these items, but like Goodwill stores and their «Vintage» tags, I assume it’s meant to bring in more money for items of questionable pedigree (i.e. old/​unwanted), and thus provide more money for the charity.
I’d happily give donations to St. Vincent Depaul, but only if they sell them and price them appropriately – some of the very people that actually need this charity would be priced out of that «estate» bureau piece, which in fact, was only worth about $ 40.00 max (based on approximate age and condition).
If I want antiques, I’ll go to the Burlington Antique show, beginning in April. Even then, I’m keen enough to know whether something is antique or not!!!