Podculture: NU thrift store shoppers share advice for browsing the racks

Eliza Martin, Assistant Audio Editor

March 3, 2026

The Daily Northwestern · Podculture: NU thrift store shoppers share advice for browsing the racks

ELIZA MARTIN: Not everyone is experienced in the world of thrift store shopping, but it may be your best bet for balling on a college budget. The Daily asked frequent Northwestern thrifters for their tips and tricks, and what they think makes shopping second-hand special.

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ELIZA MARTIN: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Eliza Martin. This is Podculture, a podcast about arts and culture on campus and beyond.

Weinberg senior and Plant Biology and Conservation program student Orly Lindner said she started thrifting as a little kid with her mom, and never stopped. Lindner said she loves looking through pieces that span decades of fashion.

ORLY LINDNER: It’s cool to be able to wear clothing from all eras, from like 50 years ago or 20 years ago or whatever. Especially because when you know your own style, have your own style, I feel like, for me, there’s certain eras that I like, and so thrifting, it’s so much easier to find that kind of thing.

ELIZA MARTIN: Lindner said even if she doesn’t buy anything on a shopping trip, she enjoys looking at all of the unique pieces thrift stores have to offer. She said it’s more worthwhile to browse with an open mind than to fixate on finding specific clothing items.

She also said she advises others to take a chance on pieces they see potential in — even the wacky ones.

ORLY LINDNER: Don’t be scared to experiment and to get the thing that’s funky and crazy, because if you love it, you will wear it. I think when I’m looking for clothing at thrift stores, it is really helpful to be able to try things on, but like if you’re just looking at things on a rack, look and see if there’s colors or patterns that you really like and pull those out. Even if it looks funny on the rack, it might look cool on, or you might be able to style it in a fun way.

ELIZA MARTIN: Lindner said she has been loving the selection at Heyday Vintage Collective in Evanston.

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Weinberg first-year Ryan Beck said he started thrifting as an affordable way to expand his wardrobe. Now, he not only buys his own clothes second-hand but also sells thrifted clothing on the online marketplace Depop to make some extra money.

Similar to Lindner, Beck says he thinks it’s important not to overlook any pieces at the thrift store.

RYAN BECK: You honestly have to look through everything. You can’t skim, because then you’re not paying attention to what you see, and then you’ll miss something that you really want. You’ve got to devote some time to each store. You’ve got to really look through those rags.

ELIZA MARTIN: Beck said he appreciates how he can find high-quality pieces second-hand for much lower prices than in retail stores. He said he also values the ethical component of buying pre-existing products.

RYAN BECK: It does give me a little piece of mind knowing that I’m not like, directly contributing to massive eco-waste or like modern polyester clothing and whatnot. So it is recyclable, which is nice. I enjoy that part of it.

ELIZA MARTIN: Beck said he recently discovered the Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center in Evanston, and he’s excited to go back for more soon.

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McCormick sophomore Linden Berte said thrifting allows her to strike a balance in her wardrobe between newly-made basics and second-hand statement pieces. She said over time she has learned hacks like shopping in the little boys’ section for graphic tees.

Berte says she enjoys making the pieces she finds her own.

LINDEN BERTE: I know how to sew. So it really opens up a whole new world of thrift flips. So I can look at an item, and even if it’s too big for me, if it has potential, it’ll go into my cart and I’ll be able to alter it and kind of fit it to my style.

ELIZA MARTIN: Berte said she recommends checking out the Corner Makery located in the Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center, which loans out sewing machines to students.

In terms of favorite thrift stores, Berte said she likes to get off campus and shop in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

LINDEN BERTE: They have consignment, so something that’s already been a little bit picked through, which is nice, like all of the nice pieces have already been selected. And then they have like a nice Salvation Army and things like that. So you can find things from people who have donated with already good style, because people are pretty cool in Lincoln Park.

ELIZA MARTIN: Berte said that while she tries to keep an open mind while thrifting, she can’t help but dream of finding specific items.

She said this hunt for “holy grail” finds is a thrifting right of passage.

LINDEN BERTE: There’s always like that one “grail” that you want to find. Right now, I’m on the hunt for a leather jacket. I have one nice leather jacket that I bought from a real leather brand, but I’m looking for a little bit of a different style. Maybe something more slouchy, more lived in, and I’m hoping that I can find it thrifting. So I’ll always pass by the like big coat section and look through for certain “grails.”

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ELIZA MARTIN: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Eliza Martin. Thanks for listening to another episode of Podculture. This episode was reported and produced by me, Eliza Martin.

The Audio Editor is Ruby Dowling. The Multimedia Managing Editors are Femi Horrall, Yong-Yu Huang and Jonah McClure. The Editor in Chief is Emily Lichty.

Our theme music is “Grand Panda” by Modern Monster, used under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License and provided by the Free Music Archive.

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