A number of years ago when I was out shopping at one of the supermarkets that's a bit further away from where I live, a woman complimented the pants I was wearing. They had been a gift from someone at a time in my life when I was going through a very rough patch, and they had a story behind them because they were bought from the teens section at Sears instead of the regular women's section. I don't pay attention to the labels of petite or women's or plus size or men's or boys or teens and I'm also not a snob about labels though I do love well designed clothing and sometimes, not always, a designer label can mean a beautifully cut and sewn piece. If I think something is comfortable and interesting, I'll buy it if it's affordable, and if it's on a sale that's even better. The Sears we were in when I found those pants is a great store where I've often found all kinds of wonderful things over the years, so though the pants were in the teens section I tried them on and the woman I was with bought them for me to help me feel like someone was taking care of me during that very rough time in my life.
When the woman in the supermarket complimented my pants, I felt like I needed to tell her that story, and the we got to talking about thrift store shopping and buying things on sale and how if you're creative with the way you view clothing you can find any number of wonderful things to wear that will make you feel like a million even if you don't actually feel like you have very much at all. As we spoke she asked me if I knew about a store called Unique, and I hadn't heard of it so she described where it was and I decided to go that day because, though it was a bit of a walk, where we were was about halfway there from where I had started out that morning.
That first afternoon when I discovered Unique I found a Trina Turk dress that was $14.99 at full price if I remember correctly. It was a gorgeous silver silk halter sundress and it made me feel like someone special, and though even at that price it was more than I felt I could afford at that time I decided I'd go ahead and give myself the treat of it. The way that Unique used to be in those days was that on some days they had 25 percent off and on others 50 percent, and then if you signed up to be a VIP member which is the same as the way the supermarket cards go in that it's free to sign up, they would give members special discount days and extra discounts on days like birthdays. I found so many things at Unique in housewares and dresses and shoes and coats and clothing of all kinds, and they have a wonderful selection of fun and beautiful vintage collectable items too.
When everything shut down in early 2020 they were closed for a while, and as everything in the world was so topsy turvy then I wasn't sure if they'd ever be able to open again. But one day when I was talking with a friend about wonderful thrift store shopping and Unique came up in the conversation he told me that it had opened again so I began to plan my next trip back. They had changed their way of offering discounts, and the VIP cards don't matter any more. They have a color code system now with certain discounts determined by the color of the tag on the item. I still find wonderful things there and as the woman who had originally told me about it had said, it's easy to always find something great. It's a place where I go when I need to take a good long walk to think about something or take a break and a breather or calm myself down if something is going on that is making me feel less than peaceful, and the experience when I get there is always a fun one that gives me the enjoyable feel of a treasure hunt.
On one of the first days when I had gone back there, a woman who was at the checkout next to mine made a comment about the fact that they weren't using the VIP card any more. The machines at the checkout where still asking for the VIP card and I couldn't get it to register or use the number on my card. Someone came over to help me from the store personnel, and the woman next to me said, "They don't care about those any more, we don't get anything special." And as I continued on with my checkout I thought to myself, that I still felt like it was a very special experience. Maybe we don't get special discount days and maybe no extra discounts for a birthday, but at prices like these and a wonderful selection of just about everything that you can imagine, it feels like a special experience to me to go shopping and find beautiful things that are affordable and give you the feeling of living the good life even on a very small budget.
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