Housing Works New Buy the Bag Location

I’ve been thrifting at Housing Works for years. Two summers ago, when I got wind of their “Buy the Bag” sale – where you purchase a bag for $25 and you can stuff your bag with as many thrifted pieces you can fit inside – my love affair with thrifting vintage and gently used clothes happened all over again. In the past, I grabbed all my girlfriends to come down to Housing Work’s warehouse in Long Island City and get to some competitive thrifting. Some of my most prized possessions have been from this sale. I’ve found incredible pieces from designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Stella McCartney, Versace – just to indulge a bit.

I was thrilled to find out that once a season Buy the Bag sale was now becoming a year round free-standing store in Brooklyn. On World Aids Day, Housing Works unveiled their first ever Buy the Bag location in Brooklyn. I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview before the grand opening to check out the new location, survey the lay of the land and of course, get some power thrifting done.

If you haven’t been to the Housing Works Buy The Bag sales before, it’s definitely an experience – but most definitely not for the faint of heart. At the previous location, there were tons of people that were vying for all these pieces to make theirs and would wait on line with their buying strategies in tow. With the new Buy the Bag Brooklyn location, things are a little bit different but even better. Because they are open five days a week, you can depend on expereincing less crowds, chaos and more mind blowing finds.

The shop is set up with great steel containers for digging up some treasures. I always suggest this sale for intermediate to expert level thrifters – you know, the type of thrifters that have take pride in their finds and have experience with cleaning and caring for their thrifted pieces. All the clothing and accessories that are available to stuff in your bag at the new Buy the Bag location are all items that have been donated by New Yorkers to HW Thrift Shops and re-fashioNYC bins. They may need a little taking care of, a little mending, laundering or tailoring – but with steals like this you can’t pass it up.

I snapped some photos of some finds that I got a the preview and posted them on Instagram. I couldn’t resist sharing the amazing vintage 70s floral floor-length number that I picked up or the knitted Armani Collezioni tank that I paired with the impressive Ivan Grundahl skirt that I snagged. Other notable finds from the day was a Marc by Marc Jacobs dress, Zero Maria Cornejo skirt and a super cool-cut out dress.

The most remarkable thing about Buy the Bag is surprisingly not the jaw-dropping finds, but instead that since launching the sale, $325,000 has been raised to fund the efforts of Housing Works to help with housing, medical care, job training and other supportive services for men, women and youth living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. I hope guys give a visit to the new Buy the Bag location at 159 28th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232 and help with Housing Work’s incredible initiatives and treat your self to some recycled designer digs! Check out some helpful rules and information in the resources section below, on this ultra cool, charitable thrift shop. And if you have any questions about how the Buy the Bag experience is, just tweet me at @lalalopez!

Resources:
Things to Remember when Visiting HW’s Buy the Bag Location

• Clothing is only sold by the bag – there are no individual sales
• Go on the during the day on a weekday for less crowding and more finds!
• There aren’t restrooms, so come prepared
• Have a strategy of what you want to get beforehand, so you can scoop up what you want before someone else does
• When packing your bag to check out, roll every single item you can, you make more room that way
• Handles of the bag have to touch when you’re ready to check out, so no overfilling!

BTB Location: 159 28th Street Brooklyn, NY 11232
Buy the Bag Website
Housing Works