The Windy City is a great place to shop! But why not keep away from fast fashion and enjoy the sustainable pleasures of thrifting instead?
Chicago is a great place for it! Wherever you look in the city from Irving Park Rd to Chicago Ave, to Belmont Ave to Oak Park, there’s a vintage shop or thrift store for you and these are the best of them.
Village Discount Outlet
We’ve spent quite a bit of time in Chicago and we’ve found this chain of thrift stores to be full of great deals and hidden treasures.
If Walmart did thrift stores in Chicago, they’d do Village Discount. Whether you need household items, vintage clothes, accessories, shoes, or furniture, they have a great selection of just about everything and at great prices.
You’ve got 9 locations to choose from all over the city and they all have friendly staff and good shopping.
Also, try these thrift shopping tips to get more out of your time and money.
Note: If you have a college ID (in or out of date) you can use it every Sunday to get a 20% discount on your purchases!
Address: Multiple Locations – See Their Website
Check out Village Discount Outlet here.
Salvation Army
We’re not going to get into the controversy that the Salvation Army managed to get itself into at Christmas
If you go on Fridays after 6 pm every thrift store they run has huge discounts on and the same is true on Saturday morning. They may also offer a two-hour free parking permit!
Address: Multiple Locations – See Their Website
Check out Salvation Army here.
Family Tree Resale
This Lincoln Ave based store is one of those thrift shops that you can rely on to have amazing prices, it’s like consignment shops moved into thrifting.
One thing that we really love about this place is the collection of Indian clothing that they retail.
If you don’t like crowds in your vintage stores, then you can always call ahead and book a private appointment.
Address: 5066 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL
Check out Family Tree Resale here.
The Brown Elephant
The Brown Elephant is tied to the local LGBTQ+ community and they help those who are either under-insured or uninsured get treatment at the local Howard Brown Health hospital.
They support more than 18,000 people with their healthcare needs each year and there’s no better place to spend money in if you want to do some good. They accept donations too.
Check out our confessions of a thrift store addict and see how easy it is to become devoted to stores like this one.
Address: Multiple Locations – See Their Website
Check out The Brown Elephant here.
Crossroads Trading
We like their N Clark St stores best but some argue that the location on N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, Il is the best thrift shop in the city.
It’s an unusual place because it deals in brand names but they are sold at bargain prices. This is nice as many stores are now taking brand names and marking them up to nearly new prices.
Addresses: 5127 N Clark St, Chicago, IL, and 2711 N Clark Street, Chicago and 1519 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL
Check out Crossroads Trading here.
Buffalo Exchange
One of the big names in thrifting is Buffalo Exchange, they have over 50 locations in the nation and are super popular wherever they are.
They’re a lot like Crossroads in our book but they tend to charge a bit more and have a more carefully curated selection of clothes.
They buy from you too and will give you 30% of the value to the store in cash or 50% as a credit for new items.
Addresses: 5252 N. Clark Street, Chicago and 1478 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Check out Buffalo Exchange here.
Una Mae’s
Vintage clothing and goods are what Una Mae’s is all about and you can find nearly every brand and style within their walls.
Whether you want an elegant British hat or a romper from L.A. they’ve got you covered and we can’t tell you how much fun we have every time we visit this place.
Address: 1528 N Milwaukee Ave # 1, Chicago, IL
Check out Una Mae’s here.
Salvage One
This is a great place that does more than just good deals on stuff, instead, it takes stuff from old homes and buildings before they are dumped or cut up and refurbishes them and makes them interesting again.
That means you can find the most interesting merchandise in Salvage One and while you won’t find any clothing in the store, their furniture is to die for.
Address: 1840 W Hubbard St, Chicago, IL
Check out Salvage One here.
Wolff’s Flea Markets
Vintage and bargain collide in this wonderful paradise of antiques and thrifting.
We’d recommend you turn up early on the days they’re open and don’t forget, you need to pay $2 to get in, though parking won’t cost you a penny.
Address: 6920 Mannheim Road, Chicago
Check out Wolff’s Flea Markets here.
Wolly Mammoth
The odd taxidermy aside this is a great place for vintage accessories and the like.
It’s the most unusual store on our list.
Address: 1513 W Foster Ave, Chicago
Check out Wolly Mammoth here.
Whatever you want from your thrifting experiences, there’s probably a store in Chicago for you. If not, there are always these online thrift stores, but we think if you’re in the Windy City, you ought to go out and shop in the real world, it’s more fun like that.