Unfortunately, I think it's the nature of LA area thrifting. I can think of two key reasons: The amount of quality vintage clothing remaining in circulation is simply overwhelmed by the amount of crappy fast fashion clothing from the last 20 years. I find this applies to thrift stores across the US now, particularly in communities where the only shopping is Walmart or at best a JC Penney. In LA specifically, I feel like vintage resellers swoop in and grab all the good stuff before anyone else can get to it. St Vincent de Paul downtown used to have great finds, now it's nearly impossible. And then the resellers go and try to sell things for exorbitant prices at places like the Rose Bowl flea market, as you observed. More on reddit.com

"Nice brands" ranging from Prada and Dior to Frame and Reformation: Wasteland. Nothing is sorted by size, though, just by category. Pricey but the clothes are in great condition. I got a silk and wool Prada dress for $70 there that retailed for $1500, but I also got a Reformation dress for $68 that was originally $200. Their pricing is a little whack. The one on Melrose is by far the largest. The one in Santa Monica seems to carry more vintage. The Studio City one is tiny and not worth the travel. Crossroads: My fave. The Hyperion location in Silver lake and the Pasadena locations have the best good-quality basics, in my opinion. The Melrose one is large and really close to wasteland, so I would check that one out, too, but it does get more crowded and is more "fashiony". Buffalo Exchange: there is one not too far from the Melrose shopping area. It carries a mix of trendy stuff but also cool, more "thrifty" items. Not a very large location, though. Goodwill: My favorite is the one on Vine in Hollywood. They always seem to have a good collection of cashmere and wool sweaters! A lot of good vintage 70s-90s product here. I almost always walk away with something great, which never happens to me at the other Goodwill locations. If you want 40s-60s vintage, check out Burbank! Playclothes has a huge inventory and isn't too outrageously priced. Really gorgeous dresses and accessories there. More on reddit.com

I comb through three thrift shops a weekend, and I live in a town with a lot of old people (literally 50% are over 60). I don’t buy from online or vintage retailers because I’m a college student. I wear vintage sprinkled in with my regular wardrobe. Actual vintage is incredibly well-made and just feels awesome — I love 1960s/1970s summer dresses and business-casual clothing.

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Good luck finding steals, too many quick people about. My mom worked for goodwill corporate offices and she said they would always have store workers buying all the good stuff for cheap before any people got a look at them. Its a rampant problem they have.

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