Fashion: The gift of thrift

Bows and Arrows
If you want to outfit your home with owl statuettes and sleek, retro couches, or if you want to outfit your person in ‘70s swimwear or distressed cowboy boots, Bows and Arrows is an enormous resource for whatever your vintage-lovin’ heart desires.
Bows and Arrows, 1712 L St; (916) 444-3606; www.myspace.com/bowsandarrows1712lst.

Eco Thrift
It’s the kind of store that has everything for dirt cheap and in pretty good condition. And while thrift stores do, by their very nature, promote recycling, Eco Thrift takes the “it’s green!” application one step further, partnering with textile recyclers and distributors to ensure that items which don’t meet Eco Thrift standards are shipped to Third World countries, who can put the items to use. It’s a zero-waste business model that takes thrift to the height of fashion.
Eco Thrift, 4220 Fruitridge Road; (916) 391-2402; www.jmann.com.

Thrift Town, Del Paso
It’s hard to articulate why the Del Paso branch of Thrift Town is so special. But when you see the sign, with its enormous, red retro-carnival lettering posted high above the store, you’ll know you’ve stumbled upon the real thing. The vintage stuff. Literally. Perhaps the most notable quality of Thrift Town is the sheer volume of used offerings. Every shelf—from furniture to home accessories to clothing to entertainment and recreational supplies—is packed with stuff. No visit is short, and you’ll rarely leave empty-handed.
Thrift Town (Del Paso), 410 El Camino Avenue; (916) 922-9942; www.thrifttown.com.

Goodwill, West Sacramento
We’re all familiar with Goodwill. It’s synonymous with consignment shopping. But the West Sacramento branch feels like an uncharted treasure. Its furniture and home accessory selection is small, but the clothing aisles are always bursting with potential for triumphant finds.
Goodwill (West Sacramento), 3065 West Capitol Avenue; (916) 374-0697; www.goodwillsacto.org.

Freecycle
For even the most hard-core thrift-store shoppers, there comes a time when you’re just tired; you want to sit on the couch, surf the Internet and wish you could bring the consignment finds to you. Well, you can with www.freecycle.org. The Web site hosts communities of people who post items for trade on the site. If you have that old set of dishes or the too-small sweater that you know won’t sell on Craigslist, why not give Freecycle a spin?
www.freecycle.org.