"It's overwhelming in here. There is just so much to choose from," Jessica Anthony says as she walks though the doors of Village Discount Outlet. She and her roommate, Brittany Corbett, go straight toward a plastic tree, which holds vintage-looking necklaces. "They have a ton of jewelry," she says as she asks the clerk behind the jewelry counter about a pair of dollar earrings. After grabbing a pair of earrings, she finds a necklace she likes — but it costs $8.

"Eight dollars is way too expensive for a necklace," Anthony explains.

"The white and pastel beads are $4. That's not too bad," Corbett points out.

They walk away from the jewelry counter and head directly to the dress aisle.

Thrift shopping can be overwhelming with the racks of shirts, skirts and pants. Some of the items are hideous trends from the past and others are hidden treasures. But how do you differentiate between what makes a great outfit and what is just used clothing? Freshman fashion merchandising major Anthony knows how. She led a trip to some of the second-hand shops in Kent and the surrounding areas to find year-round fashions at discount prices.

About 17 percent of American consumers shop at thrift stores, according to the National Association of Resale and Thrift Stores. In comparison, this study completed by America's Research Group, a consumer research organization, found that 21 percent shop in major department stores and 11 percent shop in factory outlet malls.

Anthony, who has enjoyed thrift shopping since she was in eighth grade, says she thinks more people are shopping at thrift stores because people are trying to be different.

"No one wants to shop at the mall and get the same three Abercrombie shirts that everyone else is wearing," she says. "Everyone is sick of paying for really expensive clothes at the mall, and they realize that they can find really cute stuff at like Goodwill for so much less."

Walking down the extensive dress aisle at the Village Discount Outlet, on State Road in Cuyahoga Falls, Anthony and Corbett, a freshman exploratory major, quickly flip through dresses of varying color. Each occasionally picks up a dress and holds it against her body. Anthony, who is dressed patriotically in a blue- and white-striped top with a red belt and red polka-dot Kate Spade purse, picks up at least 10 polka-dot dresses.

"I like polka dots. Everything with polka dots — even if it doesn't fit," she says. "I am looking for short sleeveless dresses to wear in the summer. Dresses are super in right now."

Anothony picks up another dress and compares it to a muumuu.

Corbett, who also frequently thrift shops, finds a small, solid white clutch purse. Anthony says it is similar to a purse a friend had bought for $8. The purse cost $1.50 at Village Discount Outlet. Freshman fashion merchandising major Katryn Whitman, who has given speeches about thrift shopping in Columbus, says her most frequent purchase is handbags. "Sometimes I tweak them a little to obtain a better, more customized look. Rip the chain off a purse to make it a clutch or something along those lines," Whitman says.

Whitman started thrift shopping with her mom when she was in elementary school for financial reasons. When she started high school, she says she started seeking the "vintage look" at thrift stores. "I could find one-of-a-kind items that were, in many ways, more fashion forward than anything you could purchase at a trendy store like Forever 21, for a cheaper price," Whitman says.

With the racks of clothes in thrift stores only organized by type of clothing and color, Anthony suggests not looking through each item on the rack. "I just look at items that catch my eyes. Otherwise I would be here forever."

Thrift stores always have a lot of black for some reason, Anthony says. And they are a good place to find basic items such as solid-colored shirts. But she says she looks for polka dots or prints that pop out at her. "I don't really look for things by color. I look more by styles." But she says she likes how thrift shops, such as Goodwill, separate items by color.

"I normally don't look for clothes at thrift stores by designer or for a specific designer. If you find something that is cute and it's designer, that is a bonus," Anthony says. "If it fits and it's cute and it's cheap, that's what I look for."

After browsing once through the entire store — including a visit to the books where a Spice Girls notebook catches Anthony's eye — they return to the dress aisle. Even though the majority of the dresses they looked at were too big. Anthony recommends altering or adding to the dress so it can still be worn. Examples of some of her tricks are adding a belt to make it more form-fitting or wearing a cardigan sweater over the dress.

Anthony ends up purchasing a couple belts at the Village Discount Outlet, for 30 cents each, a pair of earrings and the Spice Girl notebook. "Belts are so expensive in the stores," Anthony comments as the cashier rings up her belts.

Both Anthony and Corbett prefer to shop at thrift stores rather than at the mall and retail stores. Corbett says she thrift shops for items she can't find at the mall — original and unusual items. Anthony says she hasn't bought anything at the mall in a long time. The only article of clothing she consistently purchases at the mall is pants because finding jeans that fit correctly at thrift stores is difficult.

“The mall clothes are too expensive, and it’s hard to find exactly what you want,” Anthony says. “I never mall shop when I’m in Kent because the mall is really not that close. I really like Gap, Old Navy — you can usually find cheap clothes there — and Banana Republic. But they are so expensive.”

Anthony says she isn’t really a name-brand shopper because she says she thinks she is just paying for the label. “It’s all clothes, it’s all the same. If I like this and it fits, I’ll buy it from K-mart or Abercrombie.”

The skills one needs to be a good thrift shopper include the ability to see beyond the trends, a good eye for vintage and patience, Whitman says. “When you go thrifting, things aren’t handed to you on a platter. In a way, thrifting is like going on a treasure hunt. You dig through a lot of crap before you come upon anything worthwhile.”

After hitting the dress rack at the Goodwill in Kent, in the Wal-Mart plaza on state Route 59, Anthony and Corbett scatter. Anthony heads toward skirts, sweaters and sweater vests. Everything she picks up at this store is a shade of pink, but none of it fits her.

Shopping at the Goodwill has its advantages. In addition to the student discount with ID, the store layout is clean and uncluttered.

Corbett finds a blue version of the pink shirtdress from Talbot’s that Anthony already has tried on. She removes the matching striped belt and places a thin purple one in its place. The tag remains on the left sleeve says $88 with a red line through it marking it down to $59. “Who would have paid $88 for this, or even $59?” Anthony asks repeatedly. Goodwill is selling this dress for a couple bucks.

“If I spend $10, I’m usually surprised,” Anthony says. “It’s hard to spend $10, but if you do, you have a ton of stuff.”

Anthony says she is amazed by the items that others donate, especially because some of the clothing still has its original tags. “One time I found a referee jersey that is really cool, and I found a Super Mario Bros. T-shirt that fits like perfect,” she says. “One time I got a gray cardigan and the whole thing is hand-beaded, but not like tacky beaded, but nice beaded with flowers. It is cashmere, and it cost like $2.”

Planning a weekly or bi-weekly visit to thrift shops will provide a wide-variety of options. “In the summer, when I have more time, I go thrift shopping once or twice a week. But here it’s just whenever we get a chance to go,” Anthony says.

The only downside to thrift shopping Whitman says she can think of is the risk of buying items just because they’re inexpensive. “Sometimes it is too easy to purchase a mediocre item just because it’s cheap. Make sure it fits well, if you can’t sew, and that you will realistically wear it. Otherwise, it’s simply not worth the price, no matter how minute it may be.”

The National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops Web site suggests not limiting looking for a specific item to avoid missing a great buy. Anthony says every time she shops at thrift stores, she looks at jewelry and dresses first, then children’s T-shirts, belts, shoes and sweaters. She says she rarely has a specific item in mind when she shops at second-hand stores.

“I pick out what I think is cute,” Anthony says. “I don’t care what people think. But for the people who don’t take risks, some thrift stores also separate by name brand.”

“And don’t be afraid to take risks,” Corbett adds.

Timeless, fail-safe items that will be at any thrift store include humorous T-shirts, clutch purses and sweatshirts. “That’s why a lot of people thrift,” Anthony says, “to find T-shirts with unique sayings and from soccer teams.”

When second-hand shopping, don’t be in a rush. Although having another opinion is good, shopping alone allows less pressure and more time to peruse each rack.

While finding a designer label in piles of Jaclyn Smith and company is something to call friends and brag about, the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition warns against buying knock-offs. An item may be an imitation if the label is blurred or torn, the product name is altered, there are missing codes or trademarks on tags or if there are changes in product color.

While Anthony and Corbett shop frequently at thrift stores, they rarely put together an entire outfit during a shopping spree.

“It’s more like shopping to find things to mix with stuff you already own,” Anthony says.

The most important tip, which Anthony repeated, is to make sure you have an open mind when thrift shopping because you never know what you can find. And Whitman reiterates that suggestion. “You may go shopping with a particular item in mind, but chances are you will not find an exact replica of it.”

Kimberly Dick is a School of Journalism and Mass Communication graduate. This is her third time writing for The Burr.