Irvine is a lovely city known for its pristine planned communities, highly ranked schools and universities, and wonderful shopping. All these great amenities come with a price tag though- this is a very expensive place to live. Irvine is a city that has been rated as having the seventh highest median income in the whole United States among cities with a population of over 65,000.
So when there is a little-known way to save any money at all in Irvine, this is a secret worth sharing. Orange County thrift’n-istas, be advised. There are lots of bargains awaiting at Irvine’s best-kept secret- their one and only thrift shop- the Assistance League Thrift Store Irvine. This shop is located between Jamboree and Von Karman down Alton near the Asian market and the awesome Chinese bakery 85 Degrees (… but that is another story!)
The Irvine Assistance League Store was founded in 2002. It has survived in Irvine while other thrift stores have not- in large measure due to its unpaid volunteer staff that keeps operating costs down. The helpful volunteer lady at the counter on my last visit proudly told me that volunteers raised the funds needed to purchase the Irvine Assistance League’s current location in August 2009.
She has a right to be proud. Their thrift shop is a pleasant shopping experience- a good sized space, nicely arranged in sections- ladies’, men’s and children’s clothing areas, shoes, books, house goods and so forth. There are amenities such as several large dressing rooms and a clean washroom. This is not the thrift store to obtain furniture from- their goods are mostly clothing, accessories and smaller housewares and decor. The store does not have a boutique or vintage section with "nicer" designer selections, but really does not need one. Their goods seem to be in very good condition and clothing has lots of the higher end brands. This AL shop has their usual good low pricing on everything. For example, long sleeved ladies tops are normally priced at $5, their short sleeved tops at $4… but even deeper savings await savvy thrifters.
Clothing is rotated in this store every three months, meaning that to keep those items moving, there are always weekly specials. In addition the Irvine Assistance League has regularly scheduled savings such as their first Thursday of every month being a 25% senior discount day. On my last visit, the weekly special was a sizable rack of 50% off white tag sale clothing. My thrifty purchase was a lovely pair of Carlisle brand dress pants half-price for a mere $10 (not too bad since that brand of clothing is usually only available via catalog at a much higher price!) There was another young gentleman shopper happily crowing about his bargain find- several DVD boxed sets of the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” television seasons for $4 each set (garlic, anyone?) There’s a little something at the Irvine AL for every thrift shopper.
So now you are in on an Irvine secret- their one and only thrift store at 2452 Alton Parkway Irvine CA 92606. Hours are Wednesday and Thursday 10am to 3pm, Friday 10am to 5:30pm, Saturday 10am to 3pm. The Irvine Assistance League website is http://irvine.assistanceleague.org or for questions or donations call 949-955-3437.
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