"For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought."

Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queen  

And seek is what thrift-shoppers do. To thrift is to uncover new treasures. We seek without knowing what, when, or how. There is a faerie tale aspect to thrifting. Sometimes the discoveries are surreal. Some items in thrift shops can remain perfectly preserved through decades to wind up in the local Goodwill.

I've often wondered of the adventures of the items I've seen on the shelves. In a lot of ways thrifts catalogue fragments of stories and people. You can tell a lot by an item. If it was well worn then it was either well loved or one of the few items that person had. You can guess how old it is approximately and recall the world events that occurred at that time. My favorite items to see are 80's and 90's clothing. 

Especially the wedding and prom dresses. They say so much either by how loud they are or the details on the handmade items. There's a lot of handmade items, shirts, dresses, skirts, the occasional pair of jeans. It makes me think of how little individual variety exists now. Everything is mass manufactured and grouped homogeneously. 

In thrift shops I find preserved relics of the past. A time gone bye which has little place other than nostalgia in our modern world. They feel like fossils. My favorite unearthed piece is a Polaroid Supercolor 635CL. It was brand new, unopened, in its box. It was still sealed and it included a long expired packet of film. All this for a meager $3.98.