I love to go "thrifting" because the selection in thrift stores always varies, and you never know what kind of deal you will find. I'm not embarrassed to shop at thrift stores, even if that means someone else has already worn the clothing I might purchase. Some people don't like that idea, or how some stores smell like stuffy laundry rooms, or believe that the clothes they sell are too worn or outdated to be stylish. Other people just don't have the convenience of a thrift store near them, but there are a few secondhand clothing stores in the State College area that offer plenty of good deals if you are willing to take the time and look for them. I decided to check them out.

Goodwill Industries Store -- 424 Westerly Pkwy.

I live on campus and don't have a car, so it was a bit of a walk to the Goodwill near State College Area High School. Though I could have taken the bus, I thought I would be contradicting myself to spend as much as it would cost me to buy something at the thrift store on bus fare. So, once I finally made it to Goodwill, I wasn't surprised at the size or overall ambience of the store, because I was so familiar with the ones at my home near Pittsburgh. There were definitely some name brands I could see just from glancing through the racks. I decided to buy a blue Old Navy long-sleeve T-shirt for $1.99, a pink American Eagle Outfitters polo for $3.99 and a green L.L. Bean sweater for $3.99. Each rack in the store has a different type of clothing on it, but I found them a little confusing and hard to browse through (which is absolutely necessary when shopping at Goodwill, since the store only sorts its clothes by type, not size or color). The selection was good, ranging from typically donated clothing like shoulder-padded jackets and sequin tops from the '80s to name-brand clothing like I bought. Also, Goodwill has a large selection of non-clothing items, such as accessories, house wares, linens, etc.

St. Vincent de Paul Society thrift store -- 526 Westerly Pkwy.

Within a short walking distance from the Goodwill store sits the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store. While it's not quite as big, it is filled with lots of donated clothing. The size of the store made it a little hard to browse through. I had to say, "Excuse me," to a few people to get a good look at everything. The clothes are only sorted by type like at Goodwill. There were a number of clothing items that I considered, including a red button-up sweater and puffy blue down-filled vest, but I decided to pass on them. As I looked through the pants I found a pair of khaki Abercrombie & Fitch corduroys, but they weren't my size, even though they'd be a steal at only $3. The store has a few more expensive items, like never-worn clothes with the tags still attached in the $10 to $20 range, as well as some knick-knacks and appliances, but instead of clothing I decided to buy a hardback book that was only $1.

Plato's Closet - 1619 N. Atherton St.

I'm not sure if Plato's Closet is in the same category as the Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul stores -- because the store pays customers for their clothing instead of taking donations -- but I still consider it a secondhand store. I also had to spend $2.50 on the bus, but I was impressed enough by the store that I didn't mind. All the clothing is sorted by color -- which I was familiar with, since the Salvation Army thrift stores sort their clothes that way -- but to make it even easier the clothes are also sorted by size. This made shopping extremely easy. All I had to do was find my size, marked by tags on the racks, and look through only those clothes. I did find a pair of American Eagle jeans with the original tags still attached for just $22, which is a pretty good deal considering the original price was probably more than twice that. Although those didn't fit, I did buy some American Eagle shoes for $10 and some non-name brand black corduroy pants for $12. Plato's Closet seemed to have the same problem as the St. Vincent de Paul store, more merchandise than space (which is a good thing as far as selection goes), and I frequently had to move out of other shoppers' paths while I looked around. Only one cash register was available, and it blocked the used CDs and DVDs, but while I was waiting in line I thought they had some pretty good recent titles.

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With an open mind and a little research, even those of us who are struggling with a college income can afford a shopping spree every now again. Not only do some of these stores offer good prices and varieties, but many of them also support charities as well. So before you pitch your thrice-worn Express sweater, think twice and donate it to a local thrift store -- you never know whom you'll be helping.

--Compiled by Stacey Federoff