1. The "Designer Goldmine": Best of the Best
If your goal is to flip high-end contemporary or luxury labels, these shops are the frontline.
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NCJW Council Shops (Fairfax & Santa Monica Blvd): In 2026, these remain the holy grail. The Fairfax location is famous for its "Best Of" rack. While they've gotten smarter with pricing, they still miss the "Quiet Luxury" brands (think Loro Piana or The Row) mixed into the standard $12 sweater racks.
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Return Style (Redondo Beach): If you're willing to drive south, this is a 2026 sleeper hit for haute fashion. It’s where South Bay wealth dumps its barely-worn Chanel and Prada.
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Recess (La Brea): Not exactly a "thrift" price, but the curation is archival. It’s where you go for style inspiration—or to buy that 90s Issey Miyake you’ll keep for 20 years.
2. The "Bins": Raw Volume & High Stakes
For the true reseller, the Goodwill Outlets (The Bins) are where $2 turns into $200.
2026 Pro-Tip: The "bins" are physical. Wear gloves, bring a mask (the dust is real), and wait for the "Fresh Rotation." In LA, the bins are now filled with 2021-2023 "Micro-trends" (fast fashion) that you should skip in favor of heavy natural fibers like wool and silk.
3. The Neighborhood Sourcing Strategy
LA is a collection of villages. Where you source determines what you find.
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Burbank (Magnolia Blvd): The capital of "Themed Vintage." Hit Playclothes or Squaresville for 50s-70s costumes and eccentric pieces.
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Silver Lake / Echo Park: Home of the "cool girl" basics. Look for Sleeper or hit the Silver Lake Flea on Saturdays. This is where you find 90s Gap, vintage Levi's, and niche indie labels.
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Highland Park (York Blvd): The 2026 epicenter of "Avant-Garde" Japanese designers and vintage streetwear. Visit Worship Collective or The Bearded Beagle.
4. 2026 Timing: When to Strike
Thrifting is a game of probability.
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Monday & Tuesday Mornings: These are the best days. Shops are restocking the massive "weekend dump" of donations. You want to see the estate sale items before the professional pickers (like me) get there at lunch.
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The "5th Sunday" Cycle: In 2026, months like March and May have five Sundays. These are often "Clearance Weekends" for many small charity shops trying to zero out inventory for the new month.
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ThriftCon LA 2026: Mark October 17, 2026 at the Fairplex. It’s the Super Bowl of vintage; prices are high, but the inventory is the best in the world.
5. Managing the Haul with Closo
When you’re pulling 40 pounds of textiles from the Glendale bins, you don’t have time for manual research.
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Closo Demand Signals: Use this to see if "Y2K Grunge" is still outperforming "90s Minimalist" in 2026. It helps you decide which $2 t-shirt to list for $60 and which one to leave in the bin.
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Closo 100% Free Crosslister: Once you get that haul home, don’t let it sit in a "Death Pile." Scan the tags, let Closo pull the data, and blast it to eBay, Grailed, and Depop in one afternoon.
Quick overview
The Reseller’s Goldmine: Best Thrift Stores in LA for Designer Clothes
If you’re looking to find the best thrift stores in la for designer clothes, you have to follow the money. In a city like LA,"designer" isn't just Gucci or Prada; it’s high-end contemporary labels like Reformation, Anine Bing, and Fear of God.These items often end up at boutique charity shops in the more affluent pockets of the city.
Council Shop (Fairfax & Beverly): This is widely considered one of the great thrift stores in la for a reason. Because it’s located near the heart of the West Hollywood fashion district, the donations are insane. I once found a pair of genuine Maison Margiela Tabi boots sitting on a shelf for $25. They were scuffed, sure, but a little leather conditioner brought them back to life.
NCJW (National Council of Jewish Women): The Council shops (especially the one on Santa Monica Blvd) are legendary. They have a specific "Best of" section where they curate the high-end stuff.Here’s where it gets interesting...While the curated section has higher prices, they often miss the "quiet luxury" brands in the regular racks. I’ve found Loro Piana cashmere sweaters mixed in with the $10 "grandpa" knits because the sorter didn't recognize the brand name.
Opinion Statement: I honestly believe the "curated" sections at these shops are sometimes a trap for tourists. If you want the real deals, you have to dig through the basics. The real profit is in the brands that the 22-year-old store clerk doesn't recognize yet.
Sourcing for the Masses: Best Cheapest Clothes Thrift Stores in LA
Not everyone has $50 to drop on a thrifted blazer. If you’re hunting for the best cheapest clothes thrift stores in la, you have to go where the volume is. This means looking past the curated boutiques and heading toward the distribution hubs.
Goodwill Outlets (The Bins): The locations in Glendale and San Fernando are the front lines of thrift stores los angeles.You pay by the pound (usually around $2.50/lb).Now the tricky part... It is physical. People wear gloves, they push, and they wait for the "new bins" to be rolled out like it’s a high-stakes sporting event.
My Anecdote: In 2019, I went to the San Fernando bins on a Tuesday morning. I saw a guy literally dive into a bin to grab a leather jacket. I stayed on the perimeter and found a silk Versace shirt tangled in a pile of bedsheets. I paid roughly $1.10 for it. That shirt funded my entire weekend in Joshua Tree.
I use Closo to automate my inventory tracking – saves me about 3 hours weekly. When I pull 40 pounds of clothes from the bins, I don't have time to manually research every tag. I use Closo Demand Signals to check which mid-tier brands are currently trending on Depop versus eBay. If the data shows that "90s Gap" is moving faster than "Modern Zara," I prioritize those items for listing first.
The Aesthetic Hunt: Best Vintage Stores in LA
There’s a massive difference between vintage clothing los angeles and general thrifting. "Thrifting" is about the deal; "Vintage" is about the curation. If you want the best vintage stores in la, you’re paying for the shop owner’s eye.
Square One Vintage (Echo Park): This is one of the best vintage stores in la if you want that specific 70s-meets-90s California look. They do the digging for you.The Echo Park Time Travel: Walking through Echo Park or Silver Lake,you’ll find a dozen of these shops. They’re expensive, yes, but they’re great for "style inspiration."
Parenthetical Aside: (I often visit these high-end vintage spots just to see what they are charging $200 for. Then I go to the best clothes thrift stores in la in the Valley and look for the exact same thing for $8. It’s market research, not just shopping.)
Honest Failure: Early in my career, I spent $150 on a "vintage" Harley Davidson shirt at a boutique on Melrose. I thought I could flip it for $300. I didn't realize it was a modern reprint from 2014. I ended up selling it for $40 on Poshmark.
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Lesson: Always check the tags for a "Made in USA" mark and a single-stitched hem. If it’s made in China or Bangladesh, it’s probably not the vintage you’re looking for.
Neighborhood Sourcing: Where to Find the Best Thrift Stores in LA
If you want to hit the best thrift stores in la, you need a map. LA is a cluster of villages, and each village donates differently.
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Silver Lake/Echo Park: High concentration of "cool" basics and indie brands.
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The Valley (Van Nuys/Burbank): The best for great thrift stores in la that have housewares and massive clothing racks.
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Santa Monica/Brentwood: The place to find high-end yoga wear and designer leftovers.
How to find them: Don't just stick to the "Big Name" shops. Look for "Relief" or "Assistance League" shops. These are often run by older volunteers and are some of the best thrift stores in la because they don't use AI to price their inventory. They still mark things at $5 because "it’s just a shirt."
Sourcing at Scale with Closo Wholesale
For those of us who have moved beyond the bins, we need more than just one-off finds. This is where the transition from "thrifter" to "business owner" happens.Closo Wholesale allows you to buy manifested lots of pre-sorted vintage and modern clothing.
I use Closo to automate my bulk sourcing – saves me about 3 hours weekly. Instead of spending 8 hours driving across the 405 to visit the best clothing thrift stores in la, I can browse Closo Wholesale for lots that have already been vetted.The Workflow:
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I check Closo Demand Signals for trending "Y2K Streetwear."
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I buy a wholesale lot of 50 pieces on Closo.
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I use Closo 100% Free Crosslister to put them on eBay, Grailed, and Depop in one afternoon.
Comparison: Curated Boutique vs. The Bins
Opinion Statement: I’ll admit, sometimes I’m too tired for the bins. But if you’re trying to build a real bankroll from scratch, the bins are the only place in LA where $20 can turn into $500 in a single afternoon.
People always ask me...
What is the best day to go thrifting in LA?
Common question I see. Most people think it’s Saturday, but that’s the worst time—it’s crowded and picked over. The best thrift stores in la usually restock on Monday and Tuesday after the weekend donation rush. If you go on a Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM, you’re seeing the fresh "estate sale" drop-offs before the professional pickers get there after work.
Are thrift stores in LA getting too expensive?
Here’s something everyone wants to know: Yes and no. The big chains like Goodwill and Salvation Army have started using "e-commerce pricing," which means they look up brands like Patagonia or North Face and price them at 50% of retail. However, the smaller "charity" shops in the Valley or the South Bay are still incredibly cheap. You just have to leave the "trendy" neighborhoods to find the best cheapest clothes thrift stores in la.
Pro-Tips for Navigating Thrift Stores Los Angeles
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Check the Men’s Section: Some of the best thrift stores in la for clothes have incredible oversized blazers and vintage tees hidden in the men's racks. Women often skip this section, leaving the high-end vintage for us.
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Serial Number Search: If you find a designer bag, look for the serial number inside. Use your phone to verify the font and placement. Fake bags are everywhere in LA.
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The "Wait" Strategy: Most shops have a color-tag system. Every week, a certain color is 50% off. If you find something you love but it’s too expensive, check the tag. If that color is on sale next week, hide it behind some boring sweaters and come back Monday. (And yes, I have done this, and no, I don't feel bad about it.)
My Anecdote: I once hid a vintage 1940s military flight jacket in a pile of oversized floral dresses at a shop in Long Beach. It was marked at $100. I knew the "blue tags" were going on sale for 50% off the next day. I came back at 9:00 AM, and it was still there. $50 for a jacket I sold for $450.
Conclusion
Finding the best clothing thrift stores in la is a mix of art, science, and sheer physical endurance. The city is a shifting landscape of fashion, where today’s trend is tomorrow’s donation.Honest Assessment: It’s getting harder. The "secret" spots aren't secret anymore because of TikTok. But the sheer volume of clothes in a city of 4 million people means there will always be more inventory than there are people to find it.
My recommendation? Start with the Council Shops for quality, hit the Bins for profit, and use Closo to handle the boring data entry and cross-listing. Thrifting should be the fun part of your business, not the part that burns you out.
Start cross-listing with Closo today—because finding the vintage treasure is only half the battle; getting it in front of a buyer is where the money is made.
