Thrifty Thursdays: Review of Monk Vintage, NYC.

 Upon entering Monk Vintage Thrift Shop in Greenwich Village, I was taken aback by the homeyness of the store. Imagine walking into your great-grandmother's attic. It's a beautiful smorgasbord of vintage clothing, antique knick-knacks paired with cool modern pieces that have been carefully curated to match the theme of the store.

The retail workers I met in the store, apologized for the seemingly disheveled nature of the store, but just as I told them, organized chaos is the natural state of a thrift store. I loved it.

In my reviews, I'm reviewing these stores based on 5 categories with two stars for each; Staff/Atmosphere, Variety, Uniqueness, Prices and Quality.

Staff/Atmosphere: 🌟 🌟

The staff was lovely, and I really wish I got their names so I could give them a quick shoutout, but maybe next time. Upon entering the store, I told them my intentions for coming and they were very open and nice. This is New York City and people, especially in certain establishments can be a bit pretentious and hostile so I was glad that the staff responded well. Regarding the atmosphere, it's your ideal thrift store, packed to the brim with everything from clothing to teapots and lamps.

Variety: 🌟🌟

This store has everything, except electronics. Honestly, their inventory is impressive and I believe that anyone can go in there and at least find one thing that they like. They have an extensive inventory of  men's clothing, women's clothing, jewelry, shoes, bags, fashion accessories and they also carry various antique knick-knacks such as lamps, lanterns, instruments, camera lenses etc.

Check out the gallery below for a little sneak peak of what's in store...



 

Uniqueness: 🌟🌟

Monk has an array of various clothing from various eras, ranging from the 1920's to modern day basics and retro pieces. I spotted various vintage brands alongside modern pieces from known retailers such as H&M, Topshop, Splendid  & Jeffrey Campbell. They also carry some high fashion designers such as Salvatore Ferrogamo, Betsey Johnson and they have an array of leather, suede and furs (real & faux). Going through every aisle, there was never a dull moment,and  turn by turn, I found myself "ooh-ing" & "aah-ing" and wishing the whole dang store was my closet!

Quality: 🌟🌟

I would give them 3 stars for this if I could. I loved, loved, loved that every single item I came across was in good/excellent condition. Quality control can be very hard for thrift stores and I really appreciated the fact that the pieces in Monk are carefully selected so the customer doesn't have to worry about hidden holes, rips and tears in their new gear.

Prices: 1/2🌟

I hate that I have to give them only a half star for this category, but I found, personally that the prices were a bit high. It's important to take into account that this store is in a very expensive part of manhattan, and therefore prices may be a bit inflated to make the rent and expenses. However, in my honest opinion, certain pieces could have been much cheaper. For example, I came across a Levi's Oversized Denim Jacket for about $80, which is still a steal but for a second-hand store is too expensive. So, beware of the prices, but you can still snag a lovely deal on many of the other items that are moderately priced.

Finally, Monk Vintage has a few special sales and discounts going on and they are as follows:

1. If you're a NYU student, you get 15% off with your student ID.


2. 50% off of skirts sale...I'm not sure when it'll end so get it while it's hot!


3. If you donate items, you receive 25% on your next purchase!

Overall, Monk Vintage is BLAZIN' with 8&1/2 stars!

I'd recommend this store to an experienced thrifter with a few extra bucks that doesn't mind taking some time to find unique treasures. I wouldn't recommend this store to someone new to thrifting because the sheer volume of inventory may be exhausting to those less experienced. Monk Vintage is a store every thrifter, new or old should experience at least once because it'll be truly memorable.

That concludes this weeks "Thrifty Thursdays" review.

Check out Monk Vintage in The Greenwich Village, at  175 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10011.

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Love & Light,

Rachel.