It’s the first day of the Nostalgiathon! It snuck up on me pretty fast, since my life has actually been busy for once. But we’re right on schedule. However, tomorrow’s post might be late…I have a funeral to go to. (More about that later this week.) I’ll try real hard to write it today so I can just post it tomorrow when I get a chance, but that’s not carved in stone.
I was debating whether or not I should give you guys an itinerary or something, but…I’ve decided to keep it mostly a surprise. Kinda like not knowing what toy you’re gonna get in your Happy Meal.
Also, some of you guys offered up suggestions. As a token of my gratitude, I’m going to do my best to incorporate most of them into the Nostalgiathon. But I make no promises as to how well I’ll be able to incorporate them. I’ve never really done this before, you know!
I made a couple more thrift store trips in the past week. If you haven’t seen my first post chronicling my thrift store adventures, go check it out when you get a minute, since this is sort of like a continuation of that.
Anyway, I discovered another thrift store in a different part of town than the other ones I went to. It’s called Uptown Bargains, and I’ve actually been to their other huge store on the southside, but that was a couple of years ago. (I may have to go there again soon when I get a chance.)
One thing that’s cool about this place is everything is marked with a colored tag (green, gray, blue, yellow and orange I think). And certain colors get 50% off. I think it rotates but I’m not sure. The last time I went, gray and blue tags were 50% off, which really worked to my advantage.
Anyway, if you didn’t read the first post, these are the things I’m typically looking for when I go to these places:
– Toys
– Unique VHS tapes
– Kids’ books
– Anything old and quirky
In the old and quirky category, this thrift store fares pretty well, actually. The reason why I haven’t bought any of that stuff is because most of the old and quirky things are retro T-shirts and TVs, and they’re more expensive. They even had a top-loading VCR, but it looked like it might have been dropped and I think it was like ten dollars. They also had an old TV that actually kinda looked more like an old computer monitor. Very interesting.
VHS tapes? Well…they have a lot of them, and there are some good titles, but none of them are rare enough to justify buying. There also weren’t any home-recorded ones at all– I’m thinking they probably don’t accept them, which is a shame.
And now, the toy department.
The first time I went to this store, I scored pretty big. I went wandering around looking for the toys and from a distance an 18″ Red Butler doll shone out to me like a beacon. As usual, I said, “OH MY GOD” out loud and made a fool of myself as I rushed over to check it out.
Red Butler is one of the Color Kids from Rainbow Brite, only one of the two that’s male. That’s him over there on the right:
Upon closer inspection, I saw that this doll was in extremely good condition. Upon even closer inspection, I found that it’s not vintage, but it’s one of the toys from the 2003 line. (The new line of toys all have orange tags with the Rainbow Brite logo on them. Dead giveaway.) But I didn’t give a shit, it was still Red fucking Butler. Here’s what the doll looks like.
I haven’t figured out if it’s a reproduction of an old doll or what, but I’m pretty sure it’s not. The only ones I’ve seen that I’m sure are vintage are the smaller dolls. Some of the big ones are listed on eBay as vintage when they’re actually the 2003 doll, so who knows. And like I said, I don’t really care too much. He’s still a great find.
And right next to him was a bonus. A huge, soft Rainbow Brite. It’s from the 2003 line, not just because of the orange tag but because I’m pretty sure they never made a Rainbow Brite like this in the 80s:
When I say “huge”, I mean she’s about 27″ tall. Compared to the majority of my other toys, that’s like fucking King Kong or something. Except King Kong was never this cuddly. It’s neat to have a cuddly Rainbow Brite, because the old-school 18″ doll has one of those big plastic heads that aren’t exactly great for snuggling up to sleep with.
Needless to say, I tucked both of them under my arm and kept on looking. I also found a plush manatee and snatched that up because it was damn cute and it could be friends with the plush walrus I have. God I’m a dork.
Anyway, the next find was a shocking one. Remember how I found VINTAGE CARE BEAR at one of those other thrift stores? Well, VINTAGE CARE BEAR now has a friend. Yes, I found ANOTHER VINTAGE FUCKING CARE BEAR. Why do I always capitalize it? Because it’s awesome, that’s why. And with this one, I didn’t have to buy a bunch of other toys I didn’t really want! Even better.
It’s Love a Lot Bear! And mine’s in fantastic shape, too, considering how old it is. Honestly, it looks like it hasn’t been played with much at all. The tag isn’t even faded. Sometimes I wonder how these things end up in thrift stores. VINTAGE CAAARE BEEAAARS
And the price for all this great stuff? Eight bucks. Yes.
My second visit was just a few days ago. I didn’t get nearly as much loot as I did the first time I went there, but that’s because I also had significantly less money (only four dollars). That doesn’t mean I didn’t find a couple of cool things, though.
They had two 80s Cabbage Patch Kids. The girl’s hair was sort of disheveled, but she had her original dress (I know this because it has a patch on it that says “Cabbage Patch Kids”) and was in good shape otherwise. There was a boy too, who had his original shirt but had no pants. Both of them were 2.99, so it was one or the other. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I kept digging around, hoping to unearth something worth writing about.
You guys remember The Wuzzles? (No? Maybe this will jog your memory.) Well, I found a Wuzzles plushie! At first I wasn’t sure what I had just freed from the bottom of the pile, but when I realized it was Butterbear I was like, holy crap, I have to buy this thing. Because I had never seen a Wuzzles plushie before. I had some of the cartoon episodes on tape and I had one of the read-along book and tape things, though.
Here’s what she looks like:
So now I was torn in two. I only had four dollars, so I couldn’t afford a Wuzzle and a Cabbage Patch Kid. I decided to go with Butterbear, because if I really wanted to, I could probably find another Cabbage Patch Kid pretty easily. Probably not for three bucks, though, so I kinda regret that I had to leave them behind.
Anyway, the plushie is in great condition. If you didn’t already know, you wouldn’t be able to tell it was 23 years old. Especially since the tag has been cut off.
I almost forgot to mention the selection of books at this place. The first time I went, I didn’t really look, but this time I decided to go through it thoroughly.
They have some real relics, like Highlights books from the early 70s. There are a lot of old kids’ books, but I didn’t find too many that I really wanted.
While I was looking, I remembered a book that I used to love as a kid and was one of the first ones I ever read: a Little Golden Book called Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree. And I thought, you know, it would be kickass if they had that book.
I looked them over one more time, and right before I was going to give up, I found a gold spine that I’d missed before. I pulled it out and said to myself, “Well, I’ll be damned.” It was Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree! The cover was sort of faded, but the pages were in good shape for a 26-year-old book (there’s an inscription inside that’s dated 1982), and it was only 50 cents. Needless to say, I didn’t have to argue with myself much over that purchase.
I’ll definitely be going back to this place sometime when I get some more money to blow, though I’m kind of afraid that I already bought all the really cool stuff they had. We’ll see.
8 responses to “Nostalgiathon #1: More Thrift Store Adventures”
JoshC
July 13th, 2008 at 21:44
I really wish the thrift stores around here had such great finds.
I have a braveheart bear that I’ve had forever(what?! dudes can have carebears too!!)
I still have a ton of golden books in my garage that I occasionally take down from the rafters and read.
I guess we are both dorks.
argentshade
July 14th, 2008 at 10:08
Ha ha! Uptown thrift stores. Those are pretty good places to get some stuff. Tiff and I actually visited the one on NW Expswy/Rockwell while killing time before the comedy club on Friday. I thought their electronics section was quite fun and even saw one of the old console TVs like my mom had way back in the day. We also snatched up a few dolls but none of any recognizable series. However, one of them had an end to their short life when we washed it and it caused all the stuffing to come out. Luckily she was just a random doll.
Yay for your finds though, it really is funny to see what some people throw away. I am sure that as we have more kids coming and going in our house that we will be quite adjusted to using thrift stores.
DC
July 14th, 2008 at 12:40
I haven’t been to a thrift store in a while. I real need to go again soon and hopefully I can find some great things like you did.
I’m really loving butterbear! 🙂
DJ D
July 15th, 2008 at 01:22
Sounds like a good trip there. Man, you’ve obviously got much better thrift stores around you than I do. The last time I found anything interesting at one was last Halloween when I found a Magnum P.I. costume kit, still sealed in the package. It came with a Hawaiian t-shirt, a cap, and a mustache. I’m still kicking myself for not getting it.
Dude, I totally had that Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree book! Thanks for mentioning that! I had forgotten all about it.
Annette
July 15th, 2008 at 12:00
DJ D, I would totally have snatched up that mother. That’s amazing. XD
Dan
July 15th, 2008 at 14:29
Great score! And like Josh said you have better thrift stores around you than I do. Granted I haven’t been in one in while but with the things your scoring I may have to check them out!
starwenn
July 17th, 2008 at 23:15
This must be a good year for Rainbow Brite finds. I found an actual vintage Rainbow Brite doll for a dollar at a yard sale about a month ago. (And yes, she really is vintage. She has a white tag that says “1983 Hallmark Ltd” on the back.) Like your Red Butler, she’s in great shape and is only missing her belt. She’s currently on a shelf making sure my stuffed Charmander, Squirtle, and two of my Beanie Baby bears stay colorful.
Speaking of Red, A) that’s not Red in the picture. It’s the other male Rainbow Brite character, Buddy Blue. And B) I had a Red Butler doll as a kid, and his Sprite Romeo. I fondly remember carrying both around the Washington Street Mall in Cape May, NJ all the time in the mid-80s. Both are long gone, though I think Romeo lasted slightly longer than Red.
I also found a vintage Care Bear at a thrift shop, only mine’s Wish Bear. She’s sitting on another shelf with all of my other (non-vintage, alas) Care Bears. I had to stick her in a washing machine to be presentable, so she’s a little fluffier than yours, but otherwise, she’s fine.
And I REALLY envy your Wuzzle find! My sisters and I all had Wuzzles in the mid-80s. I had Hoppopottmus and the bee-lion. One sister had Moosel. The other had Butterbear. By the time my mom finally got rid of all of the Wuzzles but Hoppo (whom I loved so much, I had her well into the 90s), my sister’s Butterbear wasn’t in nearly as good of a condition as the one you found.
Annette
July 18th, 2008 at 00:53
Oh, I meant that Red is on the far right of the picture, across from Buddy, next to Lala Orange. See him?
I have a vintage Rainbow Brite, but she’s not in as good shape as I’d like, and is missing her dress. I’m on the hunt for another one.