Salvation Army
5600 E. Eight Mile Road, Detroit
313-891-6644
1627 W. Fort St., Detroit
313-771-2452
5850 W. Fort St., Detroit
313-841-2720
There is nothing in this world that feels better to a fashion- and clothes-whore than finding a brilliant outfit, replete with a vintage 1960s fur-lined coat, for less than $20. Throw in a killer velvet chair for $5, a bike for $20, and a set of Christmas tree lights for $1.50, and you’re set to party. Of course, the only place you can get this "I got something for nothing" high is at a thrift store. Our pick for best in the metro area is the Salvation Army. There are two on Fort Street downtown and one on Eight Mile. The mad shopper stuck in your broke body can go wild at any of them. The Eight Mile store receives 2,000 pieces of clothing every day, and so kindly arranges the pieces by color and type for easy perusal.
Best Antique Shop
Detroit Antiques Mall
828 W. Fisher Fwy., Detroit
313-963-5252
If you’ve got a little dough and want to find a beautiful antique, this is the place to be. With 12 dealers and 12,000 square feet of display space, this store is not filled with junk. It’s got gorgeous wood furniture, Art Deco pieces, vintage clocks, lamps and collectibles from the ’50s and ’60s, stained and beveled glass, jukeboxes — you name it. There are deals to be made, or you could pay thousands for exquisite furniture in perfect condition. We had some reservations about some of the pieces — there are piles of iron castings and moldings obviously salvaged from old Victorian houses. Ask the guys that run the place, and they’ll tell you they’re doing the best they can to prevent against stolen artifacts, and see their venture as a capitalist quest to preserve the beautiful architecture of Detroit, Philadelphia and other places. If they didn’t buy the pieces for resale, someone else would, they say. The mall logs every piece received to help prevent against stolen property.
