Thrift store review: Garland Road Thrift Store

photo by Jennifer M. Ramos

I finally decided to check out a place I've driven by many times but never visited, the Garland Road Thrift Store located at 10030 Garland Road in Dallas.


I went in two hours before closing on a Tuesday and it wasn't very crowded at all. When I walked into the store I was immediately asked to check my backpack at the counter. Okay. I also noticed the three fitting rooms immediately to my left with signs stating that only three items were allowed inside at a time. Also okay.

As I walked around, I could see that this store was cleaner and more organized than most of the thrift stores I have been to, and that it was a large store with a variety of items. Instead of being organized by color, as with many other thrift stores I have been to, the clothing was actually organized by size. Plus sized items are simply placed in the largest sized category, so XXL and 1X and 2X shirts and dresses are in the XL section, and trousers sized 14 and up are in the 38 inch waist section. A plus size lady merely has to go to the appropriate section and browse past the 12s and 14s to get to the larger sizes.

I noticed a lot of very nice clothing, trousers in particular, that were name brand and still had tags. I think because there is a Ross and a Marshall's up the street, Garland Road Thrift gets a lot of the leftover items from these discount stores. In sizes 12 and up I saw items from New York and Co., Ann Taylor Loft, Talbots, Avenue, Gloria Vanderbilt and Old Navy. I also saw a cream colored Kathy Van Zeeland handbag behind the counter ($19, I asked) and a pair of champagne-colored Ferragamo pumps, size 10.

There was a pretty surprising selection of gowns, including a number of wedding dresses, and the toys and household items were shockingly well organized. The store was a little more expensive than I'm used to, but they have sales for color-tagged items on different days of the week and senior citizens (55+) get a discount on Wednesday. They also take credit cards, as long as you have ID with you.

I will definitely be back!