Out of the Closet

This was my first time here and i dont mind thrift stores at all, especially for home décor accents and diy projects. I was looking for a costume for a last minute party last week and found something perfect. It had some stains so i was hesitant, but once my coworker told me about this stain remover from the 99 cent store i took a chance.
So glad I did, cause ALL the stains came out. It was the perfect costume just for that night. Party city prices are outrageous. I also peeked around at some other things and found one of those pretty glass bottles you put your hard liquor in for $ 3. It was something I was looking for to go on top of my bar cart so that was nice. They had other little things like vases, distressed picture frames, etc. Nice place to come for a good bargain.

This place is okay. There’s a huge selection of clothes here.
What’s cool about this place is their big selection of men’s suits. Parking is okay there is just street parking but it’s on a busy street. Forget going there if there’s traffic on Lincoln.

A Great Store To Do Business With…
I Have Been Their Customer for Years and have Proudly Donated Thousands Of Dollars Worth of Good Merchandise to them.
They always give me a Tax Deductible Receipt in which I use for my Taxes and In Addition, I know that for a FACT that I am Helping Out Other People.
Furthermore, I want to personally thank Andre for allowing me to arrive at their location today 30 minutes past the time that they allow you to Drop Off Your Donations.
My Time is Very Valuable and Limited and for ME, this Worked Out Well!
I Honestly can Not Thank You Enough!
I Will Always Be Loyal To This Store and Will Definitely Come Back and Tell People About It!
Thank you Andre!

Besides not having any parking, the store is tiny! There were two people working and they weren’t busy but neither felt the need to say hello. Things aren’t really cheap so I see no need to ever go again.

I’ve been donating at this specific location for years now and have always had a decent experience. Sometimes the volunteers are super nice and sometimes they are what you’d expect. Today, however, the only thing the volunteer said to me was «do you want a receipt?». I drove up and no one was outside so I started unloaded my items from my car. A guy came out, looked at me with disgust yet said nothing until I was finished (didn’t offer to help by the way) and then asked if I wanted a receipt. When I replied yes, he came back with a pre-​filled card and that was all. No «thank you» nothing.
I donate many items that I could sell on eBay but I choose to donate to help others, the least the volunteers can do is say hi instead of looking at you in disgust like you just handed them 5 bags of cow shit. I may be finding a new location to donate to after this.

Sundays are the best day to shop. There is much more choices for the dollar rack. It’s always a hit and miss, but you know you are contributing to a good cause.

This thrift store is on the smaller side but they have a great selection, and you can find some gems — like the lady next to me who got this gorgeous purse for $ 10.
Clothes looked clean and not on the cheap side.
Also — remember it’s for a really good cause!
Parking really is no problem — as long as you manage to walk a few steps :/

If there was easy parking I’d give this place 5 stars, but it is worth the hassle of looking for parking.
All the staff I’ve spoken to here have been super helpful and fun.
I’ve scored some brand new Keen hiking shoes, almost new boots, and a ton of beautiful sweaters for great prices. I’ve also gone in and only walked out with one item before (though I get a ton of compliments whenever I wear this dress.)
There’s a $ 1 rack! They also have weekly mark-​downs on their color coded price tags. Find out the weekly deals.
They have a great selection of womens shoes.

I’ve read the reviews and was excited to pop some tags, I love digging through and finding random goodies. Perhaps it wasn’t my day but I didn’t find one thing. They do have it organized and have a small section towards the back with books, records and some housewares. I traveled down to Santa Monica and racked up on good finds. I will be back as it is a thrift store and merchandise changes daily. I really wanted to find something good but walked away empty handed. Parking is street only and extremely tight. The front girl was friendly regardless of the previous reviews. I’ll be back and hopefully can update my review. As the stars say… A-​OK

As for some of the bad reviews below, I’d like to remind you: IT’S A THRIFT STORE, people!
Which means goods change by the day, or by the hour, depending on what’s been donated, when. So, there’s no reason on earth to judge the store in it’s entirety by what happened to be there, the moment you crossed the threshold.
Also: the staff isn’t on commission, so no, they’re not forced to suck up to you, or even be «nice» (although some might be just ’cause they feel like it .) Go to Rodeo Drive for your suck up.
As for no parking, are you blind? There are two parking lots across the street — have you lost the use of your legs? As well as a cool 99 Cent Only with fresh produce and other incredibly priced goodies.
IT’S A THRIFT STORE, people. Random stuff often at a tenth of the price you’d pay retail.
(And not as overpriced as some L.A. thrift stores I could mention.)
Relax, get a life, and enjoy the treasure hunt.

I love the vintage flare they provide in choosing their offering. The staff for the most part is good and the prices are fair.
I would like to see a few more specials and art to purchase. I love it when I find an amazing dress there and when i wear it everyone comments on it and wants to know where I bought it. Vintage stores like Out Of The Closet are great for finding original pieces!

We dropped in from a «staycation» from San Diego. I love their $ 1 rack and found a lot of good buys! It’s near the door so it’s the first rack of bargains you see. The guy at the counter was very cool (braided long hair) but the guy that was closely watching me wasn’t! He actually followed me around the tiny store. I knew he was their security but he should learn to a comfortable distance. If it wasn’t for him, I would have stayed, shopped longer and this review would have gotten 5 stars!

This place has an abundance of clothes and other items. Some great product, cheap prices. The staff isn’t overtly friendly but they’re not overtly rude either. The location is congested, so allow time for parking.

What happened to this place? I use to travel out of my way just to shop here. After tonight’s experience I won’t be shopping there unless I’m in the area which is only every other month. I gave it 2 stars is because I found a couple of good deals & there is a long term employee (only one) who was really friendly. Here is why I will no longer go out of my way for Out of the Closet
Walk in — use to be that when you walked in at least 1 person said hello & it sounded friendly, not tonight. Not a single hello from anyone who worked there for anyone who walked in. The vibe was really cold & unfriendly.
CREEPY! One of the male staff members was walking around in the women’s section pretending to look at stuff and straighten up when all he was doing was an extremely bad job of security — staring at me and other people in that section. When I stared back with a look that should have told him to back off he just smirked as if making me uncomfortable was funny. F. You dude!
Selection — the racks used to be loaded with clothes, shoes, accessories etc… not tonight.
Color tag sales — Use to be great choices here. lots of stuff I wouldn’t even pay $ 1 for.
The only other good thing about Out of the Closet is one employee that has been there for at least a year. He’s not very outgoing but you talk to him /​he talks to you he is always friendly.
I hope the other Out of the Closet stores haven’t deteriorated. I’ll try a different store but wow, what a lost for this one. It use to be a great treasure hunt.

I gave this two stars based on a comparison to other Out locations. This one doesn’t have quite the selection, and the organization is incredibly shabby. I should also mention that the service was really lacking. There were maybe two other people in the the store, and it seemed they couldn’t have cared less if a customer came in or not. Probably won’t be back.

I’ve been on a somewhat thrifting hiatus. The closet was getting pretty hefty, and the budget was getting pretty skimpy. But if you’re gonna be a shopaholic, might as well be a cheap one, I guess.
To start with, every OotC I have been to has had horrible parking situations. This one… doesn’t have a parking lot. There is street parking for free, but on Lincoln Blvd., I imagine it may be quite difficult to find a spot. Clothing selection here is nothing special, some good, some bad, all $ 1 – 2 over what given item should be. Yeah, yeah, it goes to a good cause, whatever. It’s still a business.
I just don’t understand this obsession with Out of the Closet. Every location I’ve been to fails to impress me. It’s a good place to buy furniture and household stuff, I’ll give them that. And it’s fairly organized, albeit on the crowded side. If you’re one who likes «the hunt», by all means — the items here are all in pretty good condition. But for general thrifting, I’d say it’s a pass.

«Fashion oasis»
Pros: great selection, friendly and helpful staff, free HIV testing, great deals, usefully organized.
Cons: little parking and hard to get access from Lincoln.

I came to California from back east for family vist in Santa Monica and we visited this shop during my stay. This small shop was much better than most of the ones we have back east. There are much more summer & designer things compared to the shops at home. I hit the ‘dollar rack’ and came up with 3 gems, a mini skirt, cool like new t shirt, like new tank top. I paid full price of $ 4.95 for a like new green Gap camo green cotton cropped jacket tailored with zippers & Mandarin collar with a snap. I love it and it was a steal! Yes, lots of books here too.
They seem to ‘grow’ the women tall on the West coast {all those wanna be actresses & models I guess} because all the shoes were too big for me. Nothing smaller than a Size 9. I was out of luck because I wear a 7. The shoes were great, wish they fit me. The guy at the front counter was very nice & I didn’t mind the ‘shower curtain style’ dressing rooms at all. I simply hung a long item of clothing over the slight gap/​opening in the curtains. I wish this place was on the east coast because I found some good stuff. It was chilly, grey & rained most of the two weeks I was in the Venice/​Santa Monica area {they tell me that was highly unusual for October} we couldn’t do much outside, sadly shopping turned out to be a highlight of my trip. So much for ’ SUNNY’ southern California. I couldn’t wait to get back to the east coast for some SUNSHINE & warmer weather!!!

I visit this location when I am dropping off a bag full of stuff that I’ve cleaned out of my apartment.
And then I treat myself to a browse through the store. On those times, I usually find some small gem that is actually on my list! No kidding. So now it is one of my «go to» stores for a lot of things. Why pay retail when you can get a gently used item for dirt cheap? And help a worthy cause?
This Out of the Closet location is right across from the new Venice Whole Foods AND the .99 store! And a CVS, not that anyone would care much. But it’s a decent location and never that busy. There is like 2 spots to park in the back, so unless you are there at an off time, you will have to park in the nightmare Whole Foods lot or on the street. I often score a spot right in front of the store.
It’s a small store, but the selection seems decent in any case. I love to browse the books. I’ve found frames and many other incidentals in there.

So I went zombie shopping today.
No I didn’t go to a zombie pet shop… I’m going to my first ever flash mob, zombie invasion style, and I needed something quick, preferably dirty, light and cheap. Just so happens the first thrift shop I stopped at, had something that might work. So either I’m some kind of good luck charm, when it comes to shopping at thrift shops, or I’ve just been doing it for so many years I know how to skip over things and get right to the good stuff. Or shopping for a zombie costume is like the easiest thing ever.
This Out of the Closet location is across the street from the new Venice Whole Foods, so I had a quick lunch there and then left my car parked there, and crossed the street. Apparently most of their proceeds go straight to AIDS organizations, according to their signage. Pretty cool.
It’s a rather small, and they don’t have that much to offer. But it was neat and tidy today, and didn’t smell too out of the ordinary. They have quite a few new pairs of shoes, which of course my Sasquatch feet didn’t fit into, and some hilarious sequined stage dresses, or maybe they were freaky prom dresses. There’s racks of jeans, jackets and worn out tshirts like you might find at every thrift shop. They have a large varied and relatively recent collections of books including «Stupid White Men», and «The Davinci Code». Some shelves with dishes, and cups including a tea pot I almost bought but then realized I already have like 5 tea pots and I’m a loser.
I ended up getting this mini strapless dress, which I will probably never wear but it was $ 5…and for some reason I think I might use it for a costume in the future. I also bought a red shirt dress for $ 10, which will probably work, but now I’m worried I might actually wear it in real life, so getting it intentionally bloody and dirty might be a bad idea.
Anyway, it’s not the greatest thrift shop I’ve been in but it had what I was looking for today, and fast enough checking out. So if your in the neighborhood and need to stop by, might as well.