Score Big Savings at This Enormous Massachusetts Thrift Store

When I was a student living in Boston, I would always be on the lookout for bargains. A favorite activity entailed making the trek to Cambridge to score some great local thrift store finds at an unassuming old textile building called the Garment District. My friends and I would dig through a pile of secondhand clothes and fill our bags with bargain treasures that we would purchase for only a few dollars. Fast forward to 2024, when I first took my thrifty teen to the Garment District in Cambridge, MA, which is still going strong. A trip here was calling our names, and it did not disappoint!

I hadn’t been back to the Garment District in many years, and I was excited to see if it had stayed the same as I had remembered it. This simple outdoor sign was the only clue to the hidden bargains that awaited us inside.

As my daughter and I entered the building, we discovered a whimsically decorated interior full of vintage decor and colorful walls. We decided to start our shopping on the ground floor.

I was so happy to see the store still had pay-by-the-pound shopping. While the cost is now $2 per pound of clothing, it is still a great deal! We wasted no time digging into the massive pile of clothes scattered all over the warehouse floor.

We rifled through shirts, dresses, pants, ties, Halloween costumes, and children’s items and ended up with some pretty great finds. As the bag got fuller, I wondered how difficult it would be to carry it back to our hotel across town.

I made a mental note to myself to stay at the nearby Residence Inn by Marriott Boston Cambridge during our next visit just to make hauling back our treasure trove of clothing much easier!

We whittled down our purchases, doused ourselves in hand sanitizer (I honestly don’t know how we ever lived without this stuff), and headed to the cash register for the moment of truth. I hoisted the bulging bag onto the scale and watched in amazement as it weighed in at 7.8 pounds. The price ended up being $15.60. What a steal!

After the cashier tagged and stored our bag behind the counter, my daughter and I headed upstairs to look for more bargains. Our shopping expedition wasn't over quite yet.

As we rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, we were met with rack after rack of clothing of every sort. There were concert t-shirts, flannels, overalls, dresses, jeans, and shirts. We also discovered numerous displays of jewelry, handbags, hats, sunglasses, and shoes. While most of these were secondhand items, there were also some brand-new finds.

There were also tons of vintage items from the '80s and '90s and a great assortment of costumes and accessories. The Garment Store building also houses “Boston Costumes,” a quality costume rental and retail shop full of wigs, theatrical-style costumes, and makeup.

I will definitely be visiting again prior to Halloween, as there are endless costume ideas to be discovered here!

My daughter and I spent several hours thrifting that day. The Garment District is, after all, the best thrift store in Cambridge, MA. In addition to our 7.8 pounds of downstairs finds, we ended up with several more steals from upstairs.

We left the store without breaking the bank and made the journey back to the hotel with armfuls of new treasures.

Have you visited The Garment District in Cambridge, MA? Do you have another favorite local thrift store? If so, please let us know through our nominations page.

Information about this unique store can be found on the Garment District Cambridge MA website and the Garment District Cambridge MA Facebook page. I can tell you that after all that shopping, you will probably be hungry. The Miracle of Science Bar + Grill is a science-themed restaurant just a short walk from the thrift store.

For more great thrift store finds, hop in the car and take this savvy Massachusetts thrift store road trip. Discover more nearby adventure using our Travel Planner!