Shop Review // Witch Bitch Thrift New Haven CT

https://www.witchbitchthrift.com/

Photos can be found in an album on Facebook here :::

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1672449296818618&type=3

Though we had known about the existence of Witch Bitch Thrift for quite some time, it always felt like going there was something we couldn't quite work out.  If we were going to go into New Haven for a show or something else, we'd think about going beforehand but then end up not having time.  So even though people say that giving gift cards as presents is tacky, I gifted Jess a gift card to Witch Bitch Thrift for Christmas because I knew it would motivate us to make the trip there.  It didn't take long for them to have their first fill-a-bag sale of 2025 and off we went.

When we went, we also took Quentin with us.  I can't speak for all that Jess bought because she did do the fill-a-bag sale and then bought other things, but Quentin even found items which he wanted to buy here.   He got a die that is rather large and really cool looking, plus a Crow's Bag, which was a fun little way for him to kind of grab bag some flair.  

I was immediately drawn to this area which had books, which were designed to be a date with a book.  So they took these different books, wrapped them up, wrote little summaries on them and then put a bookmark and sticker with them as well.  I ended up getting two of these both because I liked the description of the book itself but also liked the bookmark and sticker combo as well.  The funny thing is, if this was a book I just saw on a shelf I might not have been interested in it.  The way that they were described here and the mystery really sold them for me.

After Jess was done in the fill-a-bag room, she went to look at the other clothes and found this olive green type of Andy Warhol shirt in our size for $8.  Here's one of the cool things I love about Witch Bitch Thrift: None of their clothes are sorted by gender.  They're all inclusive.  This makes sense just based on this shirt alone because it's a shirt that either Jess or I could wear and as such it doesn't need to be labeled by gender.  Also, people in general should just wear whatever they want, and whatever makes them comfortable.

There was also a great collection of small art pieces in the corner, where you could get smaller items such as stickers, patches, earrings, etc.  I really enjoyed this part of the store because I'm a sucker for a good sticker, but I also have so many stickers that need places to go.  I did find these art prints by Queerly Departed that are 9"x9" and they were on sale from $10 each to $5 each.  I knew if I didn't get them I'd regret it later, so I ended up getting them.  One of my biggest concerns with buying art like that is we just don't have the wall space but I worked it out.

Witch Bitch Thrift is not only a great place to shop, they do a lot for the community.  It's not easy or common to say that about a lot of businesses today, but this is why you should especially support small businesses- independently owned ones.  There is a space for items people have donated that are free, but also there is an account you can donate to so if people come in and cannot afford clothes they can use that somehow.  

As someone who has been thrifting for longer than I care to admit, I remember when you could walk into a Goodwill store and every t-shirt was priced at $1.99.   While I do still shop there it's just not the same as it used to be or more accurately I think it has lost sight of its vision.  But Witch Bitch Thrift seems to be doing so much more for the community and I'd really like to try and get down there at least once a month to support them.  Everyone else should as well.