Look good, feel good. Feel good, look good. Nothing is better than feeling like a million bucks, except for maybe looking like a million bucks though you only spent $10.

Thrift stores sell gently used clothing, furniture, electronics, media and just about everything else all for chump change. With a handful of thrift and resale shops in the DeKalb area, NIU students have plenty of places to pinch pennies.

Christopher Davis, senior general studies major, first fell in love with thrift shops as a child.

“I got the thrift store bug from my father,” Davis said. “When I was 8, he would take me to the thrift stores after we went to the barber shop and once I started to want certain things, I just started to go on my own.”

All sorts of nifty things can be found at thrift stores, from lounge pants to lingerie. For some students, it is the thrill of the find that keeps them coming back to resale shops.

“Going to the stores themselves is worth being a thrifter alone,” said freshman undecided major David Duma.

For Davis, the craziest thing he has ever seen for sale was a collection of not-so-ordinary mannequins.

“[I saw] dressed up mall mannequins,” Davis said. “They just freaked me out. [They were] dressed like strippers or clowns. I think they were some student’s art project.”

Some personal items Duma has seen are less modern art and more creepy and weird.

“The strangest thing I have ever seen, I would have to say, is underwear and bathing suits,” Duma said. “I don’t want to wear anything that has been touching other [people’s] certain areas, if you know what I mean.”

One might have to wade through a lot of tacky stuff before hitting the jackpot, but the find is usually worth the trouble.

“[I bought] an Atari 2600 with all the games for less than $15,” Davis said. “While people were playing PlayStation, I was playing Atari.”

Junior mathematics major Thomas Hodges has found a lot of interesting things in his time as a thrifter, including a giant heart shaped bed. His most prized piece is a suit that has quite a history.

“I bought this tweed suit,” said Hodges. “The label on it reads ‘Made in British India’ so that really dates the suit.”

Hodges has also purchased a large 1950s model Samsonite, hard-shell suitcase.

“It came with a bunch of old [traveling] stickers all over it,” Hodges said.

Duma also has an affinity for thrift store style. However, his passion leans more toward the humorous side.

“I have come home with some really bizarre T-shirts that I wear loud and proud,” Duma said. “A lot of them are pretty corny, but I love them to death.”

Among Duma’s outfits are a Girl Scout ensemble and “Pennsylvania: Amish Country” apparel.

Not everything found in thrift shops has to be quirky or vintage. Some NIU students just love the thrift shops for their affordability.

“The majority of my thrift store purchases have been for furniture,” Davis said. “I go to the Salvation Army in DeKalb for clothing, furniture, records, and pots and pans. [Thrift stores] are perfect for anyone moving out of the [residence halls and] into their first apartment.”