Whether you're a serious thrifter or just curious about the potential treasures you could find, Chicago isn’t the only place to explore. The city certainly has plenty of thrift stores, consignment shops, and second-hand outlets, but you don’t have to take a trip into the city and fight for parking.

The suburbs of Chicagoland are full of chains like Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Savers. You can also check out these eight thrift stores if you’re in the market to declutter or bring something home. 

A woman looks through clothes on a rack while holding a basket in a thrift shop
The suburbs of Chicago have many thrift, consignment, and second-hand shops to explore.

1. Brown Elephant - Oak Park

Brown Elephant has three locations in the Chicagoland area: Andersonville, Lakeview, and Oak Park. These resale shops are associated with Howard Brown Health; all proceeds go toward LGBTQ health and uninsured or under-insured patients at Howard Brown. Inside these sprawling stores, you can find everything from entire dining sets and desks to vintage records and unique jewelry. The Oak Park outpost is located right off of I-290.

2. Community Threads - Arlington Heights

Community Threads, located in the northwestern suburb of Arlington Heights, sits in an unassuming strip mall. Like many thrift stores, the plain exterior belies just how much you can discover inside. The nonprofit thrift store was founded with the mission to help women and children struggling with homelessness. Proceeds from the store are used to fund shelters, affordable housing, and outreach efforts. Community Threads welcomes donations and offers the opportunity to volunteer.

For shoppers, the 22,000-square-foot store is a veritable smorgasbord of goods. Community Threads aims for an upscale, boutique vibe. You can browse the carefully organized rows of clothing and shoes for fashion finds or sift through the sizable collection of furniture, housewares, and books.

3. Twisted Trunk - Glenview

The inside of the Twisted Trunk looks like an eclectic house occupied by an avid collector of beautiful things, cozy and enviable. This Glenview consignment shop is dedicated to upscale furnishings. So, if you're in the mood for a new desk or bookshelf without the distraction of jewelry, clothing, and books, this is the store for you.

Stroll through the cozy shop, looking at a wide variety of pieces ranging from basic to quite ornate. If you want a little of a sneak preview before visiting in person, Twisted Trunk posts photos of recent arrivals.

4. WINGS - Schaumburg

WINGS is another suburban chain of retail stores. In addition to the Schaumburg location, you can visit the organization’s thrift stores in Arlington Heights and Niles. At WINGS, you'll find the wide variety that makes thrift stores so fun to explore. Clothing, accessories, housewares, and furniture are all available at this thrift store. If you are looking to lighten your household collection rather than add to it, WINGS does accept donations. Proceeds from the three WINGS locations help to support victims of domestic violence.

5. Gingham Tree Resale Shop - Downers Grove

On the Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital campus in Downers Grove, you'll find one of the suburb’s thrift store gems. The Gingham Tree Resale Shop, established in the early 1970s, is run entirely by volunteers. This resale shop welcomes donations.

The extensive collection housed within Gingham Tree covers clothing, linens, dishes, books, electronics, furniture, and more. This shop dives deep into its clothing collection to put on a vintage fashion show, putting clothes from decades past on display.

6. Sparrow’s Nest - Palatine

Sparrow’s Nest is run by Home of the Sparrow, a nonprofit homeless shelter. In addition to the Palatine location, you can find Sparrow’s Nest locations in Algonquin, Cary, McHenry, Mundelein, Third Lake, and Woodstock. Community Threads in Arlington Heights is also affiliated with Home of the Sparrow.

The Sparrow’s Nest stores feature a mishmash of anything you could hope to find in a consignment shop. If you don’t want to visit in person, Sparrow’s Nest has an eBay shop where you can bid on a curated selection of finds.

When you do visit the Palatine location, you can extend your thrifting adventures with a stop at Anne’s Unique Boutique, just a five-minute drive away.

7. The Hope Chest - LaGrange

The Hope Chest in LaGrange specializes in women’s clothing and accessories. Dating back to the earlier 1990s, this thrift shop is dedicated to an important cause. It works directly to support Pillars Community Health’s Morris House, which serves as a shelter for women and children who have survived domestic abuse. Hope Chest donates clothing to the shelter. You can support the thrift’s cause by shopping there, or you can opt to donate to Hope Chest when you shop on Amazon.

The Hope Chest’s inventory regularly rotates. You can count on a wide variety of women’s clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accessories when you visit this LaGrange thrift shop.

8. Kelsey Resale Boutique - Hinsdale

If you have a taste for designer clothing at a more reasonable price, Kelsey Resale Boutique is a good pick for suburban thrifting. This shop is very particular in what it accepts, offering shoppers a collection of high-end brands to browse. Expect to see clothing, handbags, shoes, jewelry, and sunglasses at this Hinsdale shop. Kelsey Resale also has another location in LaGrange and offers online shopping