Laura Serino

After visiting Maine only a handful of times, Laura Serino packed up her studio apartment in New York City and headed north for "the way life should be." After a summer on North Haven island, she and her boyfriend, a Maine native, settled in Portland, Maine. Serino is a former magazine editor who has been published in national and regional publications. When she isn't blogging, she spends her time antiquing, scouring thrift shops, exploring new places in Maine and cozying up to her cat Jasper. She recently completed her first book, "Twentysomething Girl, 1001 Quick Tips and Tricks to Make Your Life Easier." Reach her at info@forefrontfashion.com Follow her: @ForeFrontFash

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Fore Front Fashion with Laura Serino

Posted: May 8, 2013

A quick trip to Catholic Charities Thrift

It’s amazing just how many thrift, consignment, boutiques and all-around cool shops I’ve still yet to check off my to-do list in Portland. At least it keeps me busy.

Many of you in the twitterverse keep telling me to check out the Catholic Charities Thrift Store (244 St. John Street) so on a recent Saturday, when I found myself at Maine Hardware looking for polyurethane, I decided to stop in.

It’s set up like any other thrift store, with clothing grouped by gender and by kids, with a small clothing rack up front that seemed to pull out vintage clothes.

I appreciate the pre-culling, but for me, the best part about thrifting is being able to find a little treasure amidst all the dregs. So if you want instant vintage gratification, steer yourself towards the front of the store since I had a hard time finding more vintage pieces within the regular racks.

Overall, I wasn’t overwowed. Did I just catch this place on a bad day? Do you think I owe it another visit? Or should I just stick to stopping by on my polyurethane errands?