By Jessica Pruitt

I’m gonna be honest. I’m not much of a seamstress. So whenever a cherished piece of clothing needs a fix, big or small, it generally goes in a pile for that magical day when I decide to bust out the sewing machine and get crafty. Key word being magical. When that day doesn’t come for years and years, it’s usually time to admit that I need to give those pieces the boot. But no more! With these handy style hacks, you can easily give your pants the perfect fit or make a beloved wardrobe staple feel fresh again.

@buffaloexchangeThat perfect fit. ##stylehacks

How to Cinch Up Too-Loose Pants
Favorite pair of pants just a little on the loose side? With a shoelace or ribbon, you can easily give them the perfect fit. Just lace through a couple of belt loops and tie up!

@buffaloexchangeJeans to joggers in 20 seconds! ##stylehacks

Turn Your Jeans Into Joggers
If you’re tired of your wide-leg jeans, give ’em a fresh spin by temporarily transforming into joggers with just a couple of hair ties!

@buffaloexchangeUp your oversized button-up game. ##stylehacks

How to Tuck In an Oversized Button-Up
Button-up billowing out? Give it the perfect fit by unbuttoning the bottom and tucking each piece into the opposite side of your jeans. Voila!

@buffaloexchangeTee to crop-top in no time flat. ##stylehacks

How to Turn Your Tee Into a Crop Top
I don’t know about you, but I’ve regretted cropping many a tee. In some cases, though, the outfit just calls for a crop top! Transform any tee temporarily by tucking the bottom edge into your bra.

@buffaloexchangeBodycon dresses are so versatile! ##stylehacks

How to Transform a Dress Into a Skirt
Pretty much any body-con dress can be turned into a skirt for a fresh look – simply tuck the top in!

@buffaloexchangeRaise your hand if you love a good fanny pack. ##stylehacks

Turn Your Cross-Body Bag Into a Fanny Pack
Several years later and fanny packs are still as popular as ever! If you’re not quite sure and want to give it a try, turn any cross-body bag into a fanny pack with a single hair tie.

@buffaloexchangePerfectly tucked tee that’ll stay for hours. ##stylehacks

Dot Your Is and Tuck In Your Tees
Trouble getting your tucked-in tee to stay? Just tie up each side with a hair tie and tuck it in – guaranteed to stay in place for hours.

Well there you have it – my top 7 style hacks! Whenever I’m cleaning out my closet, I like to try hacks like these before I decide to sell an item. If I still don’t love it, I throw it in the bag and make an appointment to sell at my local Buffalo Exchange! Nothing beats trading in my cleanout for a little retail therapy.

We have a handful of new guidelines in place to help us buy, sell and trade responsibly for the good of our customers, employees and public health at large! Along with regular sanitation, sneeze guards at counters and mandatory face masks for everyone in the store, we’ve made some updates to the buying process. Whether you’ve been doing a major wardrobe overhaul or just a quick closet edit, now’s the time to bring in your cleanout!  Read ahead to learn everything you need to know about the new way of selling at Buffalo Exchange.

• Step 1: Call your local Buffalo to make an in-person selling appointment!
• Step 2: Limit your cleanout to 50 items. Launder them and let them sit, untouched, for 24 hours.
• Step 3: Grab your mask & your ID and head to your selling appointment.
• Step 4: Get paid via PayPal or a Digital Trade Card!

Setting Up Your Appointment to Sell

First things first: give your local Buffalo a quick call to set up an appointment. If you’re a new seller or it’s been a while since you sold, we’ll get you set up in the system in advance, so have a valid government-issued ID like a Driver’s License ready when you call. While you’re on the phone with us, it’s the perfect opportunity to chat with your Buyer about what they’re currently buying or ask any lingering questions you might have about the new selling process. Once you’ve gotten your appointment secured, you’re ready to move onto the fun part: cleaning out your closet!

Should it Stay or Should it Go? Collecting Your Closet Cleanout

Right now, we’re asking everyone to limit the number of items you’re selling to about 50 (including shoes, bags, jewelry etc). Freshly launder those items, then set ’em and forget ’em: leave them to sit untouched for at least 24 hours before your appointment. 

Your In-Person Selling Appointment

When it’s time for your appointment, grab your ID (Driver’s License or Passport is ideal) and your face mask and head into the store. Please make sure to be on time for your appointment –  if you’re more than 10 minutes late, you’ll need to reschedule. Once you’re there, a Buyer will greet you, check your ID and get started looking through. Any items we’re able to buy will sit overnight, untouched, before we place them out on the sales floor.

Getting Paid and Cashing Out

Getting paid for your cleanout is now more convenient than ever. Choose between a PayPal payment or a Digital Trade Card (which never expires, just like the traditional card)!

Our protocols are evolving as we go, so stay tuned. Thank you for your patience and understanding! Staying a little closer to home for now? You can also sell your closet cleanout through our Sell By Mail program. Just request a prepaid shipping bag online, send it in and get paid!

Grab your face mask and stop in to update your wardrobe for or make an appointment to sell your closet cleanout! We have a variety of safety protocols in place – including daily health screenings and temperature checks for all employees.

A new shopping experience:

• 

  Masks required for customers and employees

• 

  Sneeze guards at checkout and buy counters

• 

  Contactless payment options

• 

  Reminders for social distancing.

• 

  Regular sanitation

How to Sell:

• • 

    Sell by in-person appointment only – call to make an appointment!

  • 

    Please limit your cleanout to 50 items

  • 

    Before your appointment,
    launder your items and leave untouched for 24 hours

  • 

    Bring your ID and wear a face mask to your appointment

  • 

    Choose contactless payout options through PayPal or a Digital Trade Card

Hey Buffalos.

We’re thinking of you and just wanted to ask, How are you doing? It’s been just over a month since we made the tough decision to temporarily close our stores and we want to give a shout out to all of our customers and employees for the love and support during this time. 

The days do feel long while we patiently wait and watch what each new week brings. Behind the scenes, we’re hard at work planning our reopening with the safety of all of you in mind. We miss you all and can’t wait to see you walk through our doors again. In the meantime, here’s a poem we wrote for you. 

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I’m ready to sell clothes
To all my Buffalos

Stay in touch with us by following @BuffaloExchange on Instagram. Cleaning out? You can still sell your clothes through Buffalo Exchange Sell By Mail! Request a bag online today.

As 2019 comes to its end and we enter the new decade, we find ourselves grateful for all of the wonderful things that have happened over the past year and we’re looking forward to what’s to come. We want to say thank you to all of the customers and employees who have supported Buffalo Exchange through the years and contributed to our success. We simply couldn’t do it without you! Wishing everyone a fantastic 2020!

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Do your New Year’s resolutions involve a love for fashion, people and working hard in a fun and friendly environment? Start 2020 off right by joining our herd! We’re always looking to expand our Buffalo Family and we offer a ton of perks like paid time off and an employee discount to name a few. If you’re looking for a fresh start to the New Year, stop by any of our locations and apply in-store or online today. Happy New Year!

Every six months, we support new local charities through our Tokens for Bags® program. Instead of giving out bags, we give customers the opportunity to donate five cents (the cost of the bag) to a charity of their choice. Our Tokens for Bags® program has raised over $803,000 for thousands of local charities since 1994, saving over 16.06 million bags from polluting the environment!

Find your local Buffalo Exchange below and check out the charities you can give back to.

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By Marcella Willden & Savy Kroop

The holiday season is here, which means it’s time to take your favorite sweaters out of your closet and rock them at all of the holiday parties! Don’t want to repeat the same look from last year? Buffalo Exchange has your back! Stop into your local Buffalo for tons of cute and cozy options. OR, if you’re you feeling a little crafty, you can try DIY-ing your own holiday sweater. This festive cactus sweater is a fun twist on a traditional holiday sweater that we’re sure will have you looking ON-POINT this season!

What You’ll Need to DIY Your Cactus Holiday Sweaters

The first (and maybe obvious) step is to get a sweater! You can sift through your closet to find one you don’t wear anymore or you can stop by your local Buffalo Exchange to pick one up – like we did! We found these cute, coordinating gray sweaters with statement sleeves for extra festive flair. While we were out-and-about, we stopped into the dollar store to get all of our crafting supplies. In total, we spent about $30 on this project for both sweaters and it only took about 30 minutes from start to finish. We had so much fun DIY-ing these sweaters that I think we found a new holiday tradition!

Supplies:

Sweater, Felt, Pom pom balls, Pipe cleaners, Hot glue gun and glue sticks, Scissors, Marker, Optional: Other crafty supplies like ribbon and glitter

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By Aarian Frye

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — Halloween! As the witching hour approaches, you may find yourself without a costume – that’s where Buffalo Exchange comes in. From our favorite movies to our favorite foods, we’ve compiled some of our favorite costumes from last year to inspire your look this Halloween! Ready to recreate one of these? Just step into your local Buffalo – we’ll help you find everything you need to create your spookiest costume yet!  

Teen Dream

Want a super trendy costume that you can pull together with pieces from your own closet? Live out your teenage dream with looks from your favorite high school comedies! 

A Mean Girls costume is totally fetch – just don’t tell Regina George! Photo from Buffalo Exchange Tempe.

If there’s any time to try out the Romy and Michelle diet of gummy bears, jellybeans and candy corn, it’s Halloween! Photo from Buffalo Exchange Boston (Allston). 

XOXO, you know you love this Gossip Girl group from Buffalo Exchange Brooklyn (Boerum Hill)!

Full Story

Every six months, we support new local charities through our Tokens for Bags® program. Instead of giving out bags, we give customers the opportunity to donate five cents (the cost of the bag) to a charity of their choice. Since 1994, we have raised over $778,660 for thousands of local nonprofit organizations through our Tokens for Bags® program, saving 15.5 million bags from polluting the environment.

Find your local Buffalo Exchange below and check out the charities you can give back to.

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By Savy Kroop

Summer is here and it’s time to kick back and relax with a trip to your destination of choice! If you’re anything like me, though, traveling, packing and airports can be stressful. We all know you’re supposed to “pack light”, but it’s easier said than done. How are you supposed to pack a bag that’s small enough to carry-on and still look cute throughout your entire vacation? The solution lies in creating a mini summer capsule wardrobe! When every single piece you pack goes together, you can’t really go wrong.

What to Take on the Plane

This one’s an oft-proclaimed traveling tip, but it bears repeating: wear your bulkiest pair of shoes and your jacket on the plane. This will allow you to pack light without sacrificing important pieces – whether it’s a pair chunky sneakers or your favorite denim jacket. Not to mention that planes often get very cold, so having your jacket handy is a win-win.

For your one personal item, I recommend a cute backpack instead of a purse. This will give you a lot more capacity and is great for on-the-go sightseeing. Lastly, don’t forget to bring a refillable water bottle (empty it out before security, of course). This will save you from buying a $6 bottle of water at the airport and/or desperately waiting for your flight attendant to come around with a teeny glass of water to quench your thirst.

Pack Light with a Vacation Capsule Wardrobe

I used to plan out every single outfit for each day of my vacation. This usually ended up in a suitcase overstuffed with an obscene amount of shoes, not to mention that I brought along tons of pieces that I never ended up wearing. No more! Even though I don’t subscribe to a capsule wardrobe when I’m at home, it makes vacation packing a warm ocean breeze.

A capsule wardrobe is a selection of staple items that can be easily mixed and matched. When I recently went to Florida to visit my family, for example, I brought along:

• 1 pair of jeans
• 1 pair of shorts
• 3 tee shirts
• 1 dress
• 1 bathing suit
• 2 pairs of shoes
• 2 pairs of sunglasses

With these items, I was able to put together at least 5 completely different looks! It also gave me a lot of flexibility to create an outfit that actually fit the temperature and situation on-the-fly. What they say is true – less is more! When you pack light with a capsule wardrobe, you can customize it to any style, but I definitely recommend including a simple T-shirt. You can wear it tucked, untucked, tied in a knot, over or under a dress and, if you’re feeling crazy, you could even cut into a crop top.

Double the Fun

My favorite tip to pack light is bringing pieces that can serve more than one purpose – for example, this sweet lemon-print swimsuit that can double as a cute tank top. BOOM! You just created another look for your vacation wardrobe. P.S. If you’re bringing extra sunnies and don’t have a case for them, just tuck them into your shoes to keep them safe throughout your journey.

The key to a successful capsule wardrobe, of course, is having solid staples that you truly love. If you’re not finding what you need in your own wardrobe, head down to your local Buffalo Exchange to trade in that great pair of jeans that just never fit quite right for new-to-you summer styles perfect for your vacation capsule wardrobe. Bon voyage!