We all get the urge to buy something new, but often nagging credit card debt and an empty wallet can make fulfilling this impulse a daunting proposition. That, of course, is what thrift stores are for, and Thrift House is perhaps Evanston's best.

With its evening gowns and dapper suits in the front window, Thrift House makes clear that it will offer more than just endless racks of T-shirts. Offering a clothing inventory with more variety makes Thrift House a great place to outfit yourself for a costume party or upgrade your wardrobe on those days when, for sanity's sake, you just need to buy something.

But Thrift House delivers more than just clothes. The decades-old wooden tennis racquets are good for decoration or perfecting that backhand with a new Rod Laver instructional video. Old board games often float in and out of the store's displays. Customers bored with the shopping at Old Orchard float in and out of the store's checkout lines, too, happily struggling with bags full of new cargo.

Centerstage Reviewer: Patrick Corcoran