Best Barrel Scraping

The end of the line for the Retro City chain of vintage and used stores -- which includes La Rosa and Held Over -- Clothes Contact is the premier by-the-pound thrift in the Bay Area. Most of its items arrive in huge cardboard barrels from Germany, or Baltimore, or someplace where there are a lot of old clothes lying around. Once in the store they are lovingly arrayed: racks of slightly sagging car coats, trees of Bavarian mountain hats, rows of once-worn dresses for any occasion. The best part? Cheap, cheap, cheap. Bonus: The store also plays really good mix tapes while you shop.