Racks upon stacks upon piles of unsized, unlabeled, unsorted clothing and accessories: For some of us, this visual evokes feelings of excitement, bliss, and actual, non-drug-induced euphoria. For others, it sounds more like an Elm Street-meets-Twilight Zone nightmare.

For those of us who fall into that latter category and maybe even a couple from the former (get it together, people!), we've enlisted owner of (seriously amazing) online vintage boutique Maeven, Amy Yee, to introduce a little method to the madness that is thrift-store shopping. (If you want to check out her vintage cred, just hop on over to her exclusive boutique — we're telling you, she's got an eye.)

According to Amy, there are certain kinds of items that lend themselves to vintage and thrift stores — like great jeans or a unique printed blouse — so if you know what to look for, you can save a little time and a lot of anxiety, especially if you're a newbie.

Ahead, the top 5 vintage finds any shopper can master, along with Amy's own words of wisdom.

Shop Maeven's exclusive boutique here!

Photographed by Sean Santiago

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