Woman Can’t Believe Her Eyes Over $40 TJ Maxx Find: ‘Are You Kidding Me?’

A woman in New York who shared a thrift-shopping experience in an unusual place has gone viral after finding a vintage 1980s dress in her local TJ Maxx.

Violet Sky, a singer, media archivist and lover of ’80s fashion, shared her thrifting find in a TikTok video that has received more than 300,000 views.

“I found the dress last week while I went into TJ Maxx on a whim. I was getting my car fixed that day, and they told me it would take more time than usual, so I figured I would go shopping to kill some time,” Sky told Newsweek. “I was walking past one of the racks on the end of the aisle when the blue metallic fabric caught my eye. I thought to myself, That looks really ’80s.”

Instantly drawn to the dress, Sky investigated further. When she looked at the tag, she saw that it was a design by Gunne Sax, a now-retired clothing label. Founded in 1967, Gunne Sax specialized in formal and semiformal womenswear in romantic, vintage-inspired styles.

The brand was particularly popular during the 1970s and ’80s. In 1975, future first lady Hillary Clinton wore a Gunne Sax dress to her wedding. More recently, Taylor Swift has been spotted wearing vintage Gunne Sax dresses.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Sky said, though she almost didn’t buy the dress. “The tag listed it as $39.99, which I felt was steep in the moment since I’m so used to paying thrift-store prices. But vintage Gunne Sax goes for much more online,” she continued.

Sky added: “I also just couldn’t leave it there. The situation was just too meant to be, and I would have never forgiven myself.”

In the viral video, the ’80s enthusiast expressed how stunned she was by the discovery.

“Are you kidding me?” Sky said in the clip, adding, “TJ Maxx does not carry vintage clothing at all. And I don’t even—I don’t know what to say.”

She told Newsweek: “It was all just so weird. Like HOW did it end up there? And me of all people found it? And then I went to try it on, and it fit? I felt like it was some sort of kismet moment.”

While TJ Maxx sells a wide range of designer styles, it does not stock vintage items in the traditional sense, so how the dress ended up in the store is a mystery. Newsweek has contacted TJ Maxx via email for comment.

In the video’s comments section, thousands of TikTok users shared their theories about how the dress wound up in the department store.

“Most people said it was a bad return, meaning someone bought a new dress and returned this older one in its place as a way to steal clothes, and it went under the radar,” Sky said. “I guess in the end it worked out. The thief got their dress, I got mine, and TJ Maxx got their $39.99.”