NEW YORK -- With the holidays just around the corner (and an ongoing tour), rapper Macklemore was in need of some vintage swag to rock at all the coming parties.

The "Thrift Shop" rapper has been questioned time and time again if thrift shopping is an actual lifestyle for him or just another fad. To prove his commitment to "looking for a come-up," Seattle's finest took MTV News on a shopping excursion to his favorite digs ... a thrift shop, duh.

"I shop at thrift shops probably five times a week," Macklemore said of his guilty pleasure from inside New York's Monk Thrift Shop. "I waste a lot of money, a lot of time at thrift shops ... it's a great way to spend rapper money."

Now if you're worried the man behind The Heist will tax your style, don't be, he's likely after your grandpa's. Donning all sorts of hand-me-downs, giant fur coats and Batman onesies in the song's video that has stacked 32 million Youtube hits, Macklemore sums up his personal fashion style in three simple words: "Cold-ass honky."

Check out photos from our shopping session with Macklemore

While the gold single is all fun and games (taking jabs at R.Kelly's urine-scented sheets) the untraditional lyricist wants "Thrift Shop" to stand for something different: "Rappers talk about, oh I buy this and I buy that, and I spend this much money and I make it rain, and this type of champagne and painting the club, and this is the kind of record that's the exact opposite. It's the polar opposite of it. It's kind of standing for like let's save some money, let's keep some money away, let's spend as little as possible and look as fresh as possible at the same time," Macklemore said.

So, what is the secret to thrift shopping? The former "Professor" advises shoppers to be open, "You have to think, 'I'm on a treasure hunt and I have no idea what the treasure looks like.' " And though most everything is up for grabs, he does reveal he steers clear of one thing ... used socks. Good call.

What's your best find at a thrift shop? Share your comments below!