When thinking over my options for this series, I had several ideas. I did a post very similar to this on Pretty Is This, but for today’s post I chose my $7 denim shirt from Target. I wear this shirt all-the-time, I want to wear it with everything! When I first bought this item, I felt a little out of my comfort zone. When I think of a denim shirt, I think of high waisted jeans, the denim shirt tucked in, and frizzy permed hair. It’s either that, or with overalls. Ha! After my purchase, I was determined to stay away from those images! 
Here are the three ways I chose wear it:
Option 1: With an printed A-line skirt. Spicing up the shirt with a pattern makes for a fun and comfortable outfit.
Option 2: Under a summer dress. Simple and perfect for the warm days! This is the dress that I wore three ways a few weeks ago. This makes my fourth way! Love this combo!
Option 3: With a slim belt and a maxi skirt. I am almost positive that I have worn every single one of my maxi skirts with this top!
I am happy with my purchase, and it continues to serve me well! Don’t you love the pieces in your closet that you can wear multiple ways?
It’s worth taking a second look at what you have!
Follow my blog, Pretty Is This
My Twitter
My Facebook
2. One Jean Skirt 3 Ways
3. How to Wear Stripes. Confidently.
4. One Skirt, 3 Seasons (of life)
My fall/winter staple has been “the blazer”. I’ve worn my various blazers with a turtlenecks, over dresses, and layered up with blouses, cardigans, and scarves. Today I wore this fitted blazer over a polka dot, a black knit skirt, and tall riding boots. This blazer had some stains on it when I found it at Salvation Army, but I took a chance on it. My faithful dry cleaner cleaned this old 1980s blazer up and returned it to me in excellent condition.
I’m not sure how the weather has been in your neck of the woods, but California weather has been mighty fine. As if today’s gorgeous weather wasn’t good enough to make for a glorious Sunday, I ate some tasty Mexican food from La Costa. The food was so good that I’ve decided to give the place a five star rating on Yelp.
I will be posting some blazers like the one I’m wearing in my online store next week, so look out for them. As for the Mexican food? I can’t make any promises on that.
Blogs have made thrifting (and the term) popular and trendy. You can’t go two clicks without someone boasting about their thrifted treasures (yes, I include myself in that group).
When I was a kid I’d hit garage and yard sales with my mom and sister before the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings. The thrill of the hunt was enough to keep us going, and by the time I entered high school I’d traded “yard sale-ing” for thrifting. I remember finding a denim skirt at my local Goodwill and when I told someone where I bought it her response was a sneer and a scoff. “Goodwill? You’ve got to be kidding me!” Let’s get serious. Goodwill’s clientele didn’t often consist of 15 year old high school kids rifling through the racks.
Times have changed. These days thrift stores are packed with people from all walks of looking to find a bargain or two.
I’m no thrifting guru and I don’t profess to know all the ins and outs of thrift store diving. However, I’ve been thrift store digging, searching, and diving for awhile and I’ve come up with a few tricks of the trade. I know I frequently post how I found this blazer for $3 and that skirt for $5 and I figured that it was about time that I fill you in on a few of my “secrets” and my STP (Strategic Thrifting Plan). I’ll periodically come back to the topic, but today I’ll answer two Frequently Asked Questions about thrifting.
FAQs about thrifting:
1. What does it mean to thrift? Are thrifted clothes and vintage clothes the same thing?
Thrifting is a verb, an action. The term thrifter is a noun. A thrifter is someone who frequents second hand stores (stores with vast majority of its product being used and donated by community members) and purchases goods from second hand stores. Thrifting is what thrifters do. Vintage clothing typically refers to any type of clothing made and manufactured before 1990. As time progresses you’ll see that clothing from the 1990s will be referred to as vintage. Personally, vintage for me is anything from 1989 and earlier. Vintage inspired is NOT the same as vintage. Vintage inspired clothing is simply inspired from an earlier time period. For example, the dresses on Bettie Page Clothing and Stop Staring are not vintage. They are inspired by the pinup era. While thrifting a thrifter might stumble across vintage clothing. However, thrifted clothing simply refers to clothing purchased while shopping at a second hand store. You may or may not find vintage clothing at a second hand store. When a blogger states that X was thrifted they are simply stating that they purchased the item at Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, or any number of thrift stores that populate the land. However, there are stores that specialize in vintage clothing. When you purchase vintage clothing from an antique or vintage store that’s an entirely different area of shopping. Why? The price range is different. Antique and vintage clothing stores know exactly what they have and price things accordingly. Most people pricing items at thrift stores are unaware of the gems they are pricing and every now and then you’ll score something fabulous for the fraction of the price that you would find it anywhere else. These days, however, second hand stores are cashing in on their expanding customer base. They are becoming cognizant of brand name, style, and era and are increasing the prices of their items.
2.How are bloggers (i.e. me and this vintage coat for $2) able to find such stellar deals?
I can’t speak for the blogosphere, but I will speak for myself.
a. I shop during the off season. I have many wonderful vintage coats in my closet because I shop for coats in spring and summer. People clean out their closets when a season comes to a close because they tend to make room for items for the pending season. When most people shop they purchase for the current season. When thrifting I think ahead. Back in July I purchased 6 vintage fur coats for under $15 each. When I checked the price tags the coats had dates as far back as April. This means that someone donated the clothing back in late March/April, the coats hit the racks, and had been sitting there for a good three months. Like any other store, second hand stores have sales and like to clear out their merchandise. How do they do this? SALES. See bullet b.
b. I’m not afraid to ask about sales. I know that Salvation Army has a Moonlight Madness sale (store opens from 5pm-9pm) on the 3rd Thursday of the month (check your local Salvation Army for dates) and they mark everything in the store down by 50%. Salvation Army has some of the best thrift store pricing around. You can generally get a skirt their for less than $6; on their 50% off days you can get an entire outfit for under $20. Many thrift stores also have sale of the day items; items with a certain color sticker are on sale. When I walk in the store I immediately look for signage indicating the current day’s current special.
c. Goodwill+Target=Amazing finds. Target donates their unsold merchandise to Goodwill. Never, and I mean NEVER, will you find me purchasing clothing at Target unless I absolutely have to have it. I won’t do it. Target frequently collaborates with designers to produce X for Target clothing lines. It cracks me up when people flock to the Target website or wait in line for products that are cheaply made and overpriced. PEOPLE, THOSE SAME PRODUCTS WILL BE AT YOUR LOCAL GOODWILL IN DUE TIME. There is no harm in waiting. Nearly three weeks after the Missoni for Target line launched and sold out I scooped up Missoni gloves, tights, and shoes for $6 each at my local Goodwill. Keep in mind that Goodwill prices are dependent on your location. Another person blogged about finding the same products, but she paid WAY more than I did. Why? SHE WAS IN NEW YORK CITY. See bullet d.
d. Location, location, location. If I’m looking to spend less than$20 on a thrifting excursion I know I’m not going to find it thrifting in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, or off Santa Monica Boulevard. Why? Major cities know their products and everybody and their mama are at the same spots clamoring over each other looking for great deals. There is no way that Metro area thrift stores are going to sell a vintage Lanvin dress for $5. I went to San Francisco and found vintage Lanvin for $60–that’s still an amazing deal. However, I went to my local Goodwill two months later and found a vintage Lanvin dress for $5. Five dollars. F i v e d o l l a r s. Less populated cities and hole in the walls stores are where you will find your treasure.
Next week I will answer these questions:
What kind of plan should I have when thrifting?
How do you know if an item is vintage?
When is the best time to thrift?
What lessons have you learned while thrifting?
Leave a comment: Do you thrift? What are your feelings about thrifting? Do you have any words of wisdom?
Wearing: Vintage coat–thrifted, $2 Dress–thrifted $10 Metallic ankle strap flats–Gap $5 Vintage Inspired Sunglasses–Dollar Store (HAHA!)
When I was growing up my mom made sure to teach me the rules of getting dressed, how to dress, and what to choose when getting dressed. Per my mother:
1. Don’t wear denim to church. Reason: denim is for school and playing outside. “We always look our best for Jesus. If denim was your best, then you would be fine. It’s not, so don’t wear it to church.” Currently abiding by rule? Yes, 99% of the time. I can’t remember the last time I wore denim to church (or just denim in general). I remember getting dress on a Sunday morning; I was running late and knew that it would be easier to slip into a denim skirt. I ended up leaving the skirt in the drawer because a vision of my mother staring at me with her evil stink eye scared me into finding something else to wear.
2. Wipe off your shoes after/before wearing them. Reason: One of her biggest pet peeves was seeing someone wear crusty dusty shoes. Aside from that she was very much into looking presentable from head to toe and clean shoes were apart of the deal. Currently abiding by rule? Yes. I almost broke my neck when a 5 inch heel got stuck in mud and I almost slipped my way into a neck brace. The end result was a pair of shoes with mud on the heels and sides. I definitely had to wipe those babies off.
3. Wear an undershirt and a slip. As we got older it was required that we wear a camisole. Reason: Mom felt it to be tacky if your undergarments were visible. An undershirt and slip would do the job of masking lines and smooth things over. Currently abiding by rule? Yes to camis and no to slips. With all the layering I do a slip would just be way too much.
5. Skip horizontal stripes. Reason: They make you look wider. Currently abiding by rule? Up until this year I was. I’ve pretty much had the body of a full grown woman since 3rd grade (waiting for my friends to catch up was torture) and very rarely do I want to appear wider.
I’m not sure where I got my intestinal fortitude from, but some how I mustered up the gall and courage to walk out of my house in a horizontal striped dressed. I pulled out the big guns. Not a striped shirt–a striped dress. The entire time I wondered if I looked wide like a bus or wide like a desk? I got over myself, and yesterday I decided to wear more stripes. Colorful ones.
In order to break up the stripes in this dress some assembly was required. A faux fur vest, a black skinny belt, and tall black boots were all necessary additions. Horizontal stripes are not something I plan to wear on a regular basis, but it was nice to step outside of my box for awhile and try something different.
Have you disobeyed your mother’s rules lately? What’s your take on horizontal stripes?
Dress Old Navy clearance rackL $11
Boots: Nine West (kinda, like, 7 years old)
