Tag: thrifting fun

Spring Break Thrift Haul

I mentioned last week that I had a bit of a Spring Break off work last Monday and Tuesday. Of course, being Maryland it actually snowed on Tuesday… and then I was snowed in with Jack on Wednesday and Thursday, but I didn’t mind the time off a bit!

One of my main goals for that Monday was to go by my favorite thrift store and spend as much time as I wanted wandering around. It was SUCH a treat! It was also weirdly crowded for a Monday, so I was a bit concerned that there wouldn’t be anything ‘good’ to find, but WOW did I find a bunch of great stuff:

{Pssst, you can read about my previous thrifting adventures here}

I tried on a TON of items, which takes quite a while when you are only allowed to bring 8 into the dressing room at a time. I ended up putting a bunch of stuff back based on fit, but I still scored some awesome finds!

Carry Me Company Tote Bag, $7.99 on sale for $5.36

This tote bag is so adorable with the little crabs, starfish and seahorse. It’s brand new with tags from a little company in Pennsylvania and originally cost $37.99. I basically use tote bags for everything, so I’m happy to have another cute one to add to my collection! This one has a snap to hold it shut, an interior pocket and a key hook too.

Oshkosh swim trunks, $2.49 on sale for $1.67

Continuing on with the crabby theme, I couldn’t resist these cute crab swim trunks for Jack! He will have a couple swimming days at summer camp each week, so a cheapo pair for less than $2 is perfect for him to destroy this summer.

Gillian O’Malley shirt, size XXL, $3.99 on sale for $2.68

This is a Target brand for sleepwear, but I’m totally going to just wear this as a shirt. Is there some sort of rule about that? The sizing is absolutely ridiculous because it’s marked XXL and fits like a standard large.

Eci dress, size Large, $19.99 on sale for $13.40

This brand is one that is sold at stores like Nordstrom and Macy’s and typically is around $90 for a similar dress. I really liked the fun green pattern on this one and I feel like I can totally wear this with tights to work now and then with sandals during the summer. Super cute and really flattering too with the wrap-style top.

I’m wearing it today with a cute beaded sweater, tights and booties:

Boden dress, size US10, $11.99 on sale for $8.04

I love a good Boden jersey dress, so I decided to scoop this one up for $8. It is in perfect condition and has really cute pockets too. It looked fine on me in the store, but I didn’t like it as much when I got it home. So, I went ahead and washed it and then listed it for sale. It sold within 7 hours of listing for $40, so I’m calling it a win!

Loft Snow Leopard print car coat, size Large, $24.99 on sale for $16.75

I found this adorable jacket on the Loft website and it was sold for $168 in winter 2014. It actually has 140 reviews and averages 5 out of 5 stars. I remember seeing this when it came out, but it never went on sale low enough for me to buy. The person who bought this one must not have loved it though, because it seems totally unworn and even still has the protective stitch holding the back flap closed (it is such a pet peeve of mine when people wear clothes without cutting this stitch open!).

This coat was my absolute favorite find of the day! I love how it’s a grown up shape with a bit of extra sass. The tag says dry clean only, but I threw it in the washing machine on cold and then let it hang dry. It turned out perfect and I’ve been wearing it nonstop while it’s still cold outside:

Eileen Fisher sweater, size PL, $5.99 on sale for $4.02

I just can’t leave $5 Eileen Fisher behind at the thrift store. This green elbow-length sweater is 85% cotton and 15% cashmere. It will be a great work topper for the spring and summer to keep my arm tattoo under wraps.

Land’s End wrap dress, size medium (10-12), $9.99 on sale for $6.70

Much like I can’t leave Eileen behind, I also have it ingrained in me to try on every wrap dress I see. This one is a solid navy version from Land’s End. It appears unworn and fits great, so this will be immediately washed and put into my work rotation!

Mexican Embroidered dress, no size, $11.99 on sale for $8.04

I shared this dress with you all last week (read the post here). I love the embroidery on the top of the dress, so I’m planning to cut it down into a shirt like this one or these. I may also cut the sleeves off to make it a tank top. Stay tuned!

Hei Hei Juneworthy bomber, size small, $14.99 on sale for $10.06

Hei Hei is sold at Anthropologie and this adorable navy bomber went for $78 earlier this year. This one is in perfect condition, so I decided to take a chance on it and list it for resale. Fingers crossed that someone wants to buy it!

For fun, I decided to add up what I spent thrifting and compare it to the retail cost of each item:

Item Thrift Cost Retail Cost
Carry Me Company Tote Bag $5.36 $37.99
Oshkosh swim trunks $1.67 $15.00
Gillian O’Malley shirt $2.68 $15.00
Eci dress $13.40 $88.00
Boden dress $8.04 $85.00
Loft Snow Leopard Car Coat $16.75 $168.00
Eileen Fisher sweater $4.02 $198.00
Land’s End Wrap Dress $6.70 $100.00
Mexican Embroidered dress $8.04 $35.00
Hei Hei bomber $10.06 $78.00

 

Estimated Retail Cost total: $819.99

Thrifting total: $76.72

Total savings: $743.27!

That should scratch my thrifting itch for a while!

I’d love to hear your thrifting stories! Did you find a diamond in the rough (literally or figuratively)?

 

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March Thrift Haul

I had a small surgery to get two sketchy looking moles removed from by body and tested earlier this month. As I was getting ready to leave, my doctor told me to be sure to take it easy the rest of the day. So, obviously I took that to mean that I should go by Sonic for a milkshake and do a little thrifting…

{Pssst, you can read about my previous thrifting adventures here}

And WOW and I glad I did! While I was at one of our nearby Goodwill stores they made an announcement that they have a 30% discount for students and teachers. Well, I’m currently a student in a Master’s program… but I don’t have a student ID since I’m taking my classes online. So, I decided to do a quick check of my work ID (I work at a university) and it actually says “Faculty and Staff” on it, so I got the discount!

Want to see what I found?

Visit #1 Haul:

51 Piece Cookie Cutter Set, $6.97 + 30% off

My sister texted me a few days before Christmas to see if I had any cookie cutters, because she was in the middle of making sugar cookies at my parent’s house and couldn’t find any. So, when I saw this brand-new cookie cutter set I knew I had to buy it so that we are prepared for next year! There are a ton of different shapes, but my vote is for Christmas dinosaurs…

Merona dress, Large, $7 + 30% off

I normally don’t buy Target brands at thrift stores because they don’t tend to be the best quality. However, this particular Goodwill is a location where they have a bunch of Target cast-offs that were donated from the store. I really like the softness of this dress, as well as the black and white pattern. It has a gathered waist too, so it’s pretty flattering on. I’m planning to wear this as either a swimsuit cover-up at the beach or maybe as a casual weekend dress.

Halogen cardigan, Large, $5.89 + 30% off

I’ve mentioned before that red is one of my university’s colors… but I don’t actually own much red clothing at all. This Halogen cardigan (a Nordstrom brand) is a pretty shade of red and in great condition, so I decided to go ahead and get it for less than $5. I already wore it too!

 

Liz Claiborne faux wrap dress, Large, $7.00 + 30% off

Whenever I go to Marshalls or TJ Maxx, this is the type of easy dress I gravitate towards. In fact, I have a few similar dresses in my closet and have been wearing them for probably 5 – 10 years because they always look great and basically last forever! This one has a flattering shape and a pretty pattern, here it is close up:

Visit #2 Haul:

Two weeks later I had to get my stitches out, so I made a quickie stop by the same Goodwill. I probably only had about 30 minutes, so I scooped up a few items and ended up with three winners:

Grayer’s Cotton Sweater, Large, $3.50
Chico’s skinny jeans, size 1, $8.40

I initially loved the pretty stripes on this 100% cotton sweater and although I wasn’t familiar with the Grayer’s brand, I could tell by its tag that it was kind of fancy. I did some googling and found that Grayer’s is a men’s brand created by a designer that spent 11 years working at Ralph Lauren. They’re vision is classic with a twist and when describing their fit they say “it’s not the classic, baggy fit, nor is it the slim designer fit – we walk a fine line in-between the two.”  They sell their clothing through their own website and Nordstrom and similar sweaters go for $88 – 98.

I don’t normally bother trying on pants or jeans when I thrift, because it’s so hard for me to find a pair that fit me right. I decided to try these on a whim, having no idea what a Chico’s size 1 even would be. These jeans are part of the Chico’s “so slimming” collection (price range $89 – $99) and I’d like to be slim… so I tried them. Oh, and a Chico’s size 1 is supposed to be equal to regular size 8 and that’s totally BS because I’m NOT a size 8. Anyways, these jeans fit kind of great and figured I’d give them a try for less than $9! I’ve worn them twice since I bought them (here’s one outfit) and have been pleasantly surprised at how they don’t fall down throughout the day!

Coldwater Creek wrap dress, size 10P, $4.90

Once again, getting introduced to a new brand with this Coldwater Creek dress. It looks like it’s a catalog/website brand that attracts the ‘more mature’ lady. Sigh. First I buy Chico’s and now Coldwater Creek… apparently I’m turning full-on old lady at age 40. Anyways… I liked the colors of this dress and you all know how I can’t resist a good wrap dress! The first thing I did was cut off the fake wrap ribbon thing on the side. I may end up hemming this one a bit shorter, but I’ll wear it to work once to see how I feel about the length. All it all, it was a steal for $5!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I also did a little more thrifting earlier this week… but I’m going to do a special Spring Break Haul post next week.

I’d love to hear your thrifting stories! Did you find a diamond in the rough (literally or figuratively)?

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February Thrift Haul

I finally had the opportunity to go thrifting over the weekend and had some awesome scores! Also, I realized I have a couple thrift purchases that I haven’t shared yet… so let’s get on with the February Thrift Haul!

{Pssst, you can read about my previous thrifting adventures here}

Dr. Martens ‘Mini Tydee Boot’, size 7, $19.99

The thrift store that I went to has their shoes all over the place. They are just randomly stacked on top of the clothing racks as far as the eye can see. I browsed through the section that was marked 8 – 8.5 and didn’t see much. Then, I wondered into other sections and found these babies. They were marked with a size 5 tag, but they looked my size, so I pulled them down to check them out. Inside the shoe it shows size 5UK and size 7US… but when I tried them on they definitely fit more like an 8.

I found them on the Nordstrom website where it looks like they were sold in 2013. One of the reviews even points out that they run about 1 whole size large, so I really lucked out when I decided to try them on. I also found them on Amazon, still being sold in a few sizes for $135.

Let me just say, I LOVE these Docs. I have a pair of plain black Dr. Martens that I bought in 1994 and still wear, if you can believe it. These will look so cute with skinny jeans. I may be a little old to pull them off with skirts, but I’ll probably try anyways. When reading through reviews the only complaint I found was that the design rubs off in the areas where the shoe bends as it gets worn in. If I had paid $160 for them new (as they are marked on a UK Dr. Marten’s site), I’d be super annoyed if the pretty floral pattern came off. However, at $20 thrifted for a brand-new pair and I’m totally fine with any pattern wear that happens!

Dr. Scholls Glendale Wedge Sandals, size 9, $7.99

When I was about to leave, I did one quick pass of the big shoes section. It is this wall at the way-back of the store that has sizes 10 and up. As expected, there were some smaller sizes thrown in there and I found these wedges. They are marked a 9, but I wear anywhere from a 8 – 8.5 and they fit great. I did some googling and found this exact pair was sold on the DSW website 6 months ago for $40 (marked down from $70). They are also still being sold on Amazon in a couple sizes for $50. I like the mix of leather and canvas on the straps and the slight wedge. They are in great condition and Dr. Scholls are supposed to be nice and comfy to wear. I can’t wait until the weather warms up!

JCrew Deck Striped T-shirt, size Large, $8.99

I have a total weakness for super soft striped tops, so when I saw this one on the rack it went right into my shopping cart. It’s from J.Crew and it has a comfy, oversized style and dropped shoulder design that makes it pair great with jeans. I’ve worn it a couple times on the weekend with a pair of comfy leggings and also wore it with a pair of distressed black jeans. You can see it in action here.

Just for fun, I did some research and found it on the J.Crew website from Fall 2016. It’s called the “Deck Striped T-Shirt” and they printed the fabric inside out, which gives the stripes a cool textured look.

Joan Vass tunic top, size Medium, $1.99

I first discovered Joan Vass in my September Thrift Haul post, so when I saw this soft tunic for $2 I couldn’t leave it behind. It’s super thin and fitted, so this will be a great layering piece for winter. It’s got a scoop side thing going on, with the back a little longer than the front, which makes for some good butt coverage. I think it’s this exact one for sale on Amazon.

ASOS Curve Skater Dress with Bow Sleeve, size 14, $14.99

First off, let me start by saying that this dress is WAY overpriced for thrift. Sure, it still had the original ASOS tag on it, but it only goes for $35 new (and it’s still for sale here). With that being said, I tried it on and really, really liked it.

The bow sleeves are elbow-length, so they easily cover my tattoo for work. The dress is a swingy style so it doesn’t cling to my belly or butt and it’s a great length. I can see me dressing this up for work in the spring and summer… so I took a chance on it and it came home with me. If you like it, it does come in sizes 12 – 28 on the ASOS website, which is a pretty wide selection. I usually wear a 10/12 and this is a 14… but I probably would have been fine with a smaller size if I’d found one. As it is, it’s nice and roomy!

I’d love to hear your thrifting stories! Did you find a diamond in the rough (literally or figuratively)?

 

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