When I was 15, I moved to the east coast and became very fashion conscious. Before then, I lived in California and had grown up in shorts and flip flops unless I was at school. In school I had a uniform until high school. There we were allowed to where most clothes except for shorts, mini skirts and jeans.
When I moved back east, I became friends with girls who really were not shallow but had a very high sense of fashion. They always dressed up. It was rare you’d see any of them in flip flops and shorts. They were their designer jeans and cute dresses to church and youth group and were perfectly accessorized. I mean from each and every piece of jewelry down to their shoes. It was there that I learned about designer purses and although I could apreciate a cool looking purse, I didn’t quite understand the whole cachet of owning a Gucci. I felt completely out of my league but worked my hardest to fit in even a little bit, but on my child of divorce budget, it wasn’t going to be easy. Then I learned #4
Thank you to Lori from Living Out Loud for the chalkboard backgrounds
I discovered shopping at Salvation Army (Sally’s) and at other various thrift stores. It changed my life! All my college duds were bought second hand and the style was very On point. Thrift stores totally fit my college budget and seriously, this girl just can’t turn down a great deal, and thrift stores have them. When I was a single mom, I did all my shopping for my son via consignment, Sally’s and Savers. We would line up at Savers on 50% off day and get all of my son’s school clothes for the year (other than underwear and socks) for $30. No joke. I had a special clothing allowance just for him and Savers prices were THAT GOOD!
When I moved into my apartment I filled it with a thrift store toaster, silverware, plates, glasses, cups, cookware, blankets, throw rugs, curtains, napkins (you got to go cloth), artwork and so much more. And my son loved the little grab bags of toys that we used to pick up there as well. No need for fast food, all those toys were eventually found at the store.
If you haven’t, and I can’t even imagine anyone not having shopped at thrift stores nowadays, you simply have to give them a shot. They aren’t just for shopping for Halloween costumers anymore. Just remember to take the time to look through all the racks. You never know what you can find. I saw some gorgeous 7 for All Mankind jeans last week during 50% off day and if I was a size 7 or 8…they would be mine right now. I did walk away with a gorgeous pair of Calvins though. 🙂
**Small update. Recently I saw a post of pictures of knockoff sites and what the promised compared to what the buyer received. One person commented that they always buy designer handbags because the quality is better but understands that some do not have hundreds of dollars to spend on a handbag so they get why they try knockoffs. I have to say that I love a designer handbag too for the reasons stated, BUT I buy all of mine at the thrift store (some designer and some not). I just bought a vintage Coach for $10 at Goodwill as well as a beautiful black leather Etienne Aigner pocketbook for $12. It just takes timing.
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