6/04/2013

On Thrifting . . .

A lot of people feel overwhelmed when they walk into a thrift store like Goodwill, Salvation Army, or the like. Until you get used to or just enjoy perusing the hundreds of (often times) disorganized racks of clothing, just plan on thrifting one of three items that you're almost guaranteed to find.

1. Thrift a blazer. Thrift stores are full of racks of blazers. They aren't generally organized by size, but that is a good thing. Shrunken, schoolboy, fitted, and oversized blazers are trendy now. Shop the boys' section for a schoolboy blazer, try on a smaller size for the shrunken look, and just roll up the sleeves of an oversized blazer for the voluminous look. All shapes, colors, and sizes of blazers are very trendy right now. Thrift stores are full of retro blazers. Afraid of shoulder pads? Cut them out. Afraid of bright colors? Don't be. They look great with jeans.

Found this image on Pinterest with no website reference. If anyone has the reference, I'd be happy to list it.

2. Thrift a dress. You would be amazed at the dresses people discard to a Goodwill just in time for you to snatch it up! Special occasion dresses especially. Women often buy a dress for just one event, never wear it again, and send it off to a thrift store. I find dresses are easy to thrift because they usually look brand new, as opposed to the worn out jeans, t-shirts, work pants, and slacks offered. Look for classic shapes, quality fabric, and don't worry about minor alterations. Just take the dress to the drycleaners for a low cost hem or removal of sleeves. You might also be brave enough to thrift a vintage dress and alter it like I did with this one:


3. Thrift a pencil skirt. Pencil skirts have been around for forever. They have a classic shape that never has nor will go out of style. This means that you don't have to worry about how new the skirt is. Someone could have donated a 30-year-old skirt, and it may still look modern and perfect for you now. The other bonus is that today just about any print or color pencil skirt is trendy right now, so all you have to do when thrifting one is find your size and make sure it's free of stains or rips.
 
Happy thrifting!
 
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-Vanessa