What, ANOTHER thrifting post? I know, I know. I’ve been doing a LOT of thrifting lately, you guys. Not in terms of time — most of my stop-ins are only 15-20 minutes long — so much as in terms of frequency. I’ve started going at least once or twice a week, and it’s become one of my fave ways to relax after a stressful day. Kinda like reading a fashion mag, and admiring the pretty clothes … except that I get to take my favourite finds home with me, and play dress-up. That never gets old for some reason. My closet is bursting at the seams, but that’s a problem for another day. It’s why garage sales exist, right?
So, hey, you wanna see what I’ve been finding lately?
(Side note: there are tons of cool things I find but don’t buy for various reasons — wrong size, wrong style,etc. — but I’ve stopped taking photos because I don’t have time. I gotta use my 15 minutes efficiently, if you know what I mean.)
Technically, this wasn’t thrifted, but for the price it might as well have been. A Plato’s Closet opened here a while back, and I ended up taking a friend there recently to check it out. Most of their stuff is not age-appropriate/lifestyle-appropriate for me, but I couldn’t resist this dress. I have a couple of other Nathalie Lete pieces, and I adore her whimsical prints. This dress fit perfectly, even though it’s a strapless dress, so I thought it would make a nice “date night” outfit this summer.
I know St. John is a big hit with dedicated thrifters, but I have rarely come across pieces here in town. I was drawn to the peacoat-like styling of this knit blazer (a size 6, but it’s large enough to be a coat), and it was in such amazing condition, I had to buy it. Once I performed shoulder pad “surgery” on it, it looked a million times better. I’m curious to see if I can pull this one off IRL. To be continued.
These Anthro brand pants were another style gamble. I am not comfortable with the whole wide leg silhouette, but I liked the fit of the high waist, and the quality was excellent (wool, lined), so I decided it was worth trying for $6 (plus another $20 for hemming). I’ve already worn them once, and liked how they looked, so I think I could get used to them in time.
I rarely thrift for tops (there are too many racks, and I don’t have the time), but this pretty floral peplum jumped out at me. I think it will be cute in the summer. It’s floral, what could go wrong?
I’m less sure about this striped top, but for $5 I wasn’t going to overthink it. Until recently, I had no striped tops in my closet (save for my Gap tee that’s showing its constant wear from my last mat leave). Hard to believe, right? Bloggers love striped shirts. I love them, too, but I’ve had trouble finding the right kind of stripe. (Long story short, they have to be the right thickness and distance apart, otherwise they give me a headache). Anyway, this top looked promising, stripe-wise, even with the extra shoulder doodads. On the downside, it is rather longer than I need it to be, so we will see what happens. If I can’t live with the length, I’ll either try to DYI a hem, or I’ll give it to a taller friend.
I never pass up Anthro brand skirts — especially when they’re under $10.
I don’t wear pink so I don’t know what possessed me to buy this, except that the silhouette is cute, and apparently I have a blazer hoarding problem. You’ll see what I mean in a minute.
More stripes. Not sure if a candy cane striped blazer is the most versatile thing, but this one is comfortable as heck, and it was only $8.
My friend made me buy this, and my inner prep ain’t mad about it.
Again, I’m not sure if coral is really my colour (it’s not), but it IS a cute colour for summer. The fit was perfect, and my inner blazer hoarder was all, like, “do it — do it now!”
I actually bought this for a friend, then realized it was too small for her. Coincidentally, it fits me very well. Hmm.
The print of this dress may be a little ho-hum, but two things made me buy it. One, it has a really cool, retro silhouette — blousy top, pencil skirt bottom, midi length. Two, the label (which I don’t recognize) indicates it was made in the USA, which is always a nice find.
Instant outfit, am I right? Found both these pieces at the Sherwood Park VV, and they were too good (and the price too low) to pass them up even though (a) I don’t really need another pair of jeans, and (b) balloon print tops are probably way out of my age range. Whatevs.
I’ve actually been casually looking for a leather moto jacket for ages, but never found one I liked in terms of both style and price. Especially price. Since I didn’t expect a moto jacket to become a staple in my wardrobe, I didn’t want to pay a lot for one. This Joe Fresh version is not real leather, but feels really darn nice, and the design is classic and simple. For $10, it was a no brainer.
Aaaand, I’m done. Phew. As warned, that was a bit of thrifting overload. Let me know what you think of my finds, and ask me any thrifting-related questions on your mind.
Love the Joseph Ribkoff dress! It reminds me of a dress my friend has, from Phase Eight. Not sure if you can get Phase Eight stuff in Canada… but they do some great floral dresses.
Sadly, I don’t think so — or, at least, it’s not a brand I’m familiar with. There are some amazing UK brands I wish we got here (or had better access to). Sigh …
The candy stripe blazer plus the coral Gap one make my heart sing. I don’t have many blazers but I love the look of them with a pencil skirt. Also loving the floral dress, good work Mrs!
I don’t know if the coral blazer is going to stay — not convinced it’s my colour. I think coral looks better on brunettes 😉
We’ll see … if it doesn’t work out for me, maybe there’s a transatlantic trip in its future …
Do you think thrifting is more successful in more metro areas? I live in the midwest, in a small town and have NEVER found anything impressive.
It’s funny you should ask. Edmonton, where I live, is on practically NOBODY’s fashion radar – especially when it comes to “high fashion”. Like, we don’t even have a Nordstrom here yet. It’s considered very much a blue collar town still. But the truth is that there is a lot of what I would call “hidden money” here — wealthy people who are not super visible, if you will. Those people love designer stuff it seems, and are probably in a position to frequently shop outside of Edmonton (online, overseas, etc.). So, Edmonton’s thrift scene is just as good or better than that in big cities like Toronto or Vancouver, with the bonus that prices tend to be lower.
So, to answer your question: it depends. Obviously, the bigger the city, the greater the variety and quantity of clothes (although, that’s relative — for reference, Edmonton is about 1 million people). But it depends on other factors too — the shopping habits of people who donate to thrift stores, how competitive the thrift scene is, the number of thrift stores around, etc. I would say that I have personally have had more success at “big” stores like Value Village/Saver’s and Goodwill, than mom ‘n pop thrift stores, but that is not to say that you can’t find treasures everywhere. Going consistently also helps, because there is a lot of turnover all the time.
Crystal, I feel your pain! When I visit family back home (Southern Minneapolis suburbs) and attempt thrifting, it usually doesn’t end well. Where I live now (Phoenix) feels like hitting the jackpot! It also helps that we have SO MANY stores! I can easily tackle 5 stores in an afternoon without driving much at all
I think a lot of small town thrift shops just sell their donations, so you’re limited by the limited fashion choices of the people living in that area. I know that in the small midwestern town where I’ve tried thrifting, it was a sad, sad experience. The clothing there looked like a sadder version of the stuff that folks in town were wearing–worn out jeans, ratty t-shirts, lots and lots of polyester, vinyl purses, and so on. I find that in cities you get that stuff, but there are more gems to be found, making it worthwhile.
So jealous of your Ralph Lauren blazer! Wish it was as easy to find stuff like that over here in the UK…
I think the contents are bound to vary, but I bet you guys get a lot of lovely things we never see (Boden, anyone?). And one of my dreams is to find a vintage Mulberry bag … but I think you probably have a better shot than me 😉
I’ve been reading for over a year now, but never comment. I thought I should start because this was a great haul and I’ve enjoyed every outfit I’ve seen in the past 12 months. I love that balloon top and want one for myself. You’re inspiring me to check the thrift shops nearby. We have some “high end” consignment shops in the area with decent stuff, but everything is way overpriced. I’d like to find some hidden gems.
Thanks for commenting! I do love thrifting, although I know I am spoiled for choice here. I have been shopping almost exclusively secondhand this year, and it’s been great. It’s much easier to find unique pieces that way — or at least things that not everyone will be wearing at the same time. And it IS a more sustainable, environmentally conscious way to shop, which a lot more people are starting to consider.
I used to be a bit conflicted about thrifting as a sustainable movement (because, fundamentally, thrifting still requires SOMEONE to buy more clothes than they need), but I’ve starting to think about it in a different way lately. To me, thrifting has become similar to a library … for clothes. Bear with me here. I love going to the thrift store for the excitement of finding unknown treasures — they might not be things I’ll treasure forever, but they bring me a lot of joy at least on a temporary basis (like a good book). After a while, when I’m done with them, I just donate them back or pass them on for someone else to enjoy. I can cycle through a lot of clothes that way (enjoying the novelty aspect of new clothes, and trying new styles) without spending a lot of money, and adding to landfills. Anyway, I’m still working through this analogy in my head, but I may have to write a post about it to get it straight.
I love that you relate it to a library because I’ve limited myself to library books and secondhand books over the past four years — and I’ve found it to be a fun challenge. I love the high of getting new clothes and wearing them over and over for a while, but I do think it would be better if I were able to find some items thrifting. I think I’ll give it a try and see what happens. (Understanding that, like book, I may not always find something I’m looking for on every trip!)
I would love to see a post about how you clean or refresh your thrift finds. I assume you wash some but what about the non-washable things? Dry-clean? Air it out in the sun? Whenever I get used clothes it seems like the stores have sprayed some sort of smell on everything – or else maybe it’s just the scent of EVERYONES fabric softener coming together as one- but I also usually only buy items that I can machine wash.
I hand-wash a lot of the things, then air dry them (in a sunny spot, as a bonus, if possible). I always machine wash pants (usually air drying them to avoid shrinkage).
The dry-clean only things, I throw in the dryer (gentle/delicate cycle, 20 minutes) with a Woolite home dry cleaning sheet. It doesn’t get stains out, but it refreshes the clothes pretty well.
Excellent finds 👌👌, especially all those blazers to try out even if some aren’t in your comfort zone. I only started checking out thrift stores last summer and have noticed that I always get itchy when I try on clothes. I don’t think it’s in my head! I get really itchy for one day. Have you ever experienced this? I’m wondering what it is. I have noticed that all of the clothes at the thrift stores I’ve been to have this distinct sickly “sweet” smell. Maybe it’s something the stores spray on clothes that irritates my skin?
It’s funny you should ask. I do get a teeny bit itchy, and not even when I try on clothes necessarily. I always thought it was because, at the back of my mind, I’m always paranoid about bed bugs. To be clear, I’ve never had any issues in that regard at any of the thrift stores I’ve ever been to … but the mind is strange like that 😉
You may be on to something, although I’ve haven’t heard about them spraying clothes. I rarely notice any smells on the clothes, but I usually put them in the wash/dryer as soon as I get home. I’ve never had any allergic or other reactions on my skin, but I do wonder now if I should look into this further …
“I’ve started going at least once or twice a week, and it’s become one of my fave ways to relax after a stressful day.” –Love it! And completely understand. After a hectic morning at the office, I often think “Hmm, should I break for lunch? Or should I stop by that Goodwill to see what they’ve placed on the floor in the past few days?” (Goodwill normally wins, by the way)
My problem with clothes is that I’m not ever sure how much I love them until I’ve worn them for a day. Sure, you know how it speaks to you when you pick it up in a store and excitedly bring it home…but I never appreciate its lasting ability until I’ve seen how it makes me feel through a 10 hour workday. There isn’t much (financial) guilt when you decide to part with a not-for-you dress that you only spent $5 on!
I JUST wrote a comment about this! That’s exactly it. My analogy was the library. I love reading all kinds of books, but I don’t necessarily want to own them all for the long-term. A thrift store is like a library for clothes with an indefinite borrowing period. For a relatively small upfront cost, I can try out a ton of clothes, more or less guilt-free.
I adore (what I think is the) silhouette of the S-12 dress. I wish it were easier to find more non-sleeveless dresses like it.
With your having such great luck with thrifting lately are you doing much regular-retail shopping? Ebay?
I’ve done a bit of eBaying lately — mostly for Anthro pieces, and a new bag. Almost no retail — although I did cave and buy a replacement pair of black pants for work because my Sloans had shrunk by almost 2 inches, grrrr.
You are not too old for a balloon top – it’s awesome! Love all the blazers; particularly the striped one. I think you’ve found some lovely pieces to brighten up your wardrobe for the summer – one cannot live in cardigans alone. And, although I’m shorter than you (and not your size), if you change your mind on that stripey & sparkly top…(two of my favourite things)…hint hint! 😉
Definitely! I haven’t worn it yet, so there’s a good chance 😉