Last week Monday was National Thrift Shop Day, but that’s pretty much every day around here. There are many reasons why I love to thrift, and I am fortunate to live in a place with a thriving thrift scene. Even as popularity of thrifting has surged in recent years, stores are still overflowing with inventory and plenty of cool finds. If you follow some of my fellow Edmonton thrifters, you know I am not an exception; I am constantly marveling at the neat things that others find, and it motivates me to hunt for my own treasures.

This is probably as good a segue as any into looking at my best thrift scores from the past month.

Y3 Adidas bag

I wasn’t too familiar with Yohji Yamamoto’s Adidas collab, but then a funny coincidence happened. A few days before my thrift visit, while out for a walk in our neighbourhood, I saw someone carrying a backpack with the Y3 logo. Out of curiosity, I googled it once I got home, and that’s how I learned about the line. So when I spotted the Y3 logo on this bag at the thrift store days later, I immediately went for a closer look. Even though it’s a mass market collab, you can tell from the quality of leather and stitching that it’s pretty good quality. I researched a bit and found out this was a bag from 2007 – and I was even able to find what I think is a picture of it from the runway. Pretty neat, eh?

GAP Rainbow Heart sweater

I am low key collecting GAP rainbow stripe sweaters (I have 3 soon to be 4 others) so I was pumped to find this version. I don’t typically wear stripes but there is something so cheerful about wide stripes in rainbow colours that I find hard to resist. They also provide a nice, graphic contrast to many pieces in my closet, and add just a touch of whimsy that doesn’t feel too twee for me.

Jimmy Choo shoes

Not my first time thrifting Jimmy Choos, but always exciting to find a pair in my size. I like that these are more of a kitten heel; if and when I got back to the office, they will be part of regular rotation. Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik are my two fave designer shoe brands for looks and comfort. This pair was almost brand new, with a portion of the original Holt Renfrew sticker still on the sole; while I did pay up a bit ($25), it was still a great deal.

Zara crop top

Not all my favourite finds are designer. This Zara crop top is a case in point. I spotted it a while back at VV, but balked at paying $10 for it. But it haunted me. I even looked it up on Poshmark, only to realize that it would cost more. So, I went back the following week and, luckily, it was still there. I paid the ten damn dollars and have no regrets. I have a feeling this will be one of those “surprise” super versatile pieces that I will be happily styling for years.

Tulle skirt

Ok, yeah, not the most versatile piece. But I am obsessed with tulle skirts at the moment, and this one makes me so happy. My dream is to some day own a fluffy Dior or Comme des Garcons tulle skirt, but in the meantime I will happily take this Boohoo version for $6.50 and play around with it.

MCM candle holder

This on the other hand, was something I grabbed so fast, your head would have spun if you saw it. I’ve been looking for a MCM candle holder exactly like this one for ages, after seeing it on a vintage reseller’s Instagram. They resell for $200CAD and up, which was more than I could justify, so I had kinda resigned myself to never getting one. Plot twist! I have never had much luck in the candle aisle before, especially at Goodwill, so this was a huge and pleasant surprise. I paid $15 and I couldn’t be happier.

Eileen Fisher top

I haven’t thrifted Eileen Fisher for a while, as my local stores have started marking up prices on this brand a lot. Most EF pieces I see are rather bland, and I don’t want to spend $20 and up for plain basics like that. But while technically plain, I guess, this tunic top is anything but boring so it was worth the $15 price tag. I love velvet – always feels so luxe – and the silk side panels (not visible here, sorry) are a nice detail.

In other news, this past month I finally starting experimenting with the Poshmark app (as a buyer) and I think I may need to do a whole separate post on that experience because it’s been … interesting. Stay tuned.

Molten Gold

I have been hunting this Babaton skirt for ages, both in thrift stores and on eBay. I finally found it recently on Poshmark. Paid up for it too (about 50% of retail value, which is high for a secondhand item that’s not designer but Aritzia tends to be like that), but no regrets. I have the same skirt in black, so I knew it had all features I wanted in a gold pleated skirt. And it looks so good in real life: not too brassy, just the right amount of shine. I was hoping these shoes would be a closer colour match, but it’s okay – I like the mixed metals look too. Normally, a safe pick for me would have been a black top to complete the outfit but I’m glad I went with this cream sleeveless knit top; after all, gold goes with everything so why not experiment?

Cropped Lengths

Speaking of experiments, this was QUITE outside my comfort zone. High waisted skirts are one thing but pairing a crop top with jeans? Intimidating. However, these Madewell jeans have a very high rise, which manages to cover a good chunk of my (very long) torso. Thankfully, my abs were no required to make an appearance. This is probably one of the trendiest outfits I’ve worn recently, or at least it feels that way to me. It doesn’t fit nicely within any of my style personas which is probably why, while fun to wear, it was less comfortable of an outfit for me than usual. Maybe if there was more black involved, hah!

Hearts & Rainbows

This is more comfortable, on the other hand, as an extension of my Bohemian avatar. Plus, as you know, I am obsessed with rainbow sweaters. This is a recent addition to my Gap rainbow sweater collection, and I love that it’s a heart. I went for a maximalist vibe with a loud plaid. Some days have been getting colder temps, so I feel like a return to “transitional dressing” is just around the corner. Sartorially, I am ready! Mentally, not so much. I wish we could hang on to summer as long as possible, especially this year. Sigh.

Today, let’s take a look at the Fall 2020 FabFitFun box. This one shipped out unexpectedly early for me, which was a nice surprise. Here’s what was inside.

This time around, I decided to get a few Add On items – more on that later. They were included in the same shipment, but not in the FFF box itself; rather, the FFF box was placed inside a larger box with the Add Ons. Extra cardboard aside, it seems like FFF is making an effort to be more environmentally conscious. Instead of packing popcorn or plastic, they used paper to pad out the boxes. The FFF box itself, along with the magazine (which I don’t read), appear to be made from a different material than before which I expect would be recycled cardboard/paper (probably should have read the magazine, lol!).

Here were the customizations that I selected:

My choices in this tier were an infinity scarf, a hair removal device, a pore refining serum, and this scarfigan. I chose the latter because I didn’t see myself using any of the other options. I think this is a very “safe” item, if that makes sense: it’s a pale blush and cream, very neutral, very tasteful. I can see it being appealing to a lot of people; I like it as well, although I’m not sure if I’m going to end up keeping it or gifting it come Christmas. It’s made from acrylic, not wool so not as nice as other Soia & Kyo pieces I’ve seen, but it has a nice feel and weight to it.
Retail value: $85.

This was a “meh” tier for me; the options were one of 2 Botkier bags (both faux leather), a curling wand, an eyeliner, a set of copper canisters, a styling cream, or this collapsible basket. Again, I didn’t see myself using any of the other options so I chose this by default. I haven’t quite decided what to do with it, but it’s the sort of item I can see using for various purposes. It could be a fancy wastepaper basket for my office; or a “coozy” for a potted plant; or simply a basket to hold some of my craft supplies. It’s a minimalist, simple design so it would like nice anywhere in the house.
Retail value: $60 (LOL, def not)

What I found weird about this tier was the wide range of items. Like, a bag or an eyeliner? Usually, options are more evenly matched in terms of price in each tier. I know they gave a retail value of $45 of the eyeliner, but still.
Moving on.

This was an item I was very excited to get. The other options were a pendant necklace from the same brand (Jenny Bird), a mask set, blue-light blocking glasses, or an eyeshadow palette. This was a no-brainer choice for me, and I like the bracelet IRL a lot. It’s not super high quality, but it’s similar to what you’d get from Banana Republic or Stella & Dot; I actually like that it’s not too heavy because I don’t like my wrists to feel weighed down. The metal mixing is perfect – I can layer a bunch of my other bracelets in both silver and gold, and it all works.
Retail value: $135

This was my other top pick for the box. Other options in this tier were a water bottle, a cleansing cream, a facial cleanser, and a body scrub. I have wanted to try Anastasia eyebrow products before, but they’re the kind of thing I don’t normally splurge on. Honestly, having tried it, I’m not sure if it does much but I feel fancy putting it on – and my eyebrows are one part of my make-up routine that I never skip.
Retail value: $22.

I chose this hair oil right before my daughter decided to cut off 18 inches of hair. Sigh. This would have been more useful before – because her long hair required a lot of extra moisturizing – but I guess I’ll be using it now more for scalp massages maybe. Anyway, the other options weren’t better: a cutlery set; cuticle oil; 3 pack of hair clips; and some sugar scrub cubes I received in a previous box and didn’t end up loving.
Retail value: $75 (fancy!)

And here is what FFF picked for me (the last 3 items in the box cannot be customized, and you get whatever they send you from a selection of items).

I have no idea what this is or whether I will use it. The other options weren’t much more enticing: a shower gel, or a faux leather pouch.
Retail value: $19.50

So I would like to think I will use this pedicure set, but on the other hand, I’m lazy and this looks like it involves several steps. Maybe I will gift it. One of the other options was a Laundress Crease release product, which I think would have been more useful. Oh well.
Retail value: $20

Again, not a product I will have as much use for now that my daughter has shorter hair. For my hair, I don’t bother with masks and special treatments, especially as my hair is not chemically treated in any way. I would have preferred one of the other options, a room spray in “Santal Noir” – I love sandalwood smells.
Retail value: $16.

Overall, the FFF picks were a bust for me in this box. It’s one of my least favourite parts of the subscription. Sometimes they send me things I would have picked for myself, but just as often not. I enjoy the surprise element, but I have reached the point where I would rather be able to customize the entire box (all 8 products).

Moving on, let’s talk about my Add Ons.

In the past, I haven’t purchased a lot of Add-Ons because I try to limit how much extra I spend on FFF as the subscription itself is pricey enough. This time, I had to make an exception because the Add On sale had a number of Sunday Riley products on significant discount. I have wanted to try their products for a long time, but they are very expensive and I tend to stick to cheap alternatives like The Ordinary. Well, this was my time to cave. I got the Juno Oil and the CEO vitamin C serum, which together came to under $70CAD. Regularly, these products would be $200CAD. Umm, I hope I don’t like them too much? I’ll keep you posted on that.

Overall, I am fairly satisfied with this box between the items I am going to keep for myself and the stuff I am likely to gift to family and friends. If you got the Fall 2020 box, what did you think of it?