Blue Collar Red Lipstick

01
Sep
2016

Tales from the Thrift: Friendly Competition edition

I know it’s been a hot minute since my last thrifting post, but I have news I wanted to share with fellow Edmonton-area thriftanistas: there is a new Value Village opening in Spruce Grove today! I know, because I ended up snagging an invite to a sneak peak at the new store (thanks to the lovely Nicole) and a $50 gift card to spend there, to boot.* Since Nicole and I are card-carrying #thriftingsisterhood members, we made plans to go together … and enjoy a little friendly competition while we were at it. Our self-imposed contest had 4 categories: which one of us could (i) score the best/biggest find of the night, (ii) get the most retail value for our bucks, (iii) score the lowest cost-per-item, and (iv) find the most Anthropologie pieces (but of course). The prize: bragging rights for ever. Or until our next thrifting adventure.

So, how did we do? Read on, friends.

Spruce Grove is a 30-40 minute drive from the south side of Edmonton (taking the Henday and then the Highway heading west to Jasper). It might sound like a long drive, but it’s not when you’re chatting about ethical fashion and planning your future as YouTube mavens (stay tuned!). Nicole and I arrived at the store a few minutes after it opened, and found it already packed. [The event was open to all Super Savers Club members, and if you aren’t one already — get on that. The membership card is free, and it gets you early access to sales (like VV’s periodic 50% off sales) and new store openings.] The store is quite large, but the racks were fairly tightly packed, which made it difficult to maneuver around other (many) shoppers. I dislike shopping on sale days for this very reason (big crowds overwhelm me), but it was worth it — there were some real treasures to be found. More on that in a minute. From what I saw, there was an extensive selection of women’s clothing, and a smaller section of shoes and bags. To be honest, I did not really get a chance to look at the rest of the store (house wares, kids’ stuff, men’s, etc.) but the glimpses I got looked promising. Someone ahead of me in the cashier line scooped a beautiful, mint condition Hudson’s Bay striped blanket, for example; it was priced at $80, which is not cheap, but significantly lower than retail. Prices in general were pretty typical for Value Village — not as low as Goodwill, but not unreasonable on the whole. I was particularly impressed with the prices for dresses, which were under $15 for the most part. In contrast, VVs closer to home will nowadays price most of their dresses at $16+.

I ended up finding quite a few cute things, including 5 Anthro pieces (the 4 below plus a Sparrow knit skirt which I did not photograph) … which won me the Anthro-spotting category. Hurrah! I bought one of the pieces (the olive Deletta top) and Nicole bought another (the multi-print Fei top).

The best score of the night belonged to Nicole, however. She found a gorgeous J. Crew Lady Day coat and some brand-new Marc by Marc Jacobs flats:

Although she won that category, I came out the real winner because I got to take both of those things home with me. Score!

To round out my purchases, I also got a pair of Nine West pumps (my favourite style — so, so comfortable), a mulberry-coloured, leather Fossil bag, a made-in-the-UK dress, and a Vince sweater.

Nine West pumps (left); Jean Michel Cazabat pumps (right) -- left those behind — Nine West pumps (left); Jean Michel Cazabat pumps (right) — left those behind

Naughty (?) brand dress – please excuse the terrible posture

My total damage for the night was $120.68, including tax (or $70.68 out of pocket, after applying my gift card). The estimated MRRP for the stuff I bought was $1436, which means that I paid about 8.4% of the original retail value. That came to $17.24/item, which is a little high but not bad, considering that I bought some typically higher ticket items like a coat, bag, and two pairs of shoes. For those keeping score at home, Nicole beat me on the cost-per-item side of things, but I eked out ahead in the other category. Which means … we’re tied. Now, we had a lot of fun and found some great bargains to boot, but a contest is a contest and someone has to be the winner.

So, here’s the deal: head on over to Nicole’s blog tonight, check out her Spruce Grove VV haul, and then tell us — who should get to claim the bragging rights as bestest thrifter of the night?

*Value Village did not ask me to write a post in exchange for the gift card, or otherwise sponsor this post. I’m writing this because y’all know I love thrifting, and I want to encourage everyone to at least consider it. It’s cheap, good, environmentally-friendly fun!

31
Aug
2016

Florals & Lace

categories: style

Dress, Maggy London (thrifted); blazer, J Crew (thrifted); shoes, Stuart Weitzman; bag, Mulberry (via eBay)

I wore this Maggy London dress on the day I had to take new head shots at work, because I wanted to have a little bit of colour near my face. I also used that opportunity to road test a new way of doing my eyebrows … which, in retrospect, was a terrible idea. Inspired by my beauty idol, Jessica Chastain, I’ve been wanting to try lighter eyebrows for a while, and finally took the plunge after buying a cheapie eyebrow pencil from Essence. I think the results were … mostly ok, but not so much in front of the (professional) camera. My makeup looked natural enough in normal lighting, but I ended up looking pretty washed out in the profesh photos. Sigh.

As for the rest of the outfit, it was fine. Lace always feels a bit risqué to me, but I felt the were enough more conservative/formal elements to the outfit to balance it out. I think I’ll have to try is dress a few more times before I decide whether it’s a keeper or not.

30
Aug
2016

Fade to Black

categories: style

Blazer, Cartonnier (thrifted); top, Theory (thrifted); pants, Aritzia (thrifted); shoes, Stuart Weitzman (thrifted); bag, Louis Vuitton; necklace, J. Crew Factory

I rarely wear head-to-toe black … though, I should do so more often because it’s so, so easy to feel polished wearing black … but I digress. I switched up my outfit plans on the day I wore this iteration because I had just thrifted these Stuart Weitzman pumps and couldn’t wait to wear them; a simple, all-black outfit seemed like a good idea given the bold look of these shoes. They remind me so much of the Roger Vivier flats I’ve admired on others but which I’ve found in the wild, err, thrifting; the only difference is that this pair has a low chunky heel.

The rest of the outfit is pretty straight-forward. The top is quickly becoming a favourite of mine; it’s by Theory, and it has a very flattering, subtle peplum and pockets. Yes, pockets! How cool is that? The pants are Talula brand (from Aritzia), and they’re a slouchier take on my usual Sloans, which somehow feels a bit more … elegant? Effortlessly chic? Something. Moving on, the blazer is another new fave — the heathered knit is a nice alternative to plain black, and it lends a bit of texture to the outfit. It’s hella comfy too. The necklace is an old J. Crew Factory one, and it always garners a compliment or two; it’s the only retail piece in the picture. But, let’s be honest: they’re all supporting players here. Those shoes are stealing the show, for sure.