This was my second year attending the Festival Place Black & White fundraiser in Sherwood Park, and I knew exactly what I wanted to wear – this ivory Tibi dress I scored for a song (and $20, because no one is going to give me any prizes for singing) at Winners a couple of years ago. I wore it to my work Christmas party back in 2013, and it’s been sitting in my closet, sadly neglected, ever since. When I found these madly sparkly Marc Jacobs sandals at Goodwill a while back, the outfit came together in my head.
wearing ivory to a Black & White fundraiser … close enoughaction shot!
Close-up:
I spent three times as long doing my makeup … just so it would look exactly the same as always. sigh
Can you believe the whole outfit, minus the necklace (which I borrowed from my mom), cost me under $70? The retail cost would have been well over $1,000. I love when my thrifting pays off like that.
werk it!thankfully, i didn’t break an ankle wearing these shoes
Dress, J. Crew (thrifted); cardigan, J. Crew Factory; shoes, J. Crew (via consignment); belt, Anthropologie; bag, MbMJ
I can never seem to pass up thrifted J. Crew (or Anthro) pieces, so of course I bought this $10 Fabiola dress even though it’s 2-3 sizes too big. I had originally thought of asking if one of my friends wanted it (I missed my true vocation in life – personal shopper), but I kept looking at the dress, and thinking about how much I liked it. I blame the mix of colours – chartreuse yellow with hints of cobalt blue – which is right up my alley.
Eventually, I had the bright idea to put a belt on it and add a cardigan – it looks fine, no (expensive) alterations needed. Obviously, it’s not a perfect fit, but it works for me. And score another win for this Anthro belt, a $20 find from their clearance section. Stretchy, embellished belts can be such great outfit-makers paired with dresses.
La Fabiola (who comes up with these names, anyway?)
Close-ups:
I love that J. Crew takes care to match its colours from season to seasonmy favourite beltpretty dress is pretty
I’ve been doing practically no shopping except for thrifting lately, so I have a lot of photos to share. Hope you’re sitting comfortably, with a beverage of your choice close at hand.
Anne Klein dress ($12.99?)
Cute office wear dress. Not my size, but I figure this one went to a good home sooner rather than later.
Sisley coat
At first, I was sort of intrigued by this coat, but the longer I looked at the print, the more it started to remind me of bacteria growing on an agar plate. Pass.
LOFT skirt ($9.99)
Cute but wrong size, and overpriced. Come on, Value Village!
Ports skirt ($5.99?)
Just slightly too big, but so on-trend with the fringe and the 70s vibe.
Adidas … shoe things ($???)
These were just a hoot.
Kenneth Cole dress ($7)
I was torn, you guys. I almost bought this, but ultimately decided to exercise restraint. I just didn’t see myself wearing it very often, and as much as I liked it, it didn’t spark joy. Even at $7, it wasn’t worth it. I hope it found a good home.
cinder+smoke dress ($12.99)
Cute dress and great fit – plus, this came from a made-in-Canada label. Too bad I hate brown.
Liz Claiborne dress ($21.99)close-up
I really loved this, even though it’s an “older” style, but it was simply too big. Sadness.
Charlie Jade dress ($12.99)
I recognized this brand from blogland – I think it’s one of those mid-level labels that gets sold at Nordstrom maybe? It was 100% silk and a cute enough style, but I ended up passing. I liked the colours, but they weren’t super flattering on me.
Calvin Klein dress ($15.99)
Cute dress, just not my thing.
Ralph Lauren dress ($15.99)
You know I love a good RL jersey dress, but again with the brown tones. Brown just makes me feel “whoop whomp, sad trombone” for some reason.
Jimmy Choo flats ($39.99)
Value Village has wised up to Jimmy Choo, hah! I bought my old pair of Choo pumps for $8 a few years ago. This pair of flats was marked at $40. Whoo boy.
Circa Joan & David shoes ($15.99)
I tried to get my mom to buy these brand new peep-toe wedges, but she held out because she thought they were a little pricey. And you thought I was cheap …
Simply Vera dress ($7)
No secret that I bought this. And loooove it.
Nathalie Lete / Anthropologie dress ($3.50)
I also bought this Anthro dress. For $3.50, are you kidding me? Thrifting Anthro pieces is one of my biggest weaknesses, and I love Nathalie Lete’s whimsical prints. I hunted one of her skirts on eBay for almost a year, after all – there was no way I’d leave this behind. Plus, I love butterflies. This dress was missing its belt and detachable shoulder straps but that didn’t bother me at all because I likely wouldn’t have used either.
vintage brooch ($6)
Technically, I bought this at the antique mall, not at a thrift store, but the price was in the same ball park. You know I love me a good brooch.
Marc Jacobs sandals ($20)
These are some weird-ass shoes, and I love them. For some reason, they remind me of the bottle of that Angel perfume that used to be super popular when I was in high school. Anyone know what I’m talking about? Anyway, I bought them because I thought they’d work great with an outfit I was planning to wear at a gala event. Since I wasn’t buying anything else for the occasion, I didn’t mind splurging on shoes I may only ever wear once.
Stuart Weitzman shoes
These, on the other hand, are pretty much classics. And they were brand new – the sole completely pristine. They came to less than $12 after a 30% off coupon. Crazy good deal.
La Canadienne boots
Ditto for these La Canadienne boots, which netted around $18. I’m now set for winter boots for a while, I think.
All in all, another solid month of thrifting. How did you fare, my fellow thrift lovers?
