Thrifty Outfits

Anyone out there remember me mentioning how I'd had a highly successful thrifty shopping trip?  I enjoyed wearing some of my finds while we were in St. Louis.  I feel kind of silly posting pictures of my outfits, because I make no claims to being a fashionista.  But I do love a good bargain, so I'm here to prove that you can find gooooood stuff if you just sort through all the really awful stuff at your local thrift shop and if you hit the clearance racks at the Bullseye Boutique.  Talk about cheap thrills!

Um, can I just provide the disclaimer that when I appear in a photo, it is because the Bionic Man has the camera and has given me no warning, so you see me as I really am.  I guess.  

Outfit #1(at the City Museum):

 brown cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft, bought on clearance last year

white v-neck tee: Banana Republic, thrifted for $2

jade green scarf: Mossimo, bought on clearance at Target for $2.49

belt: ?, thrifted for $1, has lots of fun colors including the green in my scarf

chinos: Banana Republic, thrifted for $3, hemmed by me

Outfit #2 (at the St. Lou zoo):

cashmere sweater (and the only part of the outfit you can really see):

J.Crew, thrifted, $2

white tee: Mossimo (Target), thrifted for $2 (looked brand new)

brown jeans: Coldwater Creek, thrifted for $3

cute purse which you can't even see: Mossimo (Target), thrifted for $2 (still had the $14.99 tags!)

Outfit #3 (at the science museum):

sweater: Daisy Fuentas (Kohl's?), thrifted, $3

layering tee: Downeast Basics, bought a couple years ago so I can't remember price!

jeans: Gap, thrifted for $4, hemmed by me

shoes: probably Target on clearance?  

My feet were so sore from all the walking around the two days before, they demanded flip-flops.

pedicure: OPI "Baguette Me Not", Bionic Man's treat after I ran the half-marathon!

brown leather purse (hard to see under my right arm): thrifted for $2 last year

And, yes, my hair is not blonde anymore.  Don't ask.  The point is, my outfits were under $10 each. 

I've only been willing to look in thrift stores for my clothes in the last year.  Here are a couple of things I've learned:

• Goodwill stores located near malls generally have the best selection of clothing, and--in my experience--offer the most shoes and purses.
• It takes time to thrift shop, since thrifting is like playing hide-n-seek.  You really do have to go through all the racks to find the best items.  I plan on 60-90 minutes per store to find a selection of things I want to try on, and another 30-60 minutes in the fitting room.  I don't go into the fitting room until I have a huge pile.  In the fitting room, I look at things very carefully.  For instance, the ultra-flattering pair of corduroy pants I found, that didn't even need to be hemmed...ended up being very worn through the inner thigh area, upon closer inspection.  I didn't buy those.
• You'll have a better chance of finding items that are less worn (or new) or that are designer brand if you visit the thrift stores near wealthier areas.  I drove for 45 minutes to get to the north side of our city (considered the swanky side of town), but found some incredible stuff.  (Hello, J.Crew cashmere!)  Therefore, my savings definitely made it worth the drive. 

I'm linking this post to The Pleated Poppy's
What I Wore Wednesday.
Go here to read an explanation of what WIWW is all about.