"Thrifting 101"

As you all know I am a  huge thrifter!!! Thrift and consignment stores are actually my favorite places to shop because of the unique, vintage style pieces, and treasures you find. I often get emails and questions about how to thrift and where I go, so I decided to do a post to give some pointers. Hopefully they will be helpful to the new and veteran thrifters out there.

• Start your thrifting day on a full stomach and positive attitude - Thrifting takes patience and time, so if your hungry, or have a million other things on your mind, you will most certainly cut your visit short and the entire process will make you more irritable.
• Be Patient- You will have to comb through racks, deal with the "thrift smell", children, customers, and other thrifters in the aisle. I sometimes bring my IPOD just to tune things out, but most of the time I am in such "treasure finding zone" that none of the above affect me.
• Start on the perimeter and work your way in-  (i.e. jewelry, belts, dresses, coats, then move your way to blouses, pants, etc). These racks usually have the most stuff, so it will take you longer to search through.
• Expedite going through racks by focusing  on cute patterns and skipping sleeveless items.
• Wear comfortable shoes and clothing- I usually wear stretch pants and an oversize button down with a tank underneath. Many stores don't have dressing rooms , so this makes it easier to slip things on and off to see if they fit or not.
• Look for "potential pieces"- Many times I "remix" an item that I find to make it look less "old fashioned" or make it funkier.  **Make long dresses into minis or dipped hem dresses, change buttons, cut sweaters to make them off the shoulder, change the sleeves to make them capped. These are all things I have done to pieces. Be creative!** Don't be alarmed , all I can do when it comes to sewing is change buttons. I have found a very reasonable alterations person here that makes my visions come alive. Heck if you spend $2 to $6 on a dress, I don't mind paying $12 to make changes.

I hope this information was helpful. Please feel free to comment or email me if you have additional questions. I actually went to the thrift store after work on Friday. I found two dresses, a jumpsuit and a pair of jeans all for about $21.00 I will take pictures of these items, and how I styled them and post them tomorrow!

God Bless xoxoxoxo