Thursday, May 8, 2014

Colorblocked Maxi Dress and a Blazer


Today was my Mom’s retirement party and I wanted to wear a dress, but it was really, really windy, so I decided to go with a maxi dress. The event was really casual, just an after-school party for teachers, and this outfit fit the occasion. I thrifted this dress in March for $5, and was excited to finally wear it. I love all of the colors in it! Again, it was windy, so I thought I needed something over it. I was going to go with a denim jacket, thinking of an outfit or two that I had pinned, but then I saw my coral blazer, and realized that the coral in the blazer matched the coral in the dress perfectly! Looking on Pinterest now, after the fact, apparently this has been done which I guess means I am officially “ok!” I added some flip flops that matched the teal in the skirt, and a coral necklace, and was ready to go! Pardon the head cut-off, my sister came to pick me up since some dickwad broke a window in my car yesterday for no reason and I cannot drive it. She's short, so she clipped off the top of my head in the picture, and I just finished the job the rest of the way.

Outfit details: Colorblocked maxi, Target, thrifted. Coral Blazer: T. Milano Petites, 2012. Necklace: Burlington Coat Factory, old. Flip Flops: Old Navy, old.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

My latest thrift haul...


All right, I am going to try and post a bit more, especially about my weight loss (I've lost 21 pounds!), thrifting, and outfits of the day. The other day, my sister and I did Zumba, went to lunch, and went thrifting. The haul was great, as always…and this time, I shopped smartly! I vowed to not go much over the $40 that my Grandma gave me, and I only spent $47! I have been reading up on smart shopping (see the blogs Recovering Shopaholic and Exploring My Style if you'd like to read who have been inspiring me) and both of those blogs encourage shoppers to do a few things: try EVERYTHING on, even at the nasty thrift store, only buy things if you absolutely love them (no “I love this except…” allowed), and though these tips seem so obvious, I am HORRIBLE at them. My last thrifting trip, I bought two tops I didn’t really love, and now I already am thinking about getting rid of them! Ridiculous! This time, however, I stuck to these rules, and it paid off. I abandoned some new with tags $3 Old Navy shorts because I didn’t like the frayed hem. That is so unlike me! I also abandoned an Express sleeveless essential blouse that looked pretty good on because I did not want to go over budget. It helped also that Savers was kind of a rip-off that day, and lately in general. I don't know if it's because thrifting has become more popular, or it was just the days that I hit it, but I'm sorry, $7 for something like a worn Merona shirt should not be acceptable. Luckily, I did have a 30% off coupon, so I was able to stretch my money further, but I still had to eliminate a few pieces that I did like, just because sticking to a $40 budget was a bit rough that day.
I apologize for not getting individual pictures of the items, but I will next time.

Left to right (All prices are pre-discount, I paid 30% off the prices as marked)

Brown and White printed dress, EnFocus Studio- This dress looked fabulous on, and I can't wait to wear it. It'd be both work and summer appropriate. $8. 

White Lace Tee, Cynthia Rowley, $6. I love Cynthia Rowley, AND I've been wanting a white lace tee for some time. So versatile! 

Blue sleeveless shirt with beaded trim, Ann Taylor, $5. This shirt is perfect for work or play, depending on how it's styled, it looks flawless, and you can't beat Ann Taylor for $5! 

Lace Sleeve Sweatshirt, American Eagle, $4. Sweatshirts that are dressy are very much on-trend, and this one was adorable and CHEAP for that day. It was pretty new (tag said 2012 or 2013) and barely worn. There was actually another one just like it that was oatmeal with cream sleeves, but my sister and I agreed that this one looked better on me. 

Apt. 9 Printed Skirt:  $8. When I saw this skirt, it was love at first sight, so even though it was marked kind of high, I went for it...especially once I tried it on. 

Printed dress, LC by Lauren Conrad (Size 6, go me! ;-) $7. I love LC's dresses, and this one looked fabulous on. 

This is a Loft dress that I found in near mint condition. It was marked at $9.99, which is high for thrifting for me, but I fell in love with the color and the way it fit me. 

Not pictured are a pair of denim Faded Glory Shorts, size 10, 4.99. I normally never buy Wal- Mart clothes at the thrift shop, but these fit well, were really cheap, and were new with tags, so I made an exception. They replace two pair of WM shorts I paid full price for that are way too big now. Also, a reversible sweatshirt knit skirt! So on trend, and it was 2.99! It has a cobalt side and a navy side! For that reason, it had no tags, but it had the AE eagle embroidered at the hem (sucker Savers employees, muah ha ha!!!) And finally, an Apt. 9 casual sleeveless top in a white, blue, yellow, and mint floral print. All in all, I loved everything I bought, and can't wait to wear it all. And, all of that for $47! It's quite the steal for somebody who is in need of a LOT of new clothes. 

That being said, I still have far too many clothes, but I have been trying to weed out what no longer fits and replace it with some high quality stuff that does. I will discuss my process in a later post...