Thriftshop Chic is taking a break for the holidays—we’ll be back in the New Year.
In the meantime, I wish you all the message on these cards I thrifted this week to write holiday thank yous:
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! And for those looking to spread goodwill, peace, and compassion to refugee families like the one whose story is the center of this season, check out the Compassion Collective.
Peace, y’all. See you in 2016 (unless I go thrifting before then…) !
Thrifters.
Goodwill has an online auction site!
My dear friend Ashley (re)directed my attention to this marvel a few weeks ago; I had encountered it awhile ago but forgotten its existence. For shame!
She suggested I share it with you all and she was exactly right! It’s the perfect way to thrift from the comfort of your own home if you do not have the time to spend browsing racks or you live too far from decent thrifting to regularly shop in person.
The site hosts thousands of clothing, jewelry, art, antique, and collectible listings from Goodwills across the country. Go have a browse and see if anything sparks your interest!
Thanks Smash. And if you, dear readers, have something similar to bring to my attention, shoot me an email at leah at thriftshopchic dot com to share!
What do baby onesies, camouflage caps (gag gift), cookbooks, state-themed earrings, men’s button-down shirts, and lacy antique handkerchiefs have in coming?
All things I’ve bought from thrift stores to give as gifts. And all things YOU could easily thrift this week if you are in need of last-minute holiday presents.
Tacky you might say? Not much tackier than turning a holiday centered around the birth of a poor, possession-less prophet decrying our attachment to riches and status into a commercialized consumer-fest. (Too harsh?)
Anyway, my friends and loved ones know I thrift as much as possible, so they don’t really care if they receive something pre-loved from me. Some of them have even joined me and given US thrifted gifts, which we love. Much less financial stress, plus the fun of the hunt, AND you’re guaranteed to be giving unique gifts. And if your family does gag gifts or stocking stuffers, well, there’s no better place to find affordable ridiculousness than the Goodwill.
Like this:
We were gifted a similar one with “Jesus” on it. Perfect for a two-minister household with just a touch of snark (see above description of modern-day Christmas).
But what if your loved ones don’t agree with my definition of tacky and they want something unworn by other human beings?? Head to a record store and hand-pick a cool vintage record for your loved one, because somehow records get cooler with age even when clothes do not. You can frame it as wall art if they don’t have a record player.
All well and good, but what if your holiday gathering is TOMORROW and it’s 9pm and you have NOTHING??
Good thing the internets never sleep.
Even friends who are NOT so excited about my love of giving secondhand gifts are moved to tears by non-commercial gifts from places like Heifer, Habitat, or MercyCorps. Seriously, there is a creative, unique charitable gift for everyone you know and love. Google a non-profit related to something your giftee loves (puppies? nurses? fighting cancer? teaching kids to code?) and I bet they will have a program whereby you can honor loved ones with your donation. If not, just make a card explaining the gift.
The best part about these kinds of gifts? They are INSTANTANEOUS. Just click “submit donation” and you’ll get a printable card or a receipt to slip inside your own, hand-made card; or an email sent straight to your honoree on the day you choose. BAM. No wrapping needed, no last-minute trip to the mall.
What have you bought secondhand as a gift? What are your favorite non-material gift donations? Scroll down to comment!
I’ve followed Minimalist Beauty for a few years and it is chock-full of style inspiration and simple and healthy beauty routines. Dawn Michelle, the blogger behind MB, has recently started exploring zero waste and also has lots of info on how to skip shampoo, make your own makeup, and other easy, eco-friendly topics. If any of the above interest you, get amongst it!
After checking out some of my capsule wardrobe efforts this week, I thought I’d cap us off by showing you Dawn’s capsule wardrobe—she’s decided to do just one for the whole year in order to further cut down on waste, spending, and hassle. She’s even designed a few of her own pieces; they’re fairly straightforward to make but absolutely lovely on, so check those out if you’re the seamstress-y type.
Happy Friday, thrifters!
I love reading about/looking at other people’s capsule wardrobes; they give you insight into the way someone’s mind works while also giving your own wardrobe-building and style-sculpting synapses a good workout.
Plus there’s the satisfaction of contemplating a life with enough—no need (at least for the moment) to try to find “more,” to chase after the illusory high of a new purchase. Lately I’ve caught myself thinking I just need one extra top, or that perfect sweater, or just the right trousers (see: chasing after pants I didn’t need during my emergency travel wardrobe excursion) to complete my winter wardrobe. Because I was returning to the same ensembles over and over again without taking the time to work out new pairings, it felt like my closet was lacking in variety. But forcing yourself to use only the clothing you currently own to create outfits often helps you see that you already have everything you need.
So I thought I’d share what I just realized last week was becoming a proper capsule wardrobe, and, in the process, put some creativity-inducing limits on my sartorial repertoire. Continue reading “My Winter Capsule Wardrobe”
Has a luggage crisis ever left you with the need to assemble a mini wardrobe, stat? Rather than head to the mall and spill a bunch of cash, you might consider hitting up a local thrift store to find a few items to tide you over ’til your luggage arrives or your travels come to an end.
For example.
Remember the weekend travel wardrobe I packed for a holiday trip? Well, we went on that trip recently…and I left the entire, flim-flammin’, ingeniously packed thing behind.
Gah.
I chalk it up to my child being on strike and the whole family being late and the fact that I’d put the bag in a safe (read: foolishly out of sight) place to prevent said child from emptying its entire contents on the floor…anyway, we got to the airport sans bag and with no time to go back for it.
The upside was that it was a lot lighter navigating the airport without it!
The other upside was that we were going to visit family (thus: laundry) and that said family loves a trip to the thrift store.
So the day after we arrived (and after I had slept in the clothes I traveled in…just to make sure I was telling the truth in that post about wearing literally the same clothes for everything), we headed to a local Goodwill.
I gave myself 30 minutes to find clothes to get me through the next few days, clothes I wouldn’t hate wearing in real life once I got home. I figured if I was spending money on something anyway, I’d try to make those purchases count.
(Meanwhile, my in-laws went looking for clothes for my kid, whose wardrobe was also nicely packed away in our travel tote, at home. My mother-in-law was PSYCHED. No really, she loves dressing her grandkid.)
So…what did I end up finding? Did I make it in under 30 minutes? How can you, too, thrift a passable wardrobe on very short notice? All will be revealed…
Continue reading “Thrifting an Emergency Travel Wardrobe in 30 Minutes Flat”
Next week I’m going to show you my winter capsule wardrobe (such as it is), so to give you a foretaste and set production expectations WAY too high, I’m sharing one from the British beauty blogger Vivianna Does Makeup. Plus, the catchy music will set the stage for an awesome Friday.
Get out your dancing shoes, and Happy Weekend, Thrifters!
It’s no secret that I love turtlenecks. I’ve been working my way through my collection lately, updating what I have to colors that better match my other clothes and my skin tone. (The pics might be instructive if you’ve wondered about the difference wearing “your” colors makes.) Thankfully, thrift shopping makes this kind of upgrade totally affordable.
So this midnight navy, almost indigo:
became this warmer, dark blue (please excuse the running leggings):
Continue reading “Hi-Lo Fashion: or, a Tale of Two Turtlenecks”
Thrifters, December is upon us, and you know what that means: time to thrift yourself a Christmas sweater (or two!).
Some will want an ugly-ish Christmas sweater, or at least a tacky one:
Shut up and take my money.
Others will want something festive but still in relatively good/cute taste. I went thrifting for an ugly Christmas sweater party one year and came home with this sweater vest, which really wasn’t ugly enough to disqualify it from wearing it to staff holiday parties:
Look at that sassy little snowman on the back. And the fake snow—it kills me!
And so it has graced my wardrobe ever since.
Get amongst it, thrifters! And don’t forget to look for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas decor (particularly fake trees) while you’re at it. Thrift stores are FULL of this stuff.
What’s your take? Would you attempt to thrift classy holiday wear, or only look for over-the-top fugliness (ahem…that’s festive + ugliness)? Scroll down to share, particularly if you have pictures!
Happy Thanksgiving, American Readers!
In honor of the food-friendly holiday, my friends Rob and Daman over at Chefs-N-Giggles (ahh, the punnery!) have put together a great post on finding props for food photos at the thrift store. If you are a food blogger, meal instagrammer, or just want inspiration on how to make your platings look good, head over to their blog—pause to mop up your drool over their tasty culinary concoctions—and then head to the thrift store!
photo credit: Chefs-N-Giggles
I will add my own two cents by saying that we’ve found everything from Mason jars to Le Parfait jars to coffee pots to travel mugs to potato mashers to pastry cutters to bread machines ($7!!) at the thrift store. They’re jackpots for everyday cooking utensils, weird appliances (see: pasta grabber, above), and the types of cooking gadgets people spend a lot of money on and then never use. (Seriously, if you dig homemade bread, hit up a thrift store and score a $175+ bread machine for under $10. WORTH IT.)
What kinds of kitchen-related gadgets have you thrifted (or avoided thrifting)? Scroll down to answer!
And since it’s Thanksgiving for my American readers, why don’t we share what inspires gratitude in us this time of year? I’ll start: I’m grateful for this blog as a creative outlet for my thrifting passion, and YOU readers for helping to make it a community! Scroll down to share your own gratitude.
See ya next week, Thrifters! (If I’m lucky you’ll get a fun thriftstore review with pics from a newly working phone to chronicle bizarre/epic thrift finds….)