Thrifted Finds: Travel Wardrobe Edition

Just wanted to show y’all a couple things I picked up last-minute at the thrift store before we head out!

You may not think of the thrift shop as the best place to do some last-minute travel shopping, but if you’re in need of a placeholder–something to fill a hole on short notice.  This can be great for those moments the day before a trip where you realize you don’t have some common yet necessary item and you don’t particularly want to spend a bundle to get one: a beach towel, a bag to hold things, even clothes.  With clothes, thrift stores are a great place to buy an item you’ll need just for that trip and won’t wear again–inexpensive and easy to donate.  In preparation for a trip to Africa a few years ago I nabbed some long-sleeved, thin cotton shirts, pants, and long skirt to ward off mosquitoes and jive with local modesty standards.

Yesterday I dropped off some items for donation and made a swing through the Goodwill and grabbed these goodies:

A new purse–bigger than my current one, and you know size is all important when traveling on those budget airlines!  IMG_1363

It will also be a good replacement for next summer since this summer’s bag has been beaten. to. a. pulp—see photogrpahic evidence:
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A new swimsuit top that will go with my navy blue bottoms.  I had a brainwave yesterday that instead of taking 2 separate suits, grabbing a second tankini top and ditching the bikini would take up less space and still allow me to be dry, since the bra portion of the suit is what takes longest to air out.  Ralph Lauren halter top, $5.

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Last but not least, I promised y’all a picture of my travel bag:

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All of my clothes and my kiddo’s are in this sucker.  It’s a hefty Samsonite tote still going strong from the 60s? 70s? that my grandma owned; my mom has one just like it in camel and I have great memories of all the treasures she stored inside it to entertain us on family trips growing up.

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Would you ever purposefully shop for a trip at the thrift store?  What have been your best travel finds?  Answer in the comments!

How to Pack for Spirit Airlines; or, a Capsule Travel Wardrobe

We’re leaving on a jet plane for back-to-back family reunions – one in the Midwest, one on the East Coast – and one leg of our flight is on Spirit Airlines.  You know what that means – NO LUGGAGE.  Well, no luggage if you are thrifty (err, cheap?) like we are and don’t want to pay upwards of $20/bag, since carry-ons and checked bags alike are considered “optional.”  But the ticket price was right…

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Eek!

 

…so now I’m packing into one “personal item” for a 10-day, 2-state trip that includes both the beach and family portraits.

Let the fun begin! Continue reading “How to Pack for Spirit Airlines; or, a Capsule Travel Wardrobe” →

Thrifted Finds: the Near-Miss

This week I had to go to the Goodwill for work (lucky gal, I know!!) to drop off some items we were no longer using at the office and to look for a gag gift for a departing coworker.  I found the gag gift, along with a perfect little ramekin to keep the rubber bands that had been procreating like bunnies all over the inside of my desk drawer.  I had gone through the checkout line and was halfway between the cash register and the door when I spied a display area placed strategically near the entrance.  Normally these displays catch your eye as you enter with hand-selected merchandise–some stores go with the outfits-on-mannequins approach while others (this Goodwill included) go by theme: designer or upscale clothes, all denim items, all white shirts, etc.  But since I’d gone in on a mission and with a tight schedule, I had totally missed these racks.  Good thing they caught my eye on the way out, though, because what was the theme of these display racks but navy blue trousers, for which I had been thrifting at least a year!

Lesson learned: don’t let a great find pass you by just because you didn’t think to look somewhere unexpected.  More on that later–because sometimes your new favorite piece will be hidden in the kids’ section.

Continue reading “Thrifted Finds: the Near-Miss” →

Thrifted Finds: Floral Sneaks

I’ve been looking for a pair of sneakers to replace my beloved brown and coral Pumas.  They were thrifted practically brand new at a Salvation Army store about 5 years ago and I have worn the crap* out of ’em–the paint’s coming off the leather, the stitching’s coming out of the suede, and it is time to retire them.

I happened upon these beauts by City Sneaks (a Payless brand) in a Goodwill a few months ago with not one, but two pairs of laces attached–white and fuchsia.  My first reaction was that the laces looked like garish Minnie Mouse bows and they had to go; only then could the shoes could become a casual, fuller-coverage alternative to the sandals I live in during the summer.

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LACES EXPLOSION.

Continue reading “Thrifted Finds: Floral Sneaks” →

Thriftshop Chic on Instagram!

Hey y’all–you can now follow me on Instagram! Hit up @thriftshopchic on weekdays for daily outfits made entirely out of thrift finds and on weekends for live instagramming from the thrift store (thriftsagramming?).  You can also check out recent updates to my feed on the sidebar and follow me by clicking the “Follow on Instagram” button at the bottom of the feed.

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Because most days I don’t have time to take pics on one of these…

Happy thrifting!

-Leah

Thrifting Finds: 4th of July edition

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A classic 4th of July thrift window

 

This past Saturday on the 4th of July my friend and I went thrifting–the perfect activity when it’s raining out, especially on a day that’s supposed to be about outdoor activities.  Adhering to thrifting tactic “Know Before You Go”, I had 2 goals in mind:

  • try my hand at live Thriftstagramming for the first time, and
  • look for a neutral silk camisole to go underneath some sheer-ish tops I have.

Continue reading “Thrifting Finds: 4th of July edition” →

Thrifting Done Right, Part 2

We covered strategy–your overarching approach to The Thrift–in Thrifting Done Right, Part 1.  Now it’s time for tactics–how you actually operate in store.  If this is sounding like a military operation or a major league playbook, please excuse my enthusiasm.  And remember, I’m not here to be a thrift dictator, so take the principles you like and make them your own.

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Not this guy.

Continue reading “Thrifting Done Right, Part 2” →

Thrifting Done Right, Part 1

Thrift store shopping can be overwhelming for the uninitiated–aisles upon aisles of clothes, a mishmash of styles and colors that looks like a muppet threw up everywhere, and the siren call of cheap, cheap prices that can make you think “It’s only $3…I can buy 10 shirts here for the same amount I’d spend on one shirt retail!”  Even people who are thrift pros still occasionally get sucked into the vortex of inexpensive and plentiful clothing.

This post covers some basic strategies for your approach to thrifting.  Part 2 covers tactics for once you’re in the store (see what I did there?  Strategies are for how you look at the forest, while tactics are the methods you use to negotiate individual trees…or something).  Oh, and let’s be generous about the “done right” part–I’m not here to be a thrift dictator, so take the principles you like and make them your own. Continue reading “Thrifting Done Right, Part 1” →