wonky, shrunken and flower power

Not everything can come from Goodwill. If not Goodwill, Anthropologie isn't a bad place.

I love Anthropologie. It is a lovely place. It is the kind of place I imagine I would live in if I hadn't made the unfortunate choice to live with other people who mess up my stuff. I have tried to figure out how to just live in the store (they have that one bed). There's no kitchen, but there is a Whole Foods next door and I know I could survive. But apparently, at Anthro, they "frown upon" such things.

On to my point. I have had the good fortune to stumble across some Anthro pieces at the Goodwill, but today I'm showing you Anthro pieces from the store. It is too expensive, but their sale room is sometimes do-able. Occassionally I can find things for as low $9.99 and $19.99. Rarely, because the sales associates take most the really good deals, but since those girls are teeny and I am a mature woman who can wear a medium, sometimes these things work out. Also, unlike Anthro's regular shoppers, I'm not above buying "final sale" and "defective" merchandise.

Some of my sale room bargains:

Still on the racks in the front of the store, someone had bought this one and returned it. The tag said the hem was uneven. I just couldn't see it. I came home and ironed it and the hem is fine, not wonky at all. Someone was crazy! The retail price of this (and the other shirt I am going to show you) was more than $150.00! ! !

I paired it with this bright shoes I had picked up in a thrift store in England -

Then there was this, still on the racks, it had been returned with a tag that said "shrunk" - it was a large and a shrunken large works fine for me (and I can't imagine who would have just thrown this top in the washer/dryer!) -

Finally, these pants had been in the clearance room for a long time. They had survived Anthro's crazy big sale. I finally acquiesced and bought them. They are cute cute cute! I received many compliments on these $19.99 capris:

Nothing says happy and fun like flowers on your pants.

run-down fun-down

Vintage madness at the Goodwill!

Sadly, I had to pass on this peach treasure:


You know you want it.



Handmade and one-of-a-kind. Also Goodwill pumps.



This may be the greatest dress I've ever found. It may require me to undergo a liquid diet and industrial-strength fat-sucking in undergarments, but it is mine.



I am a business woman and dressed for a meeting. Goodwill vintage dress (you should see it without the cardi!) paired with Goodwill Jessica Simpson pumps. Anthropologie belt and cardi. Vintage pins.





Wearing this dress greatly enhanced an otherwise horrible day.

I hope my vintage streak continues!

mellow yellow

I'm sure you can relate. Before I can do whatever I sat down to do on the computer, I have to go through a checklist of visiting certain websites. One of those websites is modcloth.com. I have built a wish list on their site and I generally have a full shopping cart. I have only bought a few things from them, and even though I always have a full shopping cart, I don't check out because I'd like for my marriage to remain intact.

I know my husband thinks I'm crazy, for my daily Modcloth obsession (and other reasons). But I love how they style things and they give me inspiration. They have professional, paid stylists who have put looks together. I just need to copy what they have done.

I noticed a recent obsession within my obsession: the color yellow. I noticed a majority of yellow items in my wishlist and cart. One item, this top:

I like this top a lot. So much so that I presently have it in my imaginary shopping cart and not just on my wish list. Price tag: $44.99.

When I went shopping at a local Goodwill, I found this:


Close enough, right? Same basic concept for an outfit and this one was $3.99, but an orange tag made it half off and $2.00.

Now this was at a Goodwill I don't normally go to and a little bit further from my home, so you can add to the $2.00 top an overpriced grilled cheese and an even more overpriced coffee drink at a restaurant I otherwise wouldn't have been around, but I still came out ahead.

And now I can delete that top from my Modcloth cart and add something else!

more Jessica Simpson

lovely red leather pumps!

the first step is admitting you have a problem

But is it really a problem when you can get Nine West pumps like this at Goodwill?

Fancy Friday

More shoes.

Jessica Simpson:




I have had good luck with finding Jessica Simpson shoes at my Goodwills. Maybe a lot of people can't wear them? I dunno but they fit me just fine!

Naked Mermaid

Did Ariel donate this to Goodwill?


And lest you think it's a costume - the tag revealed it to be an actual dress.

Happy Shoesday

Cute little bow black flats that will go with many things. They are Naturalizer and the rare combo of cute and comfy.

Shoesday

Charlotte Russe, new with tags!

Happy Shoesday!

OK, I'm a day late but I'm not a dollar short because I bought all these shoes at Goodwill.

Hit it ladies!

These Jessica Simpson's -

Here's how they looked -

More red shoes! You can't have too many pairs of red shoes!

(p.s. that "Vintage" 1970's turquoise Western dress is from Goodwill too. I pretend like I'm one of J.R. Ewing's secretaries when I wear it. Fun and fashion!)

These black and white wedgies -

One more. A fancy pair!

(No professional photography skills were involved in the taking of these pictures.)

Happy Shoesday!

Happy Sabbath

Today I am thanking the Goddesses of Goodwill for all that is good and holy.

Like this.




A simple, black 1960's dress I wore to my brothers wedding. Made during a time when women's clothes celebrated curves - it has a waist and a glorious, twirly full skirt. And the best part? It was made to cover a woman's knees. Nobody needs to see those things. I wear this and feel like a gen-u-ine lady.

Snagged for $2.50. Anywhere else, it would get called "vintage" and would have come with an inflated price tag. But I'm not pretentious and the taggers at Goodwill had no idea how wonderful this piece was. Thanks Goddesses!

I hated to cover up the adorable cap sleeves, but the wedding was in November and in a floral conservatory. I picked up several different colored cardi's at the Old Navy and decided I liked yellow the best. Also while shopping around for a necklace I discovered pieces at Forever 21 and Anthropologie were looking similar, except for the price tags. I got several necklaces at Forever 21 for less than what one piece would have run at Anthro.

And after the wedding? When you pay $2.50 for something you can wear it anywhere. Believe me the husband appreciates the lady dress over frumpy dumpy schlumpy clothes. Shop at Goodwill and your everyday clothes can make you look like every day is a special occasion.

Which probably explains how I end up celebrating with so many cupcakes.

Where Muppets go to die

Soon to be spotted on a Working Girl, or Drag Queen. Should be styled with booty shorts.


I might have been tempted to buy it, because of my love for the tacky and bright, but there are some things you just can't Febreeze enough.

Mad for Plaid

In an alternate universe where cupcakes didn't exist, I might have been tempted to starve myself to fit into these 1960's pants. But the high waist was this ( ) big and cupcakes are too good.

I hope they ended up on some tall fabulous skinny young thang who could wear them with a fitted mustard yellow turtleneck and boots, werqing them in the manner they deserve.

Fabulous Friday

Thank you for being a friend.

Possibly Dorothy Zbornak's top, found to still exist at a Florida Goodwill.

As much as I wanted to buy it, bring it home and wear it while consuming copious amounts of cheesecake, I left it there for another Golden Girl.

Passion for a bargain

Sometimes I want something and I am able to forego instant gratification and wait. Wait for something to show up at the Goodwill. You would be surprised how often it happens.

Like this book.


I heard of this gem in the past year (timely) and wanted to know Liz Taylor's diet tips. But since Liz is dead and wrote this in 1987, I knew I could continue to be patient. Sure, I could have bought it for one cent on Amazon and paid shipping, but what fun is that?

Within a few months of deciding I wanted this book, like a White Diamond in a haystack, it turned up at my at my favorite Goodwill. I scored it for less than what shipping would have cost. Now I can learn how to be just like Liz Taylor, circa 1987. Two husbands down, five to go.

Denimfinity

There are many awful things in the world. Natural disasters. Global warming. Rihanna's music. The economy. Teenage girls. Most awful of all? Living in a world where this many denim dresses exist in each and every Goodwill one could go to.


No one is ever going to buy all the denim jumpers and dresses that are out there. These things are indestructible. The few that make it out to the random Mennonite mom will come back. It is the circle of life, and bad fashion.

Can't we band together and do something for the greater good with these garments even if it means a few homeschooling moms will have to make other wardrobe choices?

I say we start a program much like Toms Shoes. We turn every denim dress into a tent for an African child. Otherwise these denim treasures will stay in the Goodwill cycle in perpetuity. Let's do some good people.

Travel Advisory

Goodwill tip: don't go to Goodwill looking for anything specific.

You need to be completely open-minded. If you go looking for something in particular, you could end up being disappointed.

Expect to be looking at sweaters in the summer and swimsuits in the dead of winter. If you find a great deal - grab it while the getting is good!

On the other hand, maybe you are looking for something specific. Like I was when I was packing and putting together looks for my trip to visit my husband in Thailand and a family va-ca in Cancun. Who knows? You may find exactly what you are looking for, and what could be better than getting to go on a trip and having a brand-new (bargain!) wardrobe for it!

Which leads us to another Goodwill tip: OK, you can go to Goodwill and look for something specific.

Before I went to Thailand, I remember feeling slightly bummed. I wanted a brand-new wardrobe to visit my husband who was living there for the summer, but who can justify that expense? Especially after paying for the plane ticket. : ( I envisioned cottony sundresses. Thin fabrics that would be cool in the heat and easy to wash in a sink and dry overnight if needed. Then I thought, hey! I should check out Goodwill. One trip to Goodwill, and I was outfitted for the entire trip for less than what one brand new swimsuit would have cost me retail. Here are a few postcards from that trip featuring my Goodwill finds -

Brand new, Forever 21. The necklace was swiped off a Goodwill mannequin, less than a dollar.

Gap sundress.

Gap sundress.

And the best part? If you paid just a dollar or two for it, you can wear something and donate it while on your trip - freeing up valuable space in your suitcase for souvenirs!

The pressure was on again when we went to Cancun last June to spend time with my husband's family. Here's some looks I put together for that trip which included not wanting to wear the same swimsuit every day and having to dress for dinner at the resort each night (all the clothes and shoes were purchased at Goodwill - accessories were not, but when you buy your clothes cheap cheap cheap you can spring for the earrings, necklaces and bracelets!) -

J Crew dress. Vintage pin : )

J Crew swim cover up. J Crew swim bottoms. Victoria's Secret swim top.

Brand new Target cover up. Swimsuit pieces: Victoria's Secret and J Crew.

Brand new swimsuit and cover up, both Target.

Vintage dress. Shoes were brand new and slightly tacky, but I love them. Where else but vacation can you wear fancy shoes with fruit on them?

I know I'm a dork, using my non-famous, non-patented "snap and pack" technique - taking pictures as a sort-of packing list while I was getting things together for the trip.

Here's a few more:

Department store dress, small tear that was an easy fix. Brand new Nine West shoes.

Brand new Target top. J C Penney shorts. (These shoes are the only shoes pictured that did not come from Goodwill. I bought them at Target. Such fancyness!)

Dress still had tags on it when I bought it. J C Penney. Wedges were brand new at a Goodwill, fine Italian leather!

New Target dress. Target donates close-outs to Goodwill.

Travel is expensive, and you shouldn't have to sacrifice your wardrobe to have a great va-ca. Happy thrifting to you -

-Robyn

Shoesday!

Instead of Tuesday, how 'bout we have a Shoesday? : )

I have a real problem with a lot of things - baked goods, striped shirts and makeup to name a few. My biggest obsession? Shoes.

I don't live in Carrie Bradshaw's magical world, the one where she could afford a New York lifestyle and thousand dollar shoes.

Here's a few I've picked up at Goodwill, all were brand-new, and all were less than $5.00 -

These were originally from Dillard's, their Gianni Bini brand.

My shoes are my babies. And just like a good mommy, I love all of them equally. Except that some of them I love more. Like these. These are my favorites. BCBG. The perfect girly-girl flats.

Nine West.

Have a good Shoesday -

-Robyn

Tory Tory Tory!

The Gods and Goddesses of thrift shopping have smiled down upon me at least twice, blessing me with Tory Burch finds at Goodwills. Love Tory Burch, however I could never justify Tory Burch retail prices - or for that matter, Tory Burch clearance prices - for everyday wear.

The silver flats I have found selling online for as much as $195.00. Mine were purchased at Goodwill, brand new, and are technically a half size bigger than what I normally buy. They are that new-ish style of flat with the elastic on the heel. I think this is just a feature some people must find uncomfortable which is why I've been able to score a couple of brand new pairs of shoes in this style. Even though not my normal size, they fit just fine.

The tunic I picked up in the summer months, but I knew it was a score and I'd be delighted to wear it on the first cold day I could! Again we are talking the $200 price range at full retail. The tunic is super itchy, which is probably why it's original owner donated it, but I just wore something underneath it. My only dilemma is that it's dry clean only, and who wants to pay to dry clean something when the dry cleaning will cost more than what I paid for the item?

A $200 sweater and a $200 pair of flats are not things I would normally incorporate into my wardrobe. I paid $100 for my wedding dress!

I don't remember exactly what I paid for each of these items, but I can tell you it was less than $5 per item. The sweater and the flats have both received many compliments! My husband thinks I should just keep my mouth shut and let everybody think I have Tory Burch fabulousness and not spill the beans about Goodwill, but I can't do that.

-Robyn