no money? no problem!

i absolutely love thrifting. there's just this thrill of going into a store full of rejected clothing and making each piece your personal treasure. not only is it rewarding because you're walking away with something cheap as hell (ka-ching!), but because you have to dig through the crap to find something that you find worth wearing, it's like a personal triumph. you gave the finger to stores that sold what you found for $5 for twice or even triple that.

here's some of the scores i've gotten over the past few trips.



$5 black bustier to wear with anything high-waisted, and underneath blazers and sheer button-ups



$5 dress. because of the length--or lack thereof--it is perfect to wear with thick tights in the fall, and boots or open-toed sandals.



yup. it's from forever.



$5--you see a pattern emerging here?--little leo bag to add a dash of whimsy to any plain outfit. perfect with the aforementioned dress as a cross-body bag.



$1 skull printed scarf to wear when it gets colder over a preppy, structured peacoat, or a body con dress with a leather jacket. even better with a beret to offset its edginess.

- when thrifting, its important to have patience. you won't find what you're looking for right away. take your time.

- try to walk in to find specifically what you want. want a floral-printed dress? try to seek it out. a structured blazer? again, look hard for exactly what you want.

- examine your finds. this isn't H&M, it's a thrift store. nothing is perfect. and nobody wants to go home and see that the sweater they picked not only has weird stains, but has no freaking buttons.

- pay attention to special sales. it's cheap enough, but if you can get it for half off, why not? unique thrift store, for example, color codes their merchandise. so if you picked something that's, let say, green, and green items are 25% off, you stand to save a bit.

- if you don't find anything, don't write the store off altogether. keep checking back! you won't hit a jackpot each time because on some days, you'll feel like they've intentionally only stocked crap. but keep checking back. you could get nothing one day, and a sexy LBD the next.

- be resourceful. some stores don't have dressing rooms. have a great eye for what you're sure fits you. try on blazers. do everything to them that you want--roll up the cuffs, button them, for example--to make sure the fit is perfect to avoid going home and realizing that you'll never wear it.

:)