When I was putting together my last thrift post, I realized that it was the 7th January Thrift Haul post I’ve done in my 15 years of blogging, with my oldest thrifting post from way back in 2016. Considering that was a decade ago, I started wondering if any items from those early thrift posts were still in my closet. I mean, there have been A LOT of purges over the past 10 years…
Before we get into it though, I do want to point out that when I was going through my old posts I saw a bunch of items thrifted that were fantastic, got worn a ton, wore out, and were purged. In my book, they are absolutely thrifting wins, even though they are no longer in my closet in 2026.
For this exercise though, let’s look at items thrifted between 2017 – 2020 and are still in rotation:
Grey Cable & Gauge Cardigan, $5.99 – August 2017
That’s right. I thrifted this grey cardigan NINE years ago and it’s still being worn. Now, I don’t reach for it super often because I tend to favor my beaded options or black… but it’s still looking pretty darn good for a $6 buy.
Here it is with an outfit from October 2025:
Loft Snow Leopard Print Car Coat, $17 – March 2018
I thrifted this coat back in March 2018 and it is STILL one of my favorite coats in my closet. It has held up so well over the years and makes an outfit look much more fun just by throwing it on top whatever I’m wearing.
Here it is in action on a girls trip to NYC in February 2022:
Calvin Klein Faux Wrap Dress, $4 – August 2018
There is just something about this simple faux wrap dress that makes it fit perfectly. I thrifted this for just $4 and I have worn this to so many work events. It just looks so nice with a cardigan or a blazer and this still hangs out in my closet in case I need to step it up a notch at work.
Here it is being worn at a work conference in September 2023:
Eileen Fisher Skirt, $7 – September 2019
Who can resist a $7 Eileen Fisher skirt?! Not me. I found this one in September 2019 and it has been worn in all sorts of ways — to work, paired with a graphic tee on weekends, and even over a swimsuit for a Universal Studios vacation in February 2022.
Blondo knee-high boots, $13 – January 2020
I manifested these boots and was thrilled when I thrifted them in January 2020. I needed a new pair of knee-high black boots and these were perfect. Soon after thrifting them, I wore them to NYC in the snow (actually, the trip posted above!), jumped over (and in) mounds of slush and they kept my feet warm AND dry. Years later, they are still exactly what I need when I’m looking for a pair of knee-high boots to finish off an outfit.
Here they are being worn to work in January 2025:
NYDJ black straight leg jeans, $7 – February 2020
I do miss the days when thrift stores had dressing rooms. It was so much easier to commit to a pair of pants when you could try them on. I ended up buying these super stretchy NYDJ black jeans for just $7 in February 2020 because they fit so well. While I don’t wear them a ton, I actually did just wear them to work a couple weeks ago!
Here’s from January 2025:
Anthropologie Beaded Cardigan, $6 – June 2020
I was so thrilled to find this Anthropologie beaded cardigan in June 2020 and even now it is one of my favorite embellished options. It’s the perfect shade of mustard, the beads are all still attached nicely and I’ve worn it to work a bunch of times.
Here it is from May 2025:
I’ve actually enjoyed this little look back at past thrift scores and I’ll do a second post covering 2021 – 2024 later this week!