Category: Fashion

March Thrift Haul

This month was quite the interesting secondhand shopping month. I ended up going out to my favorite local thrift store two times this month AND had a chance to check out a couple new-to-me secondhand stores with a friend.

Let’s take a look:

Footprints by Birkenstock Mary Janes, $8.99

I’ve been in a bit of an ugly-cute shoe mood lately with a couple clunky pairs of Dr Martens, so when I saw this pair of Mary Janes I was intrigued. Even more so when I saw that they were “Footprints by Birkenstock” with actual Birkenstock cork insoles!

The Footprints brand was an offshoot of more ‘shoe like’ Birkenstocks from the late 90’s/early 00’s that were pricey because they were made really, really well. At the time, they retailed for $130 – 160.

While I was at the thrift that day, I actually found 2 other pairs from the same brand in the same size, so somebody downsized their collection. Out of the 3 pairs, this pair looks brand-spanking-new with untouched cork insoles, a rubber Birks sole and perfect condition thick leather. I brought them home and gave the interior a wipe with a bleach wipe and the outside a quick wash with a damp paper towel.

I think they are adorable and plan to style them with colorful socks and cuffed jeans in the spring (I wore them this weekend and they’re cute!). I think they will also look good with a pair of black tights and skirts in the fall/winter too.

Anthropologie Maeve Somerset Dress, $34.99

I shared about this dress here (A Quick and Easy Dress Update), but I was thrilled to find it at the Goodwill for $34.99, even though that is super stupid for thrift pricing. However, I love it and I’ll get wear out of it so… {shrug}. Here’s how I wore it to work after I chopped it.

J.Crew sweater, $5.49 x 30% off = $3.84

While I paid up for the dress, I got quite the deal on this beautiful J.Crew sweater. It’s lightweight, 100% cotton and a fun mix of gray and orange. I wish it were a bit more oversized, but I like it a lot and will certainly be wearing it this spring.

J.Jill sweater, $10.49 x 30% off = $7.34

Yeah, pricing is all over the place, but less than $8 is still a steal for this silk and cotton sweater from J.Jill. The tag was half detached, so I took 2 minutes and sewed it back on after throwing it in the wash on cold and letting it air dry. Such a beautiful, classic sweater and super soft!

HYFVE blouse, $9.29 x 30% off = $6.50

This one is an experiment for me. I like that it is a gauzy cotton with a boxy fit. And I even like the cropped length. I’m curious if it’s going to work in how I imagine styling it though – maybe with one button buttoned over a flowy sundress? Or over a tank top and half tucked into a skirt? Not sure yet, but I’m looking forward to playing with it. It’s giving me ‘rich people on a boat’ vibes.

Silk scarf, $20

This has no tags at all, but I’m pretty darn sure it’s 100% silk. My initial thought is that it will look nice tied into my hair when I have my hair braided. But I also thought it would be cute knotted on a tote bag or purse. I paid too much for it at a new-to-me secondhand store, but it’s really pretty and I like it.

Gold chain necklace, buy 1 get 1 free — $5 for both

Once again, I was sucked in by a ‘surprisingly heavy for it’s size’ chain necklace at a secondhand store. This one doesn’t have any kind of branding on it, so who knows where it came from. With that being said, I think I’m going to turn this into a chunky bracelet for stacking.

Echo cotton bandana, buy 1 get 1 free — $5 for both

Once I picked up the necklace, the nice ladies working at the store let me know that all accessories were ‘buy one, get one free’. So, it would be $5 if I buy one item or two. Well, dang. I’m not one to leave money on the table, so I checked the accessory section again and found this pretty cotton bandana.

When I did my research, I found that this is an Echo cotton bandana, most likely from between 1980 – 1990. It’s not rare, as the brand made huge volumes over decades. But the quality is high and I love the bold, geometric print. This will be so cute over the summer as a neckerchief or tied in my hair. Very much worth it for the low, low price of free with another purchase!

Cupshe Swimsuits Thoughts

I don’t know if you all are familiar with Cupshe swimsuits, but I was recently looking for some cute, a little sexy, well-fitting and not-too-expensive options and they came up in my search. My only previous experience with the company was back in 2018, I had ordered a high waisted bikini set for $24 and it was just kind of ‘meh’.

I saw three swimsuits I really liked that had good reviews, so I figured I’d take a chance and hope that at least ONE of them worked out for me.

Here’s what I ordered:

Source: Cupshe.com

  • Going Live Tummy Control One-Piece Swimsuit, $40 (link)
  • Red D/DD Bikini Top & Tummy Control Bottoms Set, $41 (link)
  • Emerald Tease Green Monokini Swimsuit, $35 (link)

I figured the black one-piece was my safest bet – it had a slightly textured fabric that I thought would be nice for visual interest, there is a tummy control situation and the top is adjustable with the tie-strap that you can adjust to your body.

The red bikini was a crap-shoot. I’m not much of a bikini girl, but I thought it would be fun and cute for hot tub time with my sweetie (who thinks I look good in basically anything). Once again the bottoms had a tummy control thing going on and I was excited to see how the top fit, considering that they were made for a larger cup size. Also, they have a tie in the back, which works much better for me than the bra-like clasps on some swimsuits.

I threw the last one in simply because it was green and sparkly. I mean, COME ON. It’s so dang cute! Yes, there is a lot of boob going on, but I figured it would be great for when we rent a house with a pool and it’s just the three of us there – nobody to judge and I’d feel spicy hot in my sassy sparkles. Right?!

So, I placed my order and waited a few days until my package arrived… Once again, crossing my fingers that at least one fit me properly with plans to return the others.

You guys. When they arrived and I had my try-on party I was flabbergasted.

THEY ALL FIT SO WELL!

The fabric was soft and well-constructed. I used the sizing charts for my order and everything fit me properly. There was appropriate support in the chest area with nothing flopping around, sagging or trying to break free under an armpit. They didn’t ride up my butt to give me a massive wedgie. My tummy was gently hugged, but in a comfortable way rather than feeling like a shapewear sausage.

Believe me, I am not the girl who puts on a swimsuit in the middle of the winter and thinks I look good, but I was STRUTTING around in them. And if this 48-year-old, mid-sized mom felt great in all three of them, I knew I had to pass the word along to all of you.

Anyways, no, I’m not sharing my try-on photos here BUT they may make their way to my Instagram over spring break or over the summer, because HOT DAYUM are these swimsuits magical.

So, if you’re in the market for a swimsuit this spring/summer, I’m throwing in my recommendation to give Cupshe a try. I was pleasantly surprised at what I got for the price and will definitely keep them in mind next time I need to order swimwear.

Disclosure: This post is NOT sponsored by Cupshe – I’m just sharing because I ordered the swimsuits with my own money and really like them. This post contains Shop My affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

A Quick and Easy Dress Update

I’ve talked about easy ways to tailor your clothes to make them fit better or make them feel more “you” and I’m at it again. This time it is the literal EASIEST tailoring job I’ve EVER done on a dress, so I wanted to share it with you all in case you have a dress or skirt sitting in your closet that would benefit from the same treatment.

The dress:

I was browsing the thrift store, saw the fabric of this dress from 15 feet away, and immediately clocked it as something from Anthropologie. Even better, it was my size and a style I recognized – the “Somerset” dress that I own in another colorway and love!

The only thing was that I didn’t really *need* a second Somerset maxi dress. So, I figured I’d hem it to more of a midi dress so that I could get more use out of it. And that is where I completely lucked out…

The bottom of the dress is tiered and has these pretty little folds above each tiered section. So all I had to do was carefully cut off the bottom tier, BEHIND the folds and save myself the trouble of getting out my sewing machine and hemming it!

That’s right, I JUST HAD TO CUT off a tier. No needle and thread. No sewing. NOTHING.

It took less than 5 minutes.

And BOOM. That’s it. Dress tailored in the easiest way possible. It was so easy, I woke up, decided to shorten it, cut the bottom off and wore it to work that day. That’s what we call an easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy moment, my friends!

Here’s the thing, there are TONS of tiered dresses and skirts out there. So if you have one in your closet that isn’t getting worn much because you’re not as into the ‘maxi’ length, give it a little chop-chop. Depending on how the tiers come together, you may get lucky and not even have to hem it at all. (If you MUST hem it and you can’t/don’t want to sew, you can always use this for a quick and easy hem: https://amzn.to/4s3Lkkc)

Oh and if you’d like to see a quick before/after video which gives a better look at the dress folds and the inside of the hem where I cut it, I made a Reel here:

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.