Fashion - Pocketful of Joules

November Thrift Haul

While I did stop by the thrift store a couple times this month, I didn’t actually end up thrifting anything. However, I DID get super lucky at my favorite consignment shop when I went to pick up my unsold items and my check. Spoiler alert, I basically spent what I earned, so it’s like I traded clothes (which is fine by me!).

Let’s take a look at this month’s secondhand scores:

Elieen Fisher Stand Collar Coat, $65

Did I need another coat? Um… no. Can I resist a designer coat that fits me perfectly and is fantastically lightweight but warm? Also, no. I love this classic black coat with an adjustable drawstring in the waist and nice, deep, fleece-lined pockets. I decided it was well worth the $65 to me and was pleasantly surprised to see that the original retail price was $368.

This will get lots of wear this winter and I like that it’s a bit longer for a warm booty. I also like that this coat is perfect for layering, which means it will most likely come with us on our next vacation.

Current Air duster, $28

This fun duster/kimono-type thing called to me from across the aisle. It was stuffed in with the size small dresses, but I was intrigued by the metallic gold accents. Rather than being a size small dress, it’s actually a “one size” duster from Anthropologie (retail $120)!

I tried it on over my tee shirt and jeans and kind of love it, so I figured it should come home with me. I like it as a duster with the outfit I was wearing, but I also think this will look cute over shorts and a tank top in the summer, or even as a swimsuit coverup.

Heritage Boot Co, “Bandito/Bandita” Cowboy Boots, $81

These are the absolute jewel of my secondhand finds this month. Actually, this year. Or maybe even my entire life. I’ve been casually stalking similar boots with the brown over black leather look on Poshmark, but hadn’t pulled the trigger because it’s hard to tell if something is real leather, or the condition of the inside from a few photos.

I was checking through the shoe section and saw one of these boots shoved over to the side. I squinted closer and liked what I saw, so I carried it around awhile and eventually asked for the other boot so I could give them a try. They fit like they were MADE for me. I did a quick brand search on my phone to make sure they were worth the $81, but the wifi was terrible, so I took an educated chance on them since I love them, and they felt very well made.

Imagine my shock when I did my research later that night and found that the Heritage Boot Co has just one store in Austin, TX and all their boots are completely handmade. NO MACHINE was involved to do this intricate tooling, it was all hand tooled! I found the men’s version of my boots on their website and they sell for… $1,695. HOLY GUACAMOLE! So yeah, I’m not sure which rich lady wore these a bit and then dropped them at the consignment store, but I’d really love to be her friend and take her hand-me-downs!

Lucky Brand “Mid Rise Sweet Boot” Jeans: Website vs Reality

It’s jeans shopping time again! Back in February, I had the urge for some baggier black jeans and found luck with Lucky Brand (Lucky Brand “The Baggy” Jeans: Website vs Reality) Well, I’ve been wanting a pair of looser boyfriend-ish/bootcut jeans lately, so I let my fingers go walking over to the Lucky Brand website again.

I found two pairs of jeans that looked close to what I wanted, so I ordered them both.

The Lucky Knd Denim Easy Rider Boot was not a win for me. They were too rigid with no stretch, so they were super uncomfortable when I zipped them up. I mean, they looked dang hot… but I couldn’t ever sit down in them. So, they went back.

However, let’s look closer at the Mid Rise Sweet Boot Jeans:

They remind me of my favorite jeans from the mid-90’s. Medium rise, fitted in the butt and thighs and then a baby boot cut, which looks great over boots. Or my Doc Martens if it’s 1995.

I ordered my typical size in the color Agate. They were on sale for $62ish (and they often run a bunch of sales, so be sure to wait for one if you order from them!).

And I’m OBSESSED WITH THEM!

The fabric is 96% Cotton 3% Polyester 1% Elastane, so they are mostly rigid with the perfect amount of stretch in the waist, which makes them comfy. Also, the most wonderful surprise – they have super deep pockets. Like, I can fit my entire hand in there up to my wrist! This is basically unheard of for women’s jeans and I even checked to see if maybe I bought a pair of men’s jeans by accident (I didn’t…). So, YAY for usable pockets!

Website vs Reality

Unlike the baggy jeans, I feel like the website photo is pretty darn similar to the in-person fit. I love the darker wash — it’s dark, without being TOO dark — and the boot cut looks great with my clunkier boots. In fact, I may need to get my old Docs back in rotation!

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Exercising My Free Will: Personalizing My Clothes

Since shopping secondhand is my preferred way to shop, many times I’ll find something that’s close, but not exactly what I was looking for. Or maybe the fit and fabric are fabulous, but the color looks terrible on me. Through thrifting, I’ve learned to look at an item for what it can be, rather than what it currently is.

So, let’s take a look at two items I’ve recently personalized:

My Tiered Skirt Glow Up

I bought this skirt off Poshmark recently because I loved the color, the shape and the swish factor. However, each of the three tiers was lined with accent beads. And to my eye, the beads just made the skirt look dated and cheap. I bought the skirt anyways, because I have free will… and a pair of scissors.

And I cut off Every. Single. Bead.

And yes, it felt like it took forever. But now it’s perfect and I love it so much!

Cardigan Color Switcharoo

This is going to be shocking… but I actually bought this cardigan RETAIL at a Loft Outlet on the way home from Ocean City last summer. I really liked the 100% cotton, chunky stitches and cute cropped length. I tried to convince myself that I would grow to love the color or that it was exactly what my closet was missing. But it just didn’t work for me. The light brown felt like boring sweater oatmeal and it just didn’t look good with my coloring or play well with other items in my closet.

So, I grabbed a bottle of Rit dark green dye, spent about 40 minutes swishing the cardigan around, and BOOM it’s exactly what I was hoping for. A beautiful shade of green that I will actually wear:

The moral of the story? You don’t have to accept something exactly as it’s sold. If a piece is almost perfect, it’s okay to make it yours. Remove the beads. Chop the sleeves. Change the color. You bought it and you get to decide what works for you!