Category: Fashion

May Thrift Haul

This month was another extra fun thrifting adventure, as it includes scores from our trip to Naples, Florida.

As I mentioned, my husband found so many amazing treasures that we had to zip open our carry-ons wider so that he could fit them all in! I think there was around 6 pairs of golf/fitness shorts, 2 polos, 2 t-shirts and 2 hats. He’s been wearing everything since he came home and it tickles me to no end that when I compliment him, he responds enthusiastically with “THANKS, I THRIFTED THESE SHORTS FOR $5!”

I was very, very picky with my thrifting treasures, but I came home with a few winners:

Lou & Grey joggers, $6.99

I’m pretty sure these are the Lou & Grey Signaturesoft sweatpants that retail for $69.50. They are incredibly soft and fit like a pair of leggings and a pair of joggers had a baby. I absolutely love them and have already worn them a bunch of times. Love, love, love these and after seeing how they wear for a while, I might even purchase another pair at retail prices. On sale, of course.

Jofit skort, $6.99

I love a good skort for running or even for our afternoon/evening neighborhood walks. There were skorts a plenty in the Naples thrift stores (thanks to all the local golf courses and tennis clubs), but this one was a winner for me. I loved the bright orange accents and the pleats make for some sassy twirls. Similar skorts retail on the Jofit website for $98.

Madewell Walker Chelsea suede ankle boots, $5.99

These Madewell booties were my best score in Naples! They are in fantastic condition, fit me perfectly and retailed for $178 on the Madewell website. If I were shopping retail, I’d be hesitant to purchase suede shoes since they can get ruined by rain, however at $6 there’s not much to lose and these will look fantastic with some dresses and jeans in the fall.

Athleta v-neck lightweight sweatshirt, $9

This is a score from home, but I love the v-neck Athleta sweatshirts (I own two, one in navy and one in green). So when I saw this black one for $9, I figured I might as well add it to my closet. I love them as a layer for hiking and I also wear them regularly on chilly days in my house.

Pyrex “Zodiac” casserole dish, $8.50

I’ve never seen this pattern in Pyrex before, so I was intrigued. It was in TERRIBLE condition though, so I thought it would be a fun gamble to see if Bar Keepers Friend could really magically restore it. Spoiler alert, it did NOT save it. However, olive oil helped a lot:

Before & After: Another Rit Dye DIY

As I mentioned in my April Thrift Haul post, I found a pretty Line of Oslo blouse at the thrift store for $6 and immediately decided to buy it and dye it.

Here is the before:

I don’t know if it’s actually a blouse, tunic, swim coverup or dress… it’s flowy and hits about the top of my thigh. I found the brand website and this pretty little top traveled here from Norway, so that’s pretty dang cool. I love the drape of the top, the sleeves, the neckline and the silver accents. However, I don’t really wear white.

So, that brings us to the dye! I was initially thinking I’d go for a dark grey but when I checked my stash, I found a box of purple dye that I had never used. So, I figured why not? Here’s a link to the exact box of dye on Amazon if you’re looking for it.

Anyways, I could not have been lazier with this project. I put on a pair of gloves, wet the shirt, added the powder dye to a pot of hot water (it’s a pot I only use for dying… not for food) and swished it around for maybe 5 minutes.

I didn’t want it to be super dark purple, I just wanted it to be less white. And I wasn’t sure if the silver was going to show through or not. So, about 5 minutes and I was done. I rinsed it and rinsed it until the water was mostly clear. The photo on the far right is the rinsed color, however it always gets a bit lighter once dry.

I threw it in with the rest of my load of laundry through the washer (on cold) and the dryer.

And here is the after:

I love how it turned out and the fact that the silver came right though, so I didn’t lose the pattern at all. It’s still somewhat transparent, so I’ll have to wear it over something more than a bra. However, I’m thinking I’ll use this as a swimsuit cover up (with and without shorts) on our next trip. It also will look really cute knotted over the front of a dress, so I still get coverage but it can pretend to be a shirt.

So yeah, certainly worth $6 and not much of my time!

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My Style: April 2024

And poof, just like that April is done. I feel like this month was so crazy busy – we started it in Tucson for spring break, work has been extra busy, every weekend has had some sort of activity. Also, our trucking business with my husband driving his tractor trailer has been impacted by the Port of Baltimore tragedy, so he’s been going to bed at 6pm to wake up at midnight to drive down to the Port in Norfolk throughout the week. It should be a surprise to absolutely no one that I’ve booked another vacation – this time a 4-day weekend – in May to give us something to look forward to!

This month also gave us the switch from winter into spring here in Maryland with some warmer weather, which means I was finally able to pack away my tights.

Let’s take a look at my April looks:

For my first three looks, I was restyling some old favorites from my closet. I’ve had the floral dress (left) for years and I’ve pretty much worn it with every cardigan in my closet.

The middle skirt was previously a dress, that I decided to chop apart since I preferred it as a skirt. I paired it with a secondhand Eileen Fisher t-shirt and I just kind of hate it — I’m not a high neck kind of girl. So, I’m adding that top to my Poshmark closet for someone else to enjoy.

The polka dotted dress (right) has also been in my closet for ages, so I got a little funky with it and added a tulle under-skirt. Loved the kooky look and also the beaded thrifted cardigan.

Out of these three outfits, just one item (the black top) is hitting the sale pile.

I thrifted this green leafy top (left) when we were in Tucson and I really like it paired with my linen skirt. This was a weekend look for a family get together, so I’d add a cardigan if I were going to wear it to work.

The middle skirt was another one on my ‘chop’ pile — it previously had a really weird waistband, so I chopped it off and added elastic instead. LOVE it now. It’s much cuter and way more comfortable. I paired with with just a simple tank top and cardigan, which were both thrifted over the years.

As for the last outfit (right), I had thrifted that embroidered top a few months ago and wasn’t sure if I loved it or not. I tried it with the linen skirt… and I like it. Will keep it around for now. The brown mary jane shoes are new — they are wedges from Birkenstock — and I like them for a springy sandal that covers my toes. They also make me impressively tall without hurting my feet!

Everything stays for now — but the blue embroidered shirt may eventually make it’s way out of my closet.

Another casual look (left), for a coffee meeting with a colleague. I love Madewell t-shirts and found this retro looking striped version on Poshmark. I love the color scheme and the v-neck! I paired it with my straight legged jeans that I actually did NOT thrift and a thrifted cardigan.

I thrifted this vintage Laura Ashley skirt (right) and OHMYGOD I’m in love with it. Once again, it had a weird waist situation so I chopped it and added my own elastic band. It is so full and swishy and the cotton fabric is just made 10,000 times better than crap I’m seeing in stores now. I paired it with a simple tank top, thrifted cardigan and those new mary jane shoes.

LOVE both these outfits and will be wearing them a million more times.

I haven’t done a denim jacket look in a while (left), so I figured I’d throw one into the mix. This jacket is super adorable with embroidered flowers on the shoulders and back, so I mixed it with my trippy polka dot skirt. The ‘shirt’ underneath, is actually a tunic/dress thing and I really like the color and softness.

The dress on the right is one of my favorites from a year or two ago. Once again, it’s been paired with pretty much every cardigan I own and I like the way the blue-green brings out the pretty tones in the floral.

Everything stays in both these looks and they will continue to be re-styled in my closet over and over again.

New vs. Secondhand Talley

This month, I count 7 items that I purchased retail and 25 items I purchased secondhand!