Ah, the joys of aging. I’ve been wearing contact lenses since I was 10 years old, so I’m not new to the world of glasses. However, this year it hit me – now I’m that person who has to throw on a pair of readers (on TOP of my contact lenses) just to see my phone, read a book, or even squint at my computer screen. And it’s seriously annoying.
But leave it to GenX to turn an inevitable annoyance into a full-blown fashion statement. Reading glasses are officially a Thing, which makes this new ‘phase of life’ a little less horrible. Over the past 6-8 months, I’ve curated a little collection of glasses because obviously you need a pair for upstairs, downstairs, the kitchen, your office, and your reading nook. I basically place them around my house like a middle-aged Easter egg hunt. And I keep a pair in my purse. Obviously.
The bright side is that there are so many fun and stylish options out there that it ALMOST makes the whole ‘aging eyes’ thing bearable. My current favorites are this 2-pack of readers I snagged from Amazon:
I leave the black pair at work in my office and the green pair are the pair that live in my home office:
They’re cute, comfy, they work and they are cheap enough that if I misplace them or drop them onto the floor I don’t really care. Oh, and as an added bonus, they look great on Teams calls. In fact, I don’t even bother with makeup on work-from-home days because the frames are so eye-catching.
It’s only a matter of time before I have to increase my magnification, so for my next order I’m eying these from the same listing:
Source: Amazon.com
I really like the bottom pair of tortoiseshell/greenish yellow. They’re super funky! Speaking of super funky…
Source: Amazon.com
These rhinestone versions are giving kooky aunt, which I’m digging.
All of them are on the same listing as the 2-pair I already have. I actually would love a mix of like a bright pink, the tortoiseshell/greenish yellow and one pair of rhinestones. So if that were a listing, I’d hit ‘buy it now’ so fast!
So, if you’re in your late 40s and your vision is starting to suck too, consider this your reminder to embrace the cuteness of readers. There’s no escaping it, but at least we can do it in style. Grab some sassy readers and join the ‘I need glasses to look at my phone’ club. Sigh.
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Thanks to our annual spring break trips, April always goes by quickly for us. This year was no exception, we had some chilly early-April days, followed by a wonderful trip to Arizona, and then returned to a mix of mild spring days to finish out the month.
Let’s take a look at April:
I purchased this lightweight Eileen Fisher sweater secondhand a few years ago and I have mixed feelings about it. It’s a beautiful silk fabric, but it’s quite thin. Like so thin that it’s hard to determine what kind of weather it’s good for, considering there are long sleeves… but not much warmth.
I decided to give it a try for a workday and paired it with a pair of thrifted black pants. And yeah, I’m still on the fence about it. I also tried it with a denim jacket and wore that for the beginning of the day until it warmed up a bit. This might just be one of those items that are good in theory, but not in my actual reality.
Two more work looks:
On the left is a striped + floral skirt I thrifted earlier in the month. I like the fit-and-flare style, deep pockets and pretty bow. For my first try styling it, I went with a berry-colored blouse and a purpley cardigan. I like the combo, it’s very springy and was comfortable for a long workday with an evening event.
On the right is a more casual work look that I wore into the office to basically just do cleanup from the events that ran the day before. I’m still getting used to the look of the baggier jeans, but I do like them with the striped tee shirt. I’m not sure about the longer cardigan with the look though and think a shorter one might have looked a bit nicer (in hindsight, of course).
Two casual looks:
On the left is an Arizona outfit – I thrifted the skirt there and purchased the top at a retail store. After a round through our VRBO’s washing machine, I wore this outfit for our last day in Arizona, where we explored Scottsdale and made our way back to the plane and home. I love both the tee shirt and the skirt and can’t wait to wear them both many times over the summer.
On the right is another thrifted piece from Arizona, that fabulous striped Everlane sweater. I was so happy for a cooler day, so I could wear it before packing it away for next fall. For a lunch date, I added on a floral bandana and my visibly mended jeans. I love this combo and will absolutely be wearing versions of it again once we get to the other side of summer.
New vs Secondhand Tally
This month, I count 12 thrifted items and 5 that I purchased retail!
We just got back from an amazing spring break trip to Arizona, and I’m working on putting together a series of blog posts to share all our adventures. But while I’m organizing my thoughts, I couldn’t wait to show you something fun…
Let’s talk travel thrifting!
One of my favorite things to do on vacation (besides eating all the delicious food and seeing the sights, of course) is checking out local thrift stores. It’s the best way to score unique souvenirs that actually mean something. They’re usually way cheaper than gift shops, way cooler than anything you’d find at a chain store, and every piece comes with a little story. Also, my husband is super into it too… so it’s a fun family activity for us.
So before I dive into our adventures visiting the Grand Canyon, hiking the Granite Dells and the fact that it SNOWED one day and we were in shorts the next, let’s check out some thrifted treasures!
Zara skirt, $3
I found this new with tags Zara skirt and was intrigued by the parachute-type material, stretchy waist and deep pockets. It’s marked as an extra-small/small, which is ridiculous because it fit my body just fine. Apparently it sold for $69.90 at Zara, but all skirts were just $3 at the Prescott thrift store. Everything was priced so cheap there – my husband bought 2 tee shirts for just $1.50 each!
Anyways, here is the skirt on me:
It’s flowy and comfy and I like it a lot. My original thought was that I’d hem it a bit shorter, but I may wear it a few times at its current length before I make my final decision.
Vintage skirt, $7.29
I accidentally overpriced this on my Instagram share, but found the receipt while typing up this post and it was actually less than $8. SCORE! And yes, I know that this skirt leans a little hippy-dippy. Mid 90’s Joules would have LOVED this skirt and honestly, so does 2025 Joules.
Here it is on and I ended up wearing this outfit for our travel day from Prescott to Scottsdale to the airport and to home.
This skirt is just so eclectic and lightweight and I love the different fabrics. It’s a vintage brand, so probably from the mid-90’s and I can’t wait to it with tank tops and graphic tee shirts this summer!
Vintage skirt, $9
Yes, I was on quite the vintage skirt kick on this trip. This one is another vintage label – most likely from the 1980’s or 1990’s, with a gorgeous flow and pretty detailing. It’s a smidge loose in the waist, but that’s an easy fix.
Here it is paired with a graphic tee:
I love the mix of soft and tough! It’s such a pretty color in person and the fabric is super soft but thick enough that it has a bit of weight to it. I do feel like this one could look quite dated depending on how you style it, but I really like it with a graphic tee shirt. I’m looking forward to experimenting with styling this one with other items in my closet soon.
Everlane sweater, $7
You guys. I’m OBSESSED with this sweater. I love the long cuffs and the stripes and the chunky 100% cotton knit. I’ve actually eyed this sweater on the Everlane website, but it’s $110 so I hadn’t pulled the trigger. I was concerned that the medium would be a little too fitted, as I like my sweaters oversized, but it’s actually pretty fantastic:
It looks pretty darn cute with the skirt and I’m sure it will look fabulous with jeans and joggers too. I almost hope we get a few more cool days before summer hits so I can enjoy it, but I’m sure future Joules will appreciate it when she re-finds it in the fall too!
Acme cowboy boots, $25
One of things I was *hoping* to find while thrifting in Arizona was a pair of authentic vintage cowboy boots. At each store, I checked both the women’s and the men’s sections, because I actually prefer the fit of men’s boots (they are wider and you can stick some big, fluffy insoles inside and wear comfy socks). Each store had a couple pairs (at least), but they were all either in terrible condition, the wrong sizes, or marked at $50 or higher.
And then, at a Goodwill in Sedona, my husband pointed me towards these! Vintage leather Acme cowboy boots for just $25!!!
And they looked kind of terrible:
But I had hope that they just needed some love. And conditioner. So I grabbed some boot conditioner and mink oil at a local boot store and went to work. First, I scrubbed all the dirt and yuck around the edges with a scrubbie and water. Then, after letting them dry for a day, I massaged on some boot conditioner and let it soak in. Then, I gave each boot a really good rubdown with mink oil and let it dry for an hour or two. I buffed it down and then gave it another coat of mink oil. One more buffing. And BAM.
Gorgeous and the perfect amount of worn/broken in! I kind of wanted to wear them home on our last day, but they went into the suitcase for the ride. In order to finish preparing them for real life, I just need to add a pair of squishy insoles (which I have already) and also throw on some comfortable socks!
We had so much fun with our Arizona vacation thrifting and I can’t wait to wear all my new treasures. And once again, staying in a VRBO with a washing machine is so helpful. I was able to launder all of our new finds before packing them back in our suitcases to bring them home!
