Thrifting Fun - Pocketful of Joules

Thrift Store Haul

I had a few days off last week as a perk of working at a University (yay, Spring Break), so I had some time to myself. It was weird. And kind of awesome. So, instead of doing stuff that I could easily do with Jack and/or Travis, I decided to do some things that only I enjoy… like thrifting!

I’ve written about how much I like thrifting before and while I can take Jack, it’s much more peaceful to go by myself. So, last Monday I strapped on my cross-body bag so that my hands were free to look through every piece of clothing on the rack (and possibly fight off other thrifters) and got to it!

I stopped by two different thrift stores and OHMYGOSH did I get some total scores! On the day that I shopped, there were some colored tag sales. Anything with a green or orange tag was an extra 33% off and anything with a blue, pink or violet tag was an extra 50% off. There was basically no rhyme or reason to what item had which tag, so I just picked up anything I was interested in and tried most of it on in the dressing room.

Here’s what I got:

4 Men’s ‘wicking’ t-shirts – $17.36 total ($4.34 each)
We are going to be going to Universal Studios in a couple months, so Travis will be basically living in his swim shorts. I picked up three ‘wicking’ t-shirts for him to wear on our water-ride days. I also found a super cool ‘Punisher’ running shirt in a men’s medium that I claimed for myself (you can see it here). I have a hero/villain 5k coming up and this might end up being part of my running outfit. The color tags on these shirts made no sense, two were green, one orange and one pink. All in all, I paid $17.36 total for them all which is less than one shirt from Under Armour.

Black Flowy Dress – marked at $14.99 with a violet 50% off tag ($7.49)

I admit, this dress is giving off quite the ‘witchy woman’ vibe. I liked it because it is super soft and the tie belt adds some nice curves. With that being said, its super long and kind of takes over my entire body. I’ve already cut off the bottom to make it knee-length and just need to buy some black thread so I can stitch up the hem. I’m not sure if I’m going to wear this as a dress or maybe just use it as a beach cover-up. What do you think?

Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress – marked as $14.99 with a green 33% off tag ($9.89)

Well, this dress was obviously the thrifting find of my entire life. This is a brand-spanking-new with tags Diane von Furstenberg dress that sold at Nordstrom for $428. I found it on their website here and it was an exclusive collaboration between DVF and Piece & Co. The dress is made from one-of-a-kind artisan textiles from India and was sold in Nordstrom in Spring/Summer 2015. The most amazing thing is that it was in perfect condition, it is my size, AND it is a print/style that I like with a flowy skirt. The entire time I was shopping I was afraid someone was going to steal it out of my basket! I had some initial thoughts of possibly selling it for a huge profit, but I’ve decided that it’s mine, mine, MINE!

Red Floral Pleated Skirt – marked at $8.99 with a green 33% off tag ($5.93)

This skirt is one of my other favorite finds of the day. It didn’t have new tags on it, but it looked and felt like it was in brand-new condition. This is a lesson in trying everything on regardless of size, because this skirt was marked as a 14 petite and I would say it fits more like a 10. I love, love, love it and can’t wait to wear it this spring!

Here it is styled for work:

Would you guess that it cost less than $6?

Soybu hoodie – marked at $5.99 with a with a violet 50% off tag ($2.99)
I’m pretty sure that the hoodie I bought from the thrift store is the same as this hydrangea “wendy” hoodie on the Soybu website. Do I need another lightweight hoodie? Nope. But was I going to snap one that looks brand new up for $3? Heck yeah!

I’d love to hear your thrifting stories! Did you find a diamond in the rough (literally or figuratively)? Have you ever gotten in a fight over an item? What do you like to look for while thrifting?

Thrift Style: Men’s Dress Shirt

Last week in my Thrift Store Haul post I showed you a men’s dress shirt that I scooped up for less than $6. I’d been eyeing button up blouses, but not really sure if the look was too ‘preppy’ for me. I figured that by trying to style a thrifted shirt I could try the look out without too much commitment.

First things first though, it was a bit too big on me. Now, let me tell you, I am NOT a gifted seamstress at all. I have a sewing machine and I know how to sew a straight line. That’s about it. So, knowing that the arms were a bit too loose and the body could be a little more fitted, I put the shirt on inside-out and threw some pins in to make it a little smaller. Then, I put it on the machine and stitched four straight lines. That’s it. And the lines weren’t even that straight.

Here’s after I spent a few minutes sewing:

Not a huge change — you can mostly tell around the arms– but I’m no longer swimming in it.

So now that the shirt looks a little better on me, I decided to try styling it in a few different ways. Oh, and forgive me for the crappy pictures. It was too cold to go outside and I just set my camera up for some casual shots and didn’t even bother getting my whole body. What can I say, I’ve been busy!

Look #1: Paired with a Grandpa Sweater

For my first try at wearing the men’s shirt, I was inspired by the layering in this pin. I really liked the loose shirt, loose sweater, cute cuffs and skinny jeans, so I decided to try it for myself. I’ve had this sweater for a couple years, but hardly ever pull it out of my closet. By pairing it with the button up shirt, I feel like it makes it a little less stuffy and I’m kind of loving the mix!

Look #2: Office Chic

For my second look, I decided to try it with a more fitted three-quarter sleeve sweater. Instead of just folding the cuffs up once, I doubled the over on themselves again to match the sleeve length of the cardigan. The more fitted shape gives the whole look a more preppy look and I can see pairing this with a pair of trousers and wearing this to work.

Look #3: Masculine + Feminine

Janice from Mom Life & Style really rocks this look (you can see her version here) and this was one of the first outfits I wanted to try to recreate with my men’s shirt. I tried it both with a belt and without, but I still don’t think it’s quite a winner on me.

Look #4: Paired with Sassy Pants

I love these coral colored skinny jeans that I got from Stitch Fix, but I find them really hard to style. I mean, they basically scream LOOK AT ME, so I want to tone them down a bit to leave the house. Mouthy pants. I kind of like the mix of topping the bright pants with the men’s button up and a peek of my black tank top. What do you think?

I have to say, I definitely got more than $6 worth of fun out of this shirt and it hasn’t even left the house yet. While I’m still not sure if I’m really a ‘button up’ type girl, I can see myself wearing it in so many different ways that it has earned a space in my closet.

Oh and I didn’t forget about Susan’s comment on the Thrift Haul post suggesting I try styling it like Audrey Hepburn, it just didn’t work. I think once I tailored it a bit smaller it didn’t have enough extra fabric to make the wrap work well. Or, my boobs where the problem.

Now I want to know… which look do you like best?

Thrift Store Haul

I love shopping at thrift stores. Back in high school, finding super cool ‘vintage’ t-shirts at the local Goodwill was the BEST. When I bought my first townhouse in my early 20’s, most of my decorations came from thrift stores or yard sales. There is just something about the thrill of the hunt… and the fact that everything is so inexpensive you don’t have to worry about regretting a purchase.

I’ve gotten out of the habit of regularly visiting thrift stores, but still keep them in rotation when looking for gently-worn kids clothes. For the past few years, I ended up getting Jack’s snowsuits AND swimsuits at thrift stores and many even still had the tags on them!

Over the weekend, after fighting a stomach bug and winning, I was dying to get out of the house for a bit. Jack and I went to the grocery store, and then before returning home I decided to swing by the local Goodwill to see what treasures we’d uncover. With groceries in the truck, we didn’t have a ton of time… but all it took was about 15 minutes and we found some awesome stuff!

I’d been eyeing a button up blouse on the J.Crew website for a while but I’m still not sure I’m really a ‘button up’ kinda girl, so when I saw this men’s version for $5.89 I snapped it up:

It’s a bit large on me, but I’m thinking some quick sewing will nip it in exactly where I need it. I’m imagining it under a cardigan with the rolled sleeves showing and some skinny jeans. Or maybe tucked into a high-waisted skirt. Would you be interested in seeing some style options?

Next, we breezed by the kid’s section and I checked both the 4T’s and 5T’s for anything that still had tags on it. I ended up finding two pairs of Car’s swim trunks that didn’t have tags, but look brand-new. Jack is a big fan of Car’s, so I had to check them out:

I always need extra swim suits for Jack since over the summer I have to send one to his school and one to my parent’s house, so for $2.50 a piece, these will definitely come in handy.

As we neared the checkout, we eyed our final bargain… a stack of 6 Hess Trucks, still in their original boxes were sitting by the register. Jack LOVES his trucks, especially the Hess trucks handed down from my brother, so I let him pick his favorite and he chose the 2010 Truck & Jet set for $15.00.

A photo posted by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Feb 7, 2016 at 9:36am PST

Buying toys is always a risk since you don’t know if they will work when they get home. But even after I explained to Jack that they might not make noises he was ecstatic to bring them home. In fact, he kept yelling “Thank you! Thank you!” in the checkout line and kissing the box…

Luckily when we got home we found that not only were they still bound in their original packaging inside the box, the batteries still worked too! Oh, and for anyone who thinks that these are expensive collector’s items, I checked eBay and they pretty much go for $10 – 20.

Our entire trip cost less than $30 and I’m super happy with everything that came home with us. Jack has been playing with his new truck and jet every day since we brought them home, which in itself is totally worth it.

Every time I have an awesome thrifting experience like this, I tell myself that we need to do it more often. Of course, many times we walk away empty handed, but that’s just how thrift magic works.

I’d love to hear your thrifting stories! Did you find a diamond in the rough (literally or figuratively)? Have you ever gotten in a fight over an item? What do you like to look for while thrifting?