I’m aware that it’s already May, AND that I shared my Arizona Spring Break Thrift Haul. However, I did a little local thrifting early in April that I haven’t shared yet. Let’s take a look!
Striped + Floral Skirt, $7.79
This skirt is a cheapo brand (the tag says Truly 4 You) but I was intrigued by the nice weight of cotton fabric and the stripes + floral design. Initially, I was thinking I’d chop off the bow. But I decided to give it a wear first and I’m not sure…
Anyways, I think this skirt is quite springy and enjoyed wearing it to a work event earlier this month. Will this be a long-time resident of my closet? I’m not sure yet. But it’s fun for now and at less than $10 the price was right to play with it for a while.
Loft cardigan, $9
I layer on cardigans basically year-round for days that I go into the office, so when I saw this one in a color I don’t own in like-new condition, it was a no brainer. Sure, a solid cardigan isn’t that exciting but when I can mix and match it a dozen times and the price per wear ends up well below $1, it just makes sense to grab them up when I can.
This soft embroidered Kimono is a J. Jill design and was recently sold on their website for $109. I thought it would make a nice, light topper for the summer when I’m working from home and want to throw on something over my tank top for those surprise Teams calls. However, it had a strong perfume smell… which I hated, so I threw it in OxyClean bath. While the OxyClean took care of the odor easily, it left the fabric with an almost tie-dyed appearance where it bleached out the color. Oops.
If it had been an item that I loved, I’d be pouting. As it is, I actually don’t mind much. It looks purposefully tie-dyed and I paid $9 for it. No biggie!
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!
This month’s thrift haul is a mix of secondhand finds – from both thrift stores and consignment shops. With spring on its way, I’ve packed away some of my heavier sweaters and have been looking forward to wearing skirts and dresses WITHOUT tights in the near future! My thrift finds reflect that with some in-between season clothes.
Let’s take a look at this month’s finds:
Sage Collective Joggers, $5.50
These joggers were new with tags and I found them on the ‘extra 75% off’ clearance rack at one of my favorite consignment shops. I wasn’t familiar with the brand, but I did some google sleuthing and it looks like they are sold at Nordstrom Rack. They are super comfortable and incredibly soft with nice, deep pockets, so for less than $6 they are a fantastic addition to my telework outfits!
Athleta cross-over sweatshirt top, $7.50
This was another item from that super sale rack. However, this one has certainly seen some wear… so I would not have purchased it if it were not as cheap as it was. With that being said, it’s super soft and warm with thumb-holes and for less than 8 bucks, it will certainly get lots more wear in my closet. This is another great telework top and also a comfy top to throw on for outdoor walks. Eventually, when it gets even more worn-looking, it will be demoted to bedtime wear and I’ll use it as a pj topper (until it gets thrown across the room when I overheat halfway through the night).
Lauren Ralph Lauren skirt, $23
Another new with tags find from the consignment store! This one still had the Macy’s retail tags for $155 and it was marked at $23. Not quite thrift prices, but quite a bit of savings. I went back and forth on whether I wanted to add the animal print to my closet, but this print is a pretty classic brown and black version that I anticipate will go in and out of style over the next couple decades. As it is, I think it will get enough wear in my closet to make this a good buy.
Charlestown Shoe “Federal” Boot, $7.50
The extremely luxe leather on these blue booties initially called to me. I didn’t recognize the logo, but there were a few clues that it was a higher end brand:
The logo was embossed on a leather insole – cheaper brands don’t typically use leather insoles. They also tend to stamp print their name/logo, rather than emboss it.
The leather is SO NICE. It’s a thick and chewy leather with the blue stain going all the way through.
Someone had spent the extra money to add on a protected sole on the bottom of the shoe.
Also, the embossed logo tickled my brain as being vaguely like Tory Burch. So I took a quick photo of the logo and the shoe and ran it through Google images to track it down and found:
There you go — a gorgeous and well-made pair of booties to add to my collection! They were marked at $14 at the thrift store, but purple tags were half off… so I got them for just $7.50.
For those of you who are ‘secondhand shoe curious’ I’m planning to write up a quick shoe cleaning/care post early next week!
