Category: Thrifting Fun

6 Month Thrifting Check-In: Winners & Losers

While it feels hard to believe that half the year has flown by already, it’s time for my 6-month thrifting check-in. I started doing these a few years ago to hold myself accountable. Even after many years of thrifting, I still make mistakes. I get a little price blind. I get a little brand blind. I figure, it’s so CHEAP just DO IT.

It seems even rougher this year, since they’ve closed most if not all of the thrift store dressing rooms. Sure, you have a week to make returns (for a store credit), but my favorite stores are more than 45 minutes away… so I can’t always return to them within that time period. So for my mistakes, I typically will list the item on Poshmark or just add it to my donate pile so that the next thrifting queen can enjoy it.

Since we are halfway through 2024, let’s take a look back at my thrift winners & losers. (PS you can find all my thrifting posts here: Thrifting Fun)

January 2024

Winners:

  • DRU Holland Dutch Oven, $6.99
  • Glitter Converse One-Star Shoes, $8.99
  • Rain boots, $5.99

Losers:

  • Athleta Arrival skirt, $13.49

Loved the addition of the dutch oven to my china cabinet and both pairs of shoes have gotten use in my closet. However, as much as I liked the Athleta skirt, it just didn’t fit me well. I listed it in my Poshmark closet and after their fees and shipping, I made $5 dollars on it.

February 2024

Winners:

  • J. Jill Embroidered Top (mustard), $5.99
  • Two Vintage Enoch Wedgewood Tea Cups, $2
  • Charter Club embellished cardigan, $8
  • Laura Ashley skirt, $7

Still Deciding:

  • Soft Surroundings Coruh Gauze Top (blue and white), $7.99
  • L.L. Bean Cotton Cardigan (blue), $3

Love the embroidered top, tea cups, cardigan and OHMYGOD that Laura Ashley skirt. They’ve all been used/worn over the past few months and will continue to be remixed. Rather than having ‘losers’ for this month, I have two items that I’m still trying out.

I’ve worn the Soft Surroundings top once and it’s just kind of ‘eh’ for me. I need to try styling it again. As for the cotton cardigan, it’s pretty heavy and I only had one or two times to try it out when the weather was cooperating. I plan to style this again in the fall/winter when the weather gets chilly. If I can’t make them work, both items will be hitting my Poshmark closet.

March 2024

Winners:

  • South Parade Hoodie, $15
  • Birkenstock Arizona Sandals, $40

Both these items were secondhand purchases off Poshmark. The hoodie is super comfortable and the sandals were for Jack, for his summer shoes. They’re holding up great and I’m kind of excited that he’s only a couple shoe sizes away from MY shoe size… so I’ll be getting his hand-me-downs soon!

April 2024

Winners:

  • Universal Threads v-neck t-shirt, $2.79
  • Don’t Be A Salty Heifer t-shirt, $5.99
  • Vintage skirt, $8.29
  • Handmade Pottery Tray, $6.49
  • Jeannette Cube Sugar Bowl, $7.99
  • Birds Outdoor Pillow, $4.49
  • Egg Crate jewelry dish, $5.99
  • Leather Braided Belt, $3.49

Still Deciding:

  • Old Navy Fern top (green), $12
  • Line of Oslo Blouse (purple), $5.99

Lots of fantastic scores in April, much due to our fabulous Tuscan, Arizona trip. Everything in the ‘winners’ list has either been absorbed into our house décor or worn happily. On the still deciding list are my two ‘maybe’ items. I wore the fern top once and it was fine. I need to try it again styled differently – I thought I would like it more, but it’s just okay. As for the Line of Oslo blouse, I dyed it purple and it’s very pretty… but I haven’t actually worn it yet. So, I’ll need to make sure I reach for it soon, or it will hit the chopping block!

May 2024

Winners:

  • Lou & Grey joggers, $6.99
  • Jofit skort, $6.99
  • Madewell Walker Chelsea suede ankle boots, $5.99
  • Athleta v-neck lightweight sweatshirt, $9
  • Pyrez “Zodiac” casserole dish, $8.50

So many winners for the month of May and most were scores from our visit to Naples, Florida. It was already too warm for the booties, but I can’t wait to wear them in the fall. The joggers and the sweatshirt were both so comfortable, so they will see a welcome return to the front of my drawers in the fall too. I’ve worn the Jofit skirt regularly on my evening walks and the Pyrex bowl happily joined the rest of my collection. Hmm… is this proof that we need to revisit Naples?

June 2024

Winners:

  • LAND Backpack, $7.49
  • Max Studios skirt, $6.99
  • Workout shorts, $4
  • Chana Dress, $30
  • Starbucks ceramic mug, $3.99
  • Dona Joe Running Skirt, $7.99
  • Leota dress, $12
  • Coach Dakota purse, $29

Losers:

  • Lacy/Crochet Cardigan (black), $3
  • Kate Spade Viva Colores Sidney Skirt (floral skirt), $11.29
  • Anthropologie Skirt (black and white), $5.29

First, let’s talk winners. I haven’t used the backpack yet, but I’m planning to try it as our snacks/drinks bag at the beach this summer. The skirt, dress, running skirt and dress are all winners for me right now. I’ve used that ceramic mug probably a half dozen times already. And OH the Coach purse is divine. As for the workout shorts, they’re growing on me. They are a bit too fitted in the tummy, but I’ve been wearing them for evening walks and they serve their purpose.

For the losers, that cardigan was an experiment that didn’t pan out. That one is already in the donate pile. As for the two skirts, one was too big/short and the other was too tight, so they both are currently in my Poshmark closet and I’m hoping to break even on them.

Total Spent:

Just to hold myself super accountable, let’s total up all the thrifting purchases from the last 6 months. According to my handy dandy excel spreadsheet that I pulled the info into, my total for 6 months of thrifting was: $346.46. Which equals out to $57.74 per month. I didn’t pull Jack’s sandals out of that number, but perhaps I should have since I would have paid retail prices if needed. While my thrifting total/monthly breakdown is not an insignificant number, this is my main ‘fun money’ I spend on myself. I very rarely buy books (I use the library and my kindle religiously) and make 90% of my coffee at home, and most importantly… our budget can afford it.

Overall Favorites:

Oooh my favorite part, looking at all my thrifting purchases over the past 6-months and picking my favorite items!

Home Décor Favs:

  • DRU Holland Dutch Oven, $6.99 (January 2024)
  • Handmade Pottery Tray, $6.49 (April 2024)
  • Pyrez “Zodiac” casserole dish, $8.50 (May 2024)

While the age of thrifting amazing mid-century items may be passing and it’s getting harder and harder to find true vintage… these three scores made me so happy! The dutch oven and casserole dish (after a quick little rehab) are in my china cabinet, where I get to admire them regularly. As for the handmade pottery tray, I have it in my den next to my reading area, and it’s perfect for keeping my random stuff contained and looking pretty.

Clothing Favs:

  • Laura Ashley skirt, $7 (February 2024)
  • Birkenstock Arizona Sandals, $40 (March 2024)
  • Vintage skirt, $8.29 (April 2024)
  • Madewell Walker Chelsea suede ankle boots, $5.99 (May 2024)
  • Coach Dakota purse, $29 (June 2024)

Both of the vintage skirts I thrifted are my favorites right now. That Laura Ashley skirt is so special and every time I wear it, it just makes me smile. As for the other vintage skirt… it’s just the right amount of swishy and flowy and I’ve already worn it at least a half-dozen times. Jack hates socks/sneakers, so as soon as school let out, he went straight to his new Birkenstock sandals for daily wear. He will easily get an entire summer’s worth of use out of them. He may be able to use them for vacations throughout the year, but I fully anticipate he will grow out of this size before next summer.

As for the booties, they’re so gorgeous and I have big plans for them in the fall. I’m imagining them with long dresses, short dresses and tights and rolled jeans too. And last but SO VERY MUCH NOT LEAST, that Coach Dakota purse. Perhaps one of my best thrift finds of the entire year!

After years and years of thrifting, I feel like I’m finally doing better at being more selective. Only a handful of losers and a few more items that are on the chopping block. Not too shabby!

My Style: June 2024

Apparently, I got dressed to leave the house A LOT this month, which is pretty surprising considering that I feel like I lost a week of my life in the middle there when my son broke his arm. Keeping with my goal to continue purging items from my closet, this month saw a bunch of different items in rotation. However — spoiler alert — nothing much hit the purge pile.

Let’s take a look at my June looks:

First up, three ‘casual’ non-work looks. I wore the first outfit for a graduation cookout event, the second was for errand running and the third was for a day of errands with a business-ish lunch with my accountant.

All the items have been in my closet for a while, other than that vintage Coach crossbody bag, which was a recent addition. And nothing is getting purged, but will continue to be restyled again and again.

Here are three of my office looks. I picked the colorful dress up at a consignment shop for just $30 this month, so I pretty much immediately needed to style it for the office. Love the swish of the skirt and the deep pockets. The blue maxi dress is one of those that I feel looks better in person… but honestly, it does feel like wearing a comfy nightgown in public.

As for outfit #3, I’m still unsure about the white linen + lace top. It is a beautiful top and the fabric and drape are great, I just don’t love white. I’ve considered dying it a different color – but I’m not sure if the fabric, lace and thread will take the color evenly, so I keep putting it off. All keepers again, however I am starting to think the blue maxi dress from Anthropologie may hit my Poshmark closet at some point.

Two casual outfits with the same skirt, as this gingham skirt is on the chopping block. I just don’t reach for it as much as I do the same style in solid colors. This month, I tried it two ways – topped with a graphic t-shirt and topped with a linen blouse. Still trying to decide if this one is a keeper or if it will be hitting the resale group by the end of the summer.

The floral skirt from the first outfit has been in my closet for years and it’s just a randomly luxe cotton skirt from TJ Maxx that I love. As for that black linen dress, I typically style it under a tied blouse because it fit me so oddly. However, this month I actually took the time to adjust the tailoring on the straps and bust… so now I can wear it over just a little tank top! All keepers now that I took the time to sew a little.

And three more work looks. For look #1, I typically wear this dress as a casual dress, but I decided to top it with a cardigan for work. By lunchtime, I was regretting it because it shows off a bit more bust than I like for the office. So this one is back to being a weekend dress. The middle look is a re-wear of that black linen dress I tailored, this time I topped it with a starbust beaded cardigan for the office. And the last look was a last-minute throw-things-together-outfit, and I feel like it turned out very nice!

New vs. Secondhand Talley

This month, I count 10 items that I purchased retail and 23 items I purchased secondhand!

How I Rehabbed my Vintage Coach Dakota Purse

I mentioned in my thrift post earlier this week that I thrifted a vintage Coach purse that was in pretty terrible condition.

I loved the style and color of the purse, but when looking at it closely it had scratches, pen marks, weird dirty marks, and even what looked like some paint splatter on the back of it. I mean it WAS at the thrift store, so someone obviously decided that it was beyond hope and stuck it in their donation bag.

For me… it was a diamond in the rough. Or a $29 gamble. Because for $29 and whatever cleaning crap I could throw at it, I had the chance for it to look beautiful again.

First up, I grabbed my handheld vacuum and sucked all the gross crumbs out of the purse. Then, I filled up my bathroom sink with cold water and added a squeeze of dish detergent. I stuck the entire bag in and just swished and washed it for a bit. I mean, it’s leather… so I figured water should be okay. And if not. GAMBLE.

So, swish, swish, swish. Sure, the red dye made the water look like a crime scene, but it also got out a lot of the overall yuck that had been going on. While it was wet, I scrubbed at the paint splatter with an old toothbrush and also just my fingernail to pop off each chunk of paint.

I also grabbed a thing of suede cleaner that I had sitting around in my ‘shoe care’ bin and gave the inside flap a good scrub. After another nice wash, I lightly wiped the entire purse (inside and out) with an old washrag. Then, I stuffed the purse with crumpled paper to keep it open and let it dry.

At this point, I also used some leather wax I had to polish up the brown scratched leather on the front of the purse. I applied it with my fingers and just rubbed it in really good. Then, once that soaked in, I gave it another round of leather wax massage until I saw some real improvement. I also gave all the brown leather edges a nice swipe with the wax because they looked a little thirsty.

Then, I stuck the purse on a shelf, got busy and ignored it for a couple days.

When I went back to look at it, I was pretty impressed! I was able to get ALL the paint splatter and overall yuck off the purse. Most of the pen marks also came out, and I could probably get the rest out with another round of suede cleaner if I felt like it. As for those brown leather scratches, they look SO MUCH better!

After I did my round of cleaning, I did some internet stalking of the bag and I found that it is actually a pretty rare bag from the Dakota collection. Each purse in the collection was made by hand in Italy and there was not a widespread release. The Dakota line featured structured box-grained water and stain resistant leather, an unlined interior, and polished brass hardware.

I can’t find this exact bag for sale anywhere (even in sold listings), but other colorways are reselling from $150 – 300. While I’m not looking to resell it, I am happy to enjoy its classic design for many years to come.

Also, I’m pretty pleased with my $29 gamble!