June Thrift Haul & a Quick DIY Dye

I had a couple opportunities to go out-and-about this month, so I took some time to make a couple thrift stops. This month was apparently topsy-turvy month… my favorite thrift store was a bust and the thrift that typically is terrible had some fun scores. It just goes to show that you never know what you’re going to find when you go treasure hunting at the thrift store!

{Pssst, you can read about my previous thrifting adventures here}

Books, books and more books! $10 total for 8 books

I struck out in the clothing section of my favorite thrift store, but the kid’s book section was on fire! Jack recently read The Lemonade War in school, so I picked him up a copy for him to keep. I also found another book in the series, The Bell Bandit. The rest of the books were just things I thought he might like.

So far, he has LOVED the Kids are Punny joke book, the Animal Origami book and the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook. I will do anything possible to encourage Jack to read, so every time I go thrifting I pick up a few books to add to his collection. Eventually, they will be passed down to cousins or re-donated.

Halogen striped top, $5

Halogen is a Nordstrom brand and they typically have very well-made basics. This top is very lightweight (without being transparent) and incredibly soft. It has a kind of heathered stripes thing going on and at an XL is it nice and oversized. I like this one as something comfy I can throw on around the house with a pair of leggings or pajama shorts.

Eileen Fisher Crepe Side Zip dress/tunic, $7

You know it’s hard for me to resist a classic Eileen Fisher piece! This dark brown dress is a medium, but consistent with the brand it fits towards the larger side. The design is a little weird tough – it’s a dress with cap sleeves, but it has hidden zippers on both side seams. I found a couple photos online that show it much better:

Source: Eileen Fisher

From my online research, this one was originally sold for $238. It’s made out of the same washable crepe that I love from the brand – in fact, I have 2 pairs of slim pants and a skirt made out of the same material. I kind of like it styled with the slim pants in the photo above and I’m thinking adding a long necklace and sweater would complete the look. I’m going to experiment with it a bit and worse case scenario, it gets added to my Poshmark closet for someone else to enjoy.

Loft tiered dress, $7

I loved the crinkly fabric with the tiers on this dress. It just seems so nice and flowy for a hot summer day. I wasn’t able to try it on in the store, but it is a large and fits with some room to spare thanks to the flowy fit. The one thing I didn’t like was the minty color. It just didn’t look very good on me… so I decided to dye it!

My Quick DIY Dye:

  • Super important: put on gloves before starting!
  • I filled a bucket with hot water then added: 1 cup salt, 1 tsp Dawn dish soap, and 1 whole bottle of Rit Indigo dye.
  • I wet the dress, squeezed it out, and then added it to the dye bath.
  • I stirred it consistently for about 15 minutes while playing on my phone.
  • I then left it alone for 15 more minutes without stirring.
  • After a total of 30 minutes in the dye bath, I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed the dress until the water was mostly clear.
  • I threw it in the wash with a load of dark colored clothing on cold.
  • I hung it to dry.

The Rit dye made the color of the outer layer a beautiful blue, but didn’t dye the slip layer or the thread because they were made of polyester. I love the new color and the little peek of mint that you can see on the edges!

Like what you see? Share me with your friends!

One thought on “June Thrift Haul & a Quick DIY Dye”

  1. I love the Eileen Fisher tunic with the zippers. How cute! And your dress! Great idea! I was wondering if maybe you took the slip out, so I am glad you explained why it is green. A new dress. I’ll have to look around and see if there’s anything I can dye. Brings me back to those old tie dye years….

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *