It’s another very, very small but mighty thrift haul this month. My husband took me on a ‘thrifting where the rich people live’ date in Rockville and I ended up finding one AWESOME item.
Target Pride Rainbow Dress, $11.50
You guys. It’s a RAINBOW DRESS! I love rainbows and have been extra obsessed lately (and have been working on some different rainbow themed stained glass projects). This shirtdress has a fit-and-flare shape and buttons all the way up. It’s a large, which really means anything nowadays, but it fits with some extra room to spare.
My dress is missing the matching tie belt, but I’m totally okay with that. I like it flowing free without the belt and also like it with a non-matching belt (I’ve tried a woven straw belt and a leather belt so far).
I was so excited to wear it that I threw it in the wash as soon as we got home, let it air dry over night, and wore it the next day for errands with my sweetie.
With half the year behind us, it’s time for my 6-month thrifting check-in! I started doing these a few years ago as a way to keep myself accountable. Even after years of thrifting, I still make the occasional “what was I thinking?” purchase. Looking back helps me recognize those missteps and celebrate the wins, so I can keep improving.
Let’s take a look back at my 2026 thrift winners & losers so far:
January 2026
Winner
Vintage Cotton Skirt, $7.29
Well, I only thrifted one item in January and it was this vintage cotton maxi skirt from the 1900’s. And by 1900’s… I mean the 1990’s, when I was in high school. I love the swish of it, as well as the pattern that kind of looks like stained glass.
February 2026
Winners
Athleta top, $7.50
Ann Taylor cardigan, $6
Lou & Grey midi dress, $18
Johnny Was top, $64
Losers
Eileen Fisher Slouch Ankle pants, $13
Time Will Tell
Knit sweater, $12
This month was more of a ‘secondhand’ month than an actual ‘thrift’ month, but I’m the boss so I’ll allow it. Lots of winners this month, so yay! The Athleta top has been great to throw on for workouts or hot summer days. Same goes with the Lou & Grey dress, which I chopped to knee length a couple months ago. A mint condition black cardigan is always a good choice, so glad I scooped that one up. And I love, love, love the Johnny Was shacket and wore it a bunch earlier this year.
The only loser of the month was the new with tags Eileen Fisher pants. Yes, they were technically a good ‘deal’ at $13… but they’re awful. They fit so weirdly with tight waist elastic and loose fabric that bags out at the butt immediately. I haven’t re-donated them quite yet. I’ve put them in time out in the back of my drawer for the summer. If they are still misbehaving in the fall when the weather cools, they will be added to the donate bag.
I’m putting the knit sweater in the ‘time will tell’ column, because I haven’t worn it yet. I’ve tried to wear it a few times, but it just doesn’t look good any way I style it. So, we will see if that one gets donated in the fall.
March 2026
Winners
Footprints by Birkenstock Mary Janes, $8.99
Anthropologie dress, $34.99
J.Crew sweater, $3.84
J.Jill sweater, $7.34
Echo bandana, $2.50
Time Will Tell
HYFVE blouse, $6.50
Silk scarf, $20
I would say randomly my favorite winner of the month is that bandana! I love the pattern and colors on it and took it with me on our Nevada trip in the spring. The other winners of the month are the shoes, 2 sweaters and dress. Each of them got worn a few times so far this year and I anticipate wearing them time and time again.
While I don’t have any losers this month, I do have two in the ‘we will see’ section. Honestly, I completely forgot about that cropped blouse until I was preparing for this blog post. Oops. I just went and pulled it out of my closet and put it where I can see it so I can style it for summer. As for the silk scarf, I was imagining wearing it in my hair with a braid and when I tried it looked odd. So, I need to try again.
April 2026
Winners
Cider skirt, $6.99
Shyanne Floral Embroidered boots, $14.99
It was a small, but mighty thrift month for April. The skirt is great and I’ve worn it a bunch of times already. And those boots are FABULOUS and I love them so much!
May 2026
Losers
Offline by Aerie top, $10
Time Will Tell
Umgee top, $9
Okay, loser might be a bit harsh… but this Aerie top/sweatshirt hybrid is just ‘meh’ for me. It was new with tags when I got it and nicely oversized, but after being laundered a few times it’s looking a little rough. I own it though, so it works for my home gremlin looks until it eventually becomes a rag of some sort for cleaning or stained glass chemicals.
Time will tell on the Umgee top because it’s corduroy and hasn’t gotten cold enough to wear it yet. Let’s see what the fall/winter brings!
June 2026
Winners
Exercise bra/crop top, $5.99
“Flying Geese” Handmade Quilt, $9.99
Time Will Tell
Plaid scarf, $2.99
Loft dress, $5.99
I love the exercise bra/crop top situation and have worn it a few times already. I also LOVE the quilt and it is currently draped over the couch in my den where I can admire it often.
As for the Loft dress, I took the time and sewed snaps in between the top few buttons, so that I had better coverage (with no peekaboo skin). It’s hanging in my closet and all ready to go for my next dress up activity. The plaid scarf is beautiful, but most likely won’t be used until fall.
Total Spent:
To hold myself accountable, let’s total it all up. According to my handy dandy excel spreadsheet I pulled the info into, my total was: $277.89, which equals out to $46 per month. This is pretty consistent with last year – I purchased fewer items, but some were a little more pricy (consignment shopping vs thrifting).
As a reminder — 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) and make 90% of my coffee at home, and most importantly… our budget can afford it.
Overall Favorites:
And now my absolute favorite part, looking at all my thrifting purchases over the past 6-months and picking my favorite items!
These are my absolute favorite items of the year so far and they’re all very ME. The fit of the clothing items is all exactly what I like for my body and the range of colors and patterns is very happy!
The first half of 2026 has brought some great thrifting finds, I can’t wait to see what is around the corner!
June absolutely flew by with some busy work days, the end of middle school and our first trip down to the beach for the summer. In that whirlwind of activity, I took the opportunity to stop by my local Goodwill once this month and ended up with a few treasures.
Let’s check out what I thrifted in June:
Plaid scarf, $2.99
NotPerfect Linen released some summer plaids in the spring and I was coveting one of them for a skirt, but never pulled the trigger on the sale. Because as much as I loved the fabric, I just didn’t need to spend over $100 on another linen skirt. As I was wandering past the scarf section, this one stood out to me because it was so similar to the linen fabric I loved.
It’s a beautiful lightweight cotton feeling scarf with no tags and it was only $3, so I figured it might just scratch that colorful madras/plaid itch for me. I think this will look so pretty paired with a denim jacket in the fall or a heavier coat next winter!
Exercise bra/crop top, $5.99
I love this shade of green and I have an almost identical top/bra from Athleta that I like, so I crossed my fingers that this would fit properly and bought it. After a round in the washing machine, I was pleased to find that it fits great so I added it to my exercise clothes rotation.
Loft dress, $5.99
Okay, it’s crazy that my Goodwill marked an exercise bra the same price as a full dress, right?! I love the pattern of this dress, the lightness and purposeful wrinkly-ness of the fabric, and the hourglass shape of the cut. I tried it on over my clothes and it seemed like it would fit, so I was happy to see it fit well when I tried it at home.
It does need a little tailoring though – the fabric between the buttons plays a little peekaboo with my skin, so I’m going to sew on a few snaps to keep it closed so I don’t have to worry about any unintentional flashing. After wearing it, I may also decide to cut off the half-belt situation it has going on, because I think it would look so much better with a braided leather belt around it instead.
“Flying Geese” Handmade Quilt, $9.99
My absolute find of the month, or maybe the year! This beautiful handmade quilt is in perfect, unused condition. I did a bunch of research and it’s called the “Flying Geese” pattern and this quilt most likely cost the maker a couple hundred dollars in materials and 60-80 HOURS of work to make. It was quite stiff when I found it, but softened up after a spin through the washer and dryer, which leads me to believe it was displayed and never used.
And guys, I LOVE IT SO MUCH! It looks like mountains to me and the variation of color is just so beautiful. While it could totally be displayed in my home, I’m planning to use it and enjoy it when cuddling up on the couch with my books, my human loves, or my furry dog sweeties.
