New to Me

Those of us who love shopping as retail therapy but who are also relatively thrifty will probably never buy anything at full or regular price.  A not-really-necessary skirt or blouse likely looks 100% better when it has been reduced to $4.99.  We scour the bargain racks looking for that super deal and even if it is not exactly what we want, will buy it because it was cheap.

image: racked.com

Others of us will clip coupons and collect promo codes to nab that perfect must-have latest item.  We frequent bogo sales and will buy something just to get that gift-with-purchase, all in the name of "saving".  But how many of us will consider pre-owned goods?

While you can be frugal and penny-pinching without having to buy anything pre-owned, most of us actually buy pre-owned items all the time. As a major purchase, some of us will buy a pre-owned car or house.  We likely would not hesitate to buy pre-owned books.  Even our pop bottles and beverage containers are all re-used. If you frequent garage (or car-boot) sales, everything is pre-owned.  The very idea of antique furniture means that it is old and obviously pre-owned.   Recycling has become second nature.

But many will balk at pre-owned wearables.  Consider this: How many items of new clothing are made each year?  What is the cost to the environment to make it?  Where does all the old clothing go?  They say North Americans recycle over 2.5 billion pounds of clothes each year!  Such a waste. 

True, there are many people in developing countries who need clothing, but just think: what if we all recycled our wearables?  Yuck you say. Yet clothing is washable.  You can wash it.  Would you stay in a hotel?  Who would you trust to wash something? Yourself?  or a hotel?  Check this if you said hotel:

There are all sorts of nasty videos about supposedly clean hotel sheets too.  So, give me a nice vintage wearable any day!

A Thrifty Monday

Today's post was going to be a Refashion post, but what with making and eating dinner etc it is now a bit late to do any sewing ... I did get some more stuff from my favourite notions store and hope to have something to post soon.

So instead, onto my thrifty outfit.  We were at Costco again on Sunday.  They have good basic clothes (think jeans, t-shirts, jackets) at relatively low prices: jeans start at $19, t-shirts at $9 and jackets around $29.  They are usually not made from cheapy materials.

There was a long-sleeved Ellen Tracy t-shirt for $9.99 in a nice neutral taupe  colour and when I got to the cash desk it was only $2.50 !!!

It being Monday and thus cold in the office, I layered the t-shirt over a polo, and wore my Apologies Mr Miyake vest under a Ports Int'l sweater.

I matched it with a Sears skirt that was another deal from last summer.  It was $40, marked down lots of times to finally $7.99 and then I got 50% off, so $4.  The skirt is one of those tube waist things which I love.  It's become my "skirt to wear instead of jeans" and I have it in lots of basic colours.

Here's the outfit:

The visible-ness of course are the Docs.  These are the super-high ones from the other day and they always attract a lot of attention for some reason. 

The sweater I like because it has an interesting pocket detail:

2 Pockets !

Many Tanks

A refashion bonanza: Our local Jysk is renovating and had a few items on sale.  I got a fabulous thrifty deal on men's tank tops:

Only $1 for a package of 2 tanks, 100% cotton.  I bought quite a few black ones for refashioning and just plain wearing. 

I usually wear tanks under everything for extra warmth and especially like men's tanks because they are not quite so skimpy on fabric as ladies' tanks.  They are also longer in the body, so stay tucked in - there's nothing worse than that blast of cold air you get when clothing doesn't stay in place.

I already have a bit of fabric ready and hopefully will have some time tomorrow to do a quickie refashion.  Stay tuned!

A Dollar ?!?

Today we had a training session at work and to spice it up we had Mancakes. No, nothing racy, they are actually cupcakes for men. Quite tasty, but rather expensive and perhaps due to the not-so-low price and intended demographics we expected slightly bigger cupcakes.  Lots of manly flavours like bacon and buffalo wings though!

So, onto today's post.  Something thrifty:

 The thrifty items in this pic are:

1. the striped blouse, $3.99
2. the kimono-sleeved over-layer, it was ~ $1 at a liquidation store
3. and the bracelet was only $1 too!

Here is a closeup of the bracelet:

I can't believe it was only a dollar! Or do I just not have a good sense of what things should cost?  Even for coloured glass and resin stuck onto machine-stamped metal, I would think it would cost more than a dollar, no?

So the other thing I'm trying today is to add Bloglovin':
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Let's hope it works!

A Wordless Post

Lace Faux Cami

Today's is a Thrifty Thursday / mini-refashion post all in one.

I have a long maxi dress which is a staple on warm summer days. Unfortunately, the neckline is a touch low for me. It also buttons up the front and the buttons are just a tiny bit too far apart causing it to gape in front when sitting down.

Usually I safety pin the neck and also wear a turquoise tank under it, but that's not ideal because you get an extra layer - not so good for those super hot days. And turquoise doesn't really match the print on the dress.

Then one day my favourite notions store had small pieces of fancy lace on sale so I got one.  It was just a small piece so I cut it in two and used the scalloped edge for the neckline.  The remaining piece I turned on it's side and stitched it along both sides of the front et voila!

Now when I sit down, even if it gapes, you don't get that unsightly flash of flesh.  Sorry about the quality of this pic, try as I might, I could not get an unfuzzy shot. 

Tired Hands make for Fuzzy Fotos

The thrifty part is that you get the look of a luxe camisole for a couple of dollars.