Outfit: NYE 2011
My husband and I spent our New Year's Eve at a party hosted by close friends. Because it was a low-key, informal party, we didn't want to get too dressed up, but we still wanted to dress a little more "special" than usual. I threw together a quick and comfortable outfit that still had a "New Year's Eve" vibe to it:
Sparkly tunic shirt
Skinny jeans
I had worn the jeans several times before, but last night was the first time I wore the shirt. (I don't go to too many things that call for sparkle.) Both pieces were bought from thrift stores back in August: the jeans were from Salvation Army on 25% off day and the shirt was from Village Thrift on 50% off day. The total cost for the outfit: a mere $8.69, pre-tax. Not too bad for an outfit that netted me several compliments throughout the night.
HAUL: $24 at Salvation Army
After my trip with Emily to B-Thrifty yesterday, I made a solo trip across the street to Salvation Army to take advantage of 25% off everything for Customer Appreciation Day, which is every Wednesday. My previous visit to this particular Family Store was just a quick trip to check it out, so yesterday was a more thorough visit.
The Goods
Pink/orange tank
White knit sihrt
Navy blue hooded shirt
Fuchsia hooded shirt
Fuchsia polo shirt
Plaid button-down shirt
Periwinkle cardigan
White cardigan
Altogether, I scored 8 items for $23.54 (after taxes); that's an average of less than $3/item!
Continue reading for all the nitty-gritty, like brands and prices.
HAUL: Salvation Army Quick Trip
After checking out the new B-Thrifty store (see that haul here), I made a quick stop at the Salvation Army across the street, since I hadn't been in that location before. I focused on belts, because lately I've really been trying (unsuccessfully) to find good belts to wear with dresses and longer shirts, but somehow a bunch of movies snuck into my haul, too; the fact that they're under the glass at the check-out counter probably had something to do with it.
The belts I found, at $3.99/each, were slightly more than I would have liked to spend (and $3/each more than the one I got at B-Thrifty), but they were perfect for my needs and I've had such a hard time finding any at all that I felt they were worth it. Likewise, I usually wouldn't have bought so many movies unless it was a discount day (which, at Salvation Army, is Wednesday), but there was such a good selection and several of the movies are ones that I've been wanting to get on DVD to replace my VHS collection, so I figured they were worth it.
Luckily, I resisted the urge to spend on some items that were quite tempting, but either not necessary or more than I was willing to spend: a tan Gap wool coat for $29.99, a tank top for $6.99, shoes for $11.99, and a whole bunch of tempting winter clothes.
The Goods
Belt
Belt
Tunic
Men's polo shirt
5 DVDs
Despite my intention to just run in quickly to check out the location, I wound up spending $30 on 9 items.
Read through for the details on brands and prices.
Juliana’s Favorite Stores
Since I'm not as big a shopper as Andréa, I tend to favor different stores than she does. She asked me to share my shopping tendencies.
Like Andréa, I like secondhand stores such as Salvation Army, Goodwill (although their prices aren't as good as Salvation Army), and Savers (I think they're only in New England) for super low prices, especially when shopping for something really basic like jeans. I get shopping fatigue really fast, however, so that kind of store can also be pretty overwhelming for me.
Unlike Andréa, I don't really like to shop at stores like TJMaxx and Marshalls, because they have that same overwhelming nature (crowded racks with all sorts of things on them), but their prices aren't as good as a thrift store.
Probably the stores that I enjoy shopping at the most are Old Navy, Target, and—slightly less—Kohl's, because those stores have decent prices and fairly basic stuff, but they also have organized racks so I don't have to look through every single item. Kohl's can get a bit crowded and messy, though.
I think I'm always trying to find a balance between easy shopping and finding a good bargain, because truly frugal shopping takes a lot of energy.
HAUL: $22 at Salvation Army
Hi, I'm Andréa's younger sister Juliana.
I live 8.5 hours from Andréa during the school year, so I hadn't gotten a chance to go to her favorite Salvation Army store until today. Stores like that tend to overwhelm me, but having Andréa and our older sister, Christy, there to help me look made it easier to find stuff. Unlike Andréa, I was looking for specific items: comfortable jeans, denim shorts, and maybe a fun skirt. We managed to find everything I was looking for.
The Goods
Lace dress
Patterned skirt
Denim shorts
Skinny jeans
Bootcut jeans
My tally: 5 items for $22.
Continue reading for the details on brands and prices.
HAUL: $40 at Salvation Army
Despite promising myself after Saturday's haul that I wouldn't go back to Salvation Army for a few weeks, I wound up taking my sisters today, since they're in town. We all snagged some great deals, so they'll be posting their hauls, too.
The Goods
Flowered dress
Shift dress
Green knit dress
Skinny jeans
Straight jeans
Bootcut jeans
Tank top
Wine rack
Folding garden fence
The total: 9 items for $38.91 before taxes.
Read through for the details on brands and prices.
HAUL: Juliana’s New Wardrobe
Juliana is back from China now, so she was able to "shop" for her new wardrobe from the options I had picked for her. (For more background, you can read the original mission, see all the pieces I bought for her, and view the sample outfits from the options.) In addition to purchasing many items from among her options, Juliana also received some of the pieces as birthday gifts from me and my parents and snagged some hand-me-downs from me and my mom that match her new wardrobe color scheme.
The Goods
Black tank top
White tank top
Black tank top
White tank top
Blue layered tank
Purple tank top
White tank top
Purple tank top
Purple tank top
Teal T-shirt
Purple T-shirt
Black T-shirt
White half-sleeves
Black long-sleeves
Long-sleeve shirt
Flip-flops
Rose sandals
Black & gray dress
Purple dress
Black lace dress
Khaki shorts
Black shorts
White sweater
Black sweater
White sweater
Juliana's going back to school with a total of 25 items for $75.00 out of her pocket.
If you want to read the nitty-gritty on brands and prices, continue reading.
HAUL: $100 at Salvation Army
Yesterday I had some time to kill for about 4 hours while my car underwent some work. I had the auto shop's courtesy shuttle drop me off at my favorite Salvation Army Family Store, where I proceeded to nab some really great deals before the shuttle came back to pick me up.
The Goods
Blue & gray flowered dress
Flowered dress
Black lace dress
Blue & white dress
Fuschia tank top
Black & white tank top
White V-neck tank top
Button-down shirt
Comfy jeans
Dark jeans
Black slacks
Bolero-style sweater
Silver cardigan sweater
Striped pitcher
Disposable plates
6 books
Glazed Murder, Jessica Beck
Simple French Desserts, Jill O'Connor
Murder Melts in Your Mouth, Nancy Martin
The Essential Pasta Cookbook, Whitecap Books
The Complete Illustrated Guide to Dog Care & Behavior, Bruce Fogle
Ultimate Cake, Barbara Maher
Altogether, I bought 21 items for $100.56 after taxes. Now that's a good shopping spree!
Continue reading for all the nitty-gritty details.
HAUL: Salvation Army
Salvation Army Family Stores are awesome places to shop any day of the week (except Sundays, when they're closed), but they're especially great to go to on Wednesdays, when they run specials. The location that used to be by my parents had 50% off all clothes, media, and knick-knacks on Wednesdays; the one I currently shop at has 25% off pretty much everything except mattresses on Wednesdays. Needless to say, I like to go as many Wednesdays as possible, since you never know what you'll find. Today was one of my milder expeditions, but I still picked up several good deals.
The Goods
Plaid drawstring-waist shirt
Sundress
Cardigan sweater
Skirt (rear)
2 books & a movie
Gourmet's America, Gourmet Magazine
The Flaming Luau of Death, Jerrilyn Farmer
Drop Dead Gorgeous (DVD)
I came home with 7 items for $17.93 before taxes. Read through for the full price break-down.
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