A Day in the Life of a Thrifter

In case you are a new reader, I thought I'd do a little update on my second hand pledge that I started at the beginning of the year.  Right before I rang in 2011, Bella from Citizen Rosebud contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in doing a guest post about second hand shopping and I eagerly agreed to do a Second Hand Pledge.  Let me be clear.  I enjoy new clothes as much as the next girl, but I can't help but contemplate the harmful side effects of disposable clothing on the environment.  I am pretty green minded and I want to do my part, so I figured, why not buy second hand all year long? 

And I'll be honest.  I did cheat a little bit.  I bought a new purse this year because I could not find anything I liked from Etsy, Ebay, or thrift stores.  I looked for about 2 1/2 months and then finally settled on the black purse from Urban Outfitters.  I even made sure to find a purse from a company I'm familiar with, so I knew the quality was a long lasting one.  So you know, it doesn't have to be all black and white.

Here are some tips that I've come to find helpful with my new endeavour, The Second Hand Pledge.

1.  Always have an open mind.
2.  Use editorial photos from your favourite magazine as inspiration.
3.  Vintage is as good excuse as any to get on the Second Hand bandwagon.
4.  Allow yourself plenty of time to peruse all the racks of pretty clothes.
5.  Get acquainted with a sewing machine.  I use mine all the time to update dowdy vintage clothes.
6.  Don't forget you can take get store credit from consignment stores, so you'll clean out your closet and get  new clothes in the process!

Blouse, Thrifted
Vintage Skirt, Thrifted, hemmed shorter by me
Ralph Lauren Belt, Thrifted
Wedges, Thrifted