Tuesday, March 23, 2010

It's a Wonderful Thrifted Life

Why were there light refreshments at the C.A.T.S. Resale Shop?


It was VIP night!

Yes, I'm quite proud to say I'm a VIP - to a thrift store. After a great sale all week (winter clothes were just $1), the spring fashions were ready to make their debut.

Kind of like Goldilocks, I tried out different fits, of dresses, that is.

This dress was too small (would have been so cute on a summer picnic).


This dress was too big. I love that peacock print, and it still had the original tags on it.

This dress fit just right. I like to call this Bobby Bee creation my Marilyn dress. For thrift, a splurge at $17. I'll pair it with the white Kasper sweater, $3.

Other finds: Gap floral skirt, $8, a lemon Passport top, $6.

A white Newport News cotton top, $3, which I'll wear under this olive Mark (an Avon brand) dress, $5.

Hippieish Rue 21 top, $7.

Cream colored bag, $5, necklaces, about $4 each.

For my standards, this was a major shopping spree. But it was to benefit homeless animals, and I'm getting ready to donate my own unwanted spring clothes to our next clothing swap at work and to the C.A.T.S. shop. Metro reported on the clothing swap fever.

All these items pictured are vegan, by the way.

And the grand total was: $62, for 10 items. I could not buy one full price skirt at Anthropologie for that amount.

I no longer desire expensive fashion, nor do I care about labels. I'm just listing them in case you're curious. I think of the I Love Lucy episode when Lucy and Ethel are in Paris and are coveting a dress from the fictional designer Jacques Marcel. Ricky and Fred play a joke on them and present them with phony Jacques Marcel outfits made out of a potato sack and a horse's feed bag. Thinking they are the real deal, Lucy and Ethel adore them. When they find out they're fraud, they burn them. Unfortunately, Jacques Marcel and his models had spotted Lucy and Ethel at a cafe, and copied the outfits. As soon as the ladies find this out, they suddenly regret burning them. Moral of the story: labels and brand names are largely driven by psychology and perceptions.

7 comments:

Cate said...

Hahaha! I've never seen that I Love Lucy episode, but it sounds hilarious. So true!

You got a lot of wonderful stuff. I'm in need of some spring/summer clothing and should really check out the thrift stores in my area before I go buy new things.

Catherine said...

Cate, I loved that episode. Lucy even went on a hunger strike! Of course it was phony and Ethel smuggled in food.

I used to browse through Anthropologie catalogs and was seduced into paying high prices by the romantic lifestyle they portray in them. Now I find similar clothes at thrift.

The beginning of the season seems to be the best time to find clothes. The end of the season brings the best bargains. Happy thrifting!

ConsciouslyFrugal said...

Dude! Skinny girls get all the cute clothes. Apparently, we fat women never let go of our clothes. The only plus sizes I've seen at thrift stores have been horribly stained. So wrong.

So, I have been donating clothes I don't wear to a thrift shop that benefits community members with AIDS. And, like a moron, I nearly bought back some of the stuff I donated. Genius, am I.

Catherine said...

What a fabulous cause to donate your clothes to!

I was eying a skirt at the C.A.T.S. shop we donated from a clothing swap. I've been there!

An aside about the clothing swaps I co-organize: the women at my company range in every size and shape imaginable. When we put out our swap invites, we stress all sizes are desired. Sadly, we get so few donations in larger sizes. I don't understand why.

This Thrifted Life said...

I love the yellow pieces you scored--and what a deal on that cream sweater.

Sounds like such a fun event!

Catherine said...

Thanks! I spotted that dress with my fox eyes. True story: my mom and I were the very first ones at the event.

I loved the VIP idea. They said they're probably going to do this every season. I'm so there.

Angela said...

Oh, what great stuff you got! Please, please, send a photo to me for Thrifty Threads!