Three Dresses: A Thrift Story

While visiting The Family Jewels Vintage Clothing, I was drooling over this 1920s era blue print dress, with its adorable red trim and red buttons on the back. I even admit to going back and considered purchasing on it. The price: $109, less 10 percent off.


I didn't. Party because those cute red buttons would be impossible for me to button by myself. I could just see myself knocking on my neighbor's door asking for help in the morning.

Buttons aside, I passed for another reason. I've bought many $100 dresses in the past. I used to think I was "treating myself," worked hard and deserved nice things. But eventually, I've tired or don't fit into every $100 dress I've purchased. I've donated some to thrift shops, brought others to the clothing swaps. With almost all of them, I experienced regret over the money I spent (especially when adding it all up).

Well, I knew the thrift world would deliver more budget friendly options.

White cotton dress, $8, from Our Thrift Shop in Westwood, New Jersey, which benefits a local arts school. It has the label cut out, so I'm not sure of the brand.

Forever dress, $8, from Revived Attire, a consignment shop in Hillsdale, New Jersey.

Once you catch the thrift bug, it's almost impossible to go back to conventional retail or justify paying high prices in vintage shops or for eco-fashion. The Sierra Club's The Green Life blog had a post about $180 organic jeans. I pay $5 at my local thrift shop for jeans, and think those jeans are just as good, if not a better, choice as a shopper mindful of the environment.

I no longer get seduced by ads showing models in rustic farmhouses or lush fields. I don't buy $500 vegan coats or $200 vegan shoes because Natalie Portman or Emily Deschanel does. I don't listen to female bloggers telling me I should covet these things. I scoff at the term "must have." I don't ask relatives or my sweetheart to spend their hard earned money buying me these things for birthdays or holidays. I don't feel I'm depriving the economy, as I'm still supporting businesses like consignment and thrift shops as well as local charities. Above all, I feel no personal deprivation. I only feel empowered as my bank account and sense of financial security grows.

Find a consignment or thrift shop the ResaleShopping.com, or a charitable thrift store through TheThriftShopper.com.

Weekend Rating? An "A"

Remember this planter from December? It was destined for a landfill. It is now filled with pansies from Old Hook Farm. One of many springtime weekend delights.


A dinner of a veggie burger with sauteed mushrooms and mesclun salad at my favorite Irish pub, PJ Finnegan's.



Followed by Friday night with Jamie. Follow the Food Revolution. I loved when he pointed out: carb, carb, protein, where are the veggies? Vegans and vegetarians are often asked where their protein comes from, but I often wonder about people's fruit and vegetable intake. And thank you Jamie, French fries as a vegetable? No.

Saturday thrifting...

I asked the thrift universe for a dress for an upcoming dinner dance I'm attending, and it delivered. A pleated Laundry dress, $22, from Revived Attire, a lovely consignment shop in Hillsdale, NJ.

I found a similar Laundry dress online, which was "on sale" for $240 from its $300 price. I think I got the better deal.


I admired this sweet little sailor dress, just $11. It was a small, not my size. I have too many dresses anyway!

I didn't try this on, $35. But how cute would this be on a hot August night with some strappy sandals?

Cute shoes! Just, $11, and vegan. Many people won't even consider second-hand shoes, but I don't have any qualms about it. Scarier to me? That people eat meat daily, many at every meal, from animals raised in factory farms.


I popped by C.A.T.S. Resale Shop to make a donation. I couldn't resist picking up a set of four little blue plates made in England, a steal at just $5 total. These types of plates bring me back to my childhood visiting my grandparents in Switzerland.



Outdoor reading weather is here! All their paperbacks are just 50 cents.

Much like my eyes are sometimes bigger than my stomach, my reading roster is pretty lofty. I can always pass it on to the book swap if I can't get to it.


Date night with my sweetie. We've been eating in - a lot. So we headed to Jersey Boys Grill, a local family restaurant. I love their thin crust grilled vegetable pizza, hold the cheese, $9.95.

We took an invigorating four-mile walk in sunny, mild weather. Spot the deer?

And of course, Easter. Isn't this crocheted chick adorable? A classmate in French brought them in for our class. I love random acts of kindness.


Vegan offerings on the Easter menu: Red leaf salad with beets, puff pastry shells with portabella mushrooms and tofu, and grilled asparagus and red peppers. To finish...

Strawberry rhubarb pie from Old Hook Farm. No dairy in my chick creamer - it's filled with Trader Joe's soy creamer.


I like to savor not just the weekends, but little joys each day. Check out Angela's "Continuous Small Treats" for a happy life on My Year Without Spending.

While Many Americans Were at the Mall...

I was nowhere near it. I spent a relaxing day off from work browsing local thrift shops, eating a cozy lunch with my parents, and hanging out with their rescue doggy.

I passed by the This-n-That Thrift Shop in Hillsdale, so I popped in. They were having a 50% off sale. These tea lights were just 25 cents!

Snow boots, half off were $4.50. Super cute with my $5 C.A.T.S. Resale Shop jeans, my new white romantic top from Beautiful Little Secret, and...

the Cameo I eyed at Revived Attire (just steps away from This-n-That). It was still there. Yeah! Just $4. I also scored these hardcover books at the C.A.T.S. store for $1 each. Their combined retail value, $50! I just can't get into ebooks. I don't want to curl up with a Kindle.

Lunch time! On a blustery December day, PJ Finnegan's in Westwood was packed.


Want to peek inside?


When I step in here, I feel like I'm transported back to Dublin.


I would have loved to linger over a pint of Magners cider. Too bad I was the driver. I don't drink often, so I figured, best not. Safety first!


Vegetarian and vegan options are few. I asked for a vegetarian plate sautéed in olive oil and onions and garlic. Love the woodsy, fragrant rosemary. My kind of pub grub! The plate: $7.50.


How I adore books, and music. I can't imagine my world without either.


The shopping I did this year? Charitable gifts for residents in need and food for a church pantry, and 12 holiday cards for $1 from Our Thrift Shop in Westwood. I also made charitable monetary donations and tipped my mailman, although I don't have much mail. That's it!

It's easy to think maybe Lucy on A Charlie Brown Christmas was right: "Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big Eastern syndicate, you know?"

It's not about being Scrooge-like. It's about rejecting this ridiculous societal pressure to spend ourselves into debt and to think showing someone you care about them means buying something. "I love you" doesn't mean sending relatives, friends and sweethearts to the mall. I got a card and a small gift from someone last Christmas, but the thoughtful sentiments on the card meant more than any gift. I still have that card.

My loved ones and I agreed no gifts this year, and we couldn't be more relieved. If we want something, we can buy it ourselves. Why is our economy so dependent on people buying gifts, many of which are unwanted and that many cannot afford? We'd rather do non-material things: go out for a nice, reasonable meal at local restaurant or see a film at the town cinema, both of which support the economy just as much as some sweater purchase. Even more frugal, spending time at the park with the dog when the temperature allows or sharing a meal or a cup of tea at home.

Cate from Budget Confessions says, "One evening right before Christmas, we get into the car (prepared with warm clothes and hot chocolate), turn on some Christmas music, and drive around our favorite neighborhoods looking at lights." Love it! These simple, pleasurable moments are what the holidays are all about to me. The gifts are best left for those in need and children.

Enjoy the seaon!

Say It Proudly: I am a Frugalista!

Shopping spree at Macy's? No way. My bag of donations for the CATS Resale Shop. In the bag? A DKNY blazer I once spent more than $100 on. I wish had the money back.

Thrift stores like CATS are a great source for Christmas decorations. I've found everything from 10 cent cards to 25 cent ornaments. Shop also for donated gift items (think candles, beauty products, picture frames).

Adorable blue snow boots for the youngest frugalista in your life from the This-N-That Thrift Shop, 309 Broadway, Hillsdale, NJ, where we donated clothing swap items to.

I love shopping thrift as an environmentalist. "Green" marketed fabrics are typically expensive and it's buyer beware. With bamboo, The Wall Street Journal reported, "To create fabric, it's chopped up and dissolved in toxic solvents—the same process that recycles wood scraps into viscose or rayon. Indeed, bamboo fabric technically is rayon."

What I also love: all the budget bloggers on the web, like My Year Without Spending, Budget Confessions, and The Thrifty Chicks. Michael Stipe says in R.E.M.'s Begin the Begin, "The finest example is you." I wish we had more examples like them about how we can be smarter with our hard-earned money.

It was nice to see photos of a clothing swap in Paris. Check out stylish fashionistas swapping at a "la troc party" on Emily's French Life. C'est super!

Don't ever let anyone put you down for shopping thrift or using what you have. If people want to feel better about their purchases because they spent a large sum of money, let them go right ahead. I'm proud to say I have no credit card debt (never have), I've paid for my vacations to Italy, Mexico, Paris and beyond outright, and I don't panic for my paycheck to arrive.

From a 50 cent bin at a thrift store to high-end consignment shops selling top designer labels, you can find stylish clothes for every income and preference.

I stumbled upon a Revived Attire, a new consignment shop on 321 Broadway in Hillsdale, NJ, and it was filled with my kind of eco-fashion.

I loved the way this chic black evening dress was paired with a Cameo necklace. I didn't try it on. But, hmmm, maybe I should have?

Cute! I love romantic ruffles. I'd pair this with a cardigan, a skinny belt and a black pencil skirt. Done.

I love dresses. Mini, knee-length, long. All good.

For once, I wished my feet were just a tad bigger. These adorable shoes were just $10!

I like to stretch my spring/summer wardrobe into fall/winter. I have plenty of dresses like this. In warmer months, I wear with ballet flats. When the temperature cools, I put a long-sleeved top underneath, and tights and boots.

Over-priced vegan shoes are all over. My 'new' vegan ballet flats: $10!

Even more frugal than consignment shops and thrift stores: the library. In addition to books, DVDs, and music, I pick up all kinds of magazines. I checked out Glamour, where I read about Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson's new album, Break Up. Groovy! My library system owns several copies. I heart the library.

Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - New Music - More Music Videos

You can hear the influence of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. The legendary Bardot, of course: major friend of the animals. Check out the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.