If you think that Claire and I have heaps and gobs of unlimited, luxurious hours that we while away in stores, stop right there. We really don't! We have to take advantage of 'little minutes' and pop in when we can. I am including a picture of Claire's latest homecoming dress, because it proves my point. I happened to stop in for FIVE MINUTES at Goodwill one day.........I believe I had dropped Claire off at youth group, so I took advantage of the time and made a big loop around Delaware to include a thrift store stop! I always check 1.) the jewelry counter, 2.) the purses, 3.) the shoes and 4.) the dresses, in that order, because that's how they fall in the store. Knowing the layout helps me get in and get out quicker!
On this particular day, I ran back to check the dresses, and found this lovely, vintage number. It looked big to me, but Goodwill's policy states that they will accept exchanges (only) within 7 days with a receipt and the original tag still attached. Since the dress was $10, I took a chance and snatched it up to see if Claire was interested. Those of us with teenage daughters realize how hard it is to shop for them without them having them present, so knowing and adhering to this policy is a godsend when I find goodies and I'm alone. Having a special place in my wallet for the receipts helps keep me organized! Even though they don't offer refunds, we ALWAYS find things we want at Goodwill, so we don't mind the exchange policy!
Turns out Claire was delighted with the dress! She loves 50's and 60's vintage and it was perfect. The size, however, was not. At first we thought my mom could alter the bodice, but it was boned and that was beyond her expertise in that area (hey, the woman paints and colors my hair!). I made a phone call to Minarchek's Cleaners, our go to for making our thrift store formals look unbelievable, and asked who they could recommend as a seamstress. They were happy to send us to Lucinda's in Delaware, and she did a perfect job for only $37. Claire already had the shoes ($3.29), the pearl necklace, earrings and bracelets from me (free!) and she did her own hair, copied off a YouTube tutorial (also free!). Her cute vintage clutch was $4.99. We bought new fishnet stockings ($5) which she chose not to wear at the last minute, so the grand total we spent on her homecoming ensemble was $60! Not bad when you consider a short formal (new with tags) can run on average $85-100........and that's for the dress alone. Then you have to pony up for dinner, and after dance snacks.......!!
Although I was able to find this dress by myself, with 5 minutes of time, I prefer having Claire with me. Not only to try things on (or veto things she doesn't like), but we have so much fun shopping together, and as an added bonus, this child has saved me $$$ by letting me know what I should NOT buy for MYSELF!! She has my permission to be completely honest, even when it hurts!
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