Our purpose in publishing a daily blog of our finds is to help others see that HEY! If THEY can do it, I can too! I don't have to be a slave to the mall!! I don't have to covet fashion goodies from afar if my finances don't allow me to purchase them from Von Maur!!
All things being what they are, and the internet being especially open to everyone's interpretations, I'm sure there are some out there who think, 'wow, what judgmental women. Who do they think they are, judging me for buying brand new at the mall? That's a horrible attitude for them to take!' Believe us, this is NOT our attitude!!
We don't make a lot of money. We DO love nice clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry, etc. Finding out we can buy these things for very little money at a thrift store was a revelation, and we want others to benefit from our experiences. When prom dresses cost (on average) $100-$200, and you can't shell out that kind of cash and still buy groceries..........how awesome to find that, with a little planning and weekly scouting trips, you can find a truly beautiful gown for $10? And no one else will know unless you tell them? MIND BLOWING!!!
I grew up wearing hand me downs from a rich family in our church. I had a new outfit every day because of those sweet friends. No one looked down on us for taking the bags and bags and BAGS of goodies; those friends were thrilled to know their outgrown clothing was going to people they loved. As I got older and we moved away, my mom found things for us at garage sales, and later more families contributed THEIR hand me downs. Nothing ever matched the fabulous fashions we received from that first family, and there was a stigma to what I wore. I never wanted my kiddos to go through the same thing...........thankfully, by the time I had Brendan and Claire, wonderful new things called resale and consignment shops were cropping up. A store in Westerville called 'Once Upon A Child' was my first experience with consignment children's clothing. Brendan was a baby at the time, and he had a wonderful wardrobe, courtesy OUAC. In fact, a lady that took care of him in the church nursery told us one day he was the best dressed child she had! What a revelation! He was dressed head to toe in second hand clothing!
When Claire was a brand new baby (by this time, we lived in Las Vegas), my friend Karissa took us shopping at Children's Orchard, another fine resale shop. Claire's church dedication outfit was a beautiful white velour one piece purchased there. Karissa and I started shopping regularly at Saver's, a huge thrift store, and our finds were unbelievable. Not just clothing, but household goods and toys too. It wasn't unusual for us to pack up all 4 (at the time) of our kids and head out to various Saver's located in the Vegas valley. We found so many good buys it was hilarious the times we overbought! Several times Karissa and I staged a 'closet intervention' when she'd realize she had way too many black skirts, courtesy thrift stores!!
Thrifting is a fun experience, and a frugal one too, but it's also green and good for the enviroment. You're greatly reducing your carbon footprint by reusing instead of calling upon more of earth's resources to make another shirt. I realize there ARE times thrift doesn't make good sense...........I'm not a huge advocate of buying socks and underwear second hand. Please don't make me go into the details. Other clothing and shoes are easily thrown into the washer.......if you're only paying $5 for a pair of jeans, you can play 'laundry roulette' and do whatever needs to be done to reclaim them to their former glory. I have washed every kind of shoes and bleached items that looked to be unsaveable, only to have them emerge more beautiful than I thought possible. Once I actually had a Goodwill clerk try to talk me out of buying a white hoodie for $3.29 because it was badly stained. I took it anyway, threw it into a hot bleach load, and you wouldn't believe the results. I love that hoodie and wear it all the time, and it looks good as new. I have bought badly tarnished brass bangles and given them a good once over with my trusty brass polish, and they look like real gold, absolutely gorgeous. These bracelets go for $1-$2 and are the color of POOP when I buy them! Being able to look past their current state has really paid off!!
On the rare occasion I bring something home, and it turns out I can't salvage it, what am I out, finanically? Not much. That's why it's so much less stressful when something I've bought second hand gets stained or ruined. Not so much something I invest in from Macy's. When the dog gets ahold of a Haiviana flip flop I got at Goodwill for $1.99 and destroys it, the pain is a lot less than if I'd bought the sandal for it's full retail price of $24!!
Aside from all of the above, we have more going on in our lives than fashion. We enjoy it, but we don't live for it. Our resources must be spread in other areas. We can't pay $300 for a designer purse. Our clothing is the backdrop to our lives, not our focus. We don't want people to only see our material possessions; we want them to see US, as a whole. When Claire wears the carefully bought skirt, blouse and heels as a member of Symphonic choir, she wants you to hear her sing, not concentrate on her clothes. We want our concern for others and our love for the Lord to take precedence over our outward appearance.
So, to recap: we share our thrifting experiences to let you know that you can do it too, and easily!
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