Lest I come across as too smug and sure of myself, today I'd like to tell you about my thrifting boo-boos. Yes, there have been quite a few. I tend to learn life lessons when I screw up, so I guess my mistakes haven't been in vain! Maybe by letting you know how I'VE screwed up, you can avoid the same :)
First of all: I am always preaching the concept of TRYING ON YOUR CLOTHING PICKS BEFORE YOU BUY THEM! This was my number one issue with thrifting for YEARS.....nay, any store, for that matter. I didn't want to take the time to try on clothing. I am not someone who views shopping as something to leisurely take up my day, and so for a loooong time I viewed trying on clothing as an unnecessary step. However, there came a day when I was tired of the unworn clothing taking up my closet and my donation bags, and so I learned to buck up and try stuff on. Immediately, my shopping errors cleared up about 75%. Why I couldn't learn this simple trick 1 million clothing purchases ago is beyond me..........
Next: once you buy an item of clothing, perform a 'trial run' around the house. Wear that shirt or jeans as you go about your daily household business. Same goes for (ESPECIALLY) shoes. At my Goodwill, they will accept returns in 5 days with the tag still attached, so this means I must perform my 'trail run' within that time frame, or I'll be stuck with an item I can't return, and will have to just donate back. Last week, I wore a pair of beautiful satin flip flops with gorgeous beaded detail to breakfast out. I hadn't worn them before, so halfway through my trip to the buffet, one of the straps broke, and my flip just flopped. I looked a bit like little Forrest Gump limping my way through the buffet line......as my husband lovingly pointed out :P. Not two weeks before THAT, I wore a lovely pair of brown, leather slides to church, and because I'd not performed a trial run (you see I'm fairly new to this), I had no idea I would develop painful blisters on each foot as a result. Both pairs of shoes were bought at least a month ago, so I can't return them (the flip flops were thrown away). If you buy sneakers, wear them for a walk around your neighborhood. If you buy heels, take a few trips up and down the stairs. Sometimes the connecting disk that attaches the strap on a flip flop to the base can hurt like anything on the bottom of your foot. Again, you'd know this if you wore them for a few miles while you vaccuum.
With jewelry or purses, I take my 'trial run' before I even leave the store. I see how the strap on a purse falls on my body when I have it on my shoulder, and I size up my reflection to make sure the bag is right for my body type. I'm a curvy girl, so a tiny shoulder purse is gonna get lost. Same for a tiny clutch. I need to see what it looks like before I'll make that investment. With jewelry, I try on a necklace in front of a mirror to see what kind of neckline it needs, or if it's too short (or too long) for my neck or body type. Choker type necklaces or chains long enough to jump rope with need not come home with me. You know my issues with bracelets.......I'll wear them around the store to see if it's comfortable, and falls where it's supposed to on my wrist. Earrings need to be LIGHT. There are too many pairs of earrings that get donated due to ear strain. It pays to know this BEFORE you buy. If it's a ring, wearing it around the store to see if it annoyingly flips around, or cuts off way too much circulation, is a great money saver.
How about scarves? Well, how do you wear them? If you like a small, square scarf to tie around your neck, choker fashion, then you need a small, square scarf. Don't buy a small scarf if you (like me) wear pashima length to loosely drape. Another mistake of mine.......I'd fall in love with a pattern, only to get the silly thing home and find it was way too little.
When you buy an item for someone who isn't with you at the time, have them try it on the minute you get home. Don't hang it up in their closet to languish for months. I have repeated this time after time with my kids. I DID have a lovely exception to that rule this past week. When cleaning out Claire's closet, I happened across a fabulous, strapless LBD that I'd bought her a few months ago. She tried it on and WOW! Curvy pin up girl! The only issue was that there was a small tear at the base of the zipper, but we will have our girl Lucinda take care of that for us. I wish this experience was the norm, but it's not.
The ugly truth about thrift shops is: things are donated when something is wrong with them. To that end, we need to make sure what we buy works for US, or else we'll end up donating that item for the same reason.
Ain't nobody got time for that.
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