"Thrifty" Saturday

Since my ban on shopping has been lifted, I've been dying to go shopping.  Not so much at the mall, but I miss going to my thrift stores.  So, woke up today, watched a little SpongeBob (it's pretty good, especially on a Saturday morning), and got ready to go "thrifting".  I bought this dress at the Gap Outlet out in Vegas this past fall, and it's been a favorite of mine ever since.  I love the contrasting patterns and the little hint of we'll call it "salmon" in the middle.  I have yet to wear this during the summer, but it's the perfect "light, airy" dress.  As for the jean jacket, I seriously think I've had this since middle school. Do you ever have those pieces in your closet that you feel will SOMEDAY come back in style, so you're just not willing to take the chance of getting rid of them?  Well, this is one of those pieces--and boy am I glad I didn't get rid of it!  It's the perfect cropped jacket in the perfect denim shade.  I've never actually seen a jean jacket since that I've liked, so go middle school-me for having such good taste!

Jacket: American Eagle
Dress: Gap Outlet
Tights: Gap
Boots: Minnetonka

Earrings: Nine West (Gold feather droplets)

Bracelet: Ann Taylor 

This was a good weekend for shopping and deals.  Let me just share with you what I came across during my adventures:

Friday: I received a gift card to Ann Taylor for Christmas and have been dying to go shopping there.  I saw in an email that all their sale selections were take an additional 50% off--this is the best time to go shopping here--any other time, there is no way I can afford their clothing.

I went to Ann Taylor back when their fall collection first came out, and became obsessed with this midnight-blue/black lace dress.  To me, this is the definition of beautiful.  And you know me and my obsession with lace.  I literally remember just gazing at it and saying "wow" under my breath.  But as soon as I saw the $230 price tag, I sadly walked away.

Well, it must have been my lucky day...because I found the dress (which has been sold out online for months), in my size, marked down to $169, and with the additional 50% off (and an additional 15% off, because I argued there was some "snagging" of the lace), this dress came to $72.  This may still seem like a lot, but with something this well made, I don't mind spending a little more.  I'm so excited to wear this baby out!

I also bought two pairs of dress pants (orig. $98, purchased for $25 each) and the bracelet I wore today (see above), which was originally $58, marked down to $7.99.  Overall, I would say job well done at Ann Taylor!

Saturday:
When I go vintage shopping, all three of the shops I stop at are on the same street, so I start with the furthest one down (Goodwill) and work my way back.  Nothing good at Goodwill today (haha), so went to Volunteers of America Thrift Shop.  This place is huge, and nothing is separated by size, so you're stuck sorting through every single rack.  Sometimes I'm in the mood to browse, other times, it annoys the hell out of me and I have no patience.  Today I was ok, and happened upon an odd-80's looking silver jacket.  At first I browsed right over it, but something made me take a closer look.  I tried it on, and it had a weird penguin coattail thing going on, definitely not the most fashionable thing.  But what intrigued me were the pearl buttons.  I remembered I still had a bunch of ring bases, and decided I wanted to make rings out of the buttons.  The jacket was only $3.99, so I figured that was a pretty good deal.

Next, I went to St. Vincent Thrift store--this was my first time here, and I was pleasantly surprised.  I toyed with the idea of buying a Dennis Basso fur coat ($40), but then I realized I'm not yet 60 (the age at which I pictured myself looking while wearing the jacket), so I turned away.  I did, however, find some interesting pieces of vintage jewelry.

This first piece caught my eye as being a unique piece.  I LOVE find pieces that you know are 'one of a kind'.  The pieces looked like little eggs, with a hint of silver/rose gold filament in the center.  It also came with a matching pair of earrings--although I'm not about matching my jewelry, but the earrings are unique as well.  Both of these came to $8.

I also found this unique pearl necklace.  I loved the "old" look it had to it, and how the pearls are off-white.  Another plus was that all the rhinestones are still intact in the pendant, which is often times not the case in vintage pieces.  When worn, the pearls drape in a layered-effect, with the pendant falling nicely to the side.  The woman at the counter told me this necklace suited my face, as the pearls look nice with my complexion.  I told her that's because I'm so white that the pearls stand out that much more!  Either way, I fell in love, and for $12, it was a steal.

Here's a question for anyone out there who's reading my little blog:

What are your favorite places to "thrift" shop?  And what are some of your favorite pieces that you've found?  


Please feel free to share!!! :)