If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you’re already fully aware of the fact that I love thrift store shopping. Although I often come up empty-handed, every visit to one of our local second-hand stores is like a treasure hunt.
After doing the seasonal wardrobe switch that I wrote about last week, there were things to drop off and as always, I also had to look around. I figure that as long as I come home with less than I take, I’m doing well! Sure enough, I found two items that I’m in love with!
The tunic/dress is soft and cozy with just the right amount of stretch. It’s perfect for relaxing at home on a cool autumn day, but dressy enough to go out for lunch, pick up groceries, or stop by the library. I love the pockets and the 3/4 length sleeves and it was even made in Canada!
Then there are the booties! Here’s a closer look.
Aren’t they cute? They’re not something I’d walk a long way in, but they sure dress up an outfit. They were made in France and look almost new. The bare ankle with bootie look won’t work for very long in our climate. In mid winter it would mean almost instant frostbite, but it’s a fun look for fall.
While we were busy taking photos, our beautiful next door kitty came over to see what we were doing and had to get in on the action! Sophie considers us some of her people and is always curious about what we’re up to. The photo gives you another close-up of the booties as well as a look at the colourful beaded bracelet that I wore with the outfit.
We live in a small rural community and often when I wear something from one of our local thrift stores, I wonder if the original owner will notice and what they’ll think of how I style their cast-off. Interestingly though, in spite of the number of things that I’ve donated over the years, I’ve never seen anyone wearing one of them. I hope whoever wears my cast-offs next are as happy with them as I am with my new treasures.
Once again, I kept a list of all the clothing purchases that I made over the past year so that I could analyze my shopping habits and establish goals for the following year. I do this in part because I want to be a more ethical shopper, but also because I want to be intentional about wardrobe development. Little did I know when the year began, however, what was lurking just around the corner! If there’s one good thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has done for me, it’s been the fact that it sent me deep into my closets and storage spaces for things to wear instead of to the mall. As I look at my list of purchases, it’s much shorter than previous years and it tells me once again what a strange year 2020 was!
I have a few warm, wooly scarves for outdoor wear in the depths of winter, but for this exercise, I was addressing only what I’d call my fashion scarves. I started by gathering them all together in one place. There were infinity scarves, rectangular scarves, square scarves, and even a few very tiny scarves. There were animal prints, polka dots, stripes, and a variety of other patterns. As you can see, there were lots of earth tones, some blues, greens, and greys, and a few pops of other colours. For a woman who doesn’t wear scarves very often, I seem to have a lot of them! A couple were gifts and a couple belonged to my mother-in-law before she passed away, but I picked up the vast majority of them at the local thrift stores over the past few years. Some I’ve never actually worn! It was time to decide which ones to keep and which ones to move along. A scarf doesn’t take up much space, but getting dressed is so much easier when your wardrobe is pared down to only those items that will actually be worn. 
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