Have you ever had those mornings where even after rummaging through your closet you can’t find a single thing to wear? On days like these, it would be so nice to just drop everything, skip school, and spend thousands of dollars buying every designer good you can get your hands on. What a wonderful day that would be, huh?
Unfortunately, not all of us can dress like royalty everyday without breaking the piggy bank. Lucky for all of the fashionistas out there, I have found a simple and inexpensive way to find your favorite looks for a fraction of the cost. Drum roll please…
THRIFTING!
Yes, underneath those piles of Christmas themed sweaters, mommy jeans, and bulky shoes from the 80s, any girl can find the perfect piece to complete her outfit. To test my proposition, I decided to venture into the streets of Boone with my Kate Middleton inspiration in hand.
As always, our favorite princess looks refined, poised, and classy. Now the true test: could our little mountain town be hiding this gorgeous ensemble?
The first store I went into was Ram’s Rack thrift store. As I looked around, I felt overwhelmed seeing rack after rack of clothing, and was unsure of where to begin. This leads me to the first step…
Step 1: Patience is a virtue, use it!
The key to effective “thrifting” is coming to terms with the fact that you will not find your entire outfit in a single store. This sort of shopping is not for the weak hearted; you will have to go to countless stores, dig through heaps of clothing, and perhaps even haggle with the cashier for a discount, but it is all worth it in the end! Don’t think of it as a tiring process. It is the thrill of the hunt!
Step 2: Just because it’s not your size doesn’t mean it won’t work!
After rummaging through the clothes that would fit me, I was still empty handed. Suddenly, a thought came to me – why not look in the other sections too, like Maternity, Mens, and Childrens?
When I saw the array of pieces on the maternity racks, I knew that I could not walk out of the store without at least browsing though the clothing. As I sifted through the elastic jeans and oversized t-shirts, my eyes fell upon a stunning cream blouse with ruffles around the neck. It was about nine sizes too big for me (not exaggerating), but because it was going to be tucked under a fitted blazer, I knew it would do just fine. And the best part? It was only 2 dollars!
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Step 3: Even thrift stores have coupons!
I walked out of Ram’s Rack feeling accomplished and ready to move on to the next store. On King Street, I came across a treasure called Anna Banana’s. I loved this store because it sold clothing mostly for young women; I knew I would find plenty of wonderful things there!
I looked through all the jackets and blazers, but had no luck. Not giving up, I walked over to the jeans rack. After a minute of sorting, I found the perfect pair of dark blue skinny jeans from Old Navy with the original tags still on them! Feeling more confident than ever in my “hunting” skills, I decided to browse through their accessories. After a bit of searching, I found the cutest black wedges for only $3.50 and a Liz Claiborne belt for just 3 bucks! I was about to get in line to check out when I realized that I had yet to look through my collection of coupons. I flipped through the pages of my University Super Saver coupon book, and discovered that Anna Banana’s had a discount that was perfect. I got 20% off my entire purchase, leaving my final cost at less than 15 dollars.
Step 4: Take a chance; Goodwill allows returns!
I now had every item I needed, except the most important piece – the blazer. I walked into Goodwill and went directly for the women’s coats and jackets, but couldn’t find a thing that looked like Kate’s outfit. Because her blazer in the picture was so fitted, I wasn’t holding out much hope to find anything in the men’s section, either. I knew my final chance was finding something in the children’s section. After a bit of digging, I came across a boys navy blazer. I tried it on and it looked like it would work, but I wasn’t sure the neckline would go well with the cream blouse. I then remembered a very important fact – even Goodwill will let you return or exchange items! Taking that into consideration, I knew I had to at least try the jacket. Plus, it was only $4.99. How could I resist?
And now for the final product…
My outfit was complete for less than $25 dollars! Here’s a lesson that any college girl must learn: never underestimate the power of a keen eye, patience, a little creativity, and an unavoidable budget!