Thrift Shopping Haul!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I did a poll on my Stories last week about whether or not you wanted to see a blog post about my thrift shopping finds… and the answer was an overwhelming yes! So today I’m very excited to finally be rounding up my thrifting purchases from last December. I explained on Stories that I had initially tried to do this post back in the beginning of January, right before I returned to school, but the photos didn’t turn out (and I wasn’t planning on bringing all of these items to campus). So now that I’m back home, I can finally share the goodies I got while thrift shopping over Christmas break. All of these items are from the Assistance League Thrift Shop in Las Vegas, which is a very well-kept store full of hidden treasures, and the money made at the thrift store is used to buy new clothes for school children in need. I highly recommend stopping by the store if you ever go to Las Vegas! I guess some of the bougie Vegas folk donate their high-end items to this store because I found some incredible deals.

I decided to format this blog post by sharing the original brands/stores that the items are from, an estimated original cost, the price that I paid, and where I will wear the item/how I will style it. The estimated original prices are based off of similar items for sale today on the stores’ websites.

First up is this springy, retro-style dress! It’s a light green plaid-ish pattern with a fitted panel across the ribcage and the cutest little self-tie bows on the straps. When I got home from this thrift shopping experience, I gave my dad and my grandpa a fashion show and this was my grandpa’s favorite dress – really the only one he even commented on. I think he liked it because it reminds him of something my grandma would have worn!

Brand: Loft

Estimated Original Price: $80

What I Paid: $1

How I Plan to Style It:

I already wore this dress on Easter with the white shoes pictured and a jean jacket, and I can’t wait to style it again in the warmer months once we’re released back into the wild. I’m also planning a retro-themed blog post with this 50s-esque dress… Stay tuned!

This striped dress is very pink, and I feel like Elle Woods whenever I put it on! All I’m missing is a yappy little purse dog… I’m not usually one to wear strapless items (and it seems as if I’ve lost weight *up top* since purchasing this dress because it didn’t stay up as well as it used to) but I couldn’t pass up an Ann Taylor dress at such a steal. Ann Taylor pieces are really high quality, and I can see/feel that in this pink dress. It even comes with a little belt clasp thing attached to the inside of the dress to help it stay up better… If that’s not high quality then I don’t know what is.

Brand: Ann Taylor

Estimated Original Price: $140

What I Paid: $12

How I Plan to Style It:

This was actually the dress I had originally planned to wear on Easter. It’s very spring-y and could be dressed up or down, depending on accessories. I’ll likely style it with a jean jacket and white sandals!

You know a thrift store is good when you can find a white item that doesn’t have stains and/or foundation all over it. This white blouse is in perfect condition! And I love the bold crystals along the collar.

Brand: Ann Taylor

Estimated Original Price: $70

What I Paid: $11

How I Plan to Style It:

This blouse could be worn so many ways… with jeans for a night out, with a blazer for work, with a polka dot skirt. The possibilities are endless!

Next is this gorgeous red bow dress… which you may recognize from my blog post titled My Valentine’s Day Plans! You can see a bunch more photos of this pretty red number in that blog post. But I couldn’t believe when I looked at the tag of this item and saw that it was BCBG… I had once walked into a BCBG store at a Las Vegas strip mall, only to see that the price tags were hundreds of dollars, before walking immediately out. So to find out this red BCBG dress was only $1?!! I literally squealed in excitement and explained to my mom what a find this was.

Brand: BCBG Max Azria

Estimated Original Price: $250

What I Paid: $1

How I Plan to Style It:

I originally planned on wearing the outfit above to a nice Valentine’s Day dinner, but that never happened… So maybe this’ll be my outfit for next year? It would also make a very cute wedding guest outfit. I love the bow and ruching at the waist!

Not only was there one BCBG dress in my size, but I found a second one, too! This Marilyn Monroe-style dress is the prettiest pastel yellow shade and such a nice silky fabric (who knows? maybe it’s real silk now that we’re in the big leagues of ‘designer fashion’). I absolutely adore the halter style of this dress and the bows in the back. Unfortunately, the dress is definitely a size too small (that band across the waist is very tight and squeezes lots of back flesh out of the top of the dress). But at only $1? How could I say no to a minor sizing issue. That’s just called ‘skipping dessert for a week’.

Brand: BCBG Max Azria

Estimated Original Price: $230

What I Paid: $1

How I Plan to Style It:

I would love to wear this yellow summery dress to a wedding, but I party hard at weddings (and by ‘party hard’ I mean dance until I’m sweating bullets and the DJ says it’s the dreaded “last song”). So considering the very busty nature of this dress, and the fact that I’ll flash someone if I slouch even the slightest, I don’t know a wedding/dance is the best option. My dad thinks I could style this piece casually for any ol’ spring day. I like the way he thinks!

This is the craziest, tackiest dress I’ve ever owned, but for some reason I just had to have it. I feel like a cupcake every time I put it on and can’t help but smile while wearing it! It’s a gorgeous teal color and the tulle is so fun. I first heard of Betsey Johnson when she was on Dancing with the Stars (she only lasted one week I’m pretty sure, but she was always doing cartwheels – and she’s such a spunky old lady!). After that, I started seeing her fun (and funky) shoe and purse designs sold at DSW. I giggled when I saw this tulle turquoise prom-esque dress was by her!

Brand: Betsey Johnson

Estimated Original Price: $230

What I Paid: $1

How I Plan to Style It:

To be honest, I have absolutely no idea where I will wear this dress. It’s not the most flattering (for some reason all the tulle is concentrated at the front? I could definitely hide a massive food baby in there), and it’s not the classy style I usually gravitate towards for cocktail/formal dresses. Yet, I feel very strongly that one day I will have an event to attend and for whatever reason this will be the perfect dress. Maybe that event will involve this dress as a Halloween costume, who knows.

I also plan on turning this piece into a craft project! I’m thinking I might add some straps and a sparkly belt. We shall see, but I’m excited to unleash my inner designer.

I call this flute-sleeved jacket my ‘mom-on-the-go’ piece. Is that a weird thing for a 20 year old to say? Absolutely. But I can’t shake the words of Stacy and Clinton from “What Not to Wear” out of my head, as they would always dress the mannequins and say, “This _____ makes the perfect item for a mom-on-the-go.” If you’ve seen the show you’ll get it.

Brand: Ann Taylor

Estimated Original Price: $150

What I Paid: $16

How I Plan to Style It:

I wore this jacket the other day with these same marigold pants and a beige top. I just think it’s a really fun and unique spring item that will look cute with jeans and all sorts of blouses as the weather starts to warm up.

Remember this navy dress from my Jessica Day outfit? It’s a halter style with a really pretty ruffle detail on one side of the neck. And it turns out it’s a bridesmaid dress… at least that’s what I surmised from the brand label, which I had never heard of before.

Brand: Nouvelle Amsale

Estimated Original Price: $100

What I Paid: $1

How I Plan to Style It:

I love this dress because of how versatile it is. I can wear it casually with a denim jacket and flats, or dressed up with heels and a pretty up-do, or for work with a cardigan like above (as long as I use a pin to cover some of the cleavage).

These are some stylin’ business lady pants. They’re a dark grey windowpane pattern with a wide-leg fit. They’re actually too big, and now looking back I wonder why I purchased them (caught up in the moment of a sale, I guess?). I still love them, they’re just not tight around the waist! But my friend Jodie from J’s Touch of Style sent me some sewing tutorials the other day for how to take in a waist, so I think I’m going to give that a try after some practice rounds. Fingers crossed!

Brand: Ann Taylor

Estimated Original Price: $110

What I Paid: $5

How I Plan to Style It:

I’ve already worn these pants with a black sweater for a chic monochrome look, but they look just as cute with this white blouse. I absolutely love corporate/business chic attire, and I never shy away from wearing it to class (even though I’m always way overdressed). One day I’ll have a job that requires badass business lady pants like these.

And speaking of business lady… How fabulous is this tweed blazer?! It could not fit more perfectly, and it has the prettiest gold threads throughout. It looks just as good when both buttons are closed.

Brand: Classiques

Estimated Original Price: Unsure, I couldn’t find much about this brand!

What I Paid: $9

How I Plan to Style It:

This blazer also looks really cute with the white blouse for a spring-appropriate work look. But it would look just as stylish with a black mock-neck top to make it appropriate for the fall! It’ll also be coming to the blog very soon as part of my Binge Worthy Fashion series… Can you guess what TV character might wear this blazer?! I’m super excited to share that outfit!

And lastly is this chic, baby doll-esque velvet and chiffon dress. It’s hard to pick a favorite dress from all these gorgeous finds, but this black one is right up there… It’s just so unique and unlike anything I’ve seen before! It has the prettiest rosette detail, crystals, and a really cool back (which of course, I forgot to photograph).

Brand: My Fashion USA

Estimated Original Price: I couldn’t find anything about this brand, either!

What I Paid: $1

How I Plan to Style It:

This dress will be perfect for any occasion, from a nice dinner out to a wedding. I can’t wait to wear it with silver heels and a pretty hairdo!

Needless to say, this was the MOST amazing shopping experience of my life. Not only did I get 6 very nice dresses for a total of $6 (um, WHAT?!), but the entire purchase was just under $60. Eleven items for $59? You can’t even get one full-price dress from my favorite store Francesca’s for that price. Not to mention, the people working at and shopping at Assistance League are so sweet. The ladies working the desk were very excited to tell my mom and me when we first entered that every item with a yellow plastic connector (the thing that attaches the tag to the garment) was only $1. They also assured us that nothing was wrong with these pieces and that they only marked the items down because they had been on the floor for quite some time and new merchandise needed to be displayed. I was very happy to help their issue. And every time I tried on a dress and walked out of the fitting room to show my mom, at least one worker or shopper would comment, “Girllll you HAVE to get that dress!” or something to that effect. The whole experience was so. much. fun.

And of course, now every time I wear one of these pieces I tell whoever will listen – this dress was ONLY $1!!! I’ve never been much of a thrifter, aside from occasional homecoming and prom dresses from consignment shops, but you bet I’ve been converted now. The items are crazy affordable, thrift shopping is so much better for the environment, the pieces are oftentimes really unique, and I love the thrill of finding buried treasures amid the racks of clothing. Now does that mean I’ll exclusively thrift shop going forward? No, I’m not quite ready for that leap. But I do think I’ll lean towards a thrift shop a lot more than a mall now.

Do you ever thrift shop? If so, what are your best tips? I’d love to hear them below since I’m still a newbie! I hope you enjoyed this post, and as always, thank you for reading. Have a fantastic Thursday and rest of your weekend.

 

Miles of smiles,
Grace