Secondhand Suits with The Thrifty Six

It’s time for another Thrifty Six blog post! For this month’s collaboration, five other bloggers and I are sharing how we style secondhand suits. I lovvvvve dressing up in business attire, and I honestly think I should get a job as a lawyer or something just so I can wear lady suits all the time. What can I say, they’re so empowering!

Today’s suit is my first ever purchase from Poshmark. I’ve been wanting to try shopping through a consignment site like Poshmark or ThredUp for a while now, and the suit theme was the perfect excuse, as I don’t own any thrifted suits. I do have this fabulous secondhand brown blazer, which fits like a glove, but I left it back at home for the winter—plus it doesn’t technically fit the suit ‘set’ requirement of this month’s theme. And if you’re a long-time reader, you’ve probably heard me talk about how I’m not afraid to ‘rock the Hillary Clinton pantsuit,’ as my favorite high school English teacher used to say! In fact, you can see me rocking my suit here and here. But I decided I wanted to switch things up this time around and try a skirt suit instead—a total ‘girl boss’ mood, as the kids say.

I was a little unsure what the colors of the threads in this set would be (it said brown online but looked more red/orange in the pictures) and was pleasantly surprised that they are indeed a mix of orange and red tones. Since I have a limited closet here at school (especially in the shoe department), I decided to pair this blazer and skirt set with black items for a more wintery look. No doubt, this outfit would look much better with high heels, but my tall black boots were all I had to work with. I chose my burgundy circle purse to play up the orange/red tones and styled it with a berry lip and rose gold Grace necklace. I felt so powerful in this outfit!

For reference, this suit was originally Anne Klein and I paid $35 for both pieces (which is kind of a steal). However, since I also had to pay for shipping, I factored that amount into my purchase and listed both the skirt and blazer as $23 in my Cost per Wear spreadsheet. I love that this suit is very Chanel-esque with the tweed texture, and I can’t wait to slap some brooches on the pockets for a chic, old-fashioned look!

Obviously this skirt set is great for an office or interview setting, but the blazer could be styled in so many additional ways—I think it would look super edgy with a lacy burnt orange bralette and jeans for a night out. You know, those cool girl vibes? In fact, today’s blog post was originally supposed to be about my experience with Poshmark and all the tips and tricks I learned from thrift shopping online. However, the post was WAY too long, so now I’m going to style this blazer again more casually in the coming weeks and share my Poshmark tips in that post, instead. Stay tuned!

In other news, this skirt set is a size 4 petite, which is smaller than my typical size. In fact, I was very nervous the skirt wouldn’t fit at all! But once it arrived, I was extremely disappointed to find that it’s actually too BIG (an unexpected turn of events, I know). The skirt fits perfectly in the booty, but per usual, it’s way too large in the waist. I don’t understand why fashion designers haven’t figured this out yet—women have HIPS, which means there needs to be more fabric in the butt area and less fabric in the natural waist area! Why is this so hard to understand?! The only skirts I own that fit properly are A-line. Basically anything form fitting is a lost cause (unless it’s actually a scarf).

Anyway, the skirt only fits on my lower waist, which is not a flattering look on me. And since it’s so long, it cuts my legs at a spot that makes me look really short. It would be so much more flattering if it hit at my natural waist because A) it would accentuate the smallest part of me and B) it would hit me above the knee—a much more appropriate look for my age! But alas, here we are. Perhaps one day I’ll get it tailored, but for now, it still looks great with the blazer (which, by the way, is almost too small—oh, sizing. I will never understand you).

Be sure to check out everyone else’s suits below! They all look so fabulous, especially Jane’s bright blue skirt set.

Emma of Style Splash

“I have lots of preloved jackets but I didn’t have any suits, so I instantly started looking on eBay, which is where I found this Marks & Spencer skirt and jacket. It turns out it’s actually quite difficult to find a preloved suit online that’s guaranteed to fit. In the end I managed to buy these separately and matched the pattern by inspecting the photos very closely! It took a bit of research but it paid off in the end!”

Jane of Preloved-Vintage-Handmade

“A chance to share my pretty little treasure… Everything about this suit is perfect, the beautiful indigo colour, the styling, the condition, the quality and the buttons are nothing less than exquisite! When an eBay search brings up a vintage treasure like this, you just buy it and you buy it quick! It’s a true vintage, 100% wool, French designer piece and I paid under £5 for it – such a shame it doesn’t fit… It’s just a little too tight to wear to the office but not too tight for a quick photo shoot. So when the Thrifty Six chose suits as the style focus for February, I was absolutely delighted! At last, a chance to share my pretty little treasure!”

Lucy of Confessions of a Montreal Styling Diva

“I found this gem of a suit in the tiniest of shop holes in Old Montreal, maybe ten years ago? Never went back… life. I just happened to be in that part of town for a show later that evening. I’ve been told that the place doesn’t exist anymore – all I know is that I fell upon it by accident. The period hats in the window caught my attention, and I just had to walk in. Lo and behold, there she was, bold and beautiful. I had to have her. As I checked the seams to see if there was any room for alterations if needed, I saw the label hanging by a thread:  Dolce & Gabbana. She was mine forever, all 20$ worth. Looking just a bit lonely and tired, aged like perfect wine – all she really needed was a little pampering: Dry cleaning and minor alterations – Boom!”

Nancy of Nancy’s Fashion Style

“This suit attracted me because I love houndstooth, or Pied de Poule as we say here. And I loved the jacket with the short sleeves and the huge buttons. But I now tried this suit twice, with different colors and heels and flats, and it is just not me. I think it is because the skirt is too short, it’s not my Style. So I am going to sell it. Shall I keep the jacket though??”

Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge

“When Nancy announced the theme, I realized that I did not own any suits at all, thrifted or not. We live in an era where casual is what we do best and I have long since rid my closet of suits. But I will use any excuse to go on a thrifting adventure, so off I went to look for suits and I came home with 3 different ones. This vintage Jones New York suit was just $10. I loved the pleated skirt so much which I imagine I will wear more often than the blazer. But the color was a selling point for me as well. It is an interesting shade of olivey taupe and I just love it paired with black and red.”

. . . . .

What do you think of today’s look? Would you rock a power suit or is it too intimidating? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you have a wonderful start to your week!

Miles of smiles,

Grace

Black Blouse: Dillard’s, $20, last worn here | Blazer: Originally Anne Klein from Poshmark, $23 | Skirt: Originally Anne Klein from Poshmark, $23 | Black Boots: Clarks via DSW, gift, last worn here | Maroon Circle Purse: Nordstrom Rack, $50, last worn here