CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC: THRIFT EDITION

As an avid shopper, one thing that makes me feel better about myself is buying things at a discounted rate, whether that means using coupons, shopping during a sale, or buying items on clearance. Personally when I shop, more often than not, I'm buying an item on sale/clearance, second hand, or with a coupon (unless I really just want it or it's already a really good then I'll pay the full amount.) One of the places you may be able to do all of these things is....drum roll please....the thrift store! 

One of my favorite places to shop is the second hand store. What adds to the excitement of spending money here (though spending YOUR  money is never really fun) is that you feel like it's worth it. You also never really know what you're going to find. When I go thrifting, or even just shopping, for the most part I'm just going with the flow. The clothes find me. However, there are times when I am looking for something specific like a leather jacket, overalls, dad jeans, trench coats, and things that I'm more than likely to find. There are even some thrift journals out there if you're really into it to help you document your finds. Do you guys remember the recent leather blazer trend? Well Zara was selling some for around $50-$80 and while that's not horrible I just didn't deem it worth my money especially for faux leather when I can go to my local second hand store and buy an authentic leather jacket for less than half the price of Zara's. So guess what I did? I did just that. Though it wasn't exactly like the one I saw in Zara, it served the same purpose and it made me feel like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. While I could write a whole post itself about everything I've gotten from the thrift store, I'm going to save us both some time and tell you about a few of my favorites.

Like I mentioned before, when thrifting I like to mostly go to see what I can find but I always look for things such as hoodies, sweatshirts, vintage jeans, button downs, and blazers. Most of these things I look for in the men's department because I feel like 8 times out of ten I'm more prone to find my size because typically men's builds are bigger than women's plus I just like oversized clothes. While thrifting I've been lucky enough to purchase a Ralph Lauren plaid wool blazer with embroidery for $13, a two sided trench coat for $10, an Anne Klein jacket for $8-13, a J. Crew flannel for $8, books for $3 and under, and sooooo much more. I've even found a brand new The North Face Coat for $40 and an ALLSAINTS kids sweatshirt for $8 (boy do I wish I was a kid...even outside of finding this sweatshirt LOL).

Thrifting can be like couponing in a sense. With both, you're saving money and I've found that saving money can be time consuming and tedious. If you're an extreme thrifter, you may find yourself going to numerous thrift stores throughout the week to see what you can find. In a sense it's like a treasure hunt. Whether or not you're searching for things for yourself or to resell it's always exciting to find a steal. If running from store to store isn't your thing, you can always search for gently used items online. Online can be better for those of us that are lazy and would prefer to do this from the comfort of our bed or simply want to narrow our search by being able to look for color, size, and even price point.

With that being said, the last thing I would like to discuss is pricing at thrift shops. While one typically goes to the thrifting to be find deals, you also have those thrift shops that are in the business of ripping you off. Sometimes these shops may be in higher end neighborhoods (but not always). More recognized thrift shops also may tend to be a little more pricier because in a way it's like a tourist attraction. People are bound to come, and if they come, they are bound to spend money.

So if you're in the business of saving money, especially if you find yourself spending uncontrollably, try thrifting. Don't be easily discouraged either some days are better than others. Try different shops in different areas, make a playlist, bring a friend, maybe even write down two or three things you would like to find and you're bound to have a good time!