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| Left to Right: Unknown Wicker/Leather Bag, Nine West Yellow Suede Clutch, Paul Frank Messenger Bag |
As my shopping senses continue to consume me, I've decided to look for other places than my usual spots. A few bloggers that I'm reading have inspired me to go thrift store hunting again which is something I haven't done for over a decade.
I used to do it when I was into the Swing/Rockability look, getting plenty of vintage hawaiian shirts and capris. My favorite item I got from a thrift store was homecoming dress in high school. I was so proud that no one had a prom dress quite like mine, and I got to spend more of my budget on things like hair and makeup. My thrifting experiences also come from finding furniture for my sets in theatre. I was able to get a few tables and chairs that mocked a cathedral setting for my play to a letter. To say the least, my thrift store experiences have been good.
My hunt started last week, which in total consisted in searching about five different locations. Some of them old locations I used to go to, but the others entirely new. I'm sad to say that my luck was scare; if I ever found anything. The only clothing item that I found was a skirt which in the end was too small for me so I'll be re-working the waist a bit more. Another thing that alarmed me was the prices! I was expecting them to be much cheaper! I couldn't help but notice that I could get clothing at my usual store for the exact same price range as I was thrifting. The selection wasn't much different either; rarely did I find any unique items. As much as I would like to support local stores and not the corporate giants, I'm really disappointed that the selection didn't even come close to what I wanted or wearable items.
Eugene got me to cheer up with the book section, we cleared out about 10 books within our scourging. Most of them were only a dollar, the prices even beat that of my regular used stores. At least I'm stocked on my reading for quite some time. I was about to turn the door until I had the notion to look through the accessories section one last time, and I was so glad I did! The purse section was absolutely amazing! I was blown away with the selection! Most of them were hardly touched; I even found tags on most of them. One even had a business card of the boutique in it! The thing that got me was the mass amounts of brand names that I found in the mix. Brands that I usually get staples from and none of the fun purses for fear that I won't use them often.
I do enjoy my good share of purses, infact my Aunt is a purse designer in Asia, it's imbedded in my blood. I usually save up to get one within a year, and I would get more if I could, but I it's just not practical for me space and budget wise. With my recent discovery I'll make sure to make room for these and the more I hope will come. Thrifting has solved a few dilemmas for me:
- Desire for designer brand bags = Plenty to choose from!
- Lofty tag limiting purchases= Very affordable price, buy away!
- Conservative choices to assure use =Pick any I desire with no budget guilt.
Some of the bags have stains, dirt, or the insides were ruined. The ones that I picked only had dust and light wear and tear. I'm so happy with them! I think thrifting and I have a good fit.
-Stef
