Thrifting Secrets

What are my favorite thrift stores?

I love Goodwill. There are 2 within 20 minutes of where I live, and I hit them up pretty frequently. I often wonder if our Goodwill stores are better than most because of the area we live in, close to Carmel and Pebble Beach. I always look for Goodwill stores when I travel and tend to find good stuff. Savers is also a really good one, though I don’t have a Savers anywhere near us. Salvation Army and Hope Services can also be good ones to look for.

How do I budget while I thrift?

I don’t normally set a budget for myself when I go to thrift stores. Maybe I should.

When I do flea markets though, I normally bring $100 cash, but when it comes to thrifting, I never know what I am going to find. I usually base what I am going to spend depending on the item. For example, I recently got this killer high-end faux leather jacket in the most perfect shade of blush. It was marked $10 which I thought was a great price, so it came home with me. Had it been $20 it may have been left behind. My check list is pretty short; 1) do I LOVE it, and 2) is it a GREAT price.

How do I express my style?

I love this question. I have always loved expressing myself through fashion, though I feel like it took me 28 years before I got to the point where I truly felt confident enough to wear whatever the heck I want. Sure, I have always dressed a little funky, but I really had a fashion awakening once I hit 28. And the answer is this; I wear what makes me happy. Period.

How do I find such great stuff?

I would say the NUMBER ONE question I get asked when it comes to thrifting is “how do you find such great stuff?” Or “how do you get so lucky?” I don’t think it is talent or luck, I would say its a mix of patience and a good eye, both are things you can train yourself to be better at!

Here is what a typical thrift trip looks like for me: I get the bug to hunt, or I have something very specific in mind that I am looking for. This is the way to start, if I am in the mood to thrift, I am more likely to be patient. If I am looking for something specific, my eye is trained for something to jump out at me and I can be more efficient with my time. I am not the type of thrifter that looks through the rack piece by piece. Honestly, I am just not patient enough for that. I am very visual, I am drawn to prints and colors. I look at the ends of the racks, because sometimes other hunters find great stuff that they leave behind on the ends of the racks. I also look for colors and patterns that I am drawn to.

What do I look for?

I'm always on the hunt for Pyrex, of course. But I also love clothing, vintage clothing and home decor items. I have a growing collection of ceramic vases, so I always look for those. I also look for records. Some days I'm in the mood for dish-ware and I don't even look at the clothes. And some days I only look at the clothes. I really just browse whatever I feel called towards on that day.

This outfit was thrifted but I have sourced some similar styles for those of you who are not "thrifters".... we don't all have the "junkin' bug" :)

This dress is so close in style: Click Here

Another really cute dress, close in style: Click Here

Strappy Sandal: Click Here

Trendy Sandal Slide: Click Here

These ones are the most similar to the ones I am wearing: Click Here

My purse is from Japan, but I found this super fun and equally silly teddy bear purse from Macy's: Click Here

Photos: Suzy Perry Photography