How to Shop at a Thrift Store: Shopping for Accessories

Hi everyone!
Here's the third installment of my "How to Shop at a Thrift Store" series. This week the topic is "Shopping for Accessories!" Accessory shopping is one of my favorite things to do at the thrift store. Let's get started!

One thing about the thrift store - there's loads of belts!

Thrift stores never have a shortage of accessories. I've seen everything from tacky Santa Claus pins from the 1980's, to classic vintage purses from the 1960's, to current belts of the 2000's. It's a lot of fun to find cool jewelry and accessories. First, I'm going to show you how to shop the jewelry counter. (my personal favorite)

Some of my favorite thrift store finds!

Dive in! At some thrift stores all the jewelry is out on the counter. At other stores it's in a glass case. The store I go to, it's on the counter in lots of little bowls. I look for all types of jewelry. Bracelets, rings, pins, necklaces, etc. I like to try on the jewelry, see how it fits and looks on me, and check it over before I buy it. Don't be afraid to do that! It's an important step! If you buy a bracelet or necklace and realize the clasp is broken when you get it home, that will have been a waste of your money. Always, ALWAYS, try it on before you buy it. Very rarely do I NOT find any jewelry that I like when I go to the thrift store. Once you wade through all those tacky Santa Claus pins, there are some beautiful pieces.

Whenever I've gone to a thrift store, there's never been a shortage of belts. Loads of sizes, styles, and colors. Pretty self-explanatory, but try it on before you buy it. Even if it's too small for you around the hips/through your belt loops, you could use it as a fashion piece around your natural waist. The same if it's too big for your natural waist, you could always wear it around your hips/through your belt loops. I've even bought belts to make craft projects but that's a whole other post (come back next week!).

Shoes. Shoes are a tricky subject at thrift stores. You really, REALLY have to make sure they're new or have only been worn once or twice. I hardly ever buy shoes at thrift stores for this reason. If you do decide to take the chance, PLEASE make sure they're very clean before you start wearing them. Who knows if the previous owner had any disgusting foot...issues. I recommend spraying thoroughly with Lysol then placing then in the sun for AT LEAST 72 hours before wearing.

Shopping for purses at the thrift store is REALLY fun! I found my current purse at the thrift store! Sometimes you can find vintage purses. Even on occasion a nice brand such as Coach or Vera Bradley. When shopping for purses always check the clasp/zipper, the interior of the purse, and condition of the straps. 

Use these tips this weekend! Maybe you'll score an awesome find at the thrift store (tell us about it in the comments! We'd love to hear about it). Come back next week for the final installment in my series, "How to Shop at a Thrift Store: Shopping for Crafts!" Have a nice Friday!

-Caitlin

Rose's Outfit of the Week #3

 Hello everyone!

 I hope you looked at Caitlin's outfit of the week-I want to steal her yellow sneakers very badly... 

Skinny jeans and a white henley provided a nice base for my chocolate brown/pink converses and pink corduroy jacket. 

Do you recognize the jacket? Check it out here--It's one of Caitlin's AMAZING thrift store finds!

Map Bracelet by Caitlin
Brown/Pink Hi-top Converses

Have a wonderful evening! :)
~Rose

How to Shop at a Thrift Store: Shopping for Clothes

Hey everyone!
Here's the next installment in my 4-part series of "How to Shop at a Thrift Store"! If you need to, refer back to my first post "The Basics" for a recap. Enjoy!

Once you get past pieces like this, there's a lot of treasure.

Picture this scenario. You step into the thrift store. You look at the abundance of racks, and think to yourself, "How am I ever going to get through all this JUNK?" There's always a plethora of pilled sweaters, old t-shirts, and "mom jeans". But there's also a lot of treasure. You just have to know how to find it.

One of my favorite finds, a pink corduroy jacket.

First thing. Dive in!! I find the tops/shirts more interesting so I always start with that section. Obviously, find your size and start combing the racks. Look at each piece with a "fresh eye." Sometimes pieces look WAY different on the hanger than they do actually on YOU. If you like the pattern or fabric, try it on, you might be surprised! Also, accessories make the outfit, but that's a whole other post! ;) 

A really cute plaid skirt.

So now you found something cool! Awesome! Think about these 3 key points before you buy.

1) A really big thing is condition. What condition is it in? Look really closely, if it's pilled, stained, or torn, it's probably not that great of a deal. I'd pass.
2) Do you like it? This is a really obvious question, but it's still worth asking. If you don't love it in the store, you won't wear it when you get it home. Don't just buy something for the sake of buying, buy it because you like it and will wear it.
3) Does it fit? That's another obvious question. If you like it, but it's too big/small, you probably won't wear it.

I found this top not that long ago. I wear it all the time, it's even from Aeropostale!

For all our crafting readers out there, you have a whole other spectrum of things to think about! Keep your eyes out for potential "refashions!" Maybe you'll find a skirt with a really cool pattern that's just a little long for your taste. You can always hem it a little higher! That's part of the fun! Finding something and giving it a new life!

Look at this cardigan! Adorable!

To be honest, there's really no right or wrong way to shop for clothes. These were just some tips that I've figured out along the way. This week, take some initiative and go thrift shopping of your own! Thrift stores, yard sales, consignment sales, they all count as thrifting in my book! If YOU find some cool stuff, tell us about in the comments, we'd love to hear about it! 

Stay tuned for next week's installment, "How to Shop at a Thrift Store: Accessories!"

-Caitlin

How to Shop at a Thrift Store - The Basics

Hi everyone! As the resident "thrifter" at fashion&flutes, I love going to second-hand shops and finding all the hidden treasures I can turn into new outfits. But one of the biggest questions is "How do you do that? How do you find all those cool things?" Well, I'm going to show you! In this 4-part series, I'm going to guide you through all the main points for shopping at a thrift store. We'll kick off the series with "How to Shop at a Thrift Store - The Basics!" Let's get started!

I'm just going to go over a few basic points for new and beginning thrifters. I'll also recap these tips for you on every part of the series.

First, the most obvious thing would be to find a thrift store. Personally I like to shop at privately operated thrift stores, rather than chains such as Goodwill, The Salvation Army, etc. I find that at the privately owned shops  the prices are better and quite frankly, the stuff is cooler. At least at all the Goodwills in my area, the prices are pretty high for the merchandise and it's always really "picked over." I've never found anything really EXCELLENT at a Goodwill, but that's just me.

Second, once you've found your thrift store, the key is to just KEEP GOING BACK. Seriously, there have been days when I've gone to the thrift store and I found so many good things, then there have been other days when I didn't buy one thing. DON'T GET DISCOURAGED! Especially if you don't find anything your first time, you just have to keep going.

Third, keep your eyes open. Look at each piece and think about all the possibilities. Whether it's a new piece of clothing for yourself, the perfect finishing touch to a costume, or a new possible "re-fashion," just keep your eyes open. Now, understand that I don't mean stare at each item for 10 minutes. That would be weird. Just as you're shopping, think of ALL the possibilities.

One thing about thrift stores is there is A LOT of junk. But there's a lot of treasure too. In this series I'm going to be teaching you how to shop for clothes, accessories, and things to refashion (for my crafting readers). Keep checking back for the continuations of this series. I'm going to try to post a new segment every Friday. Enjoy!

-Caitlin