Fab on a dime- A Diva’s thrift shopping adventure

Are you one of those people who would NEVER step foot in a thrift or second hand store? Don’t worry you are not alone, there are many people who have a personal preference to shop everywhere but thrift shops or second hand stores. If that is your preference there is absolutely nothing wrong with that; however, I can assure you that I am not one of them, and neither are the hundreds of people that came out on opening night to celebrate the grand opening of yet another Value Village thrift store in Mississauga. In addition to that mix is my dear friend Melissa who was overly excited to check out the newest location on the day it opened.

I came across Value Village many moons ago as a struggling high school student who simply could not afford the luxuries of brand new or trendy clothing. Value Village, Salvation Army and Goodwill were places where I would find buried treasures but I dared not tell a soul, lest I be ridiculed. That was my little secret then. Well, I have grown to appreciate consignment, thrift and second hand stores because I have a unique style of my own and now understand the economics of retailing.  I’m also a confident woman who is loud and proud about who I am, so to tell the world that I thrift shop is nothing that I am ashamed of. Beyond that I also know the great value in finding one of a kind pieces or great treasures that someone else simply did not appreciate or could not find value owning.

My beef with many of today’s traditional retailers is  that most stores carry very similar items and variety is simply a missing spice. Also for clothes that are mass produced they come with a hefty price tag, sometimes not easily justified. In comes the thrift store…

This past Thursday, Melissa, a dear friend of mine sought out my assistance to help her find some fabulous thrift store ‘goodies’. Melissa has a great style of her own but was looking to change things up a little. She is a beautiful gal who celebrates her fabulous curves  and was a delight to work with. She takes risks with fashion but was very attentive to some of the lessons she was taught about clothing fit and colour. Here are some of the fab clothing items that Melissa got on her thrift store adventure. Value Village rocks but so do smart chicks who take great pleasure in preserving every penny earned. These here are recessionary times but why should we be anything less than fabulous? We don’t have to be anything less, here’s why…

 

 

Melissa struck it big! She came away with some really awesome finds. Keep in mind, some of the clothing will need alterations. There may be a button missing here or there, a pant that is a tad big on the waist or  a skirt hem that simply needs to be shortened. These alterations are minor in nature, and are simply worth it considering the savings on this shopping trip.

Here are just a few  of the other fabulous items Melissa picked up…

 

These are only a sneak peak of the awesome finds Melissa came away with. She has enough outfits in her wardrobe to last her an entire season and she did not break the bank to do it. Her core wardrobe pieces are taken care of, now she has room to play with accessories to add even more colour and chic to her wardrobe.
Tomorrow’s blog post… My adventures styling for the Value Village Grand Opening and the goodies I got…

Stay tuned.