(Saving) Green Is The New Black

I recently discovered the fashion blog What I Wore after seeing the author on the local news a few weeks ago.  Jessica Quirk is a down-to-earth fashionista that posts pictures of her daily outfits for us all to enjoy.  Fair warning before you click that link: the cuteness and creativity of her ensembles are completely addictive.  I now check her blog every day.

A week after I discovered What I Wore I found myself in a hormone-induced cranky mood, so I immediately wrote myself a prescription for some retail therapy.  And I don’t just mean I wanted a little shopping trip to pick up a new blouse.  No, no.  I wanted one of those trips where you take so many clothes to the dressing room that you’re sure the attendant will think you’ve lost all your possessions in a house-fire, and you eventually come home with a panoply of colored bags in your hands, those little twisty paper handles digging into the pads of your fingers, and you’re just hoping you didn’t leave anything in that last store’s dressing room.  I wanted to do some proper shopping.

I came back two hours later with five dresses, four tank tops, a blazer, and two nightgowns.  Mission freaking accomplished.

Here are a few of my purchases:
  

 

When I walked in with my haul and newly jubilant attitude, I told Ian what I bought. A look of laughter and horror crossed his face: “Wait, you bought how much?!”  But I dropped a fact bomb on him that left him smiling:  I got all TWELVE pieces of clothing for $52.  

That’s right, I shopped at Goodwill.  

Admittedly, I was a little skeptical driving over there.  My steering wheel resisted the turn away from the direction of the mall, its stubbornness reminding me that I’ve only ever shopped at Goodwill for Halloween costumes and school projects.  I know, steering wheel, but you haven't seen the outfits on What I Wore.  So many of her staple pieces come from vintage boutiques and secondhand stores.  My closet might be full of Banana Republic and Ann Taylor right now, but let’s just give this a shot, okay?  So I grabbed the wheel and yanked a hard left into the parking lot of Goodwill.  I walked in expecting to see stains and missing hems and all the good clothes picked over by the more fashion-savvy in the same way antiques appraisers always take the good stuff from garage and estate sales.  

I saw a few stains (a rust-colored one on the most beautiful A-line, red-hemmed skirt - sigh), but mostly I saw stylish clothes for less than I would spend on a Chipotle burrito. That denim shirt dress I saw at Macy’s for $90?  There’s one for $5 sandwiched between a muumuu and a Mennonite skirt.  The khaki linen blazer perfect for summer? $6 - I just need to take the shoulder pads out.  Candy-striped Holllister tanktop? $2.   Color me shocked.  Going into the dressing room I had more clothes hanging over my arm than a Victorian laundress.  Even the high school girl who checked me out regretted not having snatched some of the items I found.  

I’m totally in love with my new/old clothes; they’re all I packed on our anniversary trip last weekend.  And I’m even more in love with all the dollar bills leftover in my wallet, not to mention the environmental and economic impacts of my thrift store purchases.  Buying recycled clothes prevents them from being thrown into landfills or being exported abroad.  Plus many thrift stores are charities, too, and Goodwill supports job training and placement programs.  

So many thanks to What I Wore and to Goodwill for styling me up for the rest of the summer.  Cute clothes that support a good cause; what more could a girl ask for?  Just a new purse to hold all the money I’m saving.