Alright. I just saw an internet article about how to stretch your clothing budget, and it kind of annoyed me. Yesterday, a student asked me where I got my clothes, and in the course of the conversation I learned that she was from Lincoln and she had never been to their many thrift stores. Of course, I'm not annoyed at her, but I wonder why, in this highly democratic age of fashion and style, people limit themselves to what they can buy at retail stores. It's not as if it's that much easier to locate good items at these places - I routinely hear from people that they don't know how to buy clothes, period. Why not cultivate a sense of personal taste while learning how to thrift well? It's so much cheaper.
I'll share a little something with you - I also read that the average woman (whoever she is, I'd like to know) spends $1600 a year on clothes. Well, I looked at my bank statements last year, and between thrift and antique stores, I spent around $750. However you feel about that sum (it is padded somewhat with things bought for other people, but also perhaps deflated due to the rare occasion of my using cash), there's the reality that I have stretched that money into innumerable garments. (And if you still can't get over it know that I do sell a chunk of it on Etsy, when I've decided an item doesn't work for me anymore. Win-win.) I started buying used items near-exclusively, just because I didn't have any money to shell out on retail-priced items. Money has come and gone and come again, etc., but I haven't been able to go back to retail (except for pants, though that too is theoretical as I haven't bought new pants in years).
I guess I'm kind of a thrift activist, though on the mild end of the radical-promotion spectrum. (Uh, did I just type radical-promotion spectrum?) There's constant talk about economic woes, and ecological woes as well. There is poverty and all other sorts of real problems in the world. Thrifting is by far cheaper than retail, and it often benefits programs that aid those real problems. Thrifting is not dirty or gross or even always used; thrift stores are often repositories for deadstock retail items. And thrifting is extremely fun, once you get the hang of it. Even if you don't have the hang of it, it's still fun. It can be solo bliss or a group activity. It's not just for clothes, but for decorating, furnishing, entertainment, gift-giving.
Maybe I should be more liberal with my own thrift expertise and tips. Not that I've wanted to be stingy. I know I have wacky style and a lot of what I wear, I don't think some readers actually would want to wear, themselves. But the building blocks of my wardrobe are, I think, broad and fundamental: I wear what looks good on me, and I wear what I love. I have more freedom to experiment because everything is so danged cheap. I constantly see extremely nice and nearly-new clothing, I just tend towards vintage and zaniness. Anybody can figure out what looks good on them. And I think most people know what they love - you know it when you see it. Your eye is more trained than you realize. Your focus will only sharpen with experience.
Anyway. How do I slash my clothing budget? I don't. It's already slashed. I have a ton of tricks and tips and ways that make garments and outfits come alive, and I'm not a seamstress or a person with a lot of patience, honestly. I like to get dressed, and get on with things - this blog might make it seem like getting dressed is all I do, but it's actually a small fraction of what I do. Granted, thrifting IS a hobby of mine, but it goes along with my general ethos of taking in the world, reveling in the past, paying attention to what is often ignored - I learn so much every time I go thrifting or antiquing, even garage-saling. I'll try to be better about talking about thrifting, as I never really stop doing it - AND, as the very TITLE of this blog attests to - frugality is also not something I stop doing. It's a way of life and affords anyone who practices it better opportunities to spend their money and time on the things that really deserve both. I'm not a cheapskate. Ha. You know I'm a spendthrift. I just keep it under control by enjoying what I have, and finding things at a SLASHED COST. ;)
So there's that.
On to what I wore yesterday. I know I said I'm taking a break, but all that's really meant is I'm changing the pace. :)
I love this outfit. Well, duh. I try to love every outfit. But I really love this outfit. It was less about constructing, well, an outfit, and more about just kind of enjoying my stuff. I started it with the hat - my hair looked wretched, so yes, I mask it with a hat sometimes, no shame in that. (I love my two knit hats. I wish wool berets were less scratchy, I would wear them more. Hmm. Maybe I could attached ribbons to the inside of berets. Well, duh, Arwen.) Then it turned into a gold-fest.... Hat: $2, bought more than a decade ago.
Pants: $35 at Old Navy, 4 years ago. I have a lot of basic bottoms that I rotate frequently. When I wash them, I let them air-dry. Be good to your pants. As you know, I love to cuff mine. Why? I'm not precisely short (5'5") but I'm not tall, either, and ankle-length looks stupid on me, and long pants can look too professional or formal, sometimes. Cuffed is fun. Cuffed is casual. It's an essential thing about my style. I like a bit of mess, a lot of fun.
Shirt: $3 at a thrift store, but I don't remember where, or when. It was one of the first 80's shirts I bought, though. I was trying on a Hawaiian-print shirt the other day, and it was boxy. It made me appreciate the subtle tailoring of my 80's shirts. They are not boxy, and the fabric is part of this. All-poly is not going to hold it's shape as well, and these shirts are often a blend, or straight-up cotton. And I like how low they go - they are forgiving to the thighs. You know my thighs drive me nuts sometimes. :)
Jacket-thing: $3. I have an Oleg Cassini blazer very similar to this, but this jacket/blazer is a thicker jersey, AKA, much more casual and comfortable. I took out the shoulderpads. Double-breasted can look so awesome, I'm all about it. I push up my sleeves a lot. This is partly about my general aesthetic but also because I look best in two types of sleeves: 3/4 length and cap. Standard t-shirt length: no. Wrist-length: it's okay. I have no real issues with my arms, but once again, I border on petite, so anything that can make me look longer or not accentuate shortness/smallness is good.
Shoes: $1. With black socks. Not much to say, here - but socks make sandals more wearable in winter. It hasn't gotten really cold, at all. Nor has it been wet/muddy. These shoes are a smidge big, so walking great distances in them, in socks, gets a little uncomfortable, because my feet swim and slide a bit. But the heels are shorter and there are straps, and those are a few key areas of comfort when wearing heels.
Jewels... well, I'm wearing a vintage Avon circle necklace, and a vintage Givenchy-symbol necklace, both thrifted, but I don't remember for how much, but it wasn't much. And my bracelet... well, do you remember Spiedel ID bracelets? Do they still make them? (I hope so.) My late grandma gave me this one back in the day. Back in the day when I didn't appreciate gold, or hearts. (Silly me.) At one point in the last decade, I managed to detach the heart charm that was on it (still have it, need to find a way to re-attach without it looking cheap-o). I found it the other day, when digging through my other necklaces (which is why I was wearing the ones I wore - yay shopping own accessories!). It makes me happy. Gotta wear it... in case I forget my name. ;)
