Thrift store fail

One of the goals I set for myself for this year was to be more fashionable. I thought about it a little more, and my goal really isn't to be more fashionable, it's to be more put-together and more confident in my clothing. Five out of seven days I'm in a uniform. I'm off Tuesday but tend to spend the day around the house either reading and relaxing or cleaning so I don't worry too much about what I'm wearing. Sunday is church day and I actually have a few decent outfits to wear. It's all the other times that I struggle: going out to dinner, going out with friends, showers, parties, funerals, errands... But, because so much of my time is spent in a uniform I don't want to spend a significant amount of money on my wardrobe.

So today I decided to try some thrift store shopping. My options are limited. (Very limited as far as I can tell.) I had some free time this afternoon so I headed to Value Village to see what I could find. Fail. Big giant fail. I think I was overwhelmed. There were racks and racks of clothing. I wasn't looking for anything in particular so I just picked a section randomly and starting looking at things. And there was so much... crap. In the end I tried on 4 things (two of which originally came from Reitmans, where I do the vast majority of my shopping) but didn't take anything home except a couple of books.

Is there a trick to this whole thift store shopping thing? Am I missing the particular gene that makes somebody good at it? Or is it just one of those things that require practice? Because I have to say, the idea of paying $5.99 for jeans instead of $49.99 is really appealing...

Wanna-be fashionista

I am not really a fashionable person, I freely admit it. Sometimes though, I get the urge to make myself a little more stylish. I got it in my head that I wanted a pair of boots. Unfortunately I'm short, have wide feet and kind of chunky calves. I didn't think I'd ever find a pair that fit and that I liked. But I did! The  very first pair I tried on actually.

Thursday night hubby and I went to the mall to see if we could get him a new iPhone. While he was waiting in line at Rogers I popped over to Payless to look around and found these lovelies. I was hesitant though, two months before Christmas and it's not like I need the boots. So I put them on hold and left.

I've never been a shoe person, but I couldn't get the boots out of my head. How sad is that? Anyways, I decided that I couldn't pass them up so on Friday I headed back to the mall to get them. Then Saturday I realized that I needed some skinny jeans to go with my new boots so back to the mall I went.

I ended up spoiling myself - two sweaters, a shirt, jeans and a skirt. It was kind of nice to spoil myself. (Okay, it was really nice!) I feel the tiniest bit guilty, but it was really nice to head off to church this morning in a brand new outfit that I felt good in.

Before I head off to bed, I want to wish my friend, the lovely Brittany a very happy birthday. Hope your day was absolutely amazing!