There was a rare occurrence on Instagram today. Your truly posted an outfit that had only ONE thrifted element – my Miz Mooz boots.
The rest of the outfit came from a variety of sources – B.T. (Before Thrifting), clothing swap, and ethically-made pieces sold via small businesses. It doesn’t happen very often, but it got me thinking about the pieces in my wardrobe that are not thrifted. What percentage of my closet is thrifted???? In order to answer this question (while successfully avoiding Mount Laundry), I started snapping photos and counting pieces. Following is an expose into the non-thrifted underbelly of my closet – the pieces I would buy all over again and the ones I’m ashamed to have wasted my non-thrift dollars on!
I got this Meadow Rue top from Anthropologie as part of a hard-earned reward from the Wine and Weight Watchers group I was a part of back in Canada. (I Face-Timed with them tonight, while drinking my $2 Trader Joe’s wine here. Dang I miss them so much.) Anyhoo, it was on sale and I love the colour but the length is a bit too short on me and I’m prettttttyyy sure “imported” does NOT mean it’s ethically made. This was before I realized that just because it’s pricey Anthro does NOT mean it’s NOT fast fashion. The whole point of that shopping trip was to get black J Brand skinny jeans from Anthro! Timeless style, made in the US – a worthy purchase (if I could just fit into them before pants-wearing season in Houston is over!)Here’s one more Anthro piece – a Maeve dress that I paid FULL PRICE for because I loved it so much and was in the throes of solo-parenting and transition woes and I felt if my husband did not bring it home for me that he might have to move alone. All that being said, I do love the dress but it’s a bit empire on me and I look bustier than I like in it so I haven’t worn it as much as I anticipated. AND it’s probably expensive fast fashion. SIGH If I could go back, I would NOT buy this dress but since I did, I’ll make the best of it.
Scored this Ann Taylor mini skirt for $5 on clearance which is less than what it would be thrifted! I could NOT resist the stripes!!! Which led to…A perfectly coordinating Ann Taylor tee for $10 on sale. Now this would have cost less at the thrift store. Sigh. I am not sure if Ann Taylor is ethically manufactured but I doubt it. What can I say, I have weak moments too!But I wore the skirt thrifting so that counts for something, right?!!!This tee will always be very special to me! A friend and parent of a super cool kid I used to work with made it especially for me! The tee itself is NOT fast fashion and she did the vinyl. It is NOT fast fashion, it supported a local small biz and helped me to mark the transition to Texas. (Dang I miss that kid!)
I bought this tank while doing the Uninvited Bible study by Lysa Terkeurst and while I LOVE the sentiment (and supposedly the top was ethically made), it isn’t the greatest quality. I’ve only worn it a handful of times, never washed it and it’s pilly enough that I don’t want to wear it. Also, it’s a muscle style tank top so you can only wear it if you layer up or don’t mind showing your bra. Meh.I bought this Icebreaker Merino wool tee during their annual sale back in 2013 and I do not regret it one bit. The quality is excellent, the tee is timeless and the manufacturing is ethical.I also bought an Icebreaker skirt during the same sale and have since purchased a few other Icebreaker pieces – capri leggings, shorts and tank tops for walking the dog in the Houston heat. I didn’t take a photo of them but I got them this year on clearance and am very pleased. Icebreaker is worth buying regular retail, and if you ever see it in the thrift shop, snap it up and START THE CAR.I bought this dress last December at a sample sale in the hotel I was staying at for a work conference. It was $30 but I wouldn’t bet on it NOT being fast fashion. Sigh. I probably would have passed had there been a thrift shop near my hotel.Same story, different dress though this one allowed me to start Dressember on time despite being unprepared!
One more not-thrifted dress, this one was $17 from Target and I couldn’t help it because TEAL. I don’t know if this particular brand, A New Day, is ethical but it seems like Target is at least moving in that direction, so I don’t feel quite as bad about falling for the dress.The majority of my shoe collection is thrifted but I do have a few pairs that I bought regular retail. I bought these black Miz Mooz booties along with my yellow salt water sandals as part of a Splurge while I was still recovering from foot surgery! I love them and will keep them forevahhhhh! The other pair, well, I got them for $7 during a BOGO event at a local shoe store when I was getting my kids’ school shoes. I have 3 kids. There was no way I was walking out with one of them getting two pairs. I guess I spent $7 to save my sanity, which was money well spent.I also bought these three pairs of shoes regular retail from a small business shoe shop in Edmonton following my foot surgery. I needed options with no heel and more support. Each is a decent brand – Portofino, Bussola and Josef Seibel – but I don’t “love” them. I’m not quite ready to get rid of them though. We shall see how they fare this summer!
That is about it except for a couple more obligatory tees (Canada tee, hockey team tee) and my Aquatalia boots. By my rough calculations, the non-thrifted portion of my wardrobe represents about 5% or less. Does that surprise you? In a good way or a bad way?!! It surprised me a bit – I was hoping for less than 5% but am satisfied it’s under 10%. After all, six short years ago, my wardrobe was 100% not thrifted! Give me another five years and I bet I can get down to 1%!!! If YOU are a thrifter, how much of your wardrobe is secondhand?!
I probably won’t have time to get a super accurate amount but now I am really curious! Most of my wardrobe is thrifted except for items I have shopped for specifically looking for that item. I have a hard time finding specific things when thrifting as I don’t have enough time to go to a bunch of stores.
If you haven’t been by the store The Walk in Closet in Katy yet, I believe this weekend is their 10$ fill a bag sale!
I did go to the Walk In Closet once but didn’t have much success which is weird for me! I’ll go back though! And yes, sometimes you have to go regular retail if you need something according to a specific timeline though I’m finding Thred Up and Poshmark to be great sources for item specific secondhand shopping!!
Kimberly
Well, I’m impressed regardless! I’m not always so great at thrifting – wish I had more time to just go and browse and pick through racks! – but I’m trying to be better at fast fashion!! And just for the record, I think that yellow dress looks super cute on you and pretty sure your hubby won’t complain about you looking a little busty!
4 Comments
I probably won’t have time to get a super accurate amount but now I am really curious! Most of my wardrobe is thrifted except for items I have shopped for specifically looking for that item. I have a hard time finding specific things when thrifting as I don’t have enough time to go to a bunch of stores.
If you haven’t been by the store The Walk in Closet in Katy yet, I believe this weekend is their 10$ fill a bag sale!
I did go to the Walk In Closet once but didn’t have much success which is weird for me! I’ll go back though! And yes, sometimes you have to go regular retail if you need something according to a specific timeline though I’m finding Thred Up and Poshmark to be great sources for item specific secondhand shopping!!
Well, I’m impressed regardless! I’m not always so great at thrifting – wish I had more time to just go and browse and pick through racks! – but I’m trying to be better at fast fashion!! And just for the record, I think that yellow dress looks super cute on you and pretty sure your hubby won’t complain about you looking a little busty!
hahaha you’re probably right! I’m hoping to address the sitch and then will wear it again because I love it (even though I paid too much for it!)