Thrifting Tips (Part 3 of 3)

Final Installment on Thrifting Tips:

When entering a thrift store, don’t get overwhelmed and start wandering around aimlessly. Grab a cart, home in on a section (e.g., skirts) and dive right in.

Look over the entire rack, pulling out anything that looks immediately interesting, then shove all of the hangers as far over as they can go and start flipping through the skirts one by one. This gives you much-needed space on jammed thrift-store racks. Look through everything. Throw absolutely anything that looks approximately right for you (in terms of shape, cut, size, color) into your cart and forget about it. Have one big try-on session at the end with all the stuff you piled into the cart. It’s cute? You’ll wear it for sure? It’s $1.80? Buy it. It’s kiiiinda cute? You’re not sure what you’ll wear it with? It’s $8? Don’t buy it. Are you really going to wear that? No matter how cool something is, do NOT buy it if it “needs some work” and you’re not actually going to fix it up.

 Look through all the sections. The bedding department often holds other linens, like adorable vintage aprons. The man-sweater section is a treasure trove of giant cashmere sweaters that women have given their husbands and their husbands have refused to wear.

The kids’ section has hoodies and T-shirts, the sleepwear section has vintage slips, and men’s shoe section have great cowboy boots hidden among all the loafers. The underwear section has silk camisoles from the ’40s, the furniture section has awesome ’60s luggage sets, and the books have best-sellers you’ve been meaning to read and weird teen-girl novels from the ’50s. Look up high and down low—the best stuff is hiding out of eye range…sometimes hidden by other sneaky thrifters in the hopes that no one else will find it before they return. Lastly - the smaller the town, the more likely you are to make out like a bandit. Have fun!

Thrifting Tips (Part 2 of 3)

Part Two in our Thrifting Tips:

 Do NOT go into a thrift store hungry or tired. You’re going to need energy to get through it all.

You’re going to be trying on lots of clothing, and you’ll have to try most of it on over your clothes, as there probably won’t be a dressing room.

Wear something simple. A stretchy one-piece dress. Skinny jeans and a T-shirt. No weird necklines or giant sweaters.

Wait, though…what if you want to try on jeans? You’re in public! How are you gonna take off your pants in public? Here’s how: Go to the skirts section. Find the biggest, roomiest, elastic-waisted, floor-length skirt you can find, and put it on over your jeans. Then drop your jeans, grab the new pair you want to try on, and pull them on under the skirt. Then drop the skirt. Ta-da!!

 If you choose to thrift with friends, go with those who are cheerful, adventurous dressers, and not your size. That way, everyone can shop in the same sections at the same time, and there are no “I saw it first” awkward moments.

Thrifting Tips (Part 1 of 3)

 Shopping at a thrift store isn’t easy like going to a department store—it’s work.

It may seem obvious, but not all thrift stores are created equal. A place that sells upscale secondhand clothing is NOT a thrift store. They sell name-brand, imperceptibly used clothing. A dress will probably run you $14-$35.

A vintage store is an expensive resell store of items carefully cleaned & repaired – things you can do yourself.

A real thrift store sells clothing that comes directly from the bags that people have dropped off for donation. The clothes aren’t checked for rips, holes, missing buttons, or stains and sold as-is.

A real thrift store is often large and only loosely organized. It sells clothing with hand-written tags stapled onto it. Sometimes those tags are color-coded, because the thrift store has days where, say, all the orange (or pink, white, blue, etc.) tags are half off. Often, real thrift stores are dirty, with clothes strewn everywhere. Don’t be alarmed. Be thankful for the mess—it scares away the shoppers who aren’t as adventurous as you are.

The truly brave are always rewarded with the most outrageous finds. (Part 2 coming Wednesday)

Trivia - Grace Kelly's Impact on Fashion

Did you know that a scarf crossed under the chin & knotted at the side or nape of the neck is called a "Grace Kelly"? Grace was notorious for purchasing accessories, mainly gloves & shoes, including handmade leather sandals from Canfora in Capri.

Other trivia:
~ She did not buy new clothing  very often & rarely discarded anything
~ She wore the most expensive Oscar gown to date - the aquamarine silk fabric alone cost $4,000
~ Gucci created the Flora silk scarf in 1966 for Princess Grace
~ Grace & Estee Lauder were friends & inspired by the color of lipstick Grace wore on her wedding day, Estee Lauder launched a limited edition of this shade - Princess Grace Coral - on October 15, 2007 in her honor
~ Grace wore a Van Cleef & Arpels tiara to her daughter Caroline's wedding
~ Six top American fashion designers -Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren, Zac Posen, Ralph Rucci, & Vera Wang-created one-of-a-kind gowns inspired by clothing worn by Grace for the 25th anniversary of her death

4 Ways to Wear Your Spring Scarf

So you think the only way to wear a scarf is around your neck? Think again! Light spring scarves are handy accessories and have many creative uses for your everyday looks. Here are four easy ways to add a little versatility to your favorite light scarf.

• As an embellishment for your neutral handbag. Tie the scarf into a big bow around the handle.
• As a headband or wrap. Twist the scarf to the desired width and tie into a knot off to one side.
• As a ‘belt’. For shorter, skinny scarves that don’t wrap all the way around your hips, tie one end off onto the belt loop in front of your left hip, pull the scarf around the back, and tie the other end to the belt loop in front of your right hip.
• Add a cute pin. Tie your scarf off to the side loosely around your neck and throw on a flower pin or a brooch with bling.

Totes by DKNY
Scarves & Wraps by Lauren Ralph Lauren

Liven Up Your Wardrobe with 4 Simple Accessories

You know the drill-- opening up your closet for another day at work or classes and surveying the monotonous inventory of your wardrobe that you just haven't been able to update the past couple of paydays (or months…or, eek- years ). While this can be a fashionable downer, fear not, because we have some of the top accessories of 2012 to add to any wardrobe to spruce it up without maxing out your credit card:

Buckle Up.  It's amazing how a simple belt can change the entire look of an outfit. The color, material, and style of the belt plays the ultimate part in discerning what sort of fashionable ensemble you wish to transform your outfit to.Brown leather, copper detail, black patent leather, or a multi weave belt? Your choice, your transformation. Belts also lend a hand in creating a more flattering look on a tunic or longer shirt, separating your top from your bottom in a more even-flowing, curve flattering fashion.

Hats Off.  Some of us are a bit intimidated by sporting a hat while out and about, as it seems to be one of those more "bold" accessories that takes a fashionista with major nerve to wear and strut her stuff. While some hats are a bit more bold than actually beautiful, there are plenty of styles, sizes, and shapes of a hat that complete your look or create a whole new one. Another great 'Hats 101" tip? Choose a hairstyle the day you wear a hat that frames your face nicely; i.e. face framing layers, supermodel waves, or straighten inward so that the hat, and your hair focuses on your fabulous facial features.

Bling Bling.  Who said a cocktail ring needs to only be worn at the bar or with a night on the town? Choose a cocktail ring that fits your style and wear it on a day to class, enduring a day as an intern, or at the office. It's a bold symbol of your fashionable taste, and also adds and extra eye catching facet to your ensemble. Regardless if your style is vintage, mod, metropolitan-chic, or flirty, a cocktail ring is a great accessory to spruce up your wardrobe ASAP.

Scarf Stylin'.  Making yet another comeback in the fashion and style world, the ever-versatile scarf. You can look for scarf tutorials on youtube.com or Polyvore, but as a fashionista it's an inner instinct to understand how vital a scarf is to your wardrobe! Use around your neck, tying it unlimited ways, lengths, and styles. Wrap around your head for a head wrap and vintage-chic accessory. Looking to add some color to your basic colored outfit today? Tie a scarf around as a belt for an accessory that can be used one-too-many ways.

How are you stylin' & accessorizing for 2012?

Spring Accessories by bchez featuring a scarf

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New Free Articles and Resources

Hey Everyone,

We have added two great new free resources to the article section:

1. An article on work wear, which includes some ideas for adding some new trends into your work wardrobe. The PDF download includes images of the idea AND also has a FREE worksheet so you have a pretty place for planning your work wear.

2. Our second new article is a guest editorial piece about the Little Black Dress, and whether or not its right for everyone. 

Be sure and swing by and give us a read.