Thrifting Philosophy

This is the second time in as many weeks that I've featured my handbag, which is something I rarely show in my outfit photos. But the rich brown of the bag added so much to the outfit that I felt I needed to include it. This is also the second time I've featured this thrifted sweater in the last 2 weeks. Truth be told, I'm practically living in this sweater in my behind-the-blog life; it's the perfect thing to throw on when I'm at home and it's a little bit chilly, or if I need to dash outside to take Georgie out.

Because it was thrifted, the sweater is already down to less than a dollar per wear, and even more satisfying is the fact that upon closer examination I realized that it's an Anthropologie brand (Sparrow), which means it probably retailed for well over a hundred bucks when new. With the other major pieces of clothing being from All Saints, this outfit really sums up the crux of my thrifting philosophy, which is to bring down my average cost-per-item by owning a mix of thrifted, mid range, and high end items. Going thrift shopping and scoring a quality sweater for under $5 means that when the next week I want to drop $200 on a pair of shoes, I don't feel one bit guilty because while one piece may be expensive, the overall cost of my wardrobe remains reasonable.

I lack both the skills and the patience to thrift for my entire wardrobe, and to be perfectly honest I don't really need to from a financial standpoint. But I do have a reasonably good eye, and enjoy both the treasure-hunting aspect of thrifting as well as the notion of recycling clothing and giving it new life. One of the important things I've learned more recently is to apply the same scrutiny to thrift store clothes that I would to new ones. So whereas I used to go thrift shopping and come home with a load of clothes that I liked, these days I come home with one or two carefully-selected items that I love.

One thing I want to try out this year is dyeing thrifted shoes. A friend told me of the joys of restoring a pair of leather shoes by dyeing them, and I thought it'd be a great way to end up with shoes in a hard-to-find color, or even two-tone (If you try this yourself, keep in mind that overdyeing white leather shoes does NOT work; the leather can't have a painted finish or else the dye won't penetrate.). I also want to do more overdyeing of clothing, having been inspired by Sal's recent post. I tried this once last year, and it turned out so well that I'm keeping that option in the back of my mind when I go thrifting now.

What is your thrift shopping philosophy? Have you tried dyeing or otherwise modifying thrifted clothes, and how has it turned out?

Cardigan sweater: thrifted
Argyle sweater, skirt: All Saints
Belt: Lazaro
Boots: Doc Martens
Handbag: Lucky Brand