Mama needed some groceries so I decided to run her errands and fit in several of my own while I was in town. It quickly turned into a shopping day! As the weather is becoming slightly chilly and it has been necessary to begin wearing jeans instead of shorts and capris, I have realized that almost all of my old jeans are in pretty bad shape, primarily with bleach stains from when I wash the milk jars. I went to my favorite thrift stores in search of some new jeans to pair with tops I already own for a fresh, fall look:
left to right~ Calvin Klein jeans $4.98, J. Crew jeans $1.98, Ralph Lauren jeans $1.99, Gap jeans $1.99, Express jeans $4.98, and another pair of Ralph Lauren jeans $1.98The Lord always blesses me so much at thrift stores! All six pair of jeans are in practically new condition and I spent less than $20 on all of them combined, which is way less than just one pair would have cost had I purchased them new. If I were forced to buy all of my clothes from the mall, I could not afford to be impressed with the different name brands. Furthermore, I certainly don't want to become materialistic by obsessing over whether or not all of my polo shirts have the little Ralph Lauren pony in the corner, but I do absolutely love the challenge of studying the expensive clothes in the mall, online, and in catalogs and then hitting the thrift stores so I can pair together preppy, classy outfits for a tiny fraction of the cost! I look forward to one day having the opportunity to dress an entire family in expensive-looking clothes as inexpensively as possible. The woman of Proverbs 31 "dressed in fine linen and purple" (Prov. 31:22), which made her appear to be a 'woman of status' in her culture, so I excitedly strive to emulate her example.
I also found some childrens' Lands' End ski bibs for only $3.99. I hope to sell them on eBay for a decent profit (the identical ones are online for $69.50).
My old running shoes are in such bad shape that they actually have several holes in them. I found these Adidas shoes to replace them for $10.
I debated over whether or not to buy them because $10 for a pair of shoes in a thrift store is a little bit ridiculous, but I really need a replacement pair and my previous shoes lasted over a year (and they originally only cost 99 cents!), so I found a way to justify my "outrageous" purchase. :)
7 comments:
Wow you did great.
My goodness Meredith! I need to go thrift shopping with you!
Your absolutely right about Proverbs 31~ I particularly like that part in the chapter :)
Thanks Susan and Elizabeth!
Elizabeth,
In all of our moving around we've found the very best thrift stores to be in transient military towns. :) Since families are steadily being transferred in and transferred out, their moving around apparently forces them to get rid of more stuff and send it to the thrift stores in their areas. Just wait 'til Benjamin gets his first assignment and you'll be living in thrift store heaven! ;)
Thank you (and Marie!) for the sweet, encouraging letter. It blesses me every time I open my inbox. I look forward to keeping you updated. :)
Ha ha Meredith, I just love your "thrifting" I love it myself. You got some really neat deals. I just love finding brand names or brand new clothes with the tags still attached:) I shop for Jon at our local thrift shop and he loves everything I get him :) I love your shoes by the way, hay I think your "outrageous" purchase was well thought out!
What a great find! I too am a thrift shopper, and this past weekend our local store had their "Bag Day" (all you can fit into a brown paper grocery bag for $3) in clearing out summer things, and my husband got 6 pairs of slacks for work plus a ton of other stuff I stacked on top of the bag, all for $3! It is a blessing to be able to keep us clothed in nice-looking quality apparel for such great prices!
Meredith, I have heard about the military families doing that, and after they have lived over seas, I heard you can find all these fantastic rare items! Who knows, maybe Benjamin and I will be stationed somewhere close to you! Wouldn't that be fun!!!
Your so sweet about your note. We fill the same way about our letters from you!
You really hit the jackpot with the jeans. I love looking at the thrift stores for sweaters and cardigans.
The one thing I can't skimp on is shoes. After having a broken foot and ankle trouble, I have to have good shoes.And I never skimped on shoes for my kids, that was always ingrained by my dad, buy the good shoes, they will last. But I am glad that you found the Nikes, and hope they serve you well.
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