“That was it. Suddenly you hit puberty and
it’s like, you know, thrift stores! I just started deconstructing everything
from thrift stores.” —Gwen Stefani
Bonjour! Salut! Bienvenue!
So you want a whole new wardrobe. And you've got pennies in your pocket. What can you do?
Last year, we wanted to see if we could compile an outrageously
creative, super smashing selection of clothing for
one crisp $100 bill (or really, for many handfuls of change).
That was our goal—we chose to accept it—and this is how we made out (we listed
the price we paid vs. the cost of the items brand-new):
Bottoms: Thrift
store /Retail
Cool pistachio-green chinos (Express) $5/$59.99
Awesome
cobalt-blue stretch jeans (Bullhead) $5/$39.50
I’m-such-a
grown-up black trousers (Gap) $5/$59.95
Super
sophisticated black skirt (Ann Taylor) $4.25/$88
So neat,
they had to be European Photoprint leggings $2.75/$21.95
Silk plaid pleated
skirt (Carlisle) $4.25/$55
Paul Frank
sweats $3.30/$30
Tops:
White long
sleeved ruffled Pirate blouse (J. Crew) $4/$98
Blue and
white plaid cowboy shirt (Vigoss Collection) $4/$34
Blue and
white striped business shirt (Banana Republic) $4/$79.50
Long sleeved
green and blue t-shirt that mom wants to steal $2.50/$22
Classic Jeans
jacket (Caslon) $5/$69
Plaid angora/mohair
argyle vest (J. Crew) $4/$55
Silver and
black Raiders Jersey (Reebok) $2.20/$59.95
Lucky brand
tee-shirt $2.20/$34.50
Dressy:
Long blue
polka dot dress (Jonathan Martin) $6.50/$61.99
H & M
short velvet dress $5/$34.95
Harry Acton vintage
sequined jacket $6.50/$85
Shoes:
Authentic
Scarlet Cowboy boots $8.00/$120
Franco Sarto
penny loafers $5.00/$69.95
Diesel
sneakers $8/$85
Accessories:
2 ties $3/$40
Grand
Total = $99.45
How did we
do this?
• Like
colors liked us, and we liked them back. If you were to peek in our closet,
you’d see greens, blues, white, and black—we can wear the cobalt jeans with
all the different tops, or the black pencil skirt with a t- and the vest. We
thought about what we’d already purchased, and added each time.
• The thrift
store became our second home. We didn’t expect to walk into the store with $100
and come out with a fall wardrobe. We visited a few times a week to see what
was new.
• Our minds
remained open. The sequined jacket is out of this world, but definitely not
something we were looking for. The fact that it goes with the skirts, dress,
and cowboy boots is icing on the cupcake.
For fun, we did a rundown of what this wardrobe would have cost if we could have found all
the pieces brand-new. Of course, some of the items — like the insanely awesome vintage
sequin jacket from the 70s— are not currently available. We did a search of second-hand
sites to find a comparable one. Same with the cowboy boots. But for every item, we chose the lowest price we could find.
So, drum roll, please….Are you ready? $1303.23
And that's how you can make a handful of change look really super big!
Au revoir!
