Believe it or not, I once despised op shops. Yep. Let us pause for a moment and let this sink in.
Brace yourself, because here comes another shocker: I wanted to be "scene"....you know, rainbow hair, piercings, black, black and more black. (I have nothing against you who enjoy this style, I commend you!) It's just not me though, is it?
So you can imagine you would never,
EVER have caught me
dead in op shop. So consequently, my bank account suffered. My savings for my car were virtually extinct. My parents wallets would run for cover when I walked in to the room. And to top it all off, I was dead tired from having to keep a job and, as I remember putting it once, my life "sucked."
So somewhere along the line I had an epiphany. HALLELUJAH!
I realized I needed to look at my money and plan for my future, and that I needed to grow up and look after myself. I think the fact that I found out I was allergic to gluten and dairy and taking them out of my diet completely changed the chemistry in my body and cleared my head may have had a part in all this. A
HUGE part. So I downsized the way I spent, and I re-ignited my love for vintage.
And sweetie, I never looked back!
Give thrift stores a chance
.
I used to think thrift stores were yucky and smelly. Granted, some of them are. But they are so much more!
You can get virtually anything for any style there. Really current style dresses, shirts, skirts and shoes, vintage clothes, cowboy boots, stiletto heels, chunky necklaces, dainty chains....the list goes on.
I find a lot of people think thrift stores only have grotty old clothes or "old lady" clothes for "indies and hipsters." These days, most thrift stores will trash anything torn up or sell them as rags, or even cut them up and sell the good parts as fabric. So chances are if you toddle in to a thrift store and explore the racks, you will find any number of modern, vintage or on trend clothing pieces in really good nick. If you take a look at my Styling section, you'll see! Most of my wardrobe is thrifted these days.
So you have to get past the idea that thrift stores are pointless! You can find anything you're looking for, if you just take the moment to look.
And a really cool thing about thrifting? By shopping at an op shop you are both recycling, so it's sustainable, and you are giving money to a good cause!
You also want to keep an open mind and think cleverly.
I found this in the "old lady" section.
Can't find a pair of shorts you like? Rummage through the pants and jeans racks and you might find something you can cut and hem in to the perfect (stand out) shorts for you! The same goes for dresses, you can cut and hem to the desired length, or even get some nice complimentary fabric from the craft section and add some length if it's too short! You can cut sleeves, add sleeves, use belts, add sashes, turn dresses in to shirts or skirts, wear shirts as jackets, change buttons, add patches and accents....the options are endless if you just
think. I promise, you will come up with some great, original clothing pieces. Pretty much anything you would want to add to a piece of clothing you will find in a thrift store.
Be adventurous! The white polka dot dress pictured here was found in the costume section!
If you're on a really tight budget or just want more for less, pay attention to the sales.
I personally get a massive kick out of a good bargain, I would probably include "professional bargain hunter" on my resume if I could. So I pay attention to the sales for the fun of it. Salvation army stores have sales each week according to the colour of the tags. So when you walk in, look for a poster or massive cardboard cut out saying which coloured tag is 50% off that day! I'm so hopeless, I will ONLY buy what's on sale unless it's already seriously cheap. I have been known to walk in to an op shop and look at a five dollar top, fall in love with it, and leave because it is "too expensive." Vinnies stores and most other thrift stores will have a $1 rack absolutely bursting with cool stuff. The grey top above was found on a one dollar rack! Also, the more obscure thrift stores like church or house ones tend to be much cheaper, and you are more likely to find gems there, because they haven't been picked over and items aren't prices according to their worth! These shoes were two dollars, and the bad was three!
Finally, and I can't stress this enough, so I shall put it in bold for your eyes to soak up:
Know you aren't restricted to only thrift stores.
Other places I will happily bag a bargain include garage sales, markets, and sales at QUALITY stores. I will not pay $60 for a dress unless it is from a store like Myers, and it is reduced from a very high price. I got this one for sixty dollars down from almost three hundred, and the quality is amazing:
And THIS was $2 from a garage sale
Remember, if you are thrifting, look for quality in clothes if you don't want to have to keep replacing them. Even if they are only a dollar, you don't want to keep wasting your money by replacing bad quality items. Those dollar could go in to your savings and earn interest, or buy you another amazing piece of clothing!
Some earrings from a garage sale and an op shop!
I hope that this helped you, feel free to email me if you have any enquiries at annabelle_
1995@hotmail.com.au.
I guarantee you that this method of shopping will save you money, and you will end up with so many unique and one-of-a-kind-pieces.
Stay tuned for more budgeting fun!! (wow, now that sounds like an oxymoron!) Subscribe to receive an email each time I post something new! There is a link on the right panel of this page.
Happy shopping, my lovelies!!
Annabelle.
<3
xxx
If you want to get crafting, for simple projects such as clothes or perking up items, like this lamp that I did a few months back, you are going to need a simple kit. Most of these things you can pick up at either your local supermarket, op shop of craft store. So, you will need:
If you're a busy person, I would recommend craft books, I have a few, mostly given to me by my boyfriend of his lovely mother (thanks guys!). If you don't want to spend your money on those, just spend five minutes here and there looking at tutorials on the internet and saving the ones that you like to a file in your favourites or on your computer for you to check out later when you need to make a gift or something. YouTube is AH-MAZING for tutorials.
There are so many things out there you can craft up. If you find a cupboard you like at a thrift store but the colour doesn't suit your décor, grab some sandpaper and paint and do it up! Make some pretty labels for jars and spray paint the lids to keep your flour, herbs, and sugar in. Cut up the clothes you don't like anymore for fabric, or make a dress in to a skirt. 
Can't find a pair of shorts you like? Rummage through the pants and jeans racks and you might find something you can cut and hem in to the perfect (stand out) shorts for you! The same goes for dresses, you can cut and hem to the desired length, or even get some nice complimentary fabric from the craft section and add some length if it's too short! You can cut sleeves, add sleeves, use belts, add sashes, turn dresses in to shirts or skirts, wear shirts as jackets, change buttons, add patches and accents....the options are endless if you just think. I promise, you will come up with some great, original clothing pieces. Pretty much anything you would want to add to a piece of clothing you will find in a thrift store. 
I personally get a massive kick out of a good bargain, I would probably include "professional bargain hunter" on my resume if I could. So I pay attention to the sales for the fun of it. Salvation army stores have sales each week according to the colour of the tags. So when you walk in, look for a poster or massive cardboard cut out saying which coloured tag is 50% off that day! I'm so hopeless, I will ONLY buy what's on sale unless it's already seriously cheap. I have been known to walk in to an op shop and look at a five dollar top, fall in love with it, and leave because it is "too expensive." Vinnies stores and most other thrift stores will have a $1 rack absolutely bursting with cool stuff. The grey top above was found on a one dollar rack! Also, the more obscure thrift stores like church or house ones tend to be much cheaper, and you are more likely to find gems there, because they haven't been picked over and items aren't prices according to their worth! These shoes were two dollars, and the bad was three!
