Thrifting 101: The $6 Formal Dress

I'm at the stage in life where all of my friends are either getting married or having babies. Although both are joyous occasions, they cost MONEY! Sometimes you can’t get around spending cold hard cash. I have one very good friend who warned me: “You better not thrift my baby’s clothes!” LOL just wait. 

Anyway back to the point at hand. After you factor in travel, hotel, dress, shoes, gifts, etc. expenses start to add up. Since I love to 'Style on a Dime' I will tell you how I thrifted one dress for $6 and wore it to two different weddings in different ways.

The formal $6 thrift dress...Pretty. Right?

About a year ago I was a bridesmaid/groomsman. I'm not sure what to call it, but I stood next to my best friend as he got married. His only requirement was that I wear black. I am a lover of the 1950's so when I spotted this raglan sleeve dress with a taffeta skirt I knew it was the one for me.

I love the deep V-neck in the front, the cinch waist, and the full skirt. I paired it with a fab bow belt that I picked up from H&M, and wore my go to Sam Edelman peep toe pumps.

Recently I attended a college friend’s wedding and I thrifted a dress but at the last minute I decided that I didn't want to wear that dress. With nothing to wear and it's the night before I leave to attend the wedding I had to come up with a plan. Then I came across my 1950's dress and thought “How can I reinvent this dress?” 

Because of the full skirt, it would look fab with a crinoline slip, which I didn't have so I reverted to a full skirt in my closet and put it under the dress. This gave me an instant fluff and more of a Dior "New Look." To add a pop of color I accessorized with a moss patent leather belt and I was ready to go.

Formal $6 dress with different accessories 

The under skirt

Styling on a Dime doesn't have to be a challenge it's a matter of thinking outside the box. There are no wrong or right ways to do this. I do it the 'Wright Way.'

The complete look 2nd time around

Stay tuned for the next Thrifting 101 on how we adverted a tragedy when my date realized at the 11th hour that he forgot his cuff links for his French cuff shirt!

Have a thrift piece that you reinvented to wear more than once? Share it with us on Twitter or Instagram @shopstylehaven or leave a comment below.

Thrifting 101: 8 Things to do Before You Thrift?

(Style Haven)

The thrill of thrifting is finding coveted pieces for little money. I always feel like I made out like a bandit when I find a designer piece in the thrift store for little money. 

Most thrift stores are not looking to get top dollar because they get their clothes through donations and are linked to a charity. Most of the time the thrift stores don't know the value of the piece. 

A little trick I use is to shop at the thrift stores in neighborhoods where people dress the way I want to dress. For example, if you have 5th Avenue taste but don't have a 5th Avenue budget you may want to try a thrift store in or close by a upper class neighborhood. 

Most people donate out of convince meaning they donate close to home. I've thrifted a pair of Valentino pants for $9.99 and a Christian Dior plaid knicker pant for $7.99 clearly the person marking the price didn't realize what they they had in their hands. 

Here are some top tips when looking for thrift stores

1. Game Plan: Make a list of items or occasions that you're going shopping for. You don't want to get into the store without a plan. Thrift stores can be overwhelming and if you don't go in with a plan you will leave with items you don't need
   
2. Sale Days: Most thrift stores have sales days one that I frequent has 25% off on Mondays and Thursdays and 50% off once a month. So you know when I visit the store ;)
   
   
3. What is the charity: It doesn't matter unless the reason your thrifting is to support a charity but it's always good to know. Take Housing Works for example; the nonprofit organization runs several thrift stores throughout New York City and its proceeds goes toward helping people who are affected with HIV/AIDS and on the brink of homelessness. Click here for the link to its thrift stores...and you can even shop online. That's a new one, thrifting online!
   
4. What is the thrift store known for? Clothes, furniture, evening wear, vinyl records, housewares etc. You want to know what the store specialize in before you waste your time.
   
5. Cash and Charge? While cash is still the monetary instrument of choice, plenty of shoppers prefers to pay with their debit or credit cards. Usually the thrift stores will have labels of what credit cards they accept on the front doors. Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX. If there's no clear sign, then just ask.
   
6. Patience: Some thrift stores are neatly organized and everything is labeled. However, this is not always the case and you may have to dig, which takes a lot of patience. Also keep in mind that there may not be air conditioning during the warmer months and the store may lack heat during the cooler season. A good rule of thumb is to dress in layers for any thrifitng occasion... winter, spring, summer and fall.  
    
7. Dress for the occasion: You may be digging for hours and the last thing you need is to carry is a heavy purse or extra bags.
   My outfit for thrifting is normally some sort of spandex and a sweater this makes it's easy for me to try on things right over my clothes (dressing rooms are not always available)I wear a small cross body purse, which frees up my hands. In my purse I carry cash, a credit card, hand sanitizer and my cell phone. The phone comes in handy when looking at labels you can Google to see if there is added value in the piece.
   
8. Have Fun: Thrifting is meant to be a fun economical experience. Just think of it like this, you're getting fab new pieces for little money while helping a charity and the environment. Hey look at thrifting as your civic duties.
   
   

I hope these tips help you out when thrifting. It's not the only way, it's the Wright way. Share your thrifting tips in the comment box below or tweet your tips to @ShopStyleHaven 

Thrifting 101: Halloween Thrifting

Don't have a Halloween costume yet? No worries there's a thrift store for that. 

When I was a child I used to love Halloween. It was the one day I could be someone or something else. Even though it was one of my favorite days I would always wait until the very last minute to put my costume together, which meant I had to use what was in the house. 

One year I was a Rubik's Cube. I got a box big enough where I could cut out a hole for my head and holes for my arms to go through. I then painted squares of the corresponding colors to the 3-D combination puzzle. It was the classic last minute costume!

Another year I was a teacher. Then I gave the bunny rabbit costume a try and the list goes on. 

If you're still trying to figure out what to be for Halloween this year, the perfect costume can be found in your closet and your local thrift store.

Here are my top costume ideas and tips for Halloween 2014: 

• Where's Waldo 

This is one of my favorites and probably the easiest costumes to pull together. Grab a white and red striped sweater from your closet or thrift store. Can't find one... the get a white sweater and add red duct tape for the stripes. You can find the red duct tape at Home Depot or any hardware supply store. The jeans you should have in your wardrobe or change it to a denim skirt to make the costume a little more female friendly. 

Waldo must have a hat! If you can't find the signature hat, get either a solid red skully or a solid white skully, which you can find at any discount retailer. The look will work either way. 

Additional Waldo accessories: Black sunglasses minus the lenses, a cane, brown boots or brown shoes, and a messenger bag will complete the look. 

• Lumberjack 

This look is fairly easy. A red and black flannel button down shirt is the main component. Add a pair of overalls, which are now back in fashion, or denim jeans and add clip on suspenders. Wrap up the costume with an ax and you are the perfect Paul Bunyan or Paula Bunyan. 

• Cowgirl 

Cowboy hat, plaid shirt, denim skirt, cowboy boots and your look is complete. The beauty here is that you can find all of these pieces in your everyday wardrobe. And if you don't have a cowboy hat, because not everyone has one laying around the house, you're sure to find one in your local thrift store.

• Rosie the Riveter 

This cultural icon is always a powerful costume. Roll up the sleeves of your favorite denim shirt and top it off with a red and white polka-dot bandanna as head gear. 

WARNING: Consider making a cardboard cutout that you can hold up with the phrase bubble 'We Can Do It!' If you don't do this you risk being asked all night..."Who are you?" Then you'll be the history teacher explaining how American women pitched in to go work in factories while their husbands, fathers and brothers went off to fight in World War II.

Do you have any thrifty Halloween costume tips and tricks? Leave us a comment below or send us a tweet @ShopStyleHaven 

Tag us your Halloween looks on Instagram - @shopstylehaven

Thrifting 101: Thrifting the Wright Way!

(Aisle of a Thrift Store)

This thrifting thing has become a huge phenomenon lately. It seems like everyone is thrifting. For me, it's been a way of life for many years and it's something that just comes naturally.

I found it rather shocking when I took a couple of friends along for the thrifting experience and they were totally lost. They were picking up regular items that would just clutter their closets and they were completely overwhelmed. Then I started to think, "Is there a science to this thrifting thing?" Well, I'm no scientist. I'm just a thrifter doing it my way or the way I like to phrase it, "the Wright way."

For the next several weeks I'll post the ins and outs to thrifting. Here's a list of what to expect.

• Thrifting your Halloween costume?
• What to do before you thrift?
• How do you thrift?
• Where to thrift?
• What do you look for when thrifting?
• Is this vintage? Vintage vs. Thrifting
• Is $2 too much?
• I lobe it but it's too big...alterations?
• What fabrics should I look for while thrifting?
• Labels to shop for?

Do you have a thrifting question or a thrifting topic you'd like to discuss? Leave your comment below or tweet me @ShopStyleHaven

-- Happy Thrifting!