Thrifting Made Easy

I promised Akyn to go thrifting with him again after his class today because yesterday I did go around Hull finding some treasures with the loveliest couple Kuya Alcid and Ate Susan introducing me to one of the best thrifting stores in town. Thank you so much Ate and Kuya for showing me around.

“Why didn’t you buy anything for me?” “I want us to go thrifting again today so I can get something for myself, too please Mommie!” This was his request since last night convincing me to go shopping in the middle of a two degrees cold weather. Well, it’s only the two of us at home today. We might as well push through with Akyn’s request. Mon is in York working quite excited to sign few documents for our 2022 early blessing. Yay! A great start for the three of us.

How did I develope the love for thrifting and what are the pros and cons of doing it? Before I’ll start my piece, let’s finish a cup of hot coffee to boost our mood, shall we?

I don’t normally go thrifting to any physical stores in Cebu not unless I am with my friends at work who likes to discover our city’s big thrift shops. My Mama isn’t a fan of what we call as “UKAY”(thrifting) and because I always go with my Mom to shop, we mostly end up doing it to her store of choice. Things changed when I came here in the UK, most of my batchmates prefer to thrift although we do shop brand new clothes, too depending on our mood. I had so much fun experiementing clothes and combining my style to the current trend. I’ve been following few America’s Youtube thrifters for quite sometime now. I love how they incorporate different fashion styles using vintage iconic ideas recreating the 90’s to the early 2000’s era of style. Not just clothes and accessories, I’m also gravitating a lot to thrifted home decors. Why? Simply because they’re are so economical saving me dimes compared to buying expensive ones. I usually do a thrift flip project to all my old treasures to match it with my chosen style at home. I like the country farmhouse home vibe so whenever I look for home decors I always prefer to get the rustic antique looking ones. So that’s the history of my love to thrifting.

How do I thrift to find real gems? Thrifting for me requires patience and creativity. Here are few of my tips whenever I thrift.

  1. Have a mental picture of what you’re looking for. I browse a lot of Pinterest ideas if I want to achieve a certain look. Following Youtube influencers helped me to get more tips of what’s the latest craze now when it comes to dressing. One of my favorite vloggers is Haley’s Corner. She definitely got the eye of turning everything pretty. I love the way she carry her outfit. If you want to get some ideas on how to thrift perfectly more, you can visit her channel pretty Mommas. Here’s one of my outfit find yesterday.

The mini wool skirt cost two pounds. I love the warm color plus very much comfy fabric to be worn. I can wear this in any season depending on what will I pair it with.

I used my gray knot lace up front top in the above photo and my pair of boots for four pounds. How can you pass on to those prices?

2. Another tip when thrifting is to know your size. Because of the pandemic, some thrift stores won’t allow you to try on the clothes. To make sure you are buying the right fit then better get familiarized with what size your body would fit to. If you want to get the oversized look, you can go two to three sizes up than your actual measurement. I also thrift using the men’s section if I want to achieve the Boyfriend shirt style. Be creative and open to choices.

3. Don’t let the color stop you. If you find a very nice peice of decor but then the color makes it a little bit tricky to love, don’t hesitate to get them. We can always change its color and glam it the way it would fit our tastes. Please click the link if you want to see samples of my flipping projects.

4. Inspect thoroughly before checking out. With the fact that most items in the charity stores are used, we can’t really expect items are all in good condition. Check the clothes for any missing buttons or hidden fabric stains. Be mindful also for chips in glasswares. I have that mistake in the past that’s why I’m very careful when purchasing stonewares now. This chestnut brown stoneware was only for three pounds in a very immaculate state.

5. Grab the item you like even if you aren’t sure to take it home. Why am I saying this? If you are not certain whether you want to buy it or not, just put it in your cart and think it over while you’re still browsing items in the store. If you leave it, someone might get hold of it and you’ll end up regretting for doubting your choice. You can always return it anyway before check out. I was hesitant to get this bag home but then I decided to keep this purple cutie to match my new purplish trainer.

6. Last but not the least, be patient to check every hidden corner or display in the store. I always check even at the most least visited spot in the shop because most lovely items are hidden somewhere in there. I got surprised when I found this new looking Winnie the Pooh stuff toy hidden at the back of the toys displayed.

Happy shopping to all the thrifter pretty Mommas like me. More gems to discover, the merrier life would be.

Cold morning everyone,

Mich❤

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