Anthropologie at Goodwill

I am posting my Thrift Store finds after a friend said, "How do you do this?!" I am a thrift store and flea market addict. Some girls get their nails or hair done, I get to a thrift store whenever I can.

I love Anthropologie. It is my favorite store on the planet. My strategy is to drool over each seasonal catalog and that helps me narrow my focus and time when I enter Goodwill.

There is a strategy to shopping Goodwill in Colorado Springs. The Powers store has the best selection of designer home fashions and decor. Powers also has the large "Women's World" section (which bothers me because I rarely find size SMALL at Powers store). This is great for bigger gals though--you can find fantastic fashions there. The Academy store has the most name brand selections as well as shoes and lots of size SMALL sections. The S. Circle store is unique. Broadmoor residents donate there, so you will find high-end, expensive designer items--BUT you have to search. It also has a designer teen, urban section. The flip side is that the Circle store feeds a more impoverished area. It is severely crowded so you have to take a large dose of patience to go in there. Finally, there is the boutique, De Ja Blue. De Ja Blue is Goodwill's designer Cherry Creek, Denver location with the highest end designers from Marc Jacobs, Jimmy Choo, to Nanette Lapore.

I love the delicate lacy sweater and crepe tee here at Anthro. This set, purchased at their retail store, would be $249. Take a look at my Goodwill ensemble from Powers store. The lacy cotton sweater was $3.99 (Banana Republic), the crepe tee was $3.99 (Ann Taylor), and the boots were $4.99 (Nine West). The biggest SCORE came from the Academy location: GAP burgandy leather, knee-length, pencil skirt-- $19.99 w/ 50% off. Total outfit cost: $23.00 +tax

The most important aspect to remember when learning to shop in a thrift store, is DO NOT look at the size on the tag. Have a color and texture in mind first. Find it. Hold it up. TRY IT ON. I have pants ranging from size 1 to size 8. That is not an exaggeration. Many items may have been altered by their original owner. Vintage items run very small. Junior items run big. Never look at the tag. Decide on your color and texture first, then try it on. Finally, try on colors and styles that you would never have tried before. You will shock yourself at what you may end up liking if you take the risk. If I continue this blog, I will teach you how I sometimes even find pieces that are way too big and come home to alter them on my sewing machine. If a designer item is exactly what I was looking for, but it's a large, I make it work by a home tailor job or taking it to an alteration place. That's it for today.