Latest Find: 3.1 Phillip Lim, Thread Social & Esley

Lately when I've gone shopping, I have a ticking time bomb in the form of a 21 month old stuck in a stroller. Usually he is pretty good, especially if he has a truck in his hands, but I just never know when he is going to reach his limit.

So in an attempt to ward off a stare-inducing meltdown, I've gotten pretty good at flying through the aisles, grabbing what I need or what catches my eye. I'm sure I'm missing some pretty great stuff, but this method nonetheless worked on a recent thrifting outing here in Nashville.

I managed to pick up three gorgeous designer dresses. The first is a dark blue 3.1 Phillip Lim cocktail dress. Ruffly and decadent, it would be perfect for a summer party or a fancy date night. Alas, it is too big for me, so I'm pretty certain it will wind up on my Ebay store in the near future. These dresses can retail for $600 and more, so someone is sure to get a steal.

 The back ruching is beautiful!

The next dress I found is a pretty rockin' Esley dress. This was brand new with the tags still attached, and originally retailed for almost $100. Not super pricey, but I got a great deal anyways. I'm thinking about saving this for a performance. It has a fun swirly skirt that would be perfect for dancing.

I think my favorite may be this Thread Social dress. I have nothing else in this color, so I thought it would be a nice stand out piece. I love that it can be dressed up with heels and jewelry, or worn a bit more casually. Maybe not to the playground, but definitely for dinner with the girls on a warm night.
Thread Social dresses tend to retail in the $300 to $700 range (with some topping $1000!), so I definitely got a bargain.

Until next time, Happy Shopping!

Latest Find: Hermés Ties

One of my favorite things to do while traveling is to seek out local vintage and thrift stores. You never know what you will find, and it feels like a mini treasure hunt to me.

On our recent trip to Savannah, I scored three vintage Hermés ties for $2.00 a piece! Nate wore one to work yesterday and looked smashing!

Thrifty Mama

Growing up with seven brothers had both it's pros and cons. A definite downside was that I didn't have a cool older sister to give me her well-loved hand-me-downs. But the flip side of that was I got to buy new, or "new to me" clothes. 

My mom was and still is a huge secondhand aficionado. She will spend an entire afternoon scouring a flea market for one of a kind antiques, or whittle the day away perusing shelves at a thrift store for the perfect teapot.

When I was a kid, I dreaded our "thrifting" days. I was embarrassed to be the kid shopping secondhand while most of my friends and classmates rolled into school in brand new J. Crew duds.

That all changed when I went away to college and all of a sudden, just like that, thrift stores were the epitome of cool. And ever since then, it's been almost a personal mission of mine to see just how much I can buy secondhand. In fact, I often find it difficult to buy brand new because I find myself saying, "I can find this exact same thing for less than half this price."

A lot of my friends say they have a hard time finding good pieces at a thrift store. I always tell them one of the keys is a virtue we all learned in grade school: patience. It's tedious sifting through other people's junk to find something bright and shiny, but it is well worth the effort. The outfit pictured above, minus the tights, was thrifted entirely from Nashville area stores, including the brand new Via Spiga boots.

So I will proudly continue my mom's tradition and hopefully pass my frugality onto my son. Hopefully, he won't be too embarrassed by me.