Secrets of a Secondhand Shopaholic

My four-part Get Shorty series has come and gone, and it’s time for me to sit back and reflect on the journey.  It started out as a mission to stock my wardrobe with Short Winter Skirts (SWS), and ended as a journey to the very inner soul of how this shopaholic’s mind works.

Those of you who took that journey with me will have to admit, it was quite scary at times, wasn’t it?

First, a monetary summary of the skirts I purchased:

Number of skirts: 14

Total cost of skirts (excluding tax):  $85.46

Average Cost per skirt:  $6.10

If this is your first time to my blog, you might think, “Wow!  What an incredible bargain shopper she is!”

Well, read on and you might change your tune.

Here is a brief recap of each post in the Get Shorty series:

Get Shorty – after realizing I own 38 long skirts, and only 3 Short Winter Skirts, I realized I have a wardrobe deficiency that must be attended to.

Get Shorty, Part 2:  The Goodwill $1.99 Sales Tags gods were smiling down on me that day, and I ended up with 7 skirts and a pair of boots for $17.43.  Most of the skirts I bought just because they were cheap, not because I really liked them.  Some of them weren’t even short.

And here’s an update on those skirts:  I have even taken 5 of those 7 to a consignment shop – to reselll and maybe make some money.   In fact, the picture on the right is the Bob Mackie brown skirt that I got rid of.  In the end, real estate in my closet was a lot more valuable than a skirt I bought just to have around.

So this is when I started to ask myself:

A) Am I a truly Amazing Bargain Shopper?

B) Or am I a rather sick individual seeking to fill some void with clothes?

I mean, I admit I’m a shopaholic, but is there some deeper, more darker element going on here?

Let me get back to talking about my retail therapy excursions so I don’t have to think about THAT anymore….

Get Shorty, Part 3:

I was more conservative on this trip to a different Goodwill store: I only ended up with 3 skirts, 1 jacket and 2 sweaters for $20.00.  And I really liked every single item.

See?  I’m an Awesome Bargain Shopper!!

But I still had doubt….

Get Shorty, the Final Chapter (GSFC)

Pandora’s Box was reopened at my favorite consignment store, and I shopped until I dropped.  When I wrote the GSFC post, I only admitted to buying 4 beautiful SWS.  I didn’t write about “the rest of the story” which includes an armful of sweaters and shirts and a Petite Sophisticates trench coat, which somehow ended up in the mix.

I spent a lot more than $20 on this trip.  Clothes cost a lot more here than at Goodwill, but relative to retail, they are still quite a bit cheaper.

And I got some great, great bargains.  I feel like I was definitely an Awesome Bargain Shopper.

ABS or Sick Individual Seeking to Fill Some Void with Clothes?

Well, let me put it like this.  Yes – I am an Awesome Bargain Shopper.  I buy quality clothes at very low prices. And yes, I am a shopaholic.  But as far as saying I’m a sick individual??

Let me close with describing the outfit I wore to work today.  I didn’t buy any of these items on any of my Get Shorty trips, but I think they tell a good story about why I shop like I do:

Pants:   Tahari ($1.99) When I went to the tailor to get these hemmed, she commented on how nice the fabric was…

Brown turtleneck:  Eileen Fisher ($3.39) OK, I only paid $3.39 for this item……I Googled the website and found it online for $139.00.

Jacket:  Doncaster ($4.59)  Have you heard of Doncaster? The average cost of a jacket is $500.

Boots:  New York and Company ($6.59)

So all day today, I was walking around in an outfit that would have cost approximately $800 if purchased new, and I only paid $16.56 for it.

So am I a sick individual seeking to fill some void with clothes?  Well, after feeling like a million bucks today, you know what?  I really don’t care!

The only sick thing here is how stupid I look in that photo!!  That is the real tragedy!!

Time to take a break from the drudgery of shopping secondhand stores to relax, unwind, and journey into the land of shopping where money is no object….

Think of that world where comfort and style lavish your body, luxury fabrics embrace your skin with exquisite  tailoring and detail, and you are immersed in elegance and fashion…

And remember, money is not a factor…

Are you comfortable?  Relaxed?  In your zen mode?

Now read about these pants I found on one of my favorite blogs, Corporette, which is a fashion blog for people who don’t blink twice at spending $1000 on a suit.  I “steal” fashion tips and style alerts from their expensive world, and incorporate them into my low-budget world…shhhh, don’t tell.  I log on under the assumed name of Super Rich Girl and they think I’m one of them!

Here’s the post, and remember price is not a factor:
“The Jil Sander Ercole Wool Trouser is a new arrival to online boutique Net-a-Porter…. These new Jil Sander trousers are a near perfect specimen of the hottest pant silhouette in fashionista-land. They are long, super slim, mid-rise and exquisitely tailored. These pants would be great for a work environment that requires semi-dressy attire, but falls short of suiting-only. Also, thanks to the fashion-forward fit, these trousers can do double duty as your new favorite night out black pants. That kind of versatility, coupled with the classic line, means that these pants will get lots of use… perfect for lowering that cost-per-wear justification– um– I mean calculation.”

Don’t those sound lovely?  Remember, money is not an object!

But if it were, how much would you pay for these beauties?  $100?  $250?

How about $645? That’s what they cost…

Which is why I will only experience their beauty in Fantasyland….

However, back  in the real world, I’ll continue on my endless quest to find this Holy Grail of black pants in my secondhand stores.

Wish me luck!

Thank you to everyone who voted yes or no as to whether or not I should buy the beautiful vintage black cashmere coat.  As of 5:00 p.m. Thursday night the results were:

85% Yes

15% No

It’s so nice to see that I am among people who really can appreciate beauty and value.  I love my peeps!

However, I have good news and bad news about the coat.

First, the bad news ………….yep, you guessed it.  When I went to buy the coat after work, it had already been sold. Can you believe it??!!  My heart sank.

Sue, the store owner, was almost as disappointed as I was.  In fact, she said she almost didn’t sell it.

Which brings me to the good news.  Sue told me the woman who bought the coat has breast cancer, and she had received really good news about her diagnosis today, so she was out shopping, looking for something nice to buy herself to celebrate.

So this story has a happy ending.

Thanks again for your support, and I’m sure you join me in knowing the coat has found a happy home.

OK, I need your help.

I’ve been obsessing over this beautiful VINTAGE winter coat.  It’s black cashmere, belted, with a fur collar. It fits perfectly.

Price:  $50.00

It’s for sale in the antique store that I live above, so I visit it daily.  OK,  not daily, but I have been watching it for about two weeks.

My friend John asked me the other day how long is long enough to obsess about something, until you can break down and buy it.  I told him my rule is usually 24 hours.  If I’m still thinking about something 24 hours later, then the obsession is there to stay, so I might as well minimize the pain and buy the stupid thing.

Remember, though, I am a shopaholic..

I have also been successful in diverting a large purchase by deflecting my desire with purchasing a lower-priced item. The  post,  One Coat, Two Coat, Black Coat, Blue coat is an example of where I was able to purchase two coats for much less than the cost of one coat.

But that coat was $100 – which is alot of money for me to spend.  This coat is only $50.  And it’s cashmere, vintage, and it’s hung around for over two weeks.  Waiting for me…..

So I’m going to throw it out there and see what you think.  Should I buy the coat?

I just had to share this question a blogger asked about whether or not you should shop at a thrift store, if you could actually afford to pay full price.  It’s particularly relevant, because my last post documented how I purchased 7 skirts, mostly just because they were so cheap.

This person is worried that shopping at a thrift store might be morally wrong if you’re only shopping there to get good bargains, and not because you really need to shop there i.e. you live in severe poverty.

Apparently she feels she is depriving those people who really need to shop at a thrift store from getting clothes….
http://www.bargainbabe.com/2009/12/09/money-morality-legit-to-shop-at-thrift-stores/
If shopping at thrift stores soley to save money is immoral, then I am going straight to hell…..

This is Part Two in a 4-part series titled “Get Shorty”, in which I describe my quest for Short Winter Skirts (to be referred to from here on out as “SWS”).

Part One revealed the emergency situation in which I discovered I was lacking short winter skirts (I only owned three!).

In Part Two,  I’ll describe my adventure to the Goodwill store that is right next to my grocery store.  This has proven to be a dangerously convenient location to me.   If this store were a potential boyfriend, I’d label it DGD (Dangerously Geographically Desirable), which means it’s a little too close for comfort. The ease of access can lead to unexpected drop-ins just to “check things out”.

As I started my journey to find SWS, there were  only two requirements for what I was looking for:

1.  The skirt should be made of a winter fabric such as:  wool or wool-blend,  corduroy, knit, tweed – something heavy and warm.

2.  The skirt should be just above, or right at my knees (i.e. short – get it?)

As is typical with my secondhand store shopping (and my shopaholic tendancies), I ended up with alot more than I intended on buying – 7 skirts, not all of them winter fabric, and not all of them short.  And remember, there are still two more parts in this Get Shorty series.  But wait until you see how much I  bought and how little I spent…

I also ended up with some unanswered questions:

1.  Is brown the new black?  Five of the seven skirts I bought were brown.  (I guess since it’s a secondhand store, brown must have been the new black several seasons ago).

2.  When is something “vintage” vs. it being just really, really old and “dated”? Two of the skirts I found led me to ask this question.

3.  Just because something is only $1.99 – do I have to buy it?  Goodwill has this $1.99 colored tag sale  – every week, items with a certain colored tag are only $1.99.   This trip was Blue Tags week…….and I hit the jackpot!

In these photos (except for the last one), I wore the same brown jacket:  Talbots ($4.69 purchased from Goodwill at an earlier time).  White T-shirt:  Banana Republic ($2.39  – Goodwill).

Skirt 1: Banana Republic $1.99

Skirt #1: Banana Republic (95% Wool, 5% Lycra/Spandex) $1.99 Score!!  Length is OK and it’s a wool blend.

Skirt #2: Talbots $1.99

Skirt #2 Talbots (100% Cotton)   $1.99 This is an instance where Label trumped Logic  – the skirt doesn’t  meet either of the SWS requirements and I just bought it because it’s from Talbots and it’s only $1.99.   Notice it has the pleated slit in the front – I’ve never been a big fan of that.

Skirt #3: Talbots $3.39

Skirt #3:  Talbots (100% Wool)$3.39 OK, so this one meets one of the SWS requirements – it’s made of wool, so it’s a winter skirt.  But obviously it’s not short.  I like how I belted the jacket, though…..I guess I did learn something from that woman who wore the same dress for 30 days….

Skirt #4: Paul Harris $1.99

Skirt #4:  Green Paul Harris  (100% Polyester) (Ignore the bad photo lighting, if possible.  I played around with the contrast/coloring in Photoshop for this photo so you can see that the skirt is  green.  Learning how to use lighting, purchasing a lighting kit, etc. are on my list of things to learn to do….)

$1.99

Short skirt – check

Winter fabric – check (well, it’s more winter than summer)

This is where I start asking what the difference between ‘vintage’ and ‘dated’ is.  Paul Harris? Really?   The last time I purchased something from Paul Harris was in the 80′s when I was in high school.  Oh no, it gets worse -  I just Googled Paul Harris and it’s a clothing store for older ladies  – and by older, I mean they have a “Red Hat Society” tab on their website!!!  Once again, I’m feeling regret…

Skirt #5: Bob Mackie $1.99

Skirt #5:  Bob Mackie  (70% Acryllic, 30% Wool)

$1.99

How many people do you know that own a Bob Mackie?  He was Cher’s fashion designer.  Once again – can I consider this vintage?  This one also fits both requirements – it’s wool blend and just right at the knee…..

Skirt #6: Calvin Klein $3.39

Skirt $6:  Calvin Klein $3.39 (100% Wool)

Yes it’s wool, but no, it’s not short.  But I wouldn’t categorize it as long, either.  I included the inset detail so you can see that’s it’s brown-checkered – and it’s not the same skirt as Skirt #2.  It’s a very well-made skirt.  And look, I paid full price for it….

Skirt #7: Collette Mordo $1.99

Skirt #7:  Collette Mordo (78% Acryllic, 22% Nylon)

$1.99

This is another skirt I just grabbed because it was only $1.99.  I had never heard of Collette Mordo, but I just Googled her and learned she’s a pretty high-end fashion designer – I think she’s exclusive to Neiman Marcus, where her items run around $150 – $200 per piece.  It’s a heavy  dark gray skirt that will be great for winter.

So there you have it – 7 skirts….and oh, did I mentioned I picked up this pair of never-worn Croft and Barrel ankle boots for $6.59? 

So this leads me to that final question I asked in the beginning, and will probably be an unanswered question of the shopaholic – just because the price is right, do I need to buy it???

Check out my invoice for this shopping excursion, and let me know your thoughts….

Skirt #3: Talbots $1.99

Skirt #1: Banana Republic (95% Wool, 5% Lycra/Spandex) $1.99 Score!!  Length is OK and it’s a wool blend.

On my last post, I considered the possibility that perhaps long skirts were not acceptable to wear – which would have been devastating to me because I own 38 long skirts, and I wear them often.  But after a little research, I learned that it’s OK to wear long skirts (“confident” women wear them, the fashion expert wrote.  Confident! Woo hoo!).

I just probably need to wear them in moderation – an obviously difficult concept for a shopaholic.

Since then, I have been trying to stay away from long skirts, and reaching for the shorter ones.  Unfortunately, I realized that I really don’t have any short winter skirts in my closet.

Well, I have three.  Two of them you’ve already seen on an earlier post - remember those poses where I’m frowning??

Interesting enough, both wool-blended skirts are originally from Casual Corner (but I purchased them at a consignment shop, of course).  I wore my other short wool-blend skirt the other day:

Check out how far I’ve come with my posing and smiling!!  A little too much drama, probably.  Once again, I need to learn moderation…

Skirt:  Ann Taylor (consignment shop – $18.99)
Jacket: Not a name brand, have had it for years
Sleeveless Pink Turtleneck – once again, not a brand name, but bought it at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago for $2.89.

Which leads me, Miss 38-Long-Skirts, to realize having only three short winter skirts is a HUGE deficiency in my wardrobe!  Especially since leggings and tights are  coming back this season!

So I made out my shopping list:  eggs, milk, short winter skirts.  They don’t have to be wool – a recent trip to J. Crew alerted me to the fact that corduroy is hot this season too.

My next few posts will document my quest for these (what I found to be) illusive articles of clothing.  They were illusive for me because I started at Goodwill.  I found pretty much everything BUT short skirts (I knew that would happen, but I thought I’d give it a try anyways).  In the end, though, I have added some nice skirts to my  short skirt collection.  The recurring problem of picking up a zillion other items just because they are cheap unfortunately occurred as well.

Before I move onto my Short Skirt Journey, I do want to share with you the trouble I’m having in defining “short”.  Actually, in defining “too short”.   One outfit I wore last week is the perfect example of what I’m talking about:

I’ve had this jacket/dress ensemble for years.  I bought it at a resale store in Houston back in 2000.  The  brand is “item…”.  I Googled that brand and didn’t find anything.  I was hoping it was “Three dot” clothing, which is supposed to be an expensive, quality brand, but it wasn’t.  Just “item…”

I don’t remember exactly how much I paid, but I’m thinking it was around $50.

Anyways, it’s a two piece outfit which is absolutely adorable, but the dress is just too short for my comfort.  I must have bought it when I was feeling young and thin……

I tried it with black tights (photo on the left), but I just couldn’t do it.  So I matched it with a black pencil skirt  and a sleeveless black turtle neck (photo on the right), and that’s how I wore it last week.  I realize now that the pencil skirt is slightly too long, actually.

However, I’m glad I played it safe.

Incidentally, my boyfriend liked the photo on the left.  Surprise, surprise.

But I’m well into my 40′s, and I’m still a little hesitant about wearing something too short, especially to work.

And since I don’t ever see the hands of time going backwards to a place where I would feel comfortable wearing the short dress,  what should I do it?

And look!  I’ve learned how to use this “Poll” application, so please complete this poll: