Secrets of a Secondhand Shopaholic

Day 6 was a cold day in the Midwest, so I wore this nice wintery outfit.

Here’s the price breakdown:

Jacket – Mossimo $4.59

Sleeveless turtle neck – Liz Claiborne $2.29

Pants – Banana Republic – $4.89

Boots – Transit – $6.59

Total Cost:  $18.36

No great story with the jacket – I just want to say that Houndstooth is one of my favorite patterns – I feel like it exudes class and style.  And it’s a great winter pattern.

As for the pants, no great story here, except that when I bought them at Goodwill about a year ago, I also picked up two other pairs of brown pants the same day:  a very nice Tahari pair which only cost $1.99,  I wrote about them in Get Shorty:  Epilogue, these Banana Republic ones, and a pair of Gap brown pants that still have the tags on them. Three pairs for less than $12.

I don’t buy brown pants anymore.  Don’t need to.

I would like to say the same about brown boots.  Theoretically I have enough pairs of brown boots to last me a lifetime.  However, the unfortunate thing is when I stroll by the shoes/boots section at Goodwill, looking to see if there may by chance be a pair of Manolos or Jimmy Choos (hey, it could happen!), I usually find a brand new pair of  brown  boots, in my size, saying “buy me!  buy me!”.  It’s actually getting annoying…

So let me start on my journey of  Buying Brownie (not unlike Get Shorty).

The difference between Buying Brownie and Get Shorty, is that with Get Shorty, I went out looking for Short Winter Skirts.  With Buying Brownie, I had already bought a nice pair of new Liz Claiborne boots from DSW in December (remember These Boots Were Made For Walking?) I bought those boots for $59.99.  Buying Brownie is actually more like The Coat Chronicles, where I have bought about 10 pairs of boots from Goodwill for the same price of one pair of boots from DSW.  Here’ my story:

Liz Claiborne $59.99

Let’s go back to December, when I was actually satisfied with my new Liz Claiborne brown boot purchase.  I thought they were a good staple item to have in my wardrobe, and although they were out of my price range, investing in a good pair of quality boots is a smart thing to do.  Right?  Wrong.  After reading this, you will see why I may never buy anything retail again.

Nine West $6.59

A week after purchasing the brown Liz Claiborne boots, I found these  boots for $6.59.   Brand new Nine West.  I thought about taking the Liz Claiborne boots back, but I didn’t.  I wish I had.

Patchwork boots $6.59

Then the brown boots seemed to multiply.  Like rabbits.  Soon after the Nine West babies, this cool pair popped up. Brand new, in my size.  These are the ones I wore in today’s outfit above, with the houndstooth jacket and Banana Republic pants.

The patchwork pattern was unique enough that I could justify spending $6.59 on them.  So now I had 3 pairs of brown  boots.  I was happy and content.

Cowboy Boots $6.59

Until I saw these cowboy boots on the left.  Very unique.  The equivalent of the salmon-colored plastic trench coat, in my opinion.  They make such a statement!

Patchwork Boots #2 $6.59

OK, now this is where the Boot Gods stopped playing fair:  The next time I went in to Goodwil, these second pair of brown patchwork boots were there.  Teasing me.

Sure, I already had a nice pair of brown patchwork boots, but these seemed newer, nicer.  If you look close, they really are different from the first pair I bought.  See that thin tan strip across the top of the foot?  Completely different, I tell you!

I’m going to stop here with Part 1 of Get Brownie.  Oh yes, there’s a Part Two….involving tall brown equestrian style boots…

It’s really not my fault.  They’re like rabbits, I tell you!  Every time I turn around, another one pops up…..