Some Things Just Can’t Be Thrifted

Yes, it is true, sometimes I actually suggest not to thrift. There are some things that you have just got to spend the money on. Some things are honestly too hard to find.

JEANS

I love to thrift fun pants, like my plaid J.Galt pants or my checkered Brandy Melville pants, but jeans are hard to find. SPEND THE MONEY. Jeans are something you will wear a lot and I mean a lot. I have gotten so many pairs of jeans that seem “good enough” but I end up feeling unsatisfied. Jeans are one of those things that need to be perfect, fit each inch of your body exactly how you want them too. Levis are a great example. You can always find Levis are Goodwlill and other thrift stores, but it’s hard to find ones that fit you perfectly! I have gotten so many jeans from Goodwill that I end up trying to making into shorts and still not liking them. It is so frustrating!

The wash on jeans is also very important. Certain washes look cheap and end up ruining an outfit. They have weird tones in them that end up looking strange with everything you pair with it! Usually you can tell if jeans are cheap and can make a good guess on where someone found them. Washes that don’t blend well together don’t look natural. The wash in the jean should be faint and distressed. Jean washes are one of my biggest pet peeves. Even though I mostly dislike the “goodwill jean wash” I still do see expensive companies do a terrible job! As much as I love Free People, sometimes they even do a weird blend of washes. DON’T buy jeans unless you absolutely love the wash.

Last thing about jeans, make sure you love the fit. Sometimes jeans are too low or too high on me. Sometimes I don’t like how the zipper looks or where it hits my ankle. Sometimes they are too skinny or flare too much. It is easy to slip on a pair of jeans and like them while you look in the mirror for a minute, but don’t jump the gun! Try jeans on with various shirt styles to see what they would look like in your closet. Sometimes jeans are too low rise and too much of my belly is exposed! I WON’T WEAR THEM! I have these black skinny jeans from Zara that go all the way up to my ribs. I like them with longer shirts of sweaters because I don’t like how the tongue of the zipper looks. It is too short and makes my torso look strange. High waisted jeans should always have long tongues! Overall, the things that make a good pair of jeans are really subtle.

SHOES

Shoes are crucial. I just bought these cute Free People boots from a thrift store and sadly don’t like them. They are super cute off the foot, but they just don’t match my style. I would love them for someone else, just not me! Shoes are really hard to thrift. A lot of times you find a shoe you like, but it isn’t good quality. You can usually tell by the price, but also pay attention to color and material. Real leather vs fake leather, HUGE difference.

Last year I had a really hard time finding black boots that I liked. I didn’t like any buckles or straps or suede or rubber. It was also hard to find a boot that hit my ankle in the right spot. Some were too short and looked weird with tights while others were too high and looked awkward. Sometimes I like to pair high socks with my boots, but if they don’t hit my ankle in the right spot it will always look weird! I ended up dropping a lot of money of my DocMartens, but HEY I wear them like everyday.

Also PEOPLE, there is such a thing as a shoe cobbler. It is okay to invest a lot of money in good shoes because they can usually be fixed. My Docs have begun to chip a little, which at first really bummed me out, but then I remembered cobblers. My stress melted away!

JEWLERY

Jewelry is really hard to thrift. Sometimes you get lucky. I got this peace ring, which I never take off, for $2 at a thrift store, but it’s rare that I find something that I won’t get sick of.

Doesn’t mean it has to be expensive! I have gotten a lot of earrings from Target. Hoops are so classic and go with everything! Since they are so simple, they are really easy to pick up at any store. Take CAUTION though. I am in love with Free People earrings and always go searching at Target for look alikes. I usually don’t have good luck. Quality of jewelry does matter because they can easily break. I actually got earrings the other week at Target that were broken when I bought them! Even though they were $12 compared to $40, I prefer to spend the money on something that would break on me in a week! Then I would end up buying new ones and then new ones and then new ones, it adds up!

I don’t always mind getting cheap jewelry though! I really love Brandy Melville’s jewelry because it is so simple. I won’t buy cheap rings because they always turn my fingers green, but I will buy a cheap necklace or earrings. If you do buy something cheap, make sure to take it off at night or when in the water. Treat it with care so you don’t loose it sooner than expected.

DISTRESSED BAND TEES

I know it sounds silly, why spend so much money on a tee shirt? Band tees have a very specific look. If it’s not distressed properly, it looks cheap. I LOVE band shirts and have a lot of them. I was lucky enough to find a classic Led Zeppelin tee at a thrift store for $16 but I also spent $78 on a Queen shirt from DayDreamers. I scored on a sale $30 Guns and Roses tee at Free People, but that was lucky because band tees don’t usually go on sale, especially because they are so in right now! It is all about how the material feels and looks. Normal tees are really rough and structured. Sometimes they are too fitting or too loose. I love tiny rips on the neck, but not massive wholes or cutouts. If it is too tattered it looks like trash but if it is too rigid it is not a distressed tee!

I got a Queen band tee at Free People that caused me a serious headache. Since distress tees tend to me thinner, the holes grow faster. This tee had little holes in the armpits that grew to be larger than my fist in two weeks! Be careful on where the holes are located! Since I of course move my arms a lot, the armpits kept getting worse and worse. Eventually when I was taking it off one day, my elbow caught the hole and I tore the entire sleeve off! I was devastated. Free People is great with returns, so I got a new one that GUESS WHAT, did the SAME thing! Luckily, Free People came out with a new version of the shirt that was a darker color and didn’t have stupid holes in the armpits, so I still got my Queen shirt, but BE CAREFUL!