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Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Needing a few new clothing pieces to take on a trip

Okay, so I don't NEED these new pieces. But I sure wanted something new-to-me to take to San Francisco, and for around town, here.

This past Sunday was our local St. Vincent de Paul's very last 99cent Sunday, where all clothing is priced at 99 cents per piece. So disappointed that this is going away.

Anyway, I did go on Sunday, and found 4 new tops for myself, for yes, you got it, 99 cents each, for a whopping total of $4.34! So, yes, I wanted some new clothes to take on my trip. But I didn't want them bad-enough to pay mall prices, or even clearance mall prices.

This is what I found, that fit well, was flattering and in my taste.

1 gold, 3/4 sleeve, silky blouse.



1 black, long-sleeve, flowing tunic


1 black, sleeveless, Eddie Bauer sweater


1 black, lace-front, Ann Taylor, long-sleeve tee


All of these pieces are been-in-the-bag overnight, and in need of laundering. FYI. The black is indeed, very black (lighting made the black look navy).  The lace-front tee is a little boxy, and I'll be nipping in the sides a bit. Otherwise, a launder-job and my new clothes are good to go!

29 comments:

  1. Great finds! I love finding a new wardrobe at the thrift store - I find MUCH better stuff there than at the mall : )

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    1. Thanks, Anna. I tend to agree about thrift vs. the mall. You have to wade through the racks, but there are some great finds in thrift shops!

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  2. Hi Lili,
    Wow! You got some lovely pieces. Too bad that the 99 cent days are going away - signs of the times, I'm afraid.
    I got a top and a scarf at a Rescue Mission thrift store yesterday and had to pay $13! (Talbots top $8 and pretty spring scarf $5). They have a colored tag system - the longer an item is there, the cheaper it is! Unfortunately my picks were newly inventoried and full price. But still way cheaper than retail!
    Jo Ann

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    1. Hi Jo Ann,
      Signs of the times is right, unfortunately. I'll just have to change me expectations a little. And who knows, without the 99 cent Sundays, maybe things won't be so picked over every week. :-) There's always hope!

      It sounds like you found a couple of really nice pieces to update your spring wardrobe, too!!!

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  3. Wonderful, Lili! You'll look and feel so lovely on your special trip! :) Sara

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    1. Thank you, Sara! Having a couple of new things will make me feel refreshed for this trip!

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    2. Yup, makes it feel just a little more festive. Hope it's a wonderful day today for all of you, and a wonderful trip coming up! Sara

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  4. Nice neutral colors and classic styles....great for layering and will complement so many other pieces. Can mix up and match with everything else, so a good, frugal choice too!!

    Sadly, we don't have great clothing deals like that here. I have too many clearance clothing (so does my husband) which we bought from Sears many years ago. All those were neutral colors, so I think I'm good for at least 5 years. As you can see, I'm not a clothes person lol

    YHF

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    1. Hi YHF,
      Yes, I have very neutral taste! I tend to add color through scarves.
      Oh, it sounds like you are all set for a while. Isn't that a great feeling?!!

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    2. Hi, YHF--
      We keep clothes a long time here, too; and we don't use them hard (mostly, I think, because we keep our "good" clothes "good", and use our others for things that might wear them out more.) In fact, it's a running joke around here that he'll complain about how fast something is wearing out, and I'll remind him that we bought that shirt 20+ years ago! LOL

      My husband splurged on a new coat for me for Christmas (to replace the one he bought me 16 years ago, which I've worn to a frazzle with construction and other chores). The new one is lovely, and I wear it to town. But I keep wearing the old one around here. It's a heavy-work year ahead (maybe a couple of them), so I told him, I plan to wear my more-worn clothes totally to bits (probably literally! LOL). That'll probably clear out quite a bit of the 20-year-old stuff that's really rather ratty (and beyond more mending). Then we can look at our finances and our lifestyle needs at that point, and figure out what, if anything, needs to be replaced.

      We DO like to look nice when we're in public (we even bring a set of "town clothes" when we go camping) or for a special occasion. But it drives me nuts to try and keep clean clothes clean when I'm around home, cooking and doing chores. We do it like when I was a kid, and we had "school" clothes and "play clothes". You put the clean, newer stuff on when you're going out; and take it off immediately when you get home. LOL

      I think that must be another one of those thrifty instinct things. (giggle)

      When you mentioned clearance from Sears, it also reminded me of my grandmother, who bought linens at the white sales EVERY year. They didn't wear out their sheets, towels and blankets in a year, but she always bought more. You can't imagine how many grandkids she set up in housekeeping with those white sale linens, decades later! LOL

      Have a good day! Sara

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    3. I love your running joke, Sara, that gave me a big chuckle, because I've been quietly thinking the same thing myself. Even my husband....that's why one of the hardest thing for him to do is to throw down a way-past-good-to-wear shirt. It's almost a memorial when that happens, but nowadays it gets turned into a forever around rag rug lol. Yesterday, I finished another rag rug using many of his oldest shirts (stained with bleach and paint spots), my son's school shirts from over 20 years ago, and hand me down shirts from my cousin that sat too long and became "dated". We had a perpetual rag box, and because of the hours invested in making the rug, it is now quite valuable again..like making wood from sawdust lol

      We do the exact same thing, save good clothes for going out, and immediately change our clothes to home wear upon stepping in the door before doing anything else...I'll carry it a bit further lol...after light home wear some chosen articles of clothing (maybe too dressy for drudgery, probably the buttons or frills) turn to sleepwear. I know this is beneath most people's definition of refinement but for some reason we don't mind doing it. It's only in the dark and under covers after all!! And like your grandma, I buy way too much clearance towels and sheets. I buy only white towels like hotels because then these can be washed with hotter temperatures and bleach, and won't fade, and (best of all reasons to a perpetual piecemeal buyer) will always match another white towel. I do the same with Corelle dishes, stick to all white.

      Lili, I was thinking the same...scarves really help dress up and augment a travel wardrobe. I depended on having different scarves more than a variety of shirt styles on our trips. So excited for you, have a wonderful flight and time with your girls.

      YHF



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    4. Also Sara, how sweet of your husband to buy you that new coat. I would be just like you, and save the new pretty coat for going out, and continue to wear the older one to shreds literally lol. I guess...um great thrifty minds think alike lol

      YHF

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    5. Ha, ha! Doesn't everyone do that -- wear their older clothing around the house, then put on the good clothes to go out?!! I sometimes forget that the rest of the world doesn't do things like we do! I'd bet most of us even have "good" blue jeans, as well as "around the house" blue jeans!

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    6. Yes, I do!! I worry about wearing out my favorite jeans, so I even have better "around the house" jeans and "grungy" jeans for doing messy work.

      I see all the pretty sleepwear at the stores and wonder should I? But can't part with the money, no matter how cheap it gets on clearance because I have so much thrown down "good" clothes (free) that can be used for sleeping lol

      YHF

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    7. I also do that with sneakers and casual shoes. I have the pair that is covered in paint stains, that I wear, to, obviously paint, but also to mow the lawn and other really grungy stuff. Then my around the house pair of sneakers. If someone shows up to the door, or if I'm talking a walk in the neighborhood, no embarrassment over really awful sneakers. And then, there's "Ma's going to town" shoes, the pair of comfortable shoes that I keep in good condition, for as long as possible. Too funny! Now, I do admit, I like pretty sleepwear! But I alternate the good with mended/tattered stuff and comfy old tee shirts. And my version of pretty sleepwear is still bargain basement stuff, like the shirt I bought at the thrift shop (99 cents) for a pj top, and the pants I sewed from discounted flannel.

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    8. Hee, hee! You ladies are making me giggle. :) What's funny is that we know a lot of people who do NOT do these things. One of hubby's co-workers came to the house once when we were doing car repairs, and literally stared at hubby's cut-off jean shorts with mending patches on the seat. (We found out later that this guy threw out some brand new Vans sneakers he dripped a couple of drops of paint on.)

      When my dad got a little chubby 15 years ago, he handed me down some good quality plaid shirts. I wore them over leggings to town for years, then kept them for home wear. And now that the cuffs and collar are showing the interlining, one of our sons and I are using them as painting/work shirts. Seems like every time I wear one now, I get a little tear; but the fabric is too thin now to mend anymore (yes, they've been mended before). I think that they're going to literally fall off of us... and yup, YHF, then they'll be rags. But we use ours for dusting, staining, and automotive shop rags, nothing so wonderful as you. :)

      I'm actually looking at this as a great opportunity to get the last possible days' worth of use out of a bunch of things that are on their last legs, and really WILL be disintegrating soon. And that'll also clean out the worst of the worst before we move on with the next phase of our life.

      I have to say, though, that all of my painting clothes from the last big project 4 years ago are holding up pretty well. I keep washing the dirt off, and more paint gets added; but they actually might NOT die even this time. LOL

      Have a lovely weekend, ladies! Sara

      PS... YHF, white towels are such a wonderful idea, but we're so dirty, we rarely buy anything white except socks and underwear. I know you can bleach whites, which you can't other things; but I seem to do better with dark colors. I'm just too messy! LOL

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  5. Well, you may not "need" new-to-you clothing, but it will make the trip that much more fun! I especially like the black tunic and lacy t-shirt. As YHF says, they are all pieces that should mix and match well.

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    1. Hi Kris,
      I love the way the tunic sort of skims all the "stuff" that accumulated this winter around my middle. And you're right, although I didn't "need" the clothes, it will make this girly trip all that much more fun!

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  6. My SVdP didn't have 99 cent Sunday Sales, but they had 50 Cent bins where clothes went after their last mark down. I recently noticed the bins were missing. At check out I said "I don't know whether to cry or thank you for taking away the bins". I have gotten MANY outstanding deals but I also spent money on things I didn't need. 50 cents here 50 cents there can add up over time.
    I'm glad the 99 cent deals were available for your travel shopping. I think new (to me) clothes when traveling add to the vacation fun . Congratulations on your purchases. Have fun in SF.

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    1. Hi frugal spinster,
      when I'd read on your blog that your SVdP had a 50 cents bin, I was green with envy! Although I do think my girls and I got spoiled with the 99 cent Sundays. Thank you -- I think we'll have lots of fun.

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  7. Nice finds, Lili. Those look like great pieces, and what a deal for 99¢ each. Enjoy wearing your new things on your upcoming trip!
    Mary

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    1. Hi Mary,
      Thank you! I've read the Goodwill's in your city have some pretty good deals, too!

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    2. The Goodwill outlet stores in town have great prices, selling the merchandise by the pound--$1.69 a pound, or if you buy more than 25 pounds, it's only 99¢ a pound. It takes a lot of digging, but when I find something there that works out for me, I am thrilled. It makes even regular thrift stores seem high priced though. :)
      Mary

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  8. I like to buy clothes from thrift stores because they have usually been laundered a few times. Thus, there's no more shrinkage, and you know how it's going to come out of the wash.

    As the other's have said, classic pieces that will serve you well. I know you will enjoy wearing them on the trip.

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    1. Hi live and learn,
      oh you're absolutely right! If something makes it through the wash a few times, and still looks good, you know that it can take many more washes. In a regular retail store, you have no idea how the piece will look in just a few washes!

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  9. You got some really nice tops Lili!
    Rhonda

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