Thriftanista in the City

As far as thrift hauls go, this is one of my favorites. I checked out 2 neighboring estate sales and found some great treasure. When I shop, I buy what I like and think about whether it fits me or my life later. Turns out the majority of this haul was meant for other Thriftanistas and are now for sale in The Thriftanista Closet . Vintage 80s Sunglasses Hi, my name is Troy and I'm addicted to sunglasses. There was a time when I could not find a pair to fit my face correctly and worked with my budget. Now I spot sunglasses every time I thrift and can't resist just one (or more) pairs. These 2 are brand new with the tags still on them. I cracked the frame on the bottom pair so I'm going to keep those for myself. Nothing a little gorilla glue can't fix!

Green oversized tee has been sitting in the clean clothes crumpled heap for days. The curves of my body knocked out most of the wrinkles.  Pink pencil skirt is linen and therefore wrinkles with every move. I don't feel slovenly though. Real women wear wrinkled clothes. At least this one does. Sometimes.

I like polka dots but I don't love polka dots. The length and shape of this bias cut midi skirt is what I love most about this thrifted piece. Oh yeah, it's elastic waist , baby! A perfect choice for noshing with friends as we said bon voyage to Violet's favorite uncle and babysitter. Lots of eating and drinking. At the end of the night, my braces were aching and I was sporting quite the food baby. Good times!

That awkward moment when you try to resume life as usual but you still feel like shit and then it starts to rain. Surely a sign to go back to the cave. I'm sharing tales of thrift with you, an all thrift outfit, and V's supreme photo bomb. Enjoy!

This is an adaptation from my sad and neglected Thrift.City.Life blog post on looking fabulous in thrift store style. I'm a little under the weather and looking a hot mess with a crumpled ball of tissues in my hand right now. I have no fresh photos. I hope you will enjoy the throwbacks!

This Rachel by Rachel Roy snakeskin print jersey dress was my birthday outfit last year and this year I whipped through  Fashion Fest  pushing V in a stroller. I didn't think I could wear it as an everyday casual given the bold print but once I put it on with flats it felt pretty tame. Also, it's really comfortable. The fabric is like a soft, cozy extra worn t-shirt.

Thank you Collective Bias and Sears  for this sponsored post that allowed me to shop for affordable fashion that "fits" my needs. By fit, I mean fit issues. I know they are likely only visible to me but that doesn't stop me from whining. After all, they're my issues. I notice fit issues when:  - my 3 year old post belly jelly spills out over the top of too small in the waist jeans.  - I pull on my jeans and grab a long top to hide the plumber butt threatening every time I bend over.  - I try on a pair of amazing looking jeans and check the back and see a huge gap between waistband and my waist.  - I've gone up a size to comfortably fit my full thighs but they're big in the hips so I'm constantly pulling up my sagging jeans. Keeping my issues in mind, I went to Sears on a quest for the perfect pair of jeans. 

I attended a sneak peek of ProFixx lip pigments and a live mannequin show featuring Tresbelle Vintage . Kaori Nik, a Chicago based cosmetologist and model, let us test drive her new line of innovative lip pigments. Tresbelle Vintage showcased their latest fashions in a live mannequin show.

First time wearing the vintage sequin top from my estate sale haul. It was perfect for a girl's night out with Girl Get A Life .  We celebrated her birthday with tapas, cocktails, and reggae. Sequins were very necessary.

I am wearing the most unflattering pants ever. I like cargo pants and thrifted a few pairs last year. I wanted to experiment with the trend. These are the only ones I have left. The others were re-donated. I love the peg legs on these so I kept them. However, everything else about the cargo pants are bad, blah, and unfortunate for my curvy body type - low waist, pleats, and side pockets that extend to front of my thighs. 

It's no secret that I like thrifting and secondhand shopping. I didn't always spend so much time in thrift stores. I like shopping in general but my money is funny. Since my pockets are uhmmm shall we say "light", I love that I can still indulge in one of my favorite past times and not break the bank (too much). Here are 5 reasons why I enjoy shopping secondhand based on yesterday's outfit for a trip to the zoo:

As part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias®, I made personalized flash cards with print Instagram photos using the Walgreens mobile app . Instagram is my favorite social media. I am THAT person who takes a picture of everyday life which normally means food, thrift finds, and V.  Since my everyday is spent with Violet, I have quite the collection of photos of her. Pretty sure I've taken at least 1 Instagram photo everyday in the past year.  Side Note: I just hit my 1,000th instagram posts!

As part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias®, I got my legs summer ready with Hot Legs hair removal cream. My legs are short and I'm quick to call them stumpy. That doesn't mean I don't love to show them off especially in summer. To make sure they look their absolute best while I strut my stuff (over to the playground and grocery store), I rely on these simple tricks: