Tuesday, November 1, 2016

My Charity-Shop Haul

Admittedly, my priorities for my trip to England last month were a bit unusual. Apart from having a proper English breakfast, eating Scotch eggs, and going to English chains like Primark and Marks and Spencer, I was most excited to try my luck in the charity shops. For my American friends: charity shops are secondhand stores whose proceeds go to a specific charity (i.e. Oxfam and the like.)

Happily, while Jeff was at his conference, I got to live the dream!


This outfit (minus the shoes) cost me 10 quid, and since it's secondhand, it's also a more environmentally-friendly way to update my closet! I'd been on the hunt for a cropped long-sleeved black sweater for ages, and while this is slightly less cropped than I'd like, the snap-front and the cute little bows more than make up for the length.


The dress is a throwback to the skater-dress silhouette I loved in grad school, and the floral print and stretchy cotton fabric gives me the best early-seasons-of-Buffy '90s vibes. (All I need is a pair of chunky-heeled black boots! That can be arranged.)

The dress also has a short zipper up the back, which I was super jazzed about until I put it on to take these photos and got my hair stuck in the zipper. Much flailing and panicking ensued, until Jeff was able to unsnare me from my unwitting deathtrap. Lesson learned: next time, I'll put my hair up before fiddling with the zipper!

Since every single tree in my neighborhood decided to be beautiful at the same time, I decided to forgo my usual 'brick wall and big goofy grin' approach in favor of a slightly more Instagrammable aesthetic. Translation: I tromped around my neighborhood, tripod in hand and hair blowing in the wind, till I saw gorgeous leaves, then actively tried not to make silly faces.

Not a silly face!
Time for a haircut: the never-ending story of my life.
My inner monologue was something to the effect of "omg I'm standing on nature what if there are bugs ew mud ahhhhh!" I guess I have a poker face after all.
This one borders on a silly face, but I'll allow it.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with my first charity-shop experience. This is a fun casual dress, and I know this cardigan will get plenty of use over our six-month-long Chicago winter and beyond. For good measure, I'll leave you with a photo I snapped in the Oxfam shop in Cambridge, which had an entire wall plus another small room full of wedding dresses.


How do you feel about thrift shopping?

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8 comments:

  1. So fun that you got to go to England and do all the things you wanted to do including going to the charity shops. Sounds like your cardigan will get a lot of wear coming up! Also, loving these photos.

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    1. Thanks so much! England was another lifelong dream come true (and perhaps a slightly bigger deal than dressing up as an X-Wing pilot...) I have two other cardigans on the way, so hopefully I'll survive the winter.

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  2. Firstly, you can't beat an English breakfast and Scotch eggs. Secondly, I LOVE this outfit. Can't believe it was a tenner!
    xxx

    http://roardinosaurblog.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. Scotch eggs are possibly the best food ever! And thank you -- I was quite pleased with my finds in the Cambridge charity shops!

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  3. Scotch eggs are the best! I can't believe you don't have them in the US! Fab outfit, amazing for just £10!

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    1. They really are the perfect food! This was the best £10 I spent in Cambridge!

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  4. Love the dress! Scotch eggs are so tasty and English breakfast is just the best!

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    1. Thank you! I'm so sad that I can't get a full English at brunch here in Chicago.

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