As a girl on a budget, shopping (or more accurately: window shopping) can be painful. When even chain stores are too pricey (really Urban Outfitters? $110 for a shirt?), what’s a girl to do? Well, I always head straight to the sale racks for some of my best finds, like the $10 leather bag I got this weekend, but sometimes the most heavily discounted stuff is out of season, ill-fitting or just plain ugly.
The thrifty girl’s best friend is, well, the thrift store. While I can’t afford to drop hundreds of dollars on clothes each month, plenty of people can and do. And when these people get tired of their outfits, they sell them or give them away. That’s where we come in.
The first step to good thrifting is knowing your stores. Scope out your town or city and figure out where the good shops are. Most cities have a Salvation Army or Goodwill, as well as various consignment shops. Bigger cities and most college towns will have thrift or vintage stores (but keep in mind–vintage is often code word for EXPENSIVE!) If you find a shop you like, go there a lot, even if you don’t buy anything when you go. You’ll get a sense for when new clothes come in, so you can get to the good stuff first. Read More »

Even with the huge discounts, I still can’t afford any of the clothes on Bluefly.com. But that doesn’t stop me from taking far too much time to search the pages and pages of designer shoes, purses and clothes. There’s a pair of Gucci shoes on there that I would perhaps not kill, but certainly maim someone to own. Someday….
What I love even more than the clothes they have though, is their killer advertising. My favorite ad has to be the chick showing up naked to her own dinner party because she has nothing to wear. But what’s really catching everyone’s attention are the… soft porn-ish spots they have done. The two ads are like the hottest 30 (or if you’re lucky 90) seconds I have ever witnessed. Read More »