Thrifty or Cheap

I love thrifting, but to be able to thrift an item, someone has to go out and pay full price for it first. So I'd just like to give a shout out to all you crazy people who go pay ridiculous prices for items that are nowhere near worth their price tag, and then are kind enough to donate them to the thrift store after having worn the items barely half a dozen times. Because otherwise, I'd never have this cute floral tee.

Tee - Banana Republic, thrifted from Value Village

Skirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Sandals - Aldo
When - Sunday, June 12th

I paid a whole $4 for this Banana Republic tee, instead of the $40-50 I'm certain it originally sold for in stores. I've completely given up on ever being able to purchase clothes for full price in stores anymore. Even items that are 50% off still seem overpriced to me. Maybe I'm a cheapskate, but I like to think I'm thrifty.

A large part of being thrifty, is making use of an item - be it clothing, furniture, a tool etc. - for a prolonged period of time. I've had these leather sandals for 3 years now. I paid $20 for them when they finally came down from the $75-odd original asking price. Sure, they're not the greatest looking anymore, but there's nothing wrong with them. They are comfortable and durable, so I do not replace or rid myself of them.

My mother made these earrings for me out of partridge feathers. They're feathers from a bird my own father shot, which we then had for dinner. Sure I could easily go out and buy much fancier, more colourful feather earrings at the mall. But they don't have any personal meaning to them like these do.

I could have purchased fake flowers to stick in my hair. Instead I snipped some from the bouquet in my living room. Anyway, my extremely badly-put point is... We don't necessarily have to go out and buy new things! There's a world of thrifted, used, re-purposed and DIY objects out there that perfectly serve our purposes.

This whole thought-train was brought forth by my observation of what most people consider "a good deal" or "affordable". A good example would be Modcloth dresses. They range from $40-$160 for the most part. I keep hearing bloggers say how well-priced and affordable these dresses are supposed to be. But I'd never in a million years drop even half what most of those dresses are selling for. (And, I actually think Modcloth dresses are super cute, not knocking 'em, but they're just selling for more than I'm comfortable paying!)

Am I the only one cracked up by the reflection of my arms?

Maybe I'm cheap. Or maybe I'm thrifty. I take pride in saving money. I take pride in finding a good deal. There is no pride for me in spending ridiculous amounts of money on something for no good reason. Someone's $150 flimsy en-vogue dress will have bought me half a dozen dresses and a good restaurant dinner with plenty to spare. And I wouldn't trade that for your expensive froo-froo frocks any day.

Cheers!