Thrift Store Grabs - Village Thrift Store Woodbridge, VA

So Monday was 50% off day at Village so I dropped by to see what they had in store for me.  I immediately start looking through the clothing and find this really cute top I can wear to work from LaneB

I am a firm believer in you have to look at everything in the store.  If you wear an XL you must look at all sizes!  Don't just look in the XL bunch and then move on.  I found this amazing Coldwater Creek vest with the Large section and its amazeballs.  The fabric is this heavyweight stretch cotton and there is so much room I can belt it or leave it open. 

 $1.50 are you SERIOUS?

Next I hit up the dress section because I mostly wear dresses to work.  I like to look cute and you can't tell that I bought this from a thrift store:

Daisy Fuentes and it was a little pricier than I would usually spend but when I got to the register the girl gave me 33% off so $3.28 wasn't too shabby.  The top is this shiny satin so its a cool contrast with the matte on the bottom of the dress.  Love it!!!

I also found this fun Coogi dress when I found the black dress above.  Its cutesy, not my style at all, but the tags are attached. 

Sold on eBay

My last find was this super cute Norma Kamali Sunflower Print Dress.  I tried it on and it looked really cute on me.

For around $15 I got some great buys!

Poshmark Review

What is Poshmark?

Poshmark is a simple and fun way to buy and sell fashion.
Shop the closets of women across America – and sell yours too!

Ever wish you had a style-mate and could shop her closet? Now you can. Poshmark connects you to people whose style you adore, allowing you to shop their closets, anytime you’d like.
Have items in your closet that you love, but just don’t wear anymore? List it for sale on Poshmark in less than 60 seconds. Sell what you have in your closet so you can shop for what you really love today.

With Poshmark, you’ll fall in love with your closet…again.

That's straight from their website.

So What is Poshmark?  Its actually a really cool app that allows you to sell your unwanted clothing, purses, shoes, and accessories.  And once you get started you can list stuff in 60 seconds but its a process like anything else.

What do you need to do to get started?

CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSET!  I mean really really go through everything in your closet.  I was reading Real Girl Glam's post Building A Wardrobe Series: Part 1 Out With The Old, that had a lists of rules when going through your closet.  This was extremely helpful when I was cleaning out my closet.  Below is my take on her rules and the basics of how I got started on Poshmark.

1) Carve out 3 hours of time when you have nothing to do and ready to edit your closet.  If you have other stuff to do, phone ringing, texts coming in, worrying about this and that you will not accomplish your closet cleanout.

2)  Eat something light and put on some music you love.  You don't want to eat something heavy that will make you sleepy.  Music will get you pumped and dancing around.  Make sure you start the cleanout early in day so you have good natural light if your bedroom has lots of windows.  Fake lighting will play tricks on you!  Now that you're ready to tackle that beast of a closet......

3)Take everything out if you can and sort by clothing type.  Put all your shirts in one pile, pants, dresses, skirts, and anything else in separate piles.  The reason?  So you can try every thing on at one time instead of having to switch bottoms, then tops, then take everything off, its a pain and you will totally get discouraged after an hour of doing this.

4) Before you start to make your piles get some big garbage bag or a laundry basket to use to sort your items.  You will need the following piles:  STAY, SELL, and DONATE.

5) Put on your favorite jeans that are flattering to your body shape as a base for trying on your tops.  Now try on EVERY TOP YOU OWN.  Does it fit right?  Is it too short?  Did you buy it because it was on sale or clearance but have literally never worn it?  Does it still have the tags attached?  Would you buy this now if you were out shopping?  What's the likelihood you will ever seriously wear this again in life?  Ask yourself these questions it will help with your decisions!


6) Once you have gone through the tops, find a cute top that you can use to try on with your jeans and skirts.  Try them all on.  Go through your dresses and be hard on yourself!  Is it too short, can you put leggings under it?  No then it goes.  Is this maxi dress versatile enough to wear multiple ways or is it a one wear a year dress? 

7) Accessories, scarves, handbags, and jewelry are next.  I have a tendency to buy a shit load of accessories because I feel that's what pulls my outfits together.  Problem is after 36 years on the planet I've accumulated enough stuff to open my own store and never have to buy a single thing to put in it!  These types of items sell relatively well on Poshmark so decide what stays and what goes!

8) Put all your stuff back in your closet but this time, organize your clothing by color and type.  If you need a white shirt you can go straight to that section and find one easily.  You should have some room to get around in there now that you have (hopefully) cleared out some things you do not need.

I like to donate my items to Purple Heart or Lupus Foundation because they will come pick it up from your house.  Purple Heart Pickup or The Lupus Foundation to schedule your pickups.  You can always go by Salvation Army or Goodwill to drop off your donations.

My Poshmark Closet began as a series of trial and errors.  The very first thing I sold was a Dooney & Bourke Purse that I had purchased from the thrift store for $5 and never used.  I figured I'd list it and see what happened. 

Ain't I cute

A few weeks later a very nice lady contacted me and asked me if I could go down on the price I wanted which was $55 to $40.  I was so excited about making my first sale so I said yes!  So after Poshmark's 20% commission I made $32 less the $5 I paid so a profit of $27.  Not too shabby.  

I'm mentioning this sale in particular because it was my first with Poshmark but look at the horrible picture.  I mean a year and change into selling on Posh I cannot believe that's the picture I took.  

This is a sample of what my pictures look like today:

A few more awful ones I took:

Poshmark has its own blog and I started reading up on the website, how to take great pics, listing items, the do's and dont's of the site, and how to make your "Cover Photo" something great!  Their Blog can be found here.

Short run down of my Do's and Dont's -

• Don't use Paypal to bypass paying the 20% commission they will kick you off permanently.  
• Don't put up wrinkled clothing and bad photos you will not sell anything!  
• Be careful who you hold items for, I have been burned many times by people asking me to hold stuff for a week then they don't buy.  
• When someone comments on one of your listings you cannot remove/delete the comments.  If someone asks you what's your lowest, ask them what they are willing to pay.  If you wanted $45 for something you can counter the person and get THEM to make an offer.  That way you don't say $20 and they don't want it.  So you just screwed yourself.    
• This is a biggie in the community, if you have the same item as someone else, don't tag people and say yours is cheaper.  
• When you do sell an item, wrap it up nicely in tissue paper.  I had business cards made to send along with the items so that way they will remember you!  
• Ship promptly when you sell your items.
• Keep communication open with your buyers and offer them discounts every now and again.  I offer a 25% discount if you are a return buyer.
• Be polite and never be rude to fellow Poshers.  They will not forget it!
• There is bound to be drama, stay out of it.  Trust me you do not want to get involved!
• When there are parties, share your items.  It will give you some exposure when you first get started. 

With that out of the way how do you really get started?  Look at the Blog it will give you great ideas and will help I promise.  But this is how I started.

1) In your Sell pile, go through and see what you have.  I started listing items that had tags attached first.  I started on the back on my bedroom door but quickly learned that looked like CRAP!  I am in a small one bedroom apartment and do not have a mannequin so I used my shower curtain as my backdrop.  So find a good place in your house with good lighting and hang the item up.

This looks acceptably cute for your first try right?  I even added a necklace that matched perfectly.

Now look at this picture and decide which one looks better:

This one includes some flip flops, a pretty background, and some bangles.  You want to merchandise your items to the best of your ability.  Crappy photos = crappy sales!

On thing to keep in mind, if you are using props in your listings and they look good together, someone is going to want them.  I went to the thrift store and invested $10 in costume jewelry that I use for accessories when I'm styling my items for sale.  The reason is I used a scarf that I loved and the lady wanted the entire look, so I begrudgingly sold it only to be sorry a few weeks later.  Use the items you are selling to jazz your stuff up.

For instance this shirt looks fine by itself I added a cute necklace lol 

BORING!!  So I really styled this sucker up and came up with this instead

Use your imagination and really make your clothing look GOOD!  If it looks great people will buy from you!

Once you have your photos go into the App and click on SELL

 The Red Folder in the right hand corner will take you to your photos:

Go into Camera Roll and select your Cover Photo.  This is going to be the "Main Photo" of your listing so you want to use the best photo of your item.

 I was selling this Old Navy Dress so I used the photo below to make my listing.  There will be a square white box that is going to crop your photo so try to pick the best portion of the photo and click CHOOSE:

Posh offers some great ways to style your covershot.  Select the different options below your picture.  For this one I used Vintage:

So here is where you actually make your listing.

• Add up to 3 more photos for 4 total.  
• Details is going to be what you are selling.  
• Describe it is pretty self explanatory.  Be specific on the item here.  
• Categories will allow you to pick from a list to classify your item for people to search from.  
• Size is also a list of available options or create your own
• New With Tags - Yes or No 
• Original Price - You can put how much you paid or enter 0

So now the fun part Listing Price.  This is your starting off price for your item.  I always mark my items up so I have negotiation room with buyers.

Your earnings will show which is the selling price less 20% which is the Posh Commission. 
Everything look good?  Click NEXT in the upper right hand corner.

If your listing is corresponding with a Party and it fits their guidelines, you can share it directly to the Party.  Otherwise Click LIST.

Bam look at that Listing Detail!  You are all set and have listed your first item!


Don't get discouraged if you don't make a lot of sales at first.  Its going to take some time to get going.  You will get better the longer you are at it. 

A few more helpful hints:

• You have to FOLLOW people, they follow back and look at your stuff!
• List items frequently so you show up in the feed frequently!
• Share your items daily!
• If someone shares your item share back! 
• Always respond in a timely matter if people have questions!
• Make your listings as accurate as possible, Point out an flaws, signs of wear, or stains.  Its ok that the clothes aren't perfect but don't LIE!

My final review is 5 Stars out of 5.  This App has forever changed my life.  I'm able to rid my closet of things I don't wear and make extra money doing it.  I have sold so many items it amazes me sitting here typing this.  So good luck to you on your Posh Adventures!

My very first Thrifting Adventure - Village Thrift Store Woodbridge, VA

This is my favorite Thrift Store for a variety of reasons.  It was the first thrift store I ever set foot in and even though I wasn't hooked at first I have a fondness for this place. 

True story, my ex and I are were friends with this couple who didn't make a lot of money.  J was an ex-stripper now working for the Post Office and L worked as a security guard.  They rented a tiny condo and drove beat up cars they would buy from the auto auction.  We would go to their house for dinner a few times a week. L was a particularly good cook being raised in South Carolina he had a penchant for the Lowcountry way of cooking.  We remained friends for quite some time up through the time I got pregnant with my daughter. 

One day I was not feeling the greatest and stayed home from work.  My house was visible from the main road and J saw that my car was home and stopped by.  She asked me if I wanted to go get something to eat with her so I obliged even though I felt like complete and utter shit.  We ended up going to IHOP and afterward she said she wanted to go to the Thrift Store.  I had seen Village many times but never gone in.  I told her I would go with her as I was looking for a dresser to put in my nursery.  Something I could fix up and put my DIY touch on.

We walk in and she starts looking at jeans.  She says, "Oh look they have plus size stuff, just go around you'll find stuff."   First off, I'm not wearing anything that anyone else may or may not have had on their person at any damn given time in their life.  I headed to the back where the house goods were and they didn't have any dressers.  Damn I thought, this was a wasted trip I could be at home in bed eating ice cream. 

J comes and finds me to tell me they have maternity clothes.  First off, I didn't wear maternity clothes when I was pregnant.  Its hard to find cute plus size clothing, it was IMPOSSIBLE to find anything cute in plus size maternity clothes.  She persuades me to go with her to the section and its all hideous polyester crap. 

I politely told her no thank you and went back to the house wares.  I found a cute silver tray that would be perfect in my bathroom for holding my jars of shells. 

Little did I know that a few short years later this would become my go to place for clothing.  After I had my daughter funds were obviously a lot tighter.  Day care was running me $1200 a month and insurance went from $125 a month to $300 a month.  I had to make due with what little money I had to spend of clothing.

Around the time my daughter was two and a half I lost 100 pounds.  Nothing in my closet fit.  Shopping was a whole new experience.  I went to H&M to fill my closet with basics that could be integrated into my current wardrobe.   I decided to stop by the thrift store for something for my house and while walking through a cute sweater caught my eye.  It looked brand new and was a couple of bucks.  I knew I could get it dry cleaned just in case.

I perused one of the isles and found a few cute shirts with the tags still attached.  I went and looked and the dresses, found a few I liked.  I think I spent around $20 got some nice grabs. 

This set up the foundation of what would be my thrifting adventures.  I go in at least twice a week as the merchandise is constantly coming in.  The store offers 50% of certain color tags on Sundays and Mondays.  They also offer 33% off a different color on Mondays only, usually off of the newer just in items. 

They have 5 dressing rooms located in the back.  The store is very neat, organized by Women's Clothing, Men's Clothing, Kids, Shoes, Housewares, Linens, and Kids Toys.  Be sure to check the knicknack section you never know what you are going to find there.  If you are looking for Women's Sweaters make sure you go through the Men's Sweaters.  The people who sort and put up the clothing can't always tell the difference.  I have found so many cute Women's stuff misplaced with the Men's clothing. 

Best time to get in there is when they open or an hour before closing.  The hours listed on the website are right except they open at 9:00am on Sunday.

Coming in frequently is best because Aunt Edna dies at least once a week.  Ok not funny, so I find so many high end scarves and clothing in here I joke that Aunt Edna must have died and no one knew the gold mine she had in her closet.  They have one of the best scarf selection I've seen anywhere.  The men's ties are usually designer Ralph Lauren, Hermes, Lanvin, Salvadore Ferragmo, and more!

The funniest part is things like Forever 21, Ralph Lauren Polo, Old Navy, and Target brands are priced about what you pay if you went to the store or a little less.  The real designer stuff is a complete surprise as I picked up 2 Hermes scarves for $4.90.  I scored Hermes tie for $3.90.  But if you want the Ralph Lauren one they wanted $19.90. 

You must know what you are looking for when you are going through the racks.  Have plenty of time if you want to get good stuff.  I know that sounds so cliche and you've read it on every blog but it so TRUE!  If you are short for time you will be short on finds.  Nuf said! 

Just to name a few designers I have found:

Emilio Pucci
Lanvin
Hermes
Salvadore Ferragmo
Vera Neumann Scarves for days!
Vintage Halston
Chanel
Louis Vuitton

Information for Village Thrift Store is below:

Address: 13770 Smoketown Rd, Woodbridge, VA 22192 Phone:(703) 897-1635
Hours:  Mon - Sat 9am - 9pm, Sun 10am - 6pm

H&M Plus Size Sale Grabs

I had a Torrid Haute Cash that needed to be spent so I hopped on over to PMills (Potomac Mills Mall located in Woodbridge, VA for those of you wondering what the hell I'm talking bout) to get $25 off a purchase of $50 or more.

H&M is right across from Torrid and they had a big sign in the window that said:

I go in right as the mall opens for 1) the best selection 2) the least amount of people and 3) an organized and clean Plus Size Section.  I'm lucky in that I have an H&M that carries the Plus Size line 5 minutes from my house.  This section is usually the most unkempt, unorganized, and unruly place in the entire store.  Learned this the hard way so going early is key!

I start looking through the Sale Section which is not separated by size, just by type of clothing.  Start with the shirts and find this off the bat:

Tag says $34.50, on sale for $5, Clearance price $2.50

SAY WHAT???!!?? Sold on ebay for $25

I didn't see anything else in tops so I go to the pants/skirt section.  Usually I don't have much luck with their pants but said ok let's see what they have.  Worst case scenario I'll put them in my eBay store or on Poshmark.  

Looking through I thought these pants looked familiar and sure enough Allison from Curvy Girl Chic had worn them over last summer.  She looked totally cute in them!  Pic from her blog is below.

$2.50!!

Def something I will resale

I continued looking and found the nicest trench coat from H&M Conscious Collection.  It's made from Tencel and is so soft.  It fit amazingly so I bought one for me and three to sell.

This was the best steal of all.  Tag said $80, it was on sale for $20, so yes $10 for this amazing coat!

Overall I think i made out pretty good at their sale.  The coat was the only thing I paid over $5 for and it was worth every penny.  

H&M Plus Sale Link - Not a lot of selection there was a lot more in store

H&M+ Plus Sizes online - A few cute things to be had

Address to Store:  

2700 Potomac Mills Circle 
Woodbridge VA 22192

Allison from Curvy Girl Chic can be found here

Thrift Store Review - Unique Thrift Store Fairfax, VA

Unique Thrift is by my job so I like to visit during the day when its not too busy.  Monday was a holiday and I went in to work for a few hours.  I went on the website and they were offering 50% off the entire store on MLK Day.  Parking was a nightmare, I had to park all the way at the end of the parking lot and walk over.  Temps are around 7 degrees right now so that was a def BOO in my book.

Get into the store and this is what I see:

Wall to wall people, clothing strewn everywhere, and isles packed.  Now to give Unique its fair due, they are usually not this busy when I go during the week.  I have heard they are packed on the weekends.  So with any Thrifting Adventure, go early like when they open.

I encountered some very rude Asians one of which rammed a cart into my ass a couple times in an effort to get me to move.  So use your patience and manners when you are in the store.

The store is broken up into sections like most stores.  The shoe and accessorizes (not jewelry it has its own counter) are to the right when you first walk in.  The shoes here for the most part are pretty torn down and used throughly.  They have misc stuff like scarves, hats, purses, and gloves in this section.

The clothing is separated by Womens, Mens, and Children.  There is a jewelry section, misc house wears, and linens.  I usually by pass this as Clothing is what I'm here for.  Beware there are no fitting rooms so people will literally take their shirts off in the isles. 

I started in the coats and found this:

Forever 21 Plus Size Blazer with the tags still on

So I felt pretty good so far, kept looking and bam found this:

DKNY Camo Sequin Tank $1.50 sold on ebay for $35

I found 2 other tops I think  will work well in my wardrobe:

 

LL Bean Jean Shirt

Lauren Ralph Lauren Sport Plaid Shir

After digging to find these gems I was starving so I went to checkout.  The lines weren't too bad and a really nice lady with a shopping cart FULL let me go in front of her.  Which was totally awersome!  

Out of 5 stars I give this one a 3. They offer 25% off on Mondays.  Sign up for their VIP Card and you can get 25% off on Thursdays as well.  Worth the stop if you are in the area.  I went on Sunday when they opened at 11am and it actually wasn't so bad.  I found a few more cute things to add to my wardrobe!

Address:
2956 Gallows Road,
Falls Church, VA 22042

 

Phone:
703-992-6569

 

Store Hours:
Monday — Saturday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

Website:

http://imunique.com/pages/FallsChurchVirginia/ 

   

Thrifting and the Plus Size Woman

I promise to update my blog more than once every 2 years!  Ok with that said, I have this overwhelming need to share one of my biggest passions.  Saving money and Thrifting.  I had lost of ton of weight and threw out 85% of my closet because it was falling off of me.  So I happened in to Village Thrift Store in Woodbridge, VA one day looking for something for my house.  I did not intend nor did I want anything someone else had worn before.  I was walking to the back of the store when a really cute sweater caught my eye.  It was from Benneton and costs $4.90.  The tag was yellow which meant it was 50% off today so I ended up buying it for a whopping $2.45.

Anyone who knew me in my "Retail Life" would have never thought I would purchase something at a thrift store.  I was a Lane Bryant addict, a Torrid Snob, and a Macy's Uppity type of person.  A good deal to me was perusing the clearance rack or getting a coupon.

So enter in my new life of thrifting.  Around 50% of my closet is currently thrifted.  My Thrift store has a 50% off sale on Sunday and Monday so I usually go in when they first open at 9am.  Otherwise it's crazy and you don't want to be in there.

Village Thrift is organized by item type and size which makes it easy to locate clothing rather quickly.  I've read on some blogs about digging to find the best bargains but $4 or $5 for a top/dress/pants is worth me not having to stick my hands in nasty bins or wrestling around in a tiny unorganized store.  I live near Potomac Mills so the prices at Village are a little higher than your garden variety thrift store.  I'm ok with it as long as I shop on the sale days only.

I get more compliments on the outfits I wear that combine Thrifted purchases and my general sense of style.  You would be surprised at the numerous plus size offerings to be had at thrift stores.  I think women are constantly gaining and losing weight so their clothing is donated frequently.  For someone who doesn't like to pay a tremendous amount for clothing this is a perfect place to find unique items.  It also allows you to sample different clothing designers to see if their items fit.  You can't always go by the size tag.  Try everything on.  Many thrift stores have fitting rooms so use them1

I promise to start posting my Thrift Store hauls and plan on visiting some newer stores just opened around the area.  I get very comfortable in my local surroundings so venturing out is going to be a whole new experience for me.

Stay tuned!

DIY Animal Jars

I was on Pintrest and found these absolutely FABULOUS jars and knew this was what I needed to make for Christmas.  I usually give out 10-15 office presents and didn't want to spend tons of money but wanted something nice that I could say I made.

 DIY Animal Craft Jar

I was looking to use up a ton of Bonne Maman Jelly Jars I had in my house and thought these are perfect!

After removing the labels this is what I was left with

So next came the tops.  I didn't take photos of these sorry but I'm sure you get the drift.

I went by Michael's Craft Store and found these miniature animals.  I had a 40% off coupon so they ended up costing around $0.10 a piece.  I glued them to the tops of the jars:

Next came the Spray Paint, I used Valspar in Purple and Black

Next I began spraying light coats on the tops of the jars

Once dried I applied 2 coats of the Clear Glaze from Krylon.  I let these dry overnight before touching them.  If you try to rush it you will leave fingerprints so be patient. 

Next stop was to BJ's Wholesale Club where Jelly Belly's were on sale for $9.99 for a 3 pound bag.  The jars are 13 ounces so this bag will fill almost 4 jars. 

Finished Jars are below

DIY Jewelry Tray

I am a huge Flea Market and Thrift Shop gal.  I love a bargain and I am always looking for display options for my finds.

I was at the DC Big Flea in Chantilly last year and came across this fabulous Type Set Tray for $14

I instantly knew this was the perfect storage option for my Juicy Couture Charms.  I have close to 75  and the boxes were taking up way too much space in my closet.

I went by Joann's to get some felt and they have a surprising number of options including:

OMG its Leopard Print Felt

Getting started is easy you need:

Hamilton Type Tray

Scissors

Felt - I purchased a 1/4 yard at Joann's

Tacky Glue 

Piece of white paper or something for a template

Turn the Tray Over and measure the felt for the bottom.  Add Tacky glue around the edges and glue the bottom.

This is important because the trays are old and might have rough spots and/or splinters.  Mine was in good shape but it was going to be resting on another tray so just to be safe I covered the bottom.

My tray had 3 different sized slots.  I used a piece of paper to measure a template for each of the sizes I would need.  I cut out the 14 small slots, 10 longer skinny slots, and 4 big slots.  I glued the bottom of each piece of felt and put it in each slot.

Just to polish it up a bit and make it jazzy, I added a piece of felt on the back strip 

Now came the fun part adding all my charms!  I put the original boxes into storage as I do not need them hogging up precious closet space. 

Finished Result

Hamilton Type Trays can be found: Hamilton Type Trays on eBay