Thursday, June 28, 2012

Hot! Hot! Hot!


Great little knit dress for $5!! We are in a heat wave here in Maryland and temps hit 100 degrees today! But I was cool and comfy in my funky, brightly colored dress! I took a black cardigan to wear in the office but never needed it. Cardigan was $4, by the way, but since I never wore it, we aren't counting that today. LOL


I'm still working on a new article for my blog about how to dress appropriately for different situations, such as an interview. So, stay tuned! I'm still putting it together.


Stay cool my thrifty friends!!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Rough day!



Sometimes you just know when you wake up it's going to be a rough day. No particular reason, you just get that feeling. I was SO right today! I JUST got home from working over 11 hours today. ROUGH is an understatement! So, knowing this would be a possibility as I was getting ready for work this morning, I chose to go comfy today. At least one thing would go right. My look! As I always say, it's more important to look good than to feel good! LOL


So, I wore this cute floral dress (no name) and dark denim jacket from the Gap. The jacket was $6 with my 25% discount and the dress I got several weeks ago for $4. So, this comfy outfit was a grand total of $10 today. I don't care who ya are....if you can look this good for $10 your day can't possibly be a total loss!


Part of my bad day inspired a new idea for another blog article that I am going to work on as soon as I can recover from my long, challenging day. So stay tuned! :o)

Monday, June 25, 2012

Love getting a discount!



I have a discount card to one of my local thrift stores so that on Thursdays I get 25% off anything I purchase. So, this outfit, with my discount, was $14! That's a Talbot's jacket ($6) and Larry Levine capri pants ($5) and black tee ($3). Even without the discount, this would have been under $20 but saving even more is a bonus! :o)

Friday, June 22, 2012

Welcome!!

Welcome to those new to this blog! I've just started this recently, so I'm learning as I go but wanted to give you all a little background on why I started this in the first place.


After losing more than 100lbs due to weight loss surgery, I had to go through clothing sizes very quickly but didn't want to have to knock over a bank to do it! So, I found that recycling clothing was the way to go! As clothes got too big for me, I'd drop them off at my local thrift store and pick up a new bag of high-quality designer fashions to replace them! I didn't think much of it at first until I kept getting more and more compliments on my wardrobe. Wait a minute...I'm spending a fraction of what I used to spend and now I'm getting more compliments? What's up with that? There may be something to this!


Each day at work someone would ask where I got whatever I was wearing and I found that I was really excited to tell them, "Thrift store, $5! Can ya believe it?" It became a morning ritual...What is Suzie wearing today and how much did she spend? So, I made it my goal to look fabulous and be able to say that I was wearing $20 or less that day! Day after I day I was easily doing that. And then the inspiration to turn my passion into a blog! So, here we go. :o)


Welcome to my obsession. I have always been interested in fashion and making the most of what you have. In this economy, it's important for all of us to save our pennies and thrifting is environmentally friendly too! (I like to think I'm recycling this way.)


My goal with this blog, Pinterest, Twitter and FB page (Whoo! Where do I find the time?? I thought technology was supposed to save time! LOL) is to help people save money, look fabulous and maybe if I'm lucky, help people feel better about themselves through fashion tips. Since I have lost quite a bit of weight, trust me, I'm no stranger to dressing for many body shapes and sizes over the years. I know how to camouflage those trouble areas without looking frumpy. Accentuate the positive, I say!


What do I want from YOU? Input!! Share your thrifting and fashion tips and tricks here with us all! Show us your pictures of great fashion finds and I'll do the same! Have fashion questions? Ask them here and if I don't know the answer, someone will or I will find out!


Local peeps! If you need some help putting together an outfit or an entire wardrobe, I'm happy to go thrifting with you! So, become a member of my blog, sign up for email notifications and share this with your friends! Together we can look like a million bucks without spending more than $20! :o)

Thursday, June 21, 2012

So cool!! (looking)



These capri pants and top were $9 and the shoes, which had never been worn were $6. Grand total: $15! For a 100 degree day, I sure looked cool, didn't I?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Mix & Match









I love the color of this Carol Little dress! I got this for FREE from a friend and you might recognize this white eyelet jacket from casual Friday that I paid $3.00 for! This is a perfect example of mixing and matching your pieces to make different looks. Most outfits can be dressed up or dressed down depending on what you pair them with. This dress is great on its own but I am not that comfortable wearing sleeveless to the office, personally. That's mostly because of my weight loss and not wanting to expose my flabby arms. LOL I use cardigans, shrugs and jackets to dress up my outfits and strategically hiding the body parts I'm not thrilled with. If you are not comfortable in your outfit, you will self-conscious all day long! That's no way to spend your day.

So, I love the dress but needed a little something extra. Throwing on a sweater or jacket makes it the perfect ensemble!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

What's your color?



So, besides making sure you are wearing the correct size and fit for your body shape, which we discussed earlier (just scroll down for a refresher!) It is equally important to wear the correct color palette for your skin tone, eye and hair color. The book, "Color Me Beautiful" is a fabulous tool for us to use in establishing the colors that best compliment us. Part of the problem we have is simply wearing the wrong color!

Have you ever had someone ask you if you're tired or say you don't look like you feel good when you feel just fine? Most likely, you're just wearing the wrong color for you. The wrong color can make you appear pale or washed out. Depending on the lighting, the wrong colors can actually make you appear older! Who wants that?? Certainly not me!

So, invest a little time into finding out what your color palette should be and then make sure you are using those colors to the fullest to make yourself look your best all the time!! Oh, but keep in mind that if you change your hair color or when you develop a tan over the summer....sometimes these small changes can also change your palette!

Click to order the book!

"Cute Skirt!"





I heard a lot of this today, "Cute skirt!!" and I tend to agree! I fell in love with it. This skirt was $6 and the blouse was $5. Grand total: $11!

Monday, June 18, 2012

It's good to have friends!



I wore this Anne Klein suit today and got a lot of compliments! The best part is that I got the suit for FREE! I did pay $10 for alterations though. A friend gave it to me because it no longer fit her. I paired it with a Harve' Benard blouse that I got for $3.00. So, I dressed for $13 today!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Yeah, okay, I AM a cheap date!



I love this cute, comfy dress and got so many compliments on it! It was a real find for $4.00!!

Casual Friday!



It's casual Friday!! I picked up these cute DKNY jeans and Old Navy tank top for a grand total of $7. My friend and co-worker picked up this white eyelet jacket for me while she was thrifting and said it just screamed my name! I gave her the whopping $3 she paid for it and love it!! It laundered nicely too. So, this entire look was $10.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Where is your favorite consignment shop or thrift store?

Fashionably Fit?

These are perfect examples of why fit is so important when shopping for clothes. As you can see from all of these examples, no matter what size you are, you must wear the correct size and you need to be conscious of your silhouette. For example, if your skirt length is too short or two long, it can make you look larger. If your hem is placed at a part of your leg that is tapered, such as just above or below the knee, it can make you appear taller and thinner! Wearing baggy clothes, as you can see, makes you appear larger. Clothes that are too tight, has the same effect. So, some simple rules to follow: 1. Dressing monochromatically will make you appear taller and thinner. 2. Hem lengths for skirts, tops and pants should be at tapered parts of your body. (Think about it, if you draw a horizontal line across the widest part of your hips, you will appear wider. Be careful where tops hit...preferably your waist. 3. Push up your sleeves! Again, cuffs at your wrists, can add 3 inches to each side of your hips when hanging at your sides. Who wants that?? 4. Wear at least a 1 inch heel if possible. It will help you appear more lean. 5. Always wear the correct size for your body! 6. Stop trying to hide body parts you feel are your flaws. Instead, bring the attention to your best features like your face! 7. Having a basic wardrobe and then changing your look through the use of accessories, will help you save money and change your look as the trends change. Plus it's fun!!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Look like a million bucks without spending more than $20!

Just starting this blog....of course, I have no idea what I'm doing, so everyone please bear with me!  LOL  I have a FB page that is much more active than this blog right now, so feel free to go there and LIKE my page.  The link is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Upthrifting-Fashions/375321759182175

Someone on that page commented that they thought I spent a lot of money on my clothes.  I said that is the whole purpose of Upthrifting Fashions!  I want to look like I spend a lot, without spending a lot!  That is the objective here.  I just made it my goal to dress for $20 or less every day.  Some days are easier than others. Some days I barely wear $10 worth of clothes.  The point is that I still look like a million bucks!

Anyone can look the part.  You don't have to make a lot of money or spend a lot to look fabulous.  You just need to shop (thrift stores and consignments) with a purpose, a goal....and make good choices.  Look for quality.  Are there certain brand names you love?  Look for those!

Make sure your clothes fit properly!  This is probably the biggest mistake people make.  Whether you are worried about the size listed on the tag or in trying to camouflage a part of your body that you feel needs to be hidden, you end up wearing sizes too large or too small.  Know your size.  Know what makes you look your best.  Watch "What Not to Wear" for stylish tips you can use.  We have all seen the ladies that wear jeans way too small, creating a "muffin top".  These are the people that refuse to go up a size when clearly they need to.

You also don't want to wear clothes that are too large (baggy) or they will make you look much larger than you are!  Contrary to popular belief, larger clothes do NOT make you look smaller!  Wear tailored, well-fitting clothing to make you look your best.

More updates coming soon on WHY you should bother to look nice no matter what sort of job you have, if you are a stay-at-home mom or a professional, it's important for your own self-esteem to look fabulous every day!  Stay tuned for my post on that coming soon.

Happy shopping!




Monday, June 4, 2012


Thrift Store Shopping Tip of the Day

When shopping in a consignment or thrift store make sure you have an agenda. If you go with a plan in mind you will be less likely to overspend or experience "buyers remorse". If you are trying to find outfits for work, focus on purchasing some classic, base pieces that you can accessorize to change the look. Get pieces that you can mix and match with some less expensive pieces and accessories.  This will help extend your wardrobe for very little investment.

Welcome to Upthrifting Fashions!

Last year I started on a weight loss journey and have lost over 100 pounds... so I refused to buy retail clothing when I would only be able to wear it a few times. So, I went kicking and screaming into consignment and thrift stores. What I found there were fabulous designer clothes for a fraction of the retail cost. Many still had their original tags on them! 

So, not only did I find that I loved the hunt but now I make it my mission every day to dress fashionably for $20 or less! I wear Talbot's, Chico's, Anne Klein, etc. and receive compliments on my wardrobe every day!


This blog is for all of us fashion diva's to share our incredible finds through Thrift store and consignment shop treasure hunts. Put together your designer outfits for under $20 and post them here to make us all jealous! Post tips, questions and brilliant ideas to dress to impress in today's economy.