Goodwill Personal Thrift Shopper

{a successful mega thrift haul with my first thrift styling client!}

{the most expensive piece we found was this new dress at $10}

Bethany just started her first job out of college at a local non-profit, and because she’s a sign language interpreter, spends a lot of time outside of the office in the community conducting appointments. This means it’s important that the professionals she interacts with can automatically recognize that she’s the professional interpreter and not a student or intern. Because this is Bethany’s first big job out of college, her closet is lacking that professional touch.

I asked Bethany to answer a few questions before our first appointment so I can get to know her and the current state of her wardrobe. My goal with my thrift styling sessions is two fold: to help you revamp your wardrobe within a budget that you set, and to help provide you with the tools to eventually develop thrift shopping skills on your own, if that’s what you’re interested in.

Bethany’s answers were very helpful! Here’s what I gathered from my assessment questions from her prior to our trip:
• She wears a lot of black and gray
• She wants to incorporate more color, especially true reds
• She prefers solid tops over printed ones
• She’s in desperate need of office attire
• She wears a lot of leggings and one of her favorite pieces of clothing includes her harem pants
• When I asked what makes her feel beautiful, she indicated that she likes to accentuate her hour glass figure without being too provocative.
• Her budget was around $200

At the appointment:
I arrived at the thrift store earlier than our appointment and set out to grab a cart full of items I thought would work for Bethany based on her style assessment. Because our main focus was professional attire, I kept an eye out for
• Dressy slacks in solid colors that can be worn several different ways
• Blazers
• Flats and sensible heels
• Solid dressy tops that can be accessorized
• Shift dresses
• Pencil skirts

{this dress was marked down to $1!}

There’s so much more to comfort than just leggings! Because of that, I set out to find new pieces that Bethany can include into her weekend wear:
• Trench coat
• Relaxed faux leather jacket
• Cardigans
• Skinny jeans
• Casual dresses
• Flowy skirts
• Wedges
• Denim jacket

{We mixed prints with this comfy and casual outfit but stuck to the same color scheme.  This can be worn on the weekends or to the office on casual Friday}

 The results:
Bethany tried on the pieces I selected for her in two hours and walked away with 20 pieces totaling $80. That’s an average of $4 a piece! I must say, several pieces only cost $1, including a pair of quality slacks for the office. The most expensive piece was a floral summer dress at $10. We left with a variety of items and scratched off approximately 98% of all of the essentials on our list including: staple blazers, slacks, trench coat, and tons of weekend wear. We didn’t take photos of everything we selected and I regret not sharing a lot of the office wear but I promise that the next styling session will be better documented!

{a sensible stacked heel for the office}

What’s next:
Bethany and I are going to schedule our second appointment together which is focused on accessories. At this time we’re going to look for things like scarves and necklaces. I’m also going to challenge Bethany to attempt to navigate the thrift store on her own by asking her to find a denim jacket.

{we found this awesome pencil skirt for the office that Bethany can pair with a button down or simple blouse. Those are the shoes she came in, by the way!}

{I was so thrilled to find a trench for Bethany. She felt very comfortable in it and plans to wear it all spring!}