Shopping Triple Play - Part One

I don't know what you were up to this long weekend, but aside from taking time to remember and be thankful for my freedom today, I shopped for THIRTEEN hours!  Which means, I'm tired but happy and also feeling like I deserve some wine and chocolate (but since I'm doing Whole 30 I will settle for tea and figs; practically exactly the same).  I had the privilege of having three thrift-guiding appointments this weekend at different VV Boutique locations.  I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoy sharing!  First up:

Saturday Savvy Do-Gooder and her Sassy Sister

(say that 5 times with a mouthful of crackers)

I met Nadine, the Savvy Do-Gooder, and her sister Michelle at the 34th Avenue Value Village (having learned a valuable lesson in specifying "south side"!) for some much-needed shopping!  If you recall, Nadine prefers a small wardrobe but has almost no clothes, particularly after donating six bags in order to get 30% off her purchase.  Michelle needed to shop to replenish her wardrobe after recently losing some weight.  Both sisters are on a budget; both value shopping second-hand as one step to take towards doing good for the community and environment.  We gathered not one, not two but THREE carts full of options then hit the fitting rooms.  And by that I mean, I stalked the end stall then surprised the gentleman exiting with a big greedy friendly smile and mumbled something about good timing.  We needed priority fitting room privileges to manage all the pieces!  Basically, we took over half the fitting room area for a couple hours.  Thankfully, the staff is always friendly and accommodating!  Unfortunately, trying to keep outfits going in two different directions meant I did not get near the photos that I intended but here is a taste of Nadine and Michelle's success!

Nadine was looking specifically for casual pieces for her mom-uniform.  She's back down to size now that her baby is all of about 14 weeks old, and turned in her maternity pants for VV stickers!  (My youngest is 164 weeks old and I'm almost back down to size.)  She was looking for an elevated version of jeans and a hoodie.  We found several hoodie-type sweaters that were structured with interesting details and colours, including this knit moto sweater... 

This sweater fit Nadine like a glove!  

I think she's a little like a savvy bad-a$$ in it, in a good way!

She also scored some pretty cardigans that elevate a simple momming-around look, like this one which Nadine described as "self-aware."

Well, I hope it's aware of its awesomeness, because you don't see pretty details like that for $5 every day!

Nadine plans to return to work in January and needed to fill some holes in her work wardrobe, including skirts and a printed dress.  This one had leather piping to make an amazingly flattering cut!  She may hem it or embrace the midi-length trend...

With details like this, you don't even need a necklace.  Or two.  Or three.

All in all, Nadine spent $150 and got:

• 3 pairs of jeans
• 2 dresses
• 3 skirts
• 6 sweater/cardigans
• 3 shirts
• 1 belt
• 1 pair of leggings

That's an average cost per item of $7.89 or $11.58 including my consultation fee.  I should note that this final tally doesn't reflect all the "yes's" that Nadine found but she carefully edited her stack to stick to her budget.  I admire your self-control, Nadine!  Even still, she had fabulous pieces and quality labels (Roots, Nine West, Tristan, etc.) that are well worth a price point of $11.58, and can be remixed so many ways with each other and her existing wardrobe.  Nadine did great!

The cart as we finally stumbled to the tills!

Michelle was looking for pieces for work and casual about-town activities.  She has a business-casual work environment and prefers easy-to-wear dresses.  She embraces colour AND necklaces (at least someone in the family does, wink wink), but isn't crazy about sitting all day with a belt on.  She looked so good in every dress!  Some bodies are built for dresses...

This basic sheath dress was so flattering and can be styled a million ways!

Michelle has beautiful dark hair and pretty skin tone that looked perfect with this black/gray/blush floral print...

That little cardi was $3 if I recall correctly.

All in all, Michelle spent $130 and got:

• 3 pairs of jeans
• 5 cardigans
• 3 dresses
• 2 skirts
• 4 shirts
• 1 necklace

Michelle's cost per item was $7.22 or $11.11 including my fee.  Like Nadine, she had many more yes's but edited her cart to stay on budget.  She found some key pieces like great-fitting jeans, black and oxblood cardis, and other fun pieces that reflect her style and can be worn in different seasons.  She is a great example of thrift shopping when you are transitioning through sizes, for whatever reason.  Most people suffer through ill-fitting clothes, which is a shame when you can get so much for so little and easily get your value in cost-per-wear.

Sigh, the sight of this beautiful mustard blouse makes me happy.

I had so much fun shopping with these sisters and think they look smart, savvy and stylish!  Enjoy your new clothes, Nadine and Michelle!