Thrifted Winter Outerwear

Tis the season for snow!!  When you live in Alberta, you can expect snow on the ground from October to April with a few outlier snowfalls on either end.  That is all the reason I need to make outerwear one of my automatic stops when I'm thrift shopping.  If I'm going to be contending with snow for 7 months, I might as well have some cute options to convince me to leave my bed laptop wine home, and thrifted prices make a coat collection possible for an everyday woman's budget!  I have three thrifted winter coats so far and, though I've captured them on Instagram a few times, they've never been photographed in their natural habitat... till now!

Sutton Studio wool cashmere coat $16.80, boots $10.50 VV Boutique

This coat is lightweight but cozy and in the perfect shade of red - I love love love it!  AND it was in perfect condition!  But, I bet you hardly noticed the coat...

All I see is mitten perfection!

These amazing mittens are the artistry of Toronto-born, former Edmontonian, Vancouver designer and stylist Joanne Maharaj Lewis of Edit: Stylish & Sustainable Accessories.  Joanne and I share a mutual love of thrifting (and Instagram!) but she shops for an even greater purpose than amassing a nice coat collection.  Joanne embraces style and sustainability by using vintage fabrics and repurposed materials - including thrifted pieces - to create beautiful mittens, scarves, accessories and more!  I enjoy browsing her Instagram posts of all her stunning pieces, and was blown away by her kind offer to gift me a pair of mittens in the perfect colourful pattern - thank you Joanne!  I love them!  They are cozy, warm and stylish! Please read all about Edit here, find them on Facebook here AND peruse all the amazing pieces at the Edit Shoppe here.  Joanne is continuously restocking with new and unique pieces and plans to post her latest and greatest on Saturday night AND is offering friends and readers of VV Boutique Style $10 off your purchase on Sunday December 14th!  Simply use the code VVBSTYLE and treat yourself or and someone off your Christmas list to a beautifully-designed, sustainably-made one-of-a-kind gift!   This Christmas, show your support for local designers, handmade goods and sustainable sources! 

You know what they* say... the mittens make the outfit!

Can't resist a mitten-selfie!

*I'm "they."

Back to my coat collection!  This next coat is a vintage robe-style coat with fur collar that I scored last season for $9.  NINE DOLLARS!!!

Did I mention it's wool?!

This coat makes me feel like a movie star!

The final coat for now is another vintage wool coat that I scored FOR TWO DOLLARS this summer from the Goodwill in Great Falls, Montana!

As soon as I spotted it, I knew I *needed* a pretty pink coat!

Joseph Seibel boots $12.60 VV Boutique

Wearing boots and a coat that cost less than $15 combined makes me smile.

So, that makes three quality coats for $27.80!!  

They are totally different and I needed them all!

Don't wear the same coat all winter long!  Try thrifting, or better yet, thrift a coat for someone off your Christmas list then select some Edit mittens to go with it for the perfect gift!

One last glimpse of the mittens as I hold Olaf's nose.

My photographer forced me into it.

Not sure what to think about shopping second-hand, shopping local or shopping upcycled for Christmas?  Tune into CTV News at Five tomorrow December 11th to see me and She Does Create chat with Erin Isfeld all about how to have a Merry Thriftmas! You don't want to miss it!