Thrift haul: Finding great deals while staying stylish

Hello my fellow thrifters!

When it comes to fashion, style, and shopping, we all want to look our best, express ourselves, and wear clothes that we love without breaking the bank. This my friends, is what thrifting is all about. Thrifting allows you the thrill of getting a bunch of clothes and adding to your clothes, without the mall or department store prices.

To get ready for a great cruise to the Bahamas and to just get a some new clothes for our fashion forward lives, my best friend and I went to two of our favorite thrift/consignment stores yesterday: Plato's Closet and my ultimate guilty shopping pleasure, Sandy's, as seen in a previous blog posting.

Clothes-wise, here I have:

An orange chiffon dress with gold beading along the neckline that I will be wearing to one of the dinners on the cruise

A nude high low skirt that goes really well with...

A Forever21 daisy crop top

A mustard yellow high-waisted pair of shorts with a tribal printing and bow-tie belt

A black and white stripped body con dress

A sheer floral print top that will be great to wear on a beach day in the Bahamas

And my favorite piece, a Forever21 chiffon maxi dress that has a slit that comes up to my mid thigh

As for the accessories I have:

Dangling gold earrings with pink beads

A pair of nude suede wedges from Charlotte Russe

And my news favorite shoes, strappy black heels with gold beading from Carlos Santana

Looking up the shoes alone, Carlos Santana heels run from about $60 to $110 a pair. However, this entire shopping spree was under $90. Had I bought all of these pieces for their original prices, I would have spent well over $200. Can you say, deals?

Out on the town... with a chill.

Hello!

So, last night a few friends and I decided to go out to help a friend of mine celebrate her 21st birthday. It was a Tuesday, and just about everyone around here knows that 101 Downtown Techno Tuesday is the place to be.

Only problem was, it was a bit chilly out, with the low being about 45 degrees!

It felt more in the fifties so it wasn't too bad, but it was still is a bit cold for your usual club attire.

 

In my opinion, the best thing that you can do when it gets a bit cold out, but you still want o enjoy a night out with your friends is to:

1. Find cute ways to layer up.

or

2.  Take advantage of tights!

I, the girl on the far left, decided to layer up by just adding a fitted blazer to my outfit. I have on a cream and pink crop top with a black body con skirt and tan heels. Just by adding the blazer, I warmed myself up and added a new element to the outfit that made it look more complete. Leslie and Katy, the two girls on the right, took advantage of tights by pairing them with fitted shorts and a skirt that also added warmth while also styling up an outfit that was already cute before.

Keep in mind, that once you get into whatever club or bar, you are going to, it will get really warm, really fast, so try to just not layer up with a parka... unless of course, you are partying in the North Pole with some polar bears.

All I do is thrift, thrift, thrift no matter what!

        Who doesn't love a good deal? Everyone loves a good deal, that's who. One of my favorite places to find amazing clothes for cheap is Sandy's Savvy Chic Resale Boutique of 4148 NW 13th St in Gainesville, Florida. There is only a Sandy's in Gainesville as far as I am aware, but I am telling you, there should one of these perfect little stores on pretty much every street corner!

The concept of Sandy's is the same as Plato's. Gently used clothes, sold at a fraction of it's previous cost. It is not just women's clothes either, they have kid's clothes, jewelery, shoes, purses, home decor, and even lotions and perfumes. Fellas, there is even a vast selection for you too!

On one of my recent trips there I was able to pick up quite a few pieces that I loooove and cannot wait to wear around town.

A bright orange cotton lace crop top
A burnt orange chiffon high-low shirt with a little blue bow pattern over it
A black chiffon shirt with gold buttons
A dramatic black top with a low back and lace detail
A Forever 21 black skater skirt
A Forever 21 blue high-low skirt (perfectly paired with my orange crop top for UF game days!)
Two string tie Cotton On skirts (one black and one navy blue with while polka dots)
A navy blue pair of cotton high waisted shorts
A pair of tan heels with gold accents
A pair of BCBG black strappy heels
A grey Nine West purse

Do you want to guess how much I got this all for?? Come on... guess...
Give up? I got this all for $97 dollars. I did not even break $100! Do yourself and your wallet a favor and try out Sandy's if you are in the Gainesville area. If you don't live here, than look up some thrift/consignment stores near you. You won't believe the deals you find!

Welcome, and nice to meet you!

                                                           

Well hey there!

Let me start off with the basics, My name is Ashley Mondesir and I am a Telecommunications major at the fantastic University of Florida. I could sit here and list a bunch of random facts, but that would just take way too long. Do you want to know one little secret though? Oh, you do? Come here...come close... deep down inside of me is a crazy fashion monster that is dying to get out and right here on this very site you are going to get a look at all the styles, accessories and clothes that I wish (BUT ONE DAY WILL HAVE) I had.

Be prepared to see casual, formal, and sometimes even outlandish attire. Also be prepared for a laugh or two because as much as I love talking about looking good, I am not afraid to talk about things that are not quite as chic. Don't be scared, if you see something you like, comment!

If you want to see other things that I have had to say about fashion, check out another blog that I am running with a dear friend of mine that is all about that PFF. You wanna know what PFF stands for? Looks like you are just going to have to click right here to find out!

Look out for a post coming soon!