Clothes shopping on a budget | The joy of thrift shopping

If you've been keeping up with my blog for a little while then I'm sure you will know by now that I am quite a fond lover of shopping. Clothes shopping, online shopping, even grocery shopping; you name it and I probably love it. Over recent years my love for retail therapy along with my evolving personal style, has led me to discover the wonderful joy that is charity shop shopping, or thrift shopping, as I tend to call it and the exhilaration that comes with finding amazing pieces for amazing prices.

Some people may turn their nose up at the idea of wearing something second-hand but honestly, who cares if the clothes belonged to someone else? I love the fact that I'm carrying on the life of a piece of clothing that someone else has passed on - it's like sharing wardrobes with anonymous friends haha...
When I'm finished loving a particular piece, I'll probably then pass it back to a charity shop for someone else to find and enjoy - happy for others and happy for the environment don't ya think?

I thought I would come on here today and tell you a few of my reasons as to why I am a big advocate for the style saving, money saving, planet saving shopping hobby. I know many of my friends and family have probably already fallen victim to my passionate spiel on more than one occassion...but if you happen to be reading this and you haven't, then I'm sorry in advance (I'm not really).

Ok, so first off...thrifting is actually quite trendy, and has been for the last few years. Part of what originally sparked my interest in this alternative shopping style was YouTube and the endless amounts of thrifting videos that people are uploading on the daily. You wouldn't believe it but there are actually whole online channels, creators and communities dedicated to sharing their thrift hauls, tips for thrifting, styling ideas and much much more which I just think is so happy. How cool is it that something as simple and random as buying second hand clothing can bring people all across the globe together?! Since discovering this online community I've interacted with like minded people in various different countries, some of which include America, Australia, Denmark and Columbia!

A common misconception that some people may have about charity shops and thrift shops is that the clothes themselves aren't necessarily trendy or wearable for this day and age. It's true that some thrift shops are better than others and it may take some hunting to find the best ones, however sometimes all you really need is a bit of imagination and an open mind to find some fab pieces that you can incorporate into your wardrobe.

For example, one of the charity shops in Derby that I often frequent can be very hit or miss...some days I will find more than what I can even carry home and then some days I will find nothing. On my most recent visit I wasn't having much luck but as I was about to leave empty handed, my eye was drawn to some black and white polka-dots. On closer inspection I saw that the polka-dots belonged to this gorgeous ruffly wrap-around top that I have photographed in this post. As polka-dots have been very stylish this Summer, I really wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to own a pretty piece of this trend for my own so I bought it, took it home and then styled it up with my thrifted mom jeans, thrifted Moschino bag, thrifted bandana and converse - and voila! I have a full, on-trend outfit for very little dolla!

The one thing that I have to reccomend when it comes to thrift shopping is to remain open-minded. As I said, some days really can be hit or miss and you'll never really know what you're going to find. Sometimes when I'm shopping I'll have a rough idea of things that I'd like to find but I've trained myself not to get annoyed if I don't always come away with what I wanted haha.

Creativity is also key! Sometimes when you're wandering around thrift shops you've gotta try and look past what everything looks like on the hanger because often when lots of random clothes are all bunched together on rails it can be hard to actually see the true beauty and uniqueness of individual pieces. I think this is one of the reasons why I love thrifting so much - it's so creative and fun trying to imagine how I can style certain pieces to make them my own, invisaging what they would look like incorporated into my wardrobe especially if they seem pretty odd and random in the shop. Some of my favourite pieces look incredibly weird and different at first glance but I just think that that makes them all the more endearing.

If you want to see anymore thrift related posts from me in the future then let me know! Thrift tips, styling tips, thrift hauls, anything! I love thrifting and blogging about thrifting. Thrifting is love. Thrifting is life. Ok, I'm going to stop now haha. Bye.

- S xo