24 Oct Housing Works Buy the Bag – What I Bought

This past Saturday was the Housing Works Buy the Bag {$25 for all you can stuff in a bag) sale and as usual, I racked up. I met a few of you there and it seems everyone walked away with a bag {or two} full of goodies. As usual, it was crowded inside, clothes were everywhere and the crowd got a bit rowdy when additional bins were put on the sales floor, but the majority of people were super sweet. I didn’t take pics inside {I was too busy shopping}, but the clothes were eventually pulled out of the bins and everyone was walking over the garments and one woman even lost her shoe in the clothing avalanche.

I managed to stuff a total of 30 items in my bag, so at $25 for a bag, that averages out to 83 cents per piece. Considering I found some vintage items, including Armani, I’d say that’s a thrift store score.

This sale always has a ton of blazers and I snagged with six of them. A bit excessive, I know.

I’m a skirt and dress fanatic so when my friend picked this Club Monaco skirt out of the pile, she knew I’d gladly accept it.

A few bright jeans and trousers will surely liven up the dreary fall days. The pants on the far left are Giorgio Armani. Yes, you can find designer labels at the bottom of a thrift pile. My girl Danielle over at The Frugal Fatshionista also walked away with Oscar de la Renta and Yves Saint Laurent.

Bright silk and sequin tops galore.

I want to wear this dress everyday. Every. Single. Day.

Sequins. ‘Nuff said.

This was originally the last sale of the season, but the good folks at Housing Works hit me up on Twitter and let me know they’re adding two more Buy the Bag sale dates. The dates should be announced in early November, so I’ll definitely keep you posted.

Thrift Tip: Talk to Strangers
I always advise you guys to chat with your friends ahead of time and let them know what you’re searching for so they can be on the look out for such items. But you should do the same with strangers as well. While standing in line, I was chatting with a woman in front of me and I mentioned I love anything with sequins and when she came across the vintage sequin jacket above, she gave it to me. When she found it, we were standing about 20 feet apart and she tossed it to me through the crowd {well, it actually hit someone in the head and then that person gave it to me}. If I wouldn’t have told her what I was looking for, that beauty of a jacket may still be at the bottom of the pile or in someone else’s closet. It never hurts to be nice to strangers.