At the beginning of October I informed you guys I'm starting my Thrifty Threads 365 challenge again. Last year I completed the challenge of only thrift shopping for an entire year and this time I upped the ante by putting myself on a $50 a month thrift budget. Well, the month has come to an end, so did I stick to the budget? Well of course I did! For the month of October I spent $48 on clothes.The Housing Works Buy the Bag sale is where I really racked up. For $25, I stuffed 30 items in my shopping bag, which included vintage tops, a sequin jacket and even a pair of Armani pants.

Housing Works Buy the bag, thrift store haul

Housing Works Buy the bag, thrift store haul

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.

vintage blazers, housing works sale

I know this is super last minute but I'll be having an Adventures in Thrifting meetup tomorrow {10/22}. I didn't think I'd be able to make the final Buy the Bag sale from Housing Works, but it looks like I can. You guys know what Buy the Bag is, right? It's the warehouse sale by Housing Works where you can get an entire bag of clothing for just $25. Yup, $25 for all the clothes you can stuff in a bag.I'm on the hunt for cute tops and...

From emails to tweets to comments, I tend to get the same questions related to thrift shopping. I've done posts on most of these questions but I wanted to compile a FAQ {frequently asked questions} post for you guys. Here are my top five frequently asked questions related to thrift shopping.Q: How do I find a good thrift store in my area? A: Thrift stores aren't created equally, so it's really a matter of trial and error. It takes time to find the store that's best for you. Take a drive or walk around your area to scope out secondhand shops, ask friends for referrals and visit websites for national chains like Salvation Army and Goodwill to find a location near you. And be sure to check out The Thrift Shopper, it's a national directory of resale shops.Q: I live in a small town, will I find good stuff at my thrift store? A: Some people tend to think only major cities have awesome thrift stores, and this is so not true. Though I'm in NYC, I've come across some really crappy stores. Sometimes, it's the smaller cities that have better merchandise: vintage pieces and the stuff isn't as picked over. If you don't think so, check out what I found while thrifting in a small town in Ohio.

Leather in the summer time? The two just didn't seem to mix. However, I've been obsessed with leather shorts ever since my homie Danielle {aka The Style & Beauty Doctor} rocked a pair at a concert we went to last year. I've been on the look out for them at my fave thrift stores but never lucked up.

This week Loehmann's invited me to an event and gave all bloggers in attendance a gift card. My Thrifty Threads 365 challenge only lets me wear new, non-thrifted clothing if it's a gift. So I was excited when the first item I stumbled upon was a pair of leather shorts. Check out how I wore them along with my thrift store finds. And be sure to check back next week for more on what I found at the Loehmann's event.