Can you believe it? The year is almost half way over and the Thrifty Threads 365 challenge is at the half mark. That means I haven’t purchased a new piece of clothing or accessory for six months. And when I did buy clothes, they were secondhand and I never spent more than $50 each month.

This is my third go round with the Thrifty Threads 365 fashion challenge and a few things are different. Well, one thing in particular. YOU!

The first few times I did TT365, it was really a solo endeavor, but this time, there’s more of a sense of community. From the beginning, I’ve encouraged everyone joining the challenge to use the #ThriftyThreads365 hashtag so we can see everyone’s progress. On Instagram alone we have close to 800 tagged photos. Seeing everyone’s tips, tricks and thrifted and vintage style has certainly kept me motivated and I hope it’s had the same effect on everyone else.

I haven’t been too tempted to shop for any new clothes and for the past six months I’ve only spent $73.

So how did I manage to spend less than 75 bucks on clothes in six months? Well, it’s a combination of not having much time to shop {I didn’t thrift at all in March!}, being strategic with my purchases and shopping my closet.

I only bought pieces I absolutely positively had to have, like this leather corset from Goodwill and vintage jumpsuit from Udelco warehouse. I’d rather have a select group of statement garments instead of a closet full of mediocre pieces. Also, though the term “shop your closet” can be so overused, it’s a great way to save. I realized I had so many previously thrifted clothes that I never wore. Shameful! Every week I made a conscious decision to wear a “new” piece in my closet. And I found fresh ways to wear old pieces. Check out this post to see how to style a maxi dress six different ways. I even shopped my grandmother’s closet for her vintage accessories.

So far this year my looks ranged from layers that made it easy to get dressed in the cold to a multi-seasonal jumpsuit to a glam vintage dress to a casual weekend style.

I’m having fun with Thrifty Threads 365 this go around and I can’t wait to see what the next six months have in store. Stay tuned as I’m releasing a thrift shopping ebook {so excited!!!} where I’ll share all of my insider tips for thrift shopping and I’m hosting more style events.

I can’t thank you guys enough for joining the challenge with me. Keep tagging those pics and tweets with #ThriftyThreads365 for everyone in the thrift community to see.