Belated Thrifty Thursday!

Sorry for being late on this week's Thrifty Thursday! I've been out of town for work, then I had today off, so I'm having a hard time keeping up with what day it is! Last night at dinner was when I realized that yesterday was Thursday! Then, by the time I finished up my cake for David's employer's bake sale today, Thrifty Thursday had completely slipped my mind! Anyway, I did have (what I consider to be) a brilliant idea for being thrifty! CONSIGNMENT SHOPS!

About a week ago, I made a pretty big change in my career. I went from providing direct care to adults with MR to working (again!) in higher education (for my alma mater!). In my old job, I wore jeans, t-shirts, tennis shoes, and sweatshirts. I had to be able to move quickly and freely, but I didn't want to wear really nice stuff because I never knew what I might get on myself! In my new job, I need to wear very nice, professional clothes (not quite a suit, but at least nice trousers/shirts/etc.). This career shift coupled with a recent loss of 25 pounds means that I had nice professional clothes to wear, but they didn't fit! I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on just a few pieces of clothing, so I decided to hit the consignment shop! I think a lot of people don't consider consignment shops because they think of them as just "the Goodwill" or something like that. Now, please understand I'm not knocking the Goodwill! I have found AWESOME clothes at the Goodwill (a super-cute vintage pink shift dress covered in cats and flowers comes to mind!), but it's not a place I can go to and know that I will come out with something fantastic every time. The secret is to shop around at a couple of good consignment stores so you know what's available. I've found one consignment shop that I consider my "go-to" store. It's called the Clothing Boutique in LaGrange. Here's secret #1: go to an "upper crust" neighborhood that has a consignment shop. The Clothing Boutique is in Oldham County, Kentucky's richest county. There are incredible deals. A few things I've found: a silk skirt from Talbot's ($10.50), a black pencil skirt from New York and Company ($10.50), black trousers ($11.00)...the list goes on! I love to look nice, but I hate to spend money! The consignment shop is my thrifty secret to looking like a well-dressed professional! Take some time and check out your local consignment stores (and don't forget the Goodwill!)...you'll be pleasantly surprised with what you find!