Embracing secondhand style opens up a new world of options and possibilities for those seeking fashions beyond what mass retailers are currently selling. For the person who truly enjoys the thrill of finding unique items at a bargain, shopping secondhand is the way to go.
As indicated by the title of this post, the selected theme for this edition of the Magnificent 8 Collaboration is secondhand style. Once buzzy terms that often described eclectic and oddly matched ensembles, pre-loved fashion, thrifted find, and secondhand style are now part of the mainstream. Besides being a practice of frugality, buying secondhand extends the life of a garment or textile or household good and saves another’s regretful purchase from winding up in a landfill. I, too, have made a few (several? too many to recall?) regretful purchases in my own past so I’m fully aware of my own reckless contributions to the environmental issues caused by the fast-fashion industry.
Both the jacket and the skirt in the outfit I’m wearing were thrift store finds. When shopping, I’m drawn to what’s unique. Little turns me off more than a store with racks upon racks of literally the same garment or slightly different items in the same fabric (I’m looking at you Old Navy, AT Factory, and Chico’s). The items I will consider from those stores are the odd-balls, ones with unique details that aren’t necessarily the hottest current trend. Because in my approach to style, current trends don’t define me; I define the trend.
Case in point is the look I’m wearing for this post. The pattern mixing of stripes and floral aside, lately I’ve been drawn to tropical prints which was the initial attraction of the jacket for me. I had quite a case of tropical fever a year ago as evidenced by these three posts from last Spring; Fresh Focus: Tropical Escape, Would You, Could You? Double Tropical, and Would You, Could You? Tropical And Leopard.
My skirt, which I consider to be an exceptional find, is from J Crew. It is a true wrap-around with hidden button closures on the waistband and ties that make for a pretty bow on the side. And besides the swooping ruffle, the skirt also has pockets. By the date tag, it appears that this skirt was originally for sale in the Summer of 2017. I nearly passed on buying this skirt because it is marked as two sizes larger than I normally wear. But I reconsidered thinking that I could always sinch it a bit tighter by moving the waistband buttons. Then of course is the fact that J Crew items typically run small and the skirt fits just fine. Another lesson learned – don’t make choices based on size alone.
Let’s move on to the Magnificent 8 Collaboration. It began in the Summer of 2018 as a quarterly venture and this is its 16th installment. The previous ones were; Life’s A Beach, Distressed, Workout Wear, Spring Pattern Mixing, White Dress, Animal Print, Family Heirloom, Garden Party, Hello Yellow, Pearls, Outside The Box, Statement Pants, Inspired By, Invested In Style, and most recently Stick A Pin On It. Have you visited any of the other Magnificent 8 gals yet and seen their spins on the theme of Secondhand Style? In case you haven’t, let me get you on your way.
The Magnificent 8 is a collaboration among 8 stylish women, each in a different age bracket, ranging from early 20’s to early 80’s. The intent of the collaboration is to show that there are no age restrictions on style. So wear what you want, when you want, add a smile, and strut your style with confidence. And be sure to check out the other 7 amazing gals! We are sharing these posts on a quarterly basis … be on the lookout in July for the next post in this series.
Grace of Graceful Rags
Mica of Away From The Blue
Roxanne of Glass of Glam
Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge
Rena of Fine-Whatever
Eugenia of The Age Of Grace
Lesley of Jodie’s Touch of Style
And Charlotte of Jodie’s Touch of Style
Remember, you can’t put a number on style!
Have you considered the impact your clothing purchases make on the environment and how you could change that? What steps are you taking to have a more sustainable relationship with fashion? Are you also shopping at thrift stores and buying secondhand? Or does the idea of wearing someone else’s old clothes give you the heebie-jeebies? I would love to know how you feel about secondhand style.
Stay well and let’s keep in touch! Subscribe, tweet, follow, friend, pin … all options are available. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Note: This is an unsponsored post. However, some or all of the links to clothing items (if present) are associated with an affiliate program where I earned a few cents for each click.
Photos: MMPerez
12 Comments
I love second hand shopping! It’s like going on a treasure hunt! I especially like small town thrift stores as I find the huge city ones a bit overwhelming.
I love the skirt!!! It is sooo cute, especially for spring/ summer time!
I am not a thrift store shopper, and there are very personal reasons for that. I love that others find joy in it. I try very hard to wear my clothes out or donate them to a woman’s shelter where I know they’ll be used rather than tossed. I also have been known to tear things apart, patch them, and recycle them…some time are more successful than others. I love that skirt, and I’m very jealous of it! I also love it with the floral jacket. You’ll have to come visit on Friday…Michelle (My Bijou Life) and I are having a link party and the theme is print mixing!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Gah, Rena, this outfit is so good! What a great jacket and skirt and I do love the pattern mix a lot. I also absolutely adore your approach to style…”current trends don’t define me; I define the trend”! That is freaking brilliant, my friend!
Shelbee
Oh, I just love the print mixing that you did with these pieces. Absolutely I agree…give me the unique things and thrift shopping is the best.
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
That skirt is so pretty and I like the print mixing with your jacket too! I agree, you can find some really fun and unique pieces when thrifting! I have found a surprising number of basics in my opshop hunts which is awesome as I know I’ll definitely hit 30 wears with them – I picked up a pair of black jeans at the start of summer that I’m only just getting to wear now but I couldn’t resist – definitely worth picking up even if it was too hot to wear them for a few months!
Hope that you are having a good weekend 🙂
Love the print mix in this outfit, Rena! I definitely enjoy shopping secondhand and like the ability to find a wider variety of items than in retail stores at great prices and without contributing to the downsides of fast fashion.
Love this outfit on you! The jacket is so colorful and mixes beautifully with the striped skirt. I do love secondhand shopping. I do nearly all of it on Poshmark, but there is a store called Uptown Cheapskate near me I want to check out.
I agree that it is fun to find things that are different, that is not worn by everyone else.
Have a great week!
jess xx
http://www.eleantlydressedandstylish.com
This is a really pretty outfit: I love the color palette and at first I didn’t realize the skirt was striped. My goal for this month is to thrift only so hoping to find some treasures when I venture out.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
I love this beautiful print mixing outfit! I’m with you on the racks and racks of nearly identical items in department stores. *eyes glaze over* Shopping second hand always feels like a treasure hunt to me. And don’t get me started on women’s sizing.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Beautiful outfit! Love the jacket!
Alexandra
OnRockwoodLane.com
Such great thrifted pieces! The skirt and jacket are fabulous and look so good together! Thanks for linking up!
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com