I LOVE thrift stores!! I LOVE that I can buy new looking clothes (sometimes they are new with tags) and often designer labels for CHEAP!! I love a bargain & love saving money. Hubby says that I’d do just about anything to get to go “thrifting” & has called me (dare I say it?) a thrift store slut! Yes! That’s what he’s called me! But I have to say that he IS amazed when we’ve left these stores with BIG bags of clothes & have spent VERY LITTLE money!

In the past couple days I've acquired a few more "new (spring/summer)clothes" from local thrift stores. When I look for "new clothes" I pick thru the color I'm looking for... carefully avoiding horizontal stripes... and then look at the size. I check for missing buttons, zippers that work, tears & holes (I've learned from experience!) and lastly, the name on the tag. I've been pleasantly surprised when I find I'm buying a "name brand" piece of clothing & not spending an arm & a leg for it! So... entirely by accident... my closet is now filled with clothes from GAP, American Eagle, Banana Republic, Tommy, Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne, Old Navy, and several others.  

I’ve been keeping the receipts when I shop thrift stores & I’ve spent $100 in the last year on updating my wardrobe. This includes a dressy wool coat! I did score a pair of nice Matisse boots (leather - made in Brazil) at an auction for 50 cents... and a pair of red Justin boots at a thrift store for $6.00.  

I went thru my closet Friday & loaded up two garbage bags with clothes from my closet that I no longer wear for one reason or another & dropped them off at a local thrift store. And then I looked at the other clothes in my closet. There are maybe 15 items that were purchased new or given to me as gifts (new). Everything else in my closet was given to me by a friend who buys expensive clothes & happens to wear the same size I do, or was purchased at a garage sale or thrift store.

Now... does anyone else do this or am I just weird?  (It’s okay, if you think I’m weird, you can say so!  Heck!  I think I’m weird!)  I also have a lot of jewelry... but who doesn’t?  So I went thru all my tops and started pairing up jewelry with my clothes... adding it to each hanger.  I suppose if I worked outside the home this would be a huge time saver... but hubby thinks I spend too much time accessorizing.  So... am I weird or will you ‘fess up??

Do you prefer to buy name brand clothing over brands from WalMart or other discount stores?