Happy spring everyone! (Well, almost!)

I am super excited to share with you my first vibrant spring thrift finds. This week’s outfit is quite simple, fun, and stylish. I think it’s also Florida weather-friendly. And who doesn’t love the spring weather?

At Goodwill, dresses usually sell for $5.98. I spotted this super cute JCREW dress covered in yellow daisies. JCREW is a normally a pretty pricey brand, but as always, Goodwill packs BARGAINS! A JCREW dress for less than $6?? Yes please!

Next, as I glanced across the shoe rack, I saw these vibrant yellow, button style shoes. Automatically, I knew this was it! I had what I needed for my first outfit of spring! The shoes were brand-new and the Goodwill price was $12.96. They don’t have a brand name but I think they’re stylish and interesting. I had no doubt they would pair well with the daisy dress!

So here’s my debut spring outfit! I think it would be just right for an Easter family gathering or a spring music festival. What I really love about the dress (besides the Goodwill price) is the V-neck style; I love that it does not show too much cleavage, and the yellow daisy print really makes it special.

So here I go, stepping into spring and thinking of other colorful Goodwill finds I can pair with these unique flats!

Hello lovely friends!

I hope you’ve been doing well. I’ve been so excited about this week’s blog. My Goodwill find is this gorgeous dress I found for $ 5.98. I think it’s perfect for spring and summer, maybe at a picnic or a botanical garden. Once I tried it on I really wanted to show it off to every person on the entire planet, I love it so much!

Although the dress does glorious justice to my body, I also thought to accessorize it with this cute bangle I found from Goodwill for just $1.99. I love the colorful pearls and cute gold rings. I have a very tiny wrists so I usually shy away from wearing armbands or bracelets, but I had to have this cutie!

So guess what? On my off day, I decided to go to a park and get closer to nature. I must admit my outfit might not be just what you’d want to wear to a park, but hey, I did it for fashion!

Besides the gorgeous flower print on the dress, I love the stretchy material. It adjusts to my body and fits so well.

Of course if I’m going to take a stroll in the park, I need to carry a bottle of water with me. So I decided to rock this beaded purse I found at Goodwill for $2.98, sometime back in 2017. The purse is super spacious and lightweight. It holds a water bottle, my  tripod, and my mini wallet. It’s a gem and big purses are a trend this spring!

Someone thinks I’m a nut, but I’m crazy for all the bargains at Goodwill!

Hello friends,

This week’s thrift hunt was exciting! You might even say I LOVED it! Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and Cupid knocked on my door and asked that I devote this week’s blog to a Valentine’s day fashion outfit.

It took me some time to score anything red that would fit me, but I managed to find some gorgeous, yet simple outfits from the place that has my heart – Goodwill!

This first outfit is a plain white distressed sweater paired with a bold red floral wrap skirt. I decided to pair them together because the distressed sweater gives off a stylish street edgy vibe and the skirt gives off a bold and gracious vibe.

As you can see, each piece was under $5 at Goodwill! Be still my heart! This outfit is perfect for an afternoon lunch with your date on Valentine’s day or a Sunday brunch with your girls.

Now for my second outfit — I like to think that this dress chose me before I could choose it! I found it for just $5.98 at Goodwill. It has a knot front and an open midriff.

The open midriff style is a bit outside my comfort zone, but I was in love and couldn’t leave it on the rack. I figured there HAD to be a way to style it so it was in my comfort zone without taking away the fashion sense or identity of the dress. And I found a way! I decided to wear a white tube top to cover the chest area and still look fabulous.

This dress is fun and flirty and is totally perfect for a date night!

I have no plans for Valentine’s Day, but you can certainly bet I will be dressed up in my newfound favorite dress watching my favorite movie (Catch Me if You Can), on Netflix.

Hello my lovely friends,

Since it’s the start of a new year, there have been a lot of meetings at work lately. I work part- time at a bank and I usually dress business casual. This week, I had to meet with my department manager, so I had to look professional. Of course, Goodwill was my go-to! I love to wear long sleeve blouses; they provide me with warmth and comfort, especially when it is freezing cold at work. I decided to wear this super cute Ann Taylor top; which cost me just $9.98 at Goodwill.

The material is so soft and easy to iron.  I also love the lace and neck details on the top. The label kind of felt a bit stiff and I thought it would make me itch, but that was not the case at all. It is a large size. Although I love to wear loose-fitting clothes, I was a bit skeptical about how it would look on me. But as you can see, it made me very happy!

I paired the top with trousers from White House Black Market. These pants were also $9.98 from Goodwill, which is a GREAT price for that label! I don’t own too many trousers with patterns, so I was excited to have them. I love that the ankles were not a loose fit. The material is also stretchy. I hope to wear these cuties for a long time.

For shoes, I usually opt for flats. But this time I wanted to have an elevated look. I decided to pair the outfit with these simple yet stylish shoes which I found for $9.96 at Goodwill. They’re like brand new! Even with a heel they were very comfortable. On my way to work I grabbed a pair of black flats in case my feet began to hurt, but truth be told, I could have just left them at home and spared myself the extra load.

This $30 outfit, all from Goodwill, was all I needed to rock my day at work. It also helped me exude more confidence while executing all my tasks! 

I hope you have a lovely week friends!

Hello lovely friends,

I cannot believe we are almost done with the month of January. I hope all has been well with you. School has been great so far and not too stressful. (At least not yet haha). I’ve been managing my time well, so I decided to get back to an old hobby – longboarding. I haven’t been on my board for about 6 months.

I decided to fashionably debut my first longboard ride of the year, courtesy of Goodwill.

On this longboard thrift hunt, I spotted this button up shirt from Vans. It was originally marked as $39.50. Goodwill priced it at $7.98; which is a steal! But to top it off, it was a red tag discount week, so I paid just 4 BUCKS for the shirt. Although I shop at Goodwill all the time, I’m always amazed at the inventory and the prices!

The other item I found was also brand new with tags on! Old Navy jeans, with a stretchy, super skinny fit. I paid $9.98 for these.

I always opt for a high waist skinny jean because low waist jeans pull down when I bend low. These pants are perfect, giving me comfort and mobility while I cruise on my board.

My thrift hunt was incredibly terrific. I wanted to literally purchase the entire store. Getting back on my board felt nice. I had fun riding my board while looking fashionable at the park. I would totally love to know how you spend your leisure time, and what hobbies you have. Drop a comment below!

Happy New Year, my lovely friends and fellow thrifters!

I hope the holidays brought you more joy than you could ever imagine. Mine was great. I got to catch up on some much needed sleep. School resumed for the spring semester and I’m excited to get it done and over with. I decided to you show you my super casual (yet stylish!) on-a-budget school outfit. The lecture rooms are always cold and I hate shivering to my bones. So I decided to wear a sweater.

I came across this Express sweater from Goodwill. It is unbelievably soft and light weight. It had a little stain on the arm, but it was in a great condition. The price was $7.98, which is amazing, but I asked for a discount because of the stain. The manager was incredibly sweet and offered it to me for half off! Say whaaat?!

On the first day back from the holiday break I wanted to look a bit stylish and chic. I decided to pair my outfit with these heeled “flats” I found at Goodwill, just $7.96!  I usually opt for a pair of flat shoes since the lecture halls and buildings are quite a stretch from each other, but these shoes felt like walking on clouds and they did not make much noise either!

My first day back to school was amazing! I liked all my professors. This simple outfit gave me all the comfort I needed. I felt cozy, comfy, and cute – which contributed to an effective learning day for me!

Hello lovely thrifters,

It’s 2020 already! I hope all your dreams and plans worked out for you this year. I never have any concrete resolutions, but 2019 has been a year of personal growth for me.

On this week’s Goodwill hunt, I want to show you my New Year’s Eve outfit ideas. I saw a shimmery black miniskirt from Goodwill for $4.48 and I suddenly had lots of ideas on how to style it.

During my shopping week the Goodwill Color of the Week was purple. I was in luck! I found a beautiful blush mini dress with the original Goodwill price of $9.98 – with a purple tag it was a steal for 50 percent off! The dress originally sold at Macy’s, and still had all its original Macy’s tags. I thought it could be a perfect color block if paired with the sparkly skirt.

The other item I found was a nice 100 percent silk top with a beautiful neck design. It looked brand new and was just $4.48 at Goodwill. (For now this shirt is my absolute favorite.) The color and the style has stolen my heart.

While shopping I almost gave up hope on finding shoes, but the Goodwill guardian angels were beside me! I found the coolest and most comfortable silver platform shoes. I was super excited when I found them and they fit just right! Best of all, the Goodwill price tag was just $7.96!

Say bye bye to partying in heels. I’m jubilating into 2020 with the comfy shoes!

So after spending about $22 at Goodwill, I came up with these two party outfit ideas! That’s $11 an outfit, friends!

Which outfit is your favorite? Drop a comment and let me know!

Hello lovely thrifters,
I’m Esther Bemah, also known as @thriftybesther on Instagram. About a year ago, I realized I could share my thrifted outfits and style with my friends on Instagram. I want people to know you CAN look your best on a budget! Nothing is more exciting than wearing your favorite brand labels at inexpensive prices while looking your absolute best! I’m super excited to use this space to share my love for thrifting and hopefully encourage you all to keep up the thrift life.

So, this past weekend I had the privilege of attending a Christmas party. I knew Goodwill would be the best place I could find the outfit I wanted to wear to the event. Lo and behold, Goodwill never ceases to amaze me! I found a brand new cute black mini dress from Zara. The original price was €39.95: which converts to about $44.00. But guess how much I purchased it from Goodwill?

I was able to pair the dress with red Calvin Klein heels, which were $14.96 at Goodwill, but the original price on Calvin’s website was over $100! You can see from the picture, the are like-new and super festive!

Also, since the evening weather was a bit chilly, I threw on a black London Fog jacket I thrifted over a year ago from Goodwill. I accessorized the outfit with two rings I purchased from Goodwill as well.

My outfit was incredibly comfortable, especially the shoes. I was able to dance the night away; which made me thoroughly enjoy the event! Below are some pictures of how I styled my new outfit.

I cannot wait to share more of my future finds!

Happy thrifting and Merry Christmas!

Hello friends! Long time no talk…you have my apologies. I have had a lot going on personally lately and it has really cut back on my shopping time! Things around here are returning to normal and I’m SO EXCITED because I keep reading about how many amazing goodies are being donated to Goodwill thanks to our joyful friend Marie Kondo from the Netflix series “Tidying Up.” It’s true that donations are ripe for the picking — my problem is TOO many things spark joy when I hold them :)

This is a White House Black Market shirt I snagged for $4.48, about a tenth of its retail price. The skirt is a camel colored Anne Klein that I bought with tags on for about $6. Nine West chunky heels making a routine appearance on my toes. Entire look, all from Goodwill: less than $20.

I promised you guys this and here I am delivering! Remember the cry-worthy Ann Taylor pencil skirt you saw a while back? The one I bought as Goodwill’s color of the week for $2.88….then discovered it was brand new? It’s become one of my favorites.

On the right, I’m wearing a Liz Claiborne blouse I’ve shown you many times, a matching houndstooth belt…from a completely different (Goodwill-found Ann Taylor) dress, the infamous skirt, and my Nine West navy suede peep toes. Less than $15! This is probably my favorite outfit EVER, especially because it’s pieced together from so many sources.

But then one day….I wore it with this black peplum top on the left (it’s not a brand any of us would recognize, but it is Goodwill reborn) and some Aldo pumps (also Goodwill; stop doubting me!) and I think *this* might be my favorite outfit ever.

What do you think?

I’ll finish up by showing you one of my casual Friday looks with a casual Friday face. This is a JC Penney brand top I found at Goodwill for less than $5. I love the colors and obviously the floral! I paired it with a Papaya short sleeved sweater (<$5) and some jeans my mom picked up at Costco for $6. They were a Christmas present! And this was the day I found out those awesome black Aldo pumps from the last picture give me blisters if I walk too much. That, my friends, is not something you can know before you buy in any store.

Watch out, Marie Kondo goodies! I’m coming for you! Happy Hunting, y’all!

It’s becoming painfully obvious I have too many skirts. They’re just so easy! A trip to the Goodwill store in St. Petersburg on Gandy Blvd. recently cost me around $20 and I came away with TWO brand new items, one that was a super surprise.

I was feeling especially lazy on that day and didn’t want to try anything on. I shop a lot and have gotten pretty good at eyeballing clothes–especially if they’re stretchy ;)

I spotted this gorgeous Ann Taylor houndstooth pencil skirt and was thrilled to find it was only $4.88. And the tag was blue! Blue was the color of the week! This skirt was $2.88!

When I got it home and poked around a little more, I found the greatest gift of all…brand new tags inside. My $2.44 Ann Taylor skirt was brand new. (I’m emoji-crying right now and you guys don’t even know!)

I haven’t had the chance to wear it yet, but you bet I’ll share a photo when I do!

I also snagged a pair of brand new Tom’s shoes complete with cardboard in the toes for $6.96, another LuLaRoe skirt (it’s sparkly!) for $4.88 and a Seven brand long sleeved sweatery type shirt for $4.48. I’m ready for the holidays!

I dressed up this tank with a pencil skirt and a pair of Aldo black pumps for a casual workday look. I love my neutrals! This $4.48 Cable & Gauge shirt from Goodwill was a good way to give a whole new life to a skirt I have trouble matching.

I was feeling particularly retro on this day! I don’t wear this skirt often–in fact, it’s almost been donated a time or two–but I’m glad it’s made the cut. It’s a little shorter than I generally go for, but I just loooooove the pattern! It feels like I’m advertising for the Hippie Dash for Peace, Love & Goodwill! (which if you haven’t been to, I highly recommend!)

The funky skirt isn’t any particularly well known brand, but it’s been worth every penny of the $5 I spent on it at Goodwill! The shirt is Bisou Bisou, a JC Penney brand, and my Nine West chunky heels are making their appearance again.

What’s something in your closet you can’t seem to ever let go of? Are you terribly ashamed or wonderfully happy? Neither is wrong! Go find your treasures, Hunters!