The 10 questions I ask before I buy anything
My rules for buying things I don't need.
Hi Geezers,
I wanted to remind you all that this is prime time to buy summer clothes. Why? Because all the post-July 4th marketing is about back-to-school, Halloween, and SWEATERS, so a lot of brands are hosting their “end-of-season” sales in July (this is true of every season; it is just the most obvious this time of year). If you haven’t been stocking up on tanks from Gap or Old Navy or cruising the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale for Birkenstocks, you’re doing it wrong. (Or hey maybe you’re doing it right, if you’re trying to stop shopping so much. But if you are, why are you HERE? JK, so glad you are. Maybe you’re here for thrifting content?)
PS. Scroll to see some feedback I got from last week’s secondhand shopping challenge! And the 10-point checklist I use when shopping secondhand to make sure I am getting something good (very little has to do with brand name or tag). This week’s challenge is a fun one.
If you’ve been on the hunt for non-basics, whimsical prints, loud pieces and just overall fun stuff for your closets to go with those important basics, may I point you toward the Lucy & Yak sale? I love Lucy & Yak (a UK brand but they have a US site) because they make genuinely fun clothes that are also extremely comfortable: big shapes, excellent prints, great colors, and lots of pockets. Their sizing is actually inclusive (0-28), many styles come in petite and tall, and they prioritize organic, recycled, and deadstock fabrics just like our fav bag company.
My Instagram feed is constantly serving me #DopamineDressing reels, and so Lucy & Yak has been an INCREDDDDDIBLE resource for someone who thinks blue is ~*kooky*~ in my closet of grays, blacks and tans. Now I want everything. LMK if you snag anything during the sale. And yes, start looking around to see if anything on your wishlist for summer (maybe something you were coveting around Memorial Day?) is currently on sale. My guess is yes.
Other codes and deals and sales you should know about:
The Company Store for #RobeLife (30% off) no code needed
Crown Affair gave us a code (GEETHANKS) for the best hair towel ever (seriously I have THICC hair and this thing dries it so quickly)
The absolute best lip balm/stick ever (this is my favorite shade) with code GEETHANKS15
Grab your Coach wristlet and pretend it’s 2007 again with the most fun screen-free digital camera with code GEETHANKS (works sitewide)
15% off sitewide at Rachel Antonoff with code GEETHANKS (this dress? Are you KIDDING me?)
10% off some of my fav candles with code GEETHANKS; I am just waiting for the fall scents restock
OKAY, so. Last week we discussed my best thrifting-for-newbies tip, and I got so much feedback that truly just made my heart sing.
If you want to do the first week challenge with us, go here.
Whenever someone finds out I thrift a lot, they inevitably ask me the same question: “What brands should I be looking for?”
It's a fair question. It seems like people who find amazing things every weekend must have memorized thousands of labels, but truuuuuly, I haven't. Sure, there are brands that make me stop in my tracks, but they're not actually what I'm looking for. (Though I'm certainly not going to say no to something like this...)
In fact, some of my favorite thrift finds have come from brands I’d never heard of before, and that’s because I don’t think the label is the most important piece of information.
Once you know what questions to ask yourself in the thrift store, you'll start noticing pieces everyone else walks right past.
Today, I’m going to walk you through my 10-point purchase checklist that I run through before anything goes into my cart. The 10PC (yes, I gave it a name) helps me figure out whether something is actually worth buying for myself before the label even enters the conversation.
One of these 10 points has probably saved me more money than all the others combined, and it took me YEARS to learn it. I genuinely wish someone had told me this when I started thrifting; I would have a lot fewer thrift store “treasures” sitting in bins in my apartment.
I’ll save you a few years and tell you here.