When I remember to do it, I'll post photos of me actually wearing thrifted items I find! Here's me before heading off to work in the blazer and pants from my recent Goodwill haul:

I usually buy blazers a size too small. I never need them to button because with my bust size, they look silly worn that way. The "correct" size for me also tends to have sleeves that are too long, so I look like I'm a kid wearing my mother's clothing! I wear blazers to add shape to an outfit. I adore a shrunken blazer with an oversized dress or shirt, sometimes with a thin belt around the smallest part of my waist, just below the bust. This adds an extra level of interest and even more definition to my body shape. My body is of the "potato" shape family, so I have to use smoke and mirrors to create a waist!

I also appreciate a good ankle pant. This is my pant style of choice. I like the retro feel of them (Audrey Hepburn-esque) and they look great with flats or heels. I also feel like this type of pant, which normally flares out slightly at the bottom, helps balance out my body.

These recently thrifted items are neutral, so go great with a wide range of clothing I already have in my closet, like this sweater and pair of snakeskin flats. I'm always freezing at work, so wearing a sweater with the vintage wool blazer kept me a comfortable level of toasty all day. I sit for a bulk of my job. The pants do stretch a bit, but not to the point of getting saggy. 

Overall, I'm very pleased with these items. I feel that for being secondhand, they look just as professional as items that are brand new off the rack! Always remember to give thrift shops a chance before shopping new. I think you'd be surprised by what you can find if you take time to look! 

Also, here's a look at my flats (very old from Target) and a close-up on the yummy textures of the clothing garments. Cozy neutrals forever!

​It was a good weekend for thrifting at Goodwill in La Crosse, Wisconsin!

I wanted to share a few pieces of clothing I found as well as a couple of home décor items I couldn’t pass up.
​
Sheer Top - $2.50 (50% off clearance item – extra score)
I instantly fell in love with this top. The color is great and the fit is perfect. I will pair this with a black tank top and skinny jeans. 

​Vintage Wool Blazer - $11.99
The reason this was a little pricier is because it came with a wool skirt that unfortunately didn’t fit me…darn women from the past having smaller waists than we do now…and darn me for allowing a little too much cushion to form around my mid-section! Anyway – the blazer fit me so well it was worth taking the skirt that didn’t. (I'll probably use the skirt for an upcoming DIY project!) This blazer will be great for throwing over just about anything to add some shape, but my original plan is to wear it with the dress pants shown below.

​Dress Pants - $5.99
These pants are a Target brand. Really well made, good fit, and are pixie cut – my favorite! They have good stretch to them as well, so I feel like I’ll be able to hold onto these for a long time. They are casual enough to wear with a t-shirt and can be dressed up with the blazer pictured above (after the wrinkles are ironed out of course).

​Fall Table Cover - $3.99
I am living for the color pallet of this table cover! What a great décor piece to transition our home from summer to fall. It looks really nice in our dining room alongside some light blue and teal accent pieces I have collected. 

​Afghan - $1.99 (clearance item – extra score)
What is better than an oversized afghan as it starts to get chilly outside? Not much. I plan to use this afghan for Fall outdoor parties we host, but it has already made its way into our living room…so I think it is already a family favorite!

​Joel and I spent a full day going to stores that offered both old and new items while in La Crosse. We hesitated on buying new items because we know we can normally find something less expensive from a thrift shop.

When shopping, especially when it’s aimlessly, try to practice patience. It’s better for the environment and your pocketbook to buy secondhand items. In many cases, what you find at a thrift shop can be close to if not brand new. I now normally go to retail stores that offer new items to look for inspiration. What’s in now that I could put my own twist on with thrifted finds? It brings more creativity into your wardrobe and has made me more excited about putting outfits together.

Sometimes I can’t resist a new piece because brand spanking new is nice once in a while. But, I feel guilty immediately afterwards because I know if I had just taken some time to think the outfit through, I could have done better at a secondhand shop. That’s just life. Resisting temptation isn’t any fun, right?!

I also like to think this way when faced with buying new items: There was a new shirt at one of the stores we visited that was $25.00. For about that same amount – I got five items at Goodwill. Spreading the joy around not only within my wardrobe but our home as well.

What are some of your favorite recent thrift store finds? Where do you like to go? I need some new Iowa shops to visit!

One of my biggest personal goals is to lead a more sustainable life. Rethinking. Reusing. Repurposing. A place I have really been honing in on is my closet. What do I really need? What can I rework into a new look? What can I use for something entirely different?

Because of this, I wanted to rethink this area of my blog. I don't necessarily want to encourage readers to go out and buy brand new things. Because that's not what I do. If I see something new I like, I normally ask myself, "Can I find it used or can I create it myself?" Many of my fashion posts already feature items that can't be linked because they're not new. They're deep discount or thrift shop finds that I've had for years.

I'm going to start a new series called "Outfit Imitation." The only new items you'll see featured in this series will be included in the outfits I'm copying because they inspire me! I'll visit a variety of different thrift shops to create the looks I'm after and share all of the details with you.

I can only hope that through this series others will begin looking at used clothing or the pieces they already have in a different way, finding that imitating the items we think we "NEED to have fresh of the rack" can provide the same level of satisfaction, if not more.

The first outfit I'm imitating is from my previous post about LOFT:

I love this outfit because it's very much my style. A long skirt belted at the waist with an oversize cardigan is my dream uniform for the upcoming winter months.

In one stop at the Crossroads Goodwill in Waterloo, I was able to find all of the pieces I needed to duplicate this outfit:

Here's more of a close up:

The total cost for the cardigan, belt, skirt and shoes was $15.50. If I were to purchase all of the items pictured in the LOFT photo, I would have been out around $300!

When I'm "over" this look, it will return to circulation in a thrift store for someone else to discover and love. It gives me happy feels when I think about clothing having a long life span with several different owners. It's pretty special when you think about what an important role clothing plays in how we express and feel about ourselves.

Show me what outfits are inspiring YOU. I'd love to see the thrift store gems you find to recreate your favorite looks! Tag me on Instagram (@countrywrennest) or email me at [email protected]. I'll feature any looks I'm sent on the blog within this new series!

I really like crop tops, but I've never felt like I could pull one off. I'm too "large," too "old," etc. Blah, blah, blah.

Well you know what. I gave a crop top a test run, and I loved it!

I didn't get too crazy with it, but for me, showing any amount of my stomach (outside of wearing a swimming suit) feels risqué!

The crop top I wore was actually a t-shirt knotted on the side to create the look of a crop top. I paired it with a full skirt that hit me in a very flattering part of my stomach. And although it's technically Fall around here, I wore a pair of black sandals because it was a nice, warm day out.

I especially loved the skirt. It is a vintage skirt I bought at an estate sale in Wisconsin this past Summer. It is a light, linen material, buttons up the front, and the print is gardening themed.

If you're like me, and have been hesitant to plunge into the crop top world - join me! No matter your size, age, etc., if styled correctly, a crop top can look good on anyone. I must say, I felt pretty confident, cute, and stylish - it was totally worth the risk!

I think my sister described my style best when she said I "dressed like a grandma..." Truth is, that classification doesn't hurt my feelings one bit because I know it is true. I'm a conservative dresser (in most circumstances, when I'm not being a Punk Rock Queen) that loves exaggerated prints and accessories, high waist pants (as evident in my post directly below), classic cuts, and anything comfortable. At thrift shops, you'll find me in the vintage clothing section. At Goodwill, I'm running around with an arm full of collared, button downs and high waist, polyester skirts that still smell like the musty, aged closets they came out of.

My love for all things old has ballooned my closet to a size I'm not comfortable with, but I'm so connected to each piece, it's hard to weed items out. There's something special about owning something that has been lived in and that has a story that precedes it. And because I have an eye for really classic pieces...I don't think it's right to throw out something that will look good no matter the era.

The shirt pictured below is an example of one of those pieces. I've had this top from Goodwill for many moons, but it never goes out of style. Everything about it is classic - the colors, the print, the cut. When I wore this to work the other day and received compliment after compliment on it, I loved seeing people's faces when I told them where I got it and how long I'd had it. 

In my eyes, old is always as good as new, if not better. It's up to us to have an eye for the classic pieces that will continue age right along side us, take good care of them, style them appropriately, and wear them with confidence!