muahaha, get ready for something that will boggle your mind and
freak you out!
The other day I went shopping, looking for Halloween inspiration for the upcoming holiday for my REAL costume...and also for any other possible video tutorial looks I could quickly come up with. Well, I don't know about you, but I really didn't want to fork out hundreds of dinero this year (or any year, to be honest) on that super fun glamour and seasonal attire. So I went shopping around. I didn't expect to find what I found...
I found a scary sight.
Good scary.
So good and scary that you will scream with delight.
Okay, so maybe not so extreme, but if you are a fashionista, or a slave to the world of makeup and fun, fierce, fabulous looks, then you too will be super excited.
I went to a thrift store...and no, not to national franchises such as the Goodwill or Value Village, but rather to a local thrift store that tends to have lower prices than those big stores. It is also non-profit, but more localized, which I love. I really like supporting my local businesses.
Now before you get your glued-on vampire fangs bent all out of shape thinking, "Eeeew," just think for a moment. Most thrift stores have very strict rules and regulations regarding what is donated. They will not place an item for sale if it is obviously infested with some sort of life-form, and many owners will not even place something on a shelf that they wouldn't purchase themselves...at least that is how it is at this one particular thrift store I stopped at practices their business...I believe that is particularly mind-easing and makes it so much easier to love my bargain purchases. As with even the brand new items, one must jimmy with them to make the items exactly what we need them to be, but that's what makes this dress-up game so much fun. All that creativity and craftiness. So much fun!!!!! I cannot say it enough...but I could shout it out super loud!
that is so completely awesome and fun!
So, sit back and enjoy my picture montage of all the fun items I got for super cheap at this my local thrift store! (And stay tuned for the 'scary' grand total cost at the end!)
This is a white feather boa. It was brand new with the cardboard hanging piece still attached. What super deal! The original price on this beautifully feathered contraption was about $15. What a glam accessory that can be used time and again for various looks and costumes! I want to have a costume party now! hehe
This unique witch's hat has green underneath the lacy fabric, which I think makes this really neat. I found this at the bottom of one of those overstuffed bins of random hats. woot! I will be the glamified (yes, I know that isn't a word) hocus pocus mistress at the party. Okay, so the only part I need to magically fix is the fact that the tip of the cone doesn't stay up on its own, so I will have to use some tag board or styrofoam (which is fairly cheap too). The cost for a hat like this at a widely known inexpensive department store is about $10. The fabric isn't that cheap synthetic crap either. It has a satin/polyester lining inside too.
Although this hair style makes me feel as though I belong in the disco era of the 70s and early 80s, I find this cliche clown wig to be really fun, hence the big laughing smile on my face. Not to mention the electric blue! Delicious. Like a snow cone. Another thing I have in mind to do is to boil this wig to straighten out all the tiny curls and reshape it for a more "modern" grungy/hipster/punk look. Seems easy enough. These wigs are about $10 at larger department stores.
This was my favorite find...no doubting that! I didn't get a full shot of how much massive hair was in this wig, but the hair fell to almost my belly button. Thank goodness I don't wear belly shirts (eew, that would look really bad) because those little hairs would tickle the buh-wiggles out of me. I love how chic this is. I felt super glamorous wearing it. I plan on fixing the bangs so they don't look so crazy weird, probably going to soften them to a 60's style curled bang. I think that would look a lot better. I can do so many amazing hair styles with this bad...girl. Not to mention that I have always wanted pink hair. (I did purple once...back in high school, but it wasn't my full head). A wig of this caliber is about $15.
Who knew covering your face with fabric could look so pretty? This piece was probably part of a costume set that lost most of its pieces over the years. I snatched this up because it's hard to find costume pieces like this that aren't too expensive. This veil can be used for a southwest Asian/Bohemian courtesan look, a genie, belly dancer, etc. And it's in my favorite color...purple! I'm not sure how much these cost. I don't think they would be more than $5.
Who could go wrong with a black Fedora-style hat? I can think of several things to wear this for...dressing up as an 19th/early 20th century businessman, a stage performer, an old man...the possibilities are endless. I saw this hat across the store sitting on a green styrofoam mannequin head. I added it to the ever-growing pile of things in my arms and am so glad I did. I will add it to my collection gladly. The cost of these hats? Well, for a low-end costume hat, this would probably cost around $10.
All I am missing here is the bright red lipstick and some pin curls and I would be super glamorous...I found this silk (yes, it is REAL silk...fine and soft) GIRAFFE-PRINT scarf hanging on a random hook by the feather boas. I don't normally gravitate to giraffe-print as much as I do to zebra-print, but for the cost of the scarf, being it IS silk, I thought that aside from any costume looks, I could wear this as-is to give a retro chic style to my ensemble. Silk scarves, depending on brand and designer can cost anywhere from $10 to $150. I, unfortunately, do not know the designer of this scarf, but in my style book, this is a STEAL! What a great disguise for a glamour thief, eh? Haha!
Yes, I realize that my facial expression is far from enhancing my "natural" beauty here. I am wearing the Fedora-style hat again and a tie. The tie is actually navy blue with black silk threading and silver detailing. I saw it in a plastic bin...and it's an Alfani, which is sold exclusively at high-end department stores, like Macys. A tie like this costs $45 (according to
their site). You would die if you know how much I paid for this at a thrift store...I think it adds to the business man look, or even to a high fashion androgynous look for women. Yay!
And last, but obviously not least by far is this wig that I fell in love with. I feel very jazzy and full of razzamatazz here...can you guess what look I just might create for you using this wig? Oh yes. You can guess. It may be cliched now that so many YouTube beauty gurus are out there doing makeup, but you know what? I don't care. I do what I do for you guys who read my blog and watch my videos exclusively. That makes me the bees' knees, right? ;-) A wig like this sells for $10. (Pst! Here's a little secret I'm sharing with only you blog friends: this wig color is almost the exact shade of my natural hair...so different, isn't it?! Which do you prefer? Blond, blue, pink, black, or....
 |
| Before I chopped off all my hair in 2010. |
a reddish brown? Haha!
Well, my hairstyle changes all the time, so I will save that for another blog day.
So let's go back and add up the grand total cost of these new costume items if purchased full price:
$170.00. One hundred seventy dollars.
That's a lot of moolah! *GULP*
Obviously I wouldn't spend that kind of money on silly items, so how much did I actually spend?
Feather boa: $3.50
Witch's hat: $1.50
Blue wig: $0.95
Pink wig: $3.95
Purple veil: $0.75
Fedora hat: $1.25
Silk scarf: $1.25
Silk tie: $0.10 (YES, only a DIME!)
Black wig: $0.75 (didn't have a price tag, so the lady made up a price on the spot)
add in an 8.6% sales tax and the grand total is: *drum roll*
a measley
$10.91!!!!!
I saved $159.09 by purchasing gently used items at a thrift store. OH YEAH BABY! That means that the money I saved can be used for other, more necessary things...like the laundry detergent and groceries I bought the other day. haha
What was your biggest and scariest steal? Tell me about the best deal you have found at a thrift store!
With a big HA HA HA HAaaaapy grin on my face and a big bag full of goodies,
Emmy
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