The aim of this blog is to provide style tips in a way which won't break your wallet. Fashion is an expensive field! And yet there are ways to dress well, in good quality items, without having to spend your rent money and live off of ramen.

One of these ways is called...thrift shopping.

Audrey Hepburn once said, "Never throw out anyone." I like to apply this quote to fashion. I am a huge believer in reusing clothes-- changing it into something else, giving it new life! Every article always has some leftover potential.

"But I don't live in a big city, we don't have many thrift stores, etc, etc..." That doesn't have to stop you! I live in a town of 60,000 people, surrounded by a lot of nothing. We have a couple of consignment stores, but my favorite thrift store, the place where I find the majority of my best thrift buys, is actually Salvation Army. Thrift stores don't have to be fancy-- in fact, it's often the sketchier places that offer the most adventure.

Thrift shopping is wonderful because, first of all, you can buy clothes very cheaply. For example, I bought a very gently used (if used at all) London Fog trench coat from Salvation Army for about $7. (As I learned over the summer during my travels through Europe, trench coats are all the rage overseas and look great.) Following my purchase, I looked online at London Fog's website and I found that new trench coats from their company sell at retail for about $200.

One of the things that makes the activity of thrift shopping so fun is that it is a hunt. You never know what (if anything) you will be able to find; thrifting requires some effort, which only makes the end result more satisfying. Unlike normal retail stores, thrift stores are not organized very much, if at all, depending on the store, and there are so many different kinds of clothes all together in one place-- from denim cat-patterned jackets to wedding dresses. Not only is it fun to find good deals and style treasures, but thrift shopping and being surrounded by so many unusual pieces stimulates creativity and the imagination, and gives (me, at least) inspiration for future outfits and designs.

In thrift stores, every piece has a story. You might not know its history, but I find it to be far more exciting to wear something with a soul, rather than something new off a rack in a mainstream, chain store. Go the route less traveled! And there's another plus: you now look completely original! No one else will be wearing the same clothes as you. Sure you can buy the dress off the rack at Gap or Target, but then so can half your demographic. Odds are no one will find the same vintage leather jacket for $3 as you if you shop thrift. You will always look unique.

What cool discoveries have you made at thrift stores? Share your thrifting stories in the comments below!