Finally! They wrote a song about it...

Any compliment that anyone has ever given me on my clothing has been followed by a comment from me on how much it cost and where I bought it. 

Finally my mom and my best friend intervened, and said, "Why do you do that?" 

I guess I'm just proud of my findings.

We were recently at a show, my best friend Lori, and I.  And we ran into some of her work friends.  One of the girl was only 22, and she had on a pair of killer heels.  When we complimented her, she said "Thanks!  They were only "60!"  Then she went on to say that she only tells people the price when they are cheap.

*gulp* $60 on a pair of shoes is a deal??  Well, I don't know, I think I would only wear them around my house so they wouldn't get dirty. 

So here's the thing, although her comment and my history of those remarks are very similar, there is one big difference.

She was excited to let us know that she got a good deal on a new pair of shoes in a retail store, that were on sale.  Normal, right?

I, on the other hand, am quick to let people know that I got a good deal on used clothing at a thrift shop or yard sale.  I've been known to say things like, when Lori complimented me on a pair of earrings, "Thanks!  I got them at a yard sale for 50 cents!"  Score, right?! 

The phrase "the tags were still on it!" is maybe not something that I need to brag about.

Especially when it comes in this sentence:  "It was a bit more than I planned on spending, but since the tags were still on it, I didn't mind spending the $12 bucks."

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not ashamed of my thrift shopping habits.  I live and breathe the lyrics to Maclamore's song, Thrift Shop.  (Except that I usually don't wear your granddad's clothes...they were my own grandad's clothes, and I don't have them anymore).

I think it all started for me, back in junior high.  We owned a grocery store, which, before my time, had been a store with a little bit of everything.

I used to spend hours in the basement of that store going through old boxes, finding vintage treasures before I knew vintage was even a thing.  In the 90's, the bellbottoms came back with a vengance, and I was able to pull out the real thing when it came to platform shoes.  So who the hell cared if they smelled a little moth-bally.  I was loving my shoes.

Then it happened. I found a box of my pops old bell bottom pants.  Blue bell bottom dress pants, light brown courdroy bell bottoms, I mean, holy crap.  Talk about your gold mine of vintage clothing!  I loved that stuff, and I felt like it made a statement. 

Then again, my florescent yellow jeans also made a statement, but we don't need to go there today.

That's when I discovered thrift shopping, and I think that is when I became hooked.  Then, as if that wasn't enough, my nan opened a full-time flea market when I was in grade 9, and I worked there in the spare time, furthering my love for second hand items. 

Now, my thrift shopping has totally spoiled me.  At one time it was about saving money, getting a little bit of new clothing when I couldn't really afford to go out shopping. 

Now, it's about bang for my buck.  If I go to a regular store shopping, I am still a huge bargain shopper, and try to never pay full price.  That really limits the things available to me, because of course, all the nice stuff in the good sizes are gone long before they hit the sale rack.

If I spend $100 at a regular store, I might get a couple of tops and a pair of pants. 

At the thrift shop, I walk out with 7 shirts, a dress, a pair of jeans for myself, two dresses and a top for my daughter, a couple of hoodies and a pair of PJ's for my son, a polo for my husband, a couple of scarves for myself, and a pair of rubber boots for the boy, all for $97.38.

And that's a bit of a slow day.

So I suppose I'm a little spoiled.

So Lori and my mom have told me, and they are right, to stop telling people the price of the things I buy, and instead be sercretly proud of my finds.  Good call.

So now, if you compliment me on an outfit, and I smile and look like I'm bursting to tell you something, change the subject, comment on the weather, and make a mental note to go shopping with me some day.