You've been "Thrift Tricked!" : An InStyle Red Blazer outfit recreated with secondhand clothes!

You've been "Thrift Tricked!" : An InStyle Red Blazer outfit recreated with secondhand clothes!

_______________________________

I’ve blogged before about my little style book. It’s the binder that I keep (actually, I have several) of magazine clippings of clothes, printed Pinterest outfits, and any fashion inspiration that is worth saving from magazines.  Almost daily, I pull it out and browse through for inspiration on what to wear the next day, be it casual or professional. It never ceases to motivate me! I'm going to show you what's inside and how I organize my thoughts in the next week or so--stay tuned for that!

For a while now, this great red blazer outfit (a feature in my style book) has been catching my eye, but there was one problem—I didn’t have the jacket! Until last week, that is. I was lucky enough to have thrifted this light Pendleton fitted blazer for two dollars at Hope’s Outlet on Sherman Avenue in Muskegon, Michigan!

A blazer outfit might seem a touch heavy for summer fashion, but actually, the chambray shirt and light fabric of the jacket made it quite weather appropriate, especially if you consider that up until this last week, much of Michigan was still struggling to break 60 degree weather! For those of us working in cooler office environments, a light blazer is not only something to stave off chilly arms, but also the perfect solution to dressing up jeans for a casual Friday.

The BEST part about this outfit is the $986 I saved thrifting it. You heard me right—the InStyle version of this outfit was actually a little OVER $1000, and my version was done 100% thrifted for $14. Not bad…not bad at all. 

If you want to know the truth, I think I knocked this one out of the park!

ELEMENTS:

Red Blazer (thrifted at Hope’s Outlet for $2)

Chambray dress shirt (thrifted at Hope’s Outlet for $2)

Jeans (thrifted for $3 at Goodwill)

Nude peep toe heels (thrifted for $4 at Goodwill)

Wrist watch ($1 at Hope’s Outlet)

Vintage ring ($1 at Hope’s Outlet)

Blue vintage clutch ($1 at Hope’s Outlet)

Multi-strand Necklace: (Freebie! I "DIY"d this a few years ago, check out the post here!)

FASHION TIP: As you can see from the original photo above, I did a NUDE heel rather than a leopard print heel.  There were a few reasons for this. Namely, though I do own some leopard print wedge sandals, I did not have a leopard heel (but it’s something that’s really on my thrift wish list right now).

Also, I felt that this outfit looked more polished with heels rather than a high heeled sandal.

Additionally, it’s always good to remember that you can exchange and match nudes with colors/accessories/elements the same way you would with animal print and vice versa. Where nude goes, so does animal print. Try this trick in your wardrobe to spice things up a bit if you are a fan of nude, and if you’re a fan of animal print, the reverse could bring a little needed change into your daily ensemble!

A LITTLE ON MY HAIR: To get this look, I actually put my hair in soft rubber rollers the night before, mostly dry. I used Clairol "Lock and Roll"...remember those?  They are actually some of my favorite, but honestly--not the most comfortable to snooze in. ;)

Once my curls had set over night, I took them out, seperated them gently with my fingers, parted my hair on the side and pinned it hair back into this very messy twist with a multitude of bobby pins! This look really doesn't work without the unique volume of curler set hair!