A Little Guide to My Take on Fashion

The world of fashion is an entire new life that, if I we're being honest here, I don't even know a crazy amount about when it comes to the "technicality". My purpose and "expertise" is based around the thrifty side of fashun and shopping at second-hand and closeout stores, while looking just as fabulous as those at NYC Fashion Week, or something. Let's pause right here for a second, and talk

second-hand vs. closeout stores...

I often notice that people really confuse the meanings of these types of stores. So, when I mention something being from a second-hand store, I am talking about places like Goodwill, Village Discount Outlet, Salvation Army, etc. These stores are, really, exactly what they are saying: a place that accepts donations of used clothing, homeware/decor, furniture, toys, books, shoes, etc. that they no longer want or have a use for. I kind of refer to this as the old saying of, “one man's trash is another man's treasure”.

Let's talk closeout stores because, you guys, although I love me a second-hand store, I call closeout stores my second homes... if you get what I'm saying. I can't lie, I find myself spending a little, way tooooo much time at these places. Gabe's, T.J. Maxx, and Marshall's are three of my absolute favorites, and probably a few of the most well-known ones.

What irks me about this topic is that people will say, "But all of that stuff is used there, and I don't want to by used stuff." I'm here to tell you that this is 100% FALSE! A closeout store, by definition is "a retailer specializing in buying closeout items wholesale from others and selling them at low prices". So, what does this mean? Buyers for closeout stores, like the ones I mentioned before, buy items from brands such as American Eagle, Free People, H&M, Express, Nordstrom, Adidas, Nike, and the list honestly goes on, and sell the BRAND NEW items at prices up to 90% off of the retail price to shoppers like me!

Aside from this, before I started this post, I looked up a list of "fashion terms" just out of curiosity of what would be present. We could talk for ages about what is present in those terms, but for the purpose of my blog, there wasn't much that I felt you guys should know in depth about.

The outfits that I styled below are all (besides the RayBan sunglasses) pieces purchased from one of these two types of stores. You want to know something? I probably paid, in total, less than $100 total for the items, can you believe that? Dressing for less is a lifestyle, and it's one that I want to keep living, and inspire you all to do the same!

♡XO, Maddy