You’re reading Jersey Girl Thrift’s bi-weekly newsletter! A quick and fun read, full of second-hand trends, style tips, local sales, store reviews, great reads, and a recipe or two. It’s everything you need to live a thrifty and luscious life.

stop, drop, & sWaPPPPPP…

Sisters: it’s almost time to swap! We are SO pumped to see you all again. For those who can’t make it, we’ve already got Galentine’s in the works for early next year, so don’t sweat it! But if you’re planning on joining us- whether it’s your first time or you’re an OG- here’s a few reminders on how to start getting ready:

1.) Start Now

Start sifting through that closet now! It’s a much less arduous task if you don’t wait until the last minute. Though you are not at all required to bring anything to swap, this is a great opportunity in the year to take stock of what you have and really evaluate what is no longer serving you. Those too small jeans that just make you feel bad? Free yourself from them! That weird shirt you bought on sale at Anthro that seemed like a good deal but you could never quite make it work? Let that be someone else’s problem. Make room for the clothes in your closet that are easy decisions, life is hard enough.

2.) Bag up your goods

We take gently-used, adult women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories including hats, belts, scarves, bags, jewelry, etc! We don’t take men’s or children’s clothing at this time, and if an item is stained or with holes/poor condition, please omit from the bag. You want to be contributing stuff you think someone would be PSYCHED for! You can use any type of bag you don’t mind to part with to bring your items, though a reusable bag would be our preference (garbage bags can rip quite easily and tend to get a little unwieldy)

3.) Get ready for our activity!

If you’ve been to a JGT swap you know we love an activity station! It’s a fun way to come away with a little something extra! This time around we will be making our own custom Pop Clips for that 90s hair flair we all know and love! We’ve got plenty of materials to work with HOWEVER we love an upcycled moment, so if you have any broken jewelry, charms, earrings, etc that you think can be donated to the activity station to be made into a fun hair moment, please bring it in a separate bag and label it so it doesn’t get mixed in with all the rest of the regular accessories!

That’s really it! Get ready to have a great time- it’s two hours of shopping, music, snacking, coffee from our partners at JavaLove (who offer great catering options for events!), and gabbing in a fun, safe, clean space filled with gorgeous clothes and music- basically the perfect Saturday. We’ve got great coats, sweaters, boots, dresses- everything you need to restock your wardrobe for Fall! We can’t wait to see you there!

my Favorite Sale Hack

Recently I was in the market for some more period underwear, which I wear to sleep and intermittently when I’m spotting, etc. I first discovered period underwear from Thinx, but recently switched to Knix which come in a wider variety of styles and are buttery soft!

I made a pretty large full-priced purchase online at Knix to restock, grabbing about 5-6 different pieces when not two days later I received a marketing email that everything was suddenly 40% off!

So here is one of my favorite hacks that few people know…most retailers will honor a sale price if you purchased within the previous week or two before the item went on sale. I simply submitted a ticket online to their customer service team that I had just made a large purchase and now all the items were on sale- and Knix’s team replied same day that they would honor the new price and refunded my card the difference! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done this- there’s nothing more frustrating than buying something full price only to see it’s their “biggest sale of the year'“ the next day. This has worked I think nearly every time I’ve tried it, and all it takes is sending a quick email to save some funds!

from the closet for nights on the town

For my birthday this past month (shout out to my fellow type A Virgo Girlies!) my partner took me to see Jonathan Groff’s new musical ‘Just In Time’ about the life of Bobby Darin. I am a big time theater nerd and it truly doesn’t get better than theater LEGEND JGroff, so I was elated! The show was fantastic, there was not a bad seat in the house in the teeny tiny Circle In the Square theater which is basically in the basement of Wicked.

To dress up for the occasion I wore my one of my favorite coats I’ve ever thrifted- this London Fog trench I picked up at Goodwill, and this hot little maroon number that came from a JGT swap! This is an example of a dress I probably never would’ve actually bought for myself, but when I saw it at the swap I figured I’d give it a try- I couldn’t believe how flattering it was! That is the magic of the swap- the freedom to pick up pieces you’re not totally sure about and take them for a spin. When someone is really waffling about a piece at the Swap, I usually say to them “just take it home, try it! it’s free! If it doesn’t work out, bring it back to the next one!”

Some of you may also remember my search for sequins on IG - and when my girls’ night finally came I had a plethora of sequined looks to choose from! The weather was both a little warm and rainy, and knowing I had to take public transport I opted for this orange skirt I found at a the Montclair Town Wide Yard Sale for $2 (!!) and my House of Harlow silk blazer I found at Newburgh Vintage Emporium for $50 last year.

daily meditations

aarondinin

476K followers

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I have been taking on a new role at work and going through the very painful process of learning something new! It’s a rollercoaster of emotions when you are being challenged to try something new - I am feeling frustrated, stressed, and overwhelmed one minute, and proud, accomplished, and elated the next. I spend most days pingponging wildly between: “I am amazing and I got this” to “Oh my god I do NOT got this.”

A few months ago I came across this video above from Dr.Becky of Good Inside talking about just how uncomfortable the process of learning is, and how our ability to learn something new is subject to how long we can withstand sitting in the universal feeling of frustration when you’re on the path from not knowing to knowing. Every time I experience a moment of frustration, I remind myself about this video and really try remind myself that this is how it’s supposed to feel, and to sit in the uncomfortableness.

mourning a fashion icon

Last but not least- RIP to a true style legend, Diane Keaton. I have seen First Wives Club, perhaps 40,000 times? The Family Stone? Annie Hall? Father of the Bride Parts I and II! Because I Said So was a real comfort watch for me throughout college. But more than her tremendous acting and comedy in some of my MOST favorite feel-good films, Diane Keaton blazed her own style trail, wearing menswear far earlier and far longer than was considered en vogue. I can only aspire to look as cool as her into my later years. May we all be as bold and fearless and expressive in the way we dress as Diane!

That’s it for now girlies- and I’ll see you soon at the swap! If you see a girlie knee deep in clothes racking them up as fast as she can, that’s where I am ✨ 

xx K