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| Jeans: Target ($5). Red Gingham Shirt: Old Navy (thrifted-$3.99). Sweater: Aeropostale ($10). Wellies: Hunter via Ebay: ($75)
Total outfit cost: $93.99 |
I’ll have you know that Mr. waded out into the middle, (middle!) of the river in order to bring these pictures to you, (his idea not mine) effectively soaking his jeans all the way up to the top of his thighs (it wasn’t quite as shallow as he predicted) and risking the life of our camera.
Unfortunately,
risking the camera’s life makes me a bit uptight, which leads to less than perfect pictures.
Made only worse by the guy walking his dog by the road who shouts something about us how us Arizonans (he could see the license plate on our car) must be freezing out there in the water, effectively startling me (almost to death) seeing as I slipped on the rock I was perched precariously on and baptized my right leg. It was awesome guys.
I seriously wish you could have been there.
I’m laughing so hard right now just trying to write this.
The best part was, seeing the littles’ reaction to exactly how hard core their dad is.
It was priceless.
Pure hero worship.
I remember the first time I beheld Mr.’s hardcor-ed-ness (yes I made that up). It was at the BYU-Idaho rodeo, during a game of catch the pig. The man sprints out past everyone else, does a sort of crazy sideways slide and wrenches one of those greased pigs right up out of that dirt arena.
It. Was. So. Sexy.
And I was hooked for life.
I have a point to all of this, I really do. I don’t just like to waste your time with ridiculous tangents. Wait, who am I kidding, this entire blog is a ridiculous tangent.
The point is, I was wearing my robin’s egg blue Hunter Wellies.
And Mr. thought, if I’m wearing the wellies, I should be standing in a river.
Now these wellies were a splurge….
ohhh, evil word to us thrifty shoppers.
I just moved to the Pacific Northwest and after our rainy day at Alki beach, I resolved to invest in a good pair of rain boots.
And we all know who has the best rain boots.
But they are not cheap. And that’s okay.
I am here to tell you, it is okay to splurge sometimes.
A great wardrobe is about quality, not quantity.
There are certain items in your budding wardrobe that you don’t want to go cheap on. (Notice I said cheap, not inexpensive) There is a difference. Finding a great pair of genuine leather Steve Madden riding boots at last chance for $35 is a perfectly acceptable inexpensive investment (especially when you consider the $350 they were going for at Nordy’s. Yeah, that was me. I got lucky.) Showing up to church in the pleather knee-high boots you found at Ross, made of some poly blend, is just a giant no-no. If you’ve been reading for awhile you may remember my opinion on Hooker Boots.
But don’t be ashamed, I made that mistake once too. (insert shudder)
The point is, wait it out. There are certain items each of us should have (or just want) in our wardrobe, but they require an investment. This is not a bad thing. Sacrificing quality to get dressed on a dime, just means that you’ll end up in the same position you are now in a few years time. Because cheap clothing wears out fast. When building your staples and the key pieces of your wardrobe your focus should be quality. Remember that while you’re thrifting. Ask yourself: is this item a quality piece? Is it constructed well? Will it last? Is it timeless, etc etc.
But you won’t be able to thrift everything.
Some items, like a well fitted high quality trench, a great pair of riding boots, and yes even a fabulous pair of Hunter Wellies, you’ll just have to pay for.
The trick is to save before you splurge. Never, I repeat, NEVER buy anything on credit.
You’ll end up hating it later.
I don’t care if all you can save is 5 dollars a week out of your budget and it’s going to take 6 months to buy that pair of Anthro riding boots. Wait.
You will feel so much better, and more satisfied about your purchase if you do.
The great thing about saving for an item before you buy, is that it helps you to slow down and really consider if you need it, if you really want it, and how you would wear it.
When you save before the splurge you have plenty of time to do your homework, make sure you’ve picked the very best item, and truly understand the quality.
And one last thing, don’t buy a cheap alternative (like the hooker boots mentioned above) while you save for the splurge. You’re just wasting precious pennies on something that doesn’t really look good.
If you wait to buy until all your money has been carefully put away, you can walk away with your purchase 100% satisfied. No looming credit card bill to dread. And no buyers remorse!
What item are you saving to splurge on?
Well the pictures were definitely worth it! You look fab! I put a rider on our insurance policy for our camera just for that reason. It’s cheap to do and then I don’t have a conniption fit every time we want to drag it along with us where ever we go. I was in Seattle to visit a friend this summer and we went to Alki beach – it was such a fun day! I’ve been Seattle several times and never to Alki – it’s now one of my favorite places there!
I love this post! I completely love this point of view! I use the same reasoning when I explain my shopping habits to my husband. He still doesn’t understand. I don’t think men understand the importance of a good pair of riding boots, or a perfectly fit trench like us women!
The river story totally cracked me up! That is just too funny!
Love your blog!
Great advice about saving up for something rather than charging it and then having buyer’s remorse. When you have time to save- and think about the purchase, you will make a better choice!
Love your style, love your blog!
Your boots are cute too!
I completely agree! Although, I’ve made the mistake for years buying things when I should have saved for the better quality purchase (as you mentioned). Ahhh…years later (now), I finally get it. Great outfit, love the boots! =)
This was such a great post! I love your boots, I didn’t even know they came in that color. I also totally agree with your advice about quality over quantity. It is also important to take care of your quality items. It is worth the dry cleaning costs to keep things looking nice and new. I also get the heels on my nice expensive boots redone every fall because they were $200 boots and even though they are 5 years old they still look great and fit me great. I love all your advice for us! :)
You could look good wearing a belted trash bag as cute are you are! I agree. There are some items just worth splurging on. I call them the classics or Jackie O picks. The items that you’ll look back on in photos in 30 years and still love. p.s. I found you through Pinterest and now you’re in my reader. Love your thrifty ideas since I’m on a mission to change from the “my time is too valuable to wait for a sale” attitude to the “help me be a good steward of what God gave me” girl.
Great post! I am finally starting to build up my post-maternity clothes waredrobe so I am saving those pennies for quality items. Right now i have my eyes on Betsy Johnson Derbby booties and the Scuba blazer from the LOFT. I think these two items will get a lot of use during the mild winters here in Houston, so i want to get something that will hold up for many years.
I LOVE your boots, and your advice is stellar. I needed that reminder. I am saving up to buy for some new brown riding boots, and it is hard to wait sometimes, so so worth it!
love.this.outfit!
i actually want some hunter wellies rain boots!!
I want them too but the calf is too wide for my very skinny legs :(
I tried using that linky to link mine but somehow it is not working and instead of my pic it has posted a linky pic!! Will try again soon. You can delete that one.
Your husband did a great job cause these are awesome pictures!! I hope his legs are okay hehe :) x
Again, love this post! Oh so true and just what I needed to be reminded of =)
My Hubs saved last year to get me…HUNTER wellies! I love them and been wanting them, but we don’t use credit…ever. So we saved the money and I love my boots, they sit at the entrance of our home always, wheter is raining or not. Right now we are saving for my Frye boots (see a pattern here?)
Great thoughts! I’m shopping my closet right now to get over the “buy it because it’s cheap” mindset. Having suffered through several pairs of cheap, foot-killing shoes, I’m realizing that a comfortable, well-made and classic pair of shoes is worth long-term saving. :)
I loved reading this, I totally agree with you!! Thanks for sharing it!
Awesome outfit!!
LOVE, CLAUDIA XXX
Great advice, Cori! I love the color of your Wellies!
Ah, I love this post!! So good to remember, I’ve def fell for that before buying cheap not necessarily well constructed or well made “just cause” i could get it now! feeling so challenged now to buy things I only love, and that won’t ware as fast and last.
thanks for the great post Cori!! I really love this series!
Your tips are the best! And your boots look amazing! :) Thanks for sharIng!
Love your rainboots! It’s such a nice shade of blue!
etiquetteforstyle.blogspot.com
it took me years and lots of anxiety about the price, but i finally just purchased a pair of frye boots
Love the boots. Also love a good splurge once in a while. I just bought myself a Louis Vuitton handbag for my 40th. Every single dime came from road side finds or dumpster dives turned to cash. It was a long process. But the bag was WORTH the wait! And there is NO way I would have EVER paid for it any other way.
Robins egg wellies…ahhh, love. WORTH IT.
This story made me laugh so hard, theres just way too much to comment on.
I love the Hunters, but I must ask, why did you spend $75 on adult ones when then kids sized is the same price new and they go up to a woman’s size 8? I’m short like you but not as tiny but I can still fit into some kids clothes.
Loving those boots on you! Very glad they don’t look too tall on the calves- work ’em girl!