Picking Through the Trash

1) Headband, $1, Claire's
2) Scarf,  $0.50, Goodwill
3) Turquoise cotton sweater, $5, Walmart
4) Jeans, $30, Old Navy
5) Flat ankle moc boots, $20, Minnetonka via eBay

Are you surprised by the Walmart sweater?  I kinda am, too.  Most of what they sell is utter crap: tacky, oversized, hideous, or badly made.  Every once in a blue moon you'll find a rare treasure, like this sweater.  It's all a matter of picking through the wreckage to find something good.
In general, that's what you hafta do with many of my clothing sources. Ebay, Goodwill, consignment shops, junk shops all have one thing in common: you hafta sift through a lot of old lady polyester, scrubs, and stained tees to find something even remotely worth having.  Then you hafta pick through that and try it on (f you can.)
For me, shopping is the thrill of the hunt.  Unless I have something VERY specific in mind, I find it best to go in with a vague idea and see what I can find.  I can comb an entire shop and come up with 10 things to try on, only to find out in the dressing room that none of it's going home with me.  I'm used to that.  If you're used to knowing exactly what you want and paying an arm and 3 legs for it, try a change of pace.  You might find a hidden gem among the busted lamps, fuzzy tvs, and 80s prom dresses.

Oooh, Shiny

1) Sodalite drop earrings, $10, local mall merchant
2) White long sleeve button up blouse, $20, Express
3) Tweedy metallic navy blue cardigan, $15, Express
4) Studded belt, $5, Claire's
5) Jeans, $20, Lucky via eBay
6) Black suede ankle boots, $20, Minnetonka via eBay
7) Blue cameo necklace, $15, local mall merchant

This is a quintessential fall outfit for me: it looks boring but causes a double take.  This sweater is
cozy warm (as in, almost too warm for what passes for fall around here), but looks more polished than you'd think a frayed cardigan ever could. It's also shiny, and I have a minor thing for shiny silvery (just call me a magpie).  I added the belt because it looked a little too frou frou without it.  I'm actually wearing those boots without socks, believe it or not, because, damn, they're almost as comfy as house shoes or my Vibrams.