Madewell’s guide to thrift shopping

 

 

 

 

Otherwise known as their spring catalog, now conveniently available online and breathing new inspiration into my commitment to thrift shopping my warm weather wardrobe.

There’s something about finding a broken-in pair of jeans or a beautifully tailored blazer in a sea of unremarkable used clothing that is truly, deeply fulfilling to me. Not to everyone, I know. Maybe it was the years of hand-me-downs combined with hard-saved babysitting money that made me gravitate towards the practice of combing through castoffs to find Incredible Deals on things that No One Else Is Wearing. Was I a cheapo with middle child syndrome? Sure – but it made me a perfect match for Paris where vintage stores are aplenty and my well-honed ability to sift through an industrial rack of hangers to locate the Most Perfect Pair of Tapered Silk Pants was indispensable. The best items in my closet were pre-owned, like a leather Gucci pencil skirt scored for $60 at a consignment shop in DC and a pair of eel skin cowboy boots from a vintage shop in Champaign, IL.

This love of beautiful worn things is something that makes me love Madewell. They have classic, wonderful items that feel like they’ve been part of your wardrobe for years when in reality you just ripped off the tags a week ago. If you’re new to the used clothing market but interested in starting your investment, study the Madewell spring catalog for an easy to follow checklist of items to look for when trolling through thrift stores. Here’s what I have on my short list (literally written on a crumpled yellow Post-It in my purse):

1. Leather biker vest
2. Worn in, faded high-waist jorts, a couple of sizes too big
3. Oversize, super soft black tee with white letters
4. A camouflage jacket (from Army Surplus)
5. Faded overalls

Wearing any of these five items with your usual closet staples will take it up a notch, giving you that effortlessly cool street cred that Madewell sells but you’ll find on the cheap if you just look hard enough. (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,’script’,’//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js’,’ga’); ga(‘create’, ‘UA-46889504-1’, ‘thestyleheist.blogspot.com’); ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’);

Whiten your teeth in one minute

My colleague has the whitest teeth of anyone I have ever met, but not in a blinding, peroxide, it-must-hurt-when-you-eat-ice-cream kind of way. They are just natural, clean pearly whites that are always sparking.

So of course, I asked her what her secret was. She said, “I keep a jar of vinegar and a jar with a mixture of baking soda and salt in my medicine cabinet, and brush my teeth first with the vinegar, then with the baking soda twice weekly.”

I ran home, tried it, and am now the proud owner of a set of 28 gleaming Chicklets. It worked better than any white strip and without the sensitivity even after I overdid it on the vinegar (brushed for a full five minutes). Try it and tell me that your teeth aren’t the brightest they have ever been. (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,’script’,’//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js’,’ga’); ga(‘create’, ‘UA-46889504-1’, ‘thestyleheist.blogspot.com’); ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’);

Five healthy fast food lunch options

My day job has an 80% travel requirement that by default makes me a connoisseur of fast food. Knowing what my colleagues are willing eat from America’s most common fast food joints (conveniently available everywhere with predictable menus and reliable quality control measures) is a survival skill.

Way back when I first started, I remember sitting in an abandoned strip mall somewhere in Florida, seated elbow-to-elbow at a small strip of desks with my more seasoned colleagues. I was eating a basket of waffle fries and disgusted with the oily fingerprints collecting on my keyboard. I asked (out loud, and to no one in particular) how it was possible to stay skinny sitting still all day long with no time or energy to eat anything that didn’t get passed through a window in a paper bag.

My question was answered by an annoyed (but smart) lady who later became my friend (once I learned her lunch order): she said ‘eat high protein, low carb, and little variety’ meaning find something with the first two qualifications, then eat it every day. It was genius.

After trolling the nutrition facts on menus of every fast food joint within a half-mile radius and taste-testing the healthiest items I could find over the next couple of weeks, I narrowed it down to the top five – sure, they’re not perfect, but they’re tasty, filling, quick, and have remained on my lunch menu every week and kept me on track when I’m hungry and powerless at the scent of McDonald’s French fries.

 

 

1. Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad, full-size, hold the blue cheese and use just half the dressing. It has 400 calories, 30 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fiber. When I need a snack, I pick up the half-size with the same limitations. (This is tied with the Berry Almond Chicken Salad, but made the cut because Dave doesn’t limit it to just one season.)

 

2. Panera’s Power Chicken Hummus Bowl has 332 calories, 33 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fiber. It’s on their ‘Hidden Menu’ which is actually a thing (listed on the Web site, but not on the menu boards) and is filled with nourishing options all made with high quality, fresh ingredients that are rich with protein and contain only limited amounts of processed carbs. If I eat this, I am barely hungry for dinner.  (The Panera employees know me by name and have this wrapped up and waiting for me every day, and I rarely let them down.)

3. Chick-fil-A Grilled Market Salad, hold the cheese and use just half the dressing to come in at 200 calories, 23 grams of protein, and 4 grams of fiber. It’s my favorite salad and I usually sweet talk them into giving me an extra packet of nuts because I am just that charming slash it is just that easy for Chick-fil-A employees to hand out salad condiments.
 

 

4. Starbucks Reduced Fat Turkey Bacon Sandwich has 230 calories, 13 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fiber. It’s warm and goes great with an Americano but you must eat it while it’s hot or it will make your teeth fall out like cooled-off microwaved sandwiches tend to do.

 

 

5. Chipotle Steak Salad, hold the cheese and sour cream, load up on fajita vegetables and fresh tomato salsa and add a 1/2 of a side order of guacamole for Mexican fun without the guilt. It’s 330 calories, 35 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fiber. Sometimes, right before check out, I convince myself to throw in the tortilla chips because they’re gluten-free and all. Which is why this is last on the list, because I can’t be trusted.

 

(I should also add that I have eaten no less than four servings of Jelly Bellys while writing this post and should also not be trusted to dole out tips on healthy eating.)

 

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Get more wear out of what you own

It’s Easter today, meaning that my hiatus from shopping is over. But I am not sure I want it to be.
Shopping my closet for the past forty days forced me to be more creative, and I was better dressed because of it (and a more responsible steward of my disposable income). Shoes came out of their hiding places under my bed, and suddenly I was ironing shirts that have been wrinkled since 2012. My dry cleaner’s revenue increased, and a collection of old dresses, blouses, and pants were given new lives by my favorite tailor. Anything that didn’t make it through the Great Closet Review of Ash Wednesday was dropped off at Goodwill, consigned, or filed away to be merchandised for my eBay store (that’s been boarded up for awhile but will be making a comeback soon…)

One of the old favorites that was rediscovered and now a daily part of my outfit is a black leather Pulicati tote that I picked up for $99 at TJ Maxx a few years ago. It’s been my laptop bag and a weekend tote, and goes well with a pair of black leather d’Orsay flats that were once forgotten but now constantly on my feet (and improving my yoga – high heels didn’t do much for my  warrior pose).

The reasons that I gave up shopping are still relevant: I have too much, need to break the habit of mindlessly acquiring stuff that will just collect dust in my newly downsized closet, and want to save my money for more important things. So I am going to spend the next month as a sustainable shopper, thinking carefully about each purchase and holding myself to the shopping budget of my college years. And in the meantime, continuing to make good use of my iron and getting more wear out of what I already own.

Photo by Madison Weller

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Get on the Turkish towel bandwagon

This post could also be titled ‘how to make over a chair in 10 seconds’ which is exactly how I use my collection of Turkish towels: at this very moment, I am sitting on a worn out Ikea Poang chair covered in a gray Turkish towel in my bedroom. It covers up a wine stain on the cushion, looks very Jonathan Adler, and pairs well with a Mongolian fur pillow all for a mere $35.

 

 

I have a white Turkish towel draped over an old wooden captain’s chair in my living room that lightens up the dark wood and saves me the time and effort of refinishing it.

They’re also bath towels, blankets – even a makeshift umbrella in one instance. They get softer (and more authentically Turkish-looking) with every wash. It’s one of the only things that I am willing to pay retail, and I used to buy them at Eastern Market from a Turkish woman who sources them from a textile town in their namesake country (I now order them from her Web site).

For summer, I’m adding a couple new ones to my stash to use as packable beach blankets-slash-sarongs. In red and turquoise stripes that look great stuffed in a canvas tote (I’m ordering this one with my unofficially new initials).

When I first discovered these, my inner cheapo felt guilty for spending $100 on three (amazing) towels. The versatility almost cured me, and then I learned that each one is hand-woven in traditional looms in Turkey and the three ladies who run this company partner with local organizations at every stage of their production process to help women in the community become economically independent.

I’ll take that over Target any day.

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