(Anne Klein leather handbag – $1 this past weekend at a yard sale)
Irony rears it’s funny head since I am about to admit that I have never been much of a handbag kind of girl, yet I just purchased five at my “fashion haul” yard sale. For years, I’ve been very content to carry one purse for an extended period of time, and even though I have a variety of handbags, the thought of taking time to switch out the amount of items from the deep depths of my purse’s abyss has seemed a bit overwhelming.
That is not the reality with our youngest daughter.
She has a purse for everything. A purse for church. A purse for friend time. A purse for soccer practice. A purse for just nail polish. A purse for just lip gloss. You get the drill.
And considering that she has a few dollars to spend how she wants, and chooses to budget it on handbags at yard sales, I leave that decision up to her (with a small amount of encouragement to expand the boundaries of her “savings.”)
Well, I think she may have just brought me to the wild side.
With one amazing yard sale, I went from owning not even one white purse to owning two, and then I had to make a decision on which one to swap out. (Reading that sentence, I realize just how superficial that could sound, but you know, sometimes I think the Lord gives us a fun little find like that for only $2 just to show us He delights in even the little things of our life such as our “wants and not just our needs”.)
So since my daughter already had piled quite a few things in the first white purse, I was more than happy to have her make my decision for me. This purse is an awesome accessory in and of itself.
Remember that, ladies. Hand bags are accessories. They can pull an outfit together just like jewelery. Look how cute that purse looks with my white pants ($0.50 yesterday) and purple shrug ($2 thrift store).
And of course, for a total of $7 for ALL FIVE HANDBAGS, my daughter could not pass up these other ones. (Believe it or not, we left quite a few, s don’t worry, you wouldn’t have had to wrestle me for them. Well, maybe just a bit, but that is just how many they were getting rid of at this one sale.)
And if you are wondering about designer brands, does Anne Klein, Nine West or Big Buddha brands ring a bell? Yes, all leather, all designer. The green Big Buddha purse below was only $0.50 (broken zipper), but honestly, half the time I never zipper my bags all the way anyhow and as long as it zipped enough to hold the top together, I am good.
So this was just the hand bag fashion haul part of this yard sale.
I haven’t even gotten to the clothes aspect yet, although my middle school daughter really hit the jackpot since one of the ladies was very petite.
I do believe another video fashion haul is in order, since it’s too time consuming to take and up load that many pictures. 😉
My yard sale hints for finding those rare yard sales like this?
When you do find sales that have clothes in your style or size, ask these crucial questions – do you hold yard sales every year? Is it always around the same time of the year? Will you always hold it at this location or do you vary whose house it’s at?
I know that might seem odd, but that small hint has allowed me to freshen and update my wardrobe for the last many years. For about five years, I purchased my sons their wardrobe from one family that had a son about 1-2 years ahead of our oldest. They had amazing taste and the designer brands that I look for. One year she mentioned that they were moving, and I made the HUGE mistake of not asking her to which subdivision. Had I just asked that one small question, I could have continued to hit the jack pot each year, but since I didn’t, I had no idea in the city where they were.
It pays to just ask politely, showing great appreciation for the blessing of finding such great treasures from them.
And P.S.
Friends in Real Life: If you still see me carrying this white handbag at the end of September, remind me to swap it out to another color, please. 🙂
LOVE, LOVE the white Anne Klein handbag!!
I am a handbag-aholic and am absolutely drooling over your finds! The colors are sassy and fun while the white ones are just fabulous.
Wow, great finds! Thanks for all of your thrifty inspiration! We hit my favorite thrift store this weekend that was having a 25% off everything sale, plus it was tax free weekend! It was so fun to outfit my cute 1st grader with great clothes for next to nothing!
Awesome! I have a “thing” with COACH bags…the best I can do is purchase them at the COACH outlet store when they have an additional 30% off coupon. Of course I hit the clearance section first…wish I could find one at a $1 at a yard sale!
I LOVE the green one!
I saw your facebook post a couple of days ago about the purses. Yesterday on my way home from my own garage sale in town (I live in the country so I went in with a girlfriend in town) I saw a sign for an estate sale. I checked it out and it was a total bust but the house next door (country next door, if you know what I mean) was also having a multi-family garage sale. Most of it was over priced but I did find a couple of purses that were in great condition and were super cute. They weren’t name brand but cute none the less. I bought the butter colored one for $3, and now I’m wishing I would have bought the green one as well. Oh well, next time I’ll go with my gut and jump on it. I’ve never been a multiple purse girl either so this is all new territory. I was thinking of you when I spotted that box of purses wondering if I would find a gem as well!
I’m so excited for your great deals!
Jennnnnnnnnnnn
OH MY GOSHHHHHHH! love them all, especally the green one. I so agree with you about God giving you that one little find that just makes you so happy. I found a bucket of buttons for 3.49 at a thrift store. That bucket made me that happiest girl for days and I have used and used them in all sorts of projects. I almost fainted in the aisle, I felt like he was saying, “here go have some fun”!!!
lots of love, you are amazing!
Angela
Wow! You can’t even find real leather handbags that cheap in that good of condition at the thrift stores. Great scores! I have never been much of a handbag/purse girl either. I don’t gravitate toward designer purses like most women. I usually just carry a small hobo type purse that neatly tucks under my arm and carries the basic essentials. I do own a really cute fake black Prada purse though (from thrift store). 🙂
I love your Frugal Fashionista posts, they inspire me to keep shopping secondhand…I just bought myself a black, long-sleeve, wrap, Talbots dress today at Goodwill for $5 and I’m happy!
I was never much of a purse girl either. These are great finds!!! I wanted to share a new handbag concept that is my new home party business. Miche bags are essentially a base bag (3 sizes to choose from) and you exchange the outer shells to match your ensemble. While the prices don’t compare to these yard sale steals, its a fun way to change bags without all the hassle.
Love your finds!! You can always take the green one to the shoe repair shop for a new zipper. It is amazing what they can do for shoes, belts, and purses. (I have a narrow foot so I buy sandals and have them cut the straps down). Much better than paying full price!
Jen, Abby was ROCKIN’ her awesome gladiator sandals and her beautiful aqau top (it made her eyes sparkle!) at Sunday School yesterday!!! She was SO BEAUTIFUL and such the fashionista that you raised her to be! Not only is she beatiful on the outside, but more importantly she is the Christlike young woman that brings glory to her heavenly Father. What a treasure! Glad you all had the fabulous haul that was such a fun blessing!
You are so sweet. We got both of those at that yard sale and I WISH I fit in those sandals, although I will be wearing the shirt. It was perfect timing because she has been starting to get just a “tad” of attitude about Goodwill and this made her remember why we love thrifting so much. 😉
Yes, tell your precious daughter that thrifting is being a good steward and that just delights our Lord! After all, He looks on our HEARTS, not on our sandals (of course, He looked on the ones that she was wearing Sunday and SMILED… and so did many females too)! Besided, thrifting and saving $$$ is just such an incredibly wonderful ADVENTURE, if you let it be! My girls and I just love giggling about HOW inexpensive some of our finds have been… just amazing… and we can just almost FEEL the Lord grinning ear-to-ear that He has delighted us with not just our needs, but so many of our wants too!… it helps us to be able to share with so many others as well. 🙂 I absolutely get so blessed by reading your blogs. Maybe some day my girls and I can show you and your girls how to make some pretty cool jewelry… we do tons of it and love it!
Thanks for the article! I love all of the handbags, so stylish! I found one at the flea market for only $1. It will look great with a particular outfit I have.
I can totally relate! At my sister’s wedding we were talking about purses and I had to admit that I’ve only bought one purse in the last 20 years. In my defense, my dad (who had great taste) would buy me a nice purse for my birthday each year. So I just used the same purse until the next year. He passed away 2 years ago and so I’ve just been using the same purse. My older sister (who is similar to your younger daughter in her love of purses) was shocked and said, “Well, now I know what to get you for your birthday!” I’m definately the minimalist in our family. Thanks for the fashionista posts. I love them.
Great finds! Love them all. In the past, I’ve found the occasional cute handbag at garage sales or school/ church fundraisers, but nothing to compare with your finds!
The closest I’ve come to frugal handbags recently are the two new DIY clutches I made from dollar store straw placemats! Cute..yes, I think so! But nothing to compare with a $1 Anne Klein bag!