When summer turns into autumn, Part 2

Sweater BOGO bonanza at Sally Anne!!!

Nothing puts a smile on this girl's face more than a sale at the Salvation Army.  Sweaters were BOGO (Buy One Get One FREE!!).   I had been craving oversized, chenille sweaters, and I had previously scoped out a cobalt blue beauty.   

Behold what I found at the sale

Woo-hoo!!  The cobalt blue, chenille sweater was still there!!  It is a plus sized sweater, so it's nice and drapey.

Oversized, vintage crochet tunic.  Perfect for layering.

Crocheted turtleneck from a fancy-schmancy label.  

Dark teal, chenille sweater.  Another plus-sized beauty.

Blue Alpaca Hoody.  I love the tassels on the ends!!

Long, cable-knit cardi. Another fancy label.

Cashmere sweater.  Destined to be made into DIY fingerless gloves.

Caramel cardy.  It's another longun.

Calvin Klein cardy with sequin and lace embellishment.

Cardi on the left is vintage, check out the pine trees!!

Cardi on the right is a Jacob, lambswool sweater.

Two Fair-Isle cardies.  The one of the left is Woolrich.  The one on the right is Northern Reflections.

The Woolrich cardi is looong!

The NR cardy is comfy and oversized.  Cute buttons to boot!

Another chenille sweater!!  With silver Lurex and new with tags!!

This is what it looks like on.

I also found some shirts to wear to work.  They weren't on sale, but a great deal nonetheless.

Silk blouse!!!

Casual Corner, an Eaton's in-house label!!

Checking for signs of wear, stains, etc.

Faint stain on the inside of the blouse.  It came out when I hand-washed it with delicate laundry detergent.

This is what it looked like over my t-shirt :)

Two vintage Chaps blouses.  I'd show you what they looked like when I tried them on...but it was too hideous.  They were puffy-sleeved nighmares.

Joe Fresh, sequined, tunic (I'll wear their stuff if I get it secondhand), and a Marks and Spencer shirt with lace embellishment on collar and cuffs.

Spiffy lace embellishment!!!

This is what the sequined tunic looks like.

I also found a couple of well-made coats.  I snapped them up.  Long, brown wool coat with fancy-schmancy label.

Pink coat with interesting grid texture.  Another fancy label.  I accessorised with a bag, I ended up not buying it though.  I am on the lookout for a decent sized, cross-body purse.

The sweaters cost between $2-4 each, thanks to the sale.  Half of the sweaters were in mint condition.  The other half need a bit of de-pilling.  The Jacob sweater developed a loose stitch after I washed it, so it will need minor repair.

The blouses/shirts were about $6.  The two coats were $12 each, they probably originally retailed for $200

I also checked out the clearance rack at Bianca Nygard.  The pink cardi was $4, the teal cardi was $8, and the ombre cardi was $23 (originally $58).  All the cardies were deeply discounted because they were old stock.

The ombre cardi has a cute, tie in front.

What I wore while shopping.

Mexx cardi, lace embellished shirt, flannel Jacob pants.  All thrifted.

Tips for buying sweaters

1. Check for condition.  If it's second hand, hold it up to the light to look for holes, snags, etc.

2. Sweaters can be de-pilled.  I use manicure scissors.

3. Read the label prior to washing. Is it hand-washable, machine washable, dry-clean only?  You may be able to hand-wash a dry-clean only sweater with no adverse results.  Use a delicate detergent and don't wring it.  Gently squeeze out the water.  Then lay flat and shape on a towel, or a sweater drying rack.

4. Wash like colors together.

5. Acrylic, polyester and other synthetic sweaters are usually safe to wash on the delicate/knit cycle.  

6. Turn cotton sweaters inside out, and put inside a pillow case and knot the end.  If you wash it like this you won't get fading at the seams.

7. Excercise caution when washing wool sweaters.  It may shrink.  It may make more sense to get it dry-cleaned.  Since wool repels dirt, you may only need to have your wool sweater dry cleaned a couple of times a year.

8. If you throw your sweaters in the washing machine, make sure that other items, such as bras, as hooked up to prevent snagging.

Happy Thrifting!!!