Bargains, Bartering, and Borrowing

More Out of Monday: Beauty Tips

As a part of my transformation back to a look that is more me, I have been trying to obtain some new pieces for my wardrobe that reflects this style.  I had some items that were good but most of what lingered in my closet just reminded me of being pregnant or how long it had been since I actually bought clothes.  So, in my search for the new duds, I contacted a dozen or so clothing designers on Etsy.com to see if they would help me with my transformation by allowing me to review their work.  I had no idea that these artists would not see the value in the kind of advertisement that we ladies share here on the web.  They all declined the opportunity to be featured on not one, but two, web sites.  I was bummed.  But, I must move on!

Bartering at It’s Best

Because money is so tight right now, I’ve been forced to come up with other ways to get this wardrobe thing done.  In addition to borrowing several items from my twenty-something daughter, I found a really cool bartering site called Barterquest.com, and let me tell you, I was psyched!  You just post what you have to trade and what you want for it.  It’s really that simple.  I was able to post a couple of items yesterday, but I mostly looked around the site for items that I wanted.  Realizing that batering is going to be a super way to get new things, I decided to come up with at least five more items that I’m willing to part with.  We’ll see how it goes!

A Swap Party

The other thing that I’m going to do soon is host a Swap Party for all of my friends and family.  I have a feeling that this event will bring some interesting items into my closet.  Basically, you just invite your friends to come over and bring items that they no longer use.  They are given chips at the door depending on how much stuff they contribute and are sent into the shopping area where they can purchase items donated by others.  No one uses cash, just the chips.  In addition to that, you do all the regular girlie get together stuff like talk, eat, drink, etc.  What a blast!  Be looking for your invitation in the mail!

Bargain shopping and bartering takes some practice and determination to find the right pieces that work for you.  But sometimes it just happens, like in the case of my find of the century!  One of my good friends allowed me to pre-shop her garage sale this past weekend.  Among her soon to be sold items was a pair of size 9, black leather, Diesel boots that originally went for around $400 new.  Guess how much I scored them for?  Twenty-five bucks!  Oh, YEAH!  And they are edgy and unique to boot (no pun intended).

Tell us about any fabulous bargains that you’ve found lately.  We’d also like to hear about your style changes and what you’ve done to accomplish them.  And if you know any designers who would want to be featured on the site, please let me know.  Be well-be beautiful.

Photo by BrazenPhotography