Thrifty Threads

Welcome to another installment of Thrifty Threads, AKA Most Stylish Compact-y Outfit, where readers model their favorite secondhand clothes.

A Compact-y outfit is anything used or recycled, from the Goodwill, a thrift store, or a consignment shop.

Today's model is Hannah, who blogs at Caminho da Vida. She's a regular reader and commenter on this blog, and some of you might recognize her as the commenter "han_ysic." Hannah is from Nowra, a small town about 2 hours outside Sydney, and the tagline on her blog is "An Aussie girl on the journey of living generously, living simply and living out my faith." She posts about the things she's grateful for, her outdoor adventures, and some really good photographs, among other things. It's winter in Australia right now, and some of the snow images in this recent post about being grateful for snow are gorgeous.

Hannah is a "Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner," which means she has a degree in social work and her job is to help parents work out how to look after their children after separating, without having to go to court. She also has a 17-year-old foster daughter who lives with her. Hannah was born in Sydney, moved to Nowra as a toddler, and lived in the US, Brazil, and Indonesia on student exchanges as a teenager. How interesting. In my solo travels before I met my husband, I learned that the only girls (or women) who go it alone are from Northern Europe (usually Germany), the United States, and Australia.

Hannah found this super cute top at what she calls an "opshop," which are all over Australia and sounds like what we refer to as the Goodwill in the states. She bought it for $1.50, what a steal! Hannah says almost any photograph of her could be used for Thrifty Threads because she almost always wears clothes from the opshops. She's been wearing secondhand clothes since she was born and started receiving her cousin's hand-me-downs, but lately she's become more picky in her "op-shopping," only buying natural fibers and things that fit well. Hannah says, "Just like normal shopping, there's no point wasting money on something you're not going to wear." Well put.

Thanks for your participation Hannah! Since I'm getting more photos lately, I can do Thrifty Threads as a regular Thursday feature, as long as you keep them coming. So show us your fabulous finds! Snap a picture and send it to me. You can find my email address on my profile page. And click here to check out previous installments of Thrifty Threads.

Please leave your tips and advice for secondhand shopping and compliments for Hannah in the Comments section.