When I was younger, I ended up being friends with one of those perfect girls. Well, perfect in most senses….(she was a party girl, after all)….but she got the best grades. She was gorgeous. She excelled at every sport. Every guy wanted her. Every girl wanted to be her. And her clothes..GOD. I wanted her wardrobe. But my mom wasn’t about to take me to the mall for a shopping spree. No way.

So when this girl revealed to me once that she ACTUALLY got all of her clothes at The Goodwill; I was in total shock.

“Are you F*%king kidding me?!”

All of that time, I had been envious over clothes that I could most definitely afford, but wasn’t grabbing because I thought the only thing worse than buying my clothes at Wal-Mart would be to buy them at a thrift store.

How wrong I was.

She and I started going on adventures together to The Goodwill and everything in the universe started to harmonize all of the sudden. (Okay, maybe it wasn’t THAT life changing, but I certainly started to learn a thing or two about fashion.)

To this day, I buy at least 80% of my wardrobe at thrift stores. And the compliments are pretty consistent..even here in New York. And to tell you the truth, I get a jolly old kick out of telling snobby 5th Avenue type chicas that I got my coat from a thrift store.

There are some serious fashion basics that are all available at your local thrift store. So know what to look for and go out and get it:

-PURSES
Unless you’re one of those “I’ve gotta spend $800 on my bag” type of gals, why get your purses any where else? At thrift stores, you can find every kind of purse that has that perfect vintage look.

-BELTS
I’m sorry, but those 1993 Circa “Blossom” floral print belts really do it for me. No, I am not kidding.

-SHOES
So ya like boots? And you want them to look authentic? Well, to be frank, I have no idea where else you CAN get a pair like this other than a thrift store. Go ahead and THINK you can get them at Urban Outfitters. And then tuck your pretty feet under your seat when two other babes are wearing the same ones at lunch.

-JEWELRY
From shell-shaped teal earrings to thick layers of pears; it’s all at the thrift store and for less than a dollar.

Of course thrift stores are also chocked full of other treasures than can turn you into an instant fashionista. For instance, huge men’s sweaters…. tie a belt around that shit at your waist and you’re Mary Kate Olsen. YOU decide if this is good or bad.

So let the Barbies be Barbies with their fake nails and Tiffany charm bracelets. Meanwhile, you can revamp your whole wardrobe for $40. And before you know it, you’ll be excelling at every sport, acing your classes, and scoring all the dudes.

Well, maybe.