this may be one of those things the more experienced among you will say DUH at (what can i say, sometimes i can be quite slow ;)), but my last couple of thrifting sprees have taught me one thing: CHECK THE MIRRORS.

if you go to a salvation army or goodwill, there's always a mirror at the end of every couple of aisles or so, since there are no changing rooms. i've found that the racks around those mirrors can be loaded with treasures left there after people have tried them on. case in point: today, buried behind a bunch of polyester and faux fur coats right by the mirror, i found the stash some stylish somebody had looked at and discarded - a stash that included ann taylor and loft, banana republic, and j crew. and all in my size! this girl just about died and went to heaven.

long story short, i left with two skirts, one from ATL and one from BR, a BEAUTIFUL jcrew dress, all from this stash, all springy prints in lovely bright colors. who knew?! i also got a new spring coat to replace a torn one, an the cream cardigan i have been looking for and finally found!

in summation: CHECK THE MIRRORS. best. trip. ever.