Clothes shopping at ARC

I've decided to add a new category of things that we write about here on our blog. This new category is all about the clothes that we find shopping at the local Puebloian thrift stores, consignment shops and vintage stores. In short I'm going to share the 'finds' that Jen and I find. (I know that's deep, right?) Since we live on a pastor's salary, have one kid, one on the way, are saving for a new van before kid 2 comes as well as saving for a house that we can finally settle down into, we don't have a lot of money to spend on things like clothes. So, I'm going to write about our adventures of buying clothes while being on a tight budget ($50 a month). This budget includes the cost for tailoring (if needed) and dry cleaning (when needed). Onto the first, of (hopefully) many, posts. As always comments are welcome and appreciated.

1. I bought today a medium 100% cotton burgundy cardigan with navy trim by John Ashford. (Ignore the white t-shirt I'm wearing underneath the cardigan. It's what I wear when I buy clothes, but that's for another post.) I really dig the color and the front pockets as well as the slimmer fit, basically I don't feel like I'm wearing a bag, which I like. Cost $0.99.

2. I also bought this 100% virgin wool, navy blue military style sweater. (Forgive the glare.) It's a size 42 (medium) by the Corporation of America Military Equipment, a Mehlin & Estey Co. Based on some research, this company began in 1986 and is one of the suppliers of clothing for the military. This sweater is made specifically for the USAF. So this military style sweater is actually a military sweater. How cool is that?

Plus it has some pretty bad ass elbow patches as well. Cost $0.99.

3. Lastly, I bought a pair of brown oxfords by Dockers. I've been looking for pair of reasonably priced brown shoes for a while and stumbled upon these today. I couldn't pass these up for the price. Price $7.99.

All in all I spent just over $10 with tax. Not bad for the items I got today. My question to you... can you do better? Can I do better? I guess we'll have to wait and see.