Thrifty Thursday: The Perils of Lace

Last Thrifty Thursday, we talked about dressing like an heiress on a starving-artist budget. If there's one absolute, all-encompassing tip I can give you on that topic, it's this: avoid elastic lace. It will betray you. That's a tip for life - not just for thrifting. Whether you're at Target, TJ Maxx, or Bloomingdale's, no matter how much you like something, if it has elastic lace, run.
Here's why:
Oh, look at this pretty navy blue dress. It's slinky and has fun sleeves, and would probably look great on your body.

Except that OH NO!

Elastic lace will hold up for one, maybe two, maayyyyyybe three wash cycles, and then it disintegrates. While that doesn't technically ruin an item (you could wear it without facing disaster), it does betray it as a piece of fast fashion. Remember, the goal of this series is to look like you paid a lot of money.

Compare that to this other dress.

This lace is inelastic; there's no stretch at all. Instead, the lining is slightly stretchy. 

The difference is enormous. On this dress (which is from Target, BTDubbs) there are no flyaway threads. There's some very slight pilling (just enough that I can tell it's been worn), but the garment still looks great. I took this dress home, shaved the pilling with a cheap razor, and it's as good as new.