Eva Mendes’s First Red Carpet Dress Was from Goodwill (PHOTO)

Eva Mendes may have zero sweatpants in her closet, but she certainly has a ton of dresses. (She told PEOPLE they’re the only thing she likes to wear around the house!) And you may be surprised to know that some of those dresses are second-hand.

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The actress shared a photo on Instagram, of her first time on the carpet at The Others L.A. premiere in 2001 — and her throwback look will have you reminiscing about what you were wearing in the early aughts.

“The debut of my latest @nyandcompany collection has me throwing back to my first red carpet. I did my own hair and make up and that’s a $6 dress from Goodwill,” she captioned the photo above, adding, “I’ve always loved a cheap find. Viva thrift shops!”

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Mendes told PEOPLE that when designing her New York & Company collections she takes inspiration from her own wardrobe, which includes multiple thrift pieces.

“A lot of it is from my closet, a lot of it is stuff I pick up along the way,” she shared. “I love stopping in to, a Goodwill or a Salvation Army — it’s so much fun for me to just stop in quickly, and I feel like I’m an archaeologist at that point. I can feel when there’s a little something, you know, where there’s gold in the hills, and I really zero in. That’s the fun part for me.”

For more on Mendes’s style and her latest New York and Company collection, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE on stands everywhere now. And tell us: Are you a fan of thrift store finds? What do you think of Mendes’s wardrobe?

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–Brittany Talarico, with reporting by Catherine Kast