Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds. To avoid any confusion these items were thrifted by other people, they are not mine... though I wish they were ;)
I’m on a major boot kick right now (ok, I just saw the pun there... he-he) and I’m pretty sure Mary Poppins herself would kill for those Victorian-style granny lace-ups.
That being said, for me, this awesomely whimsical outfit is really all about those amazing folksy suspenders. Paired with the cute little skirt, they are definitely calling to mind something very lederhosen-esque, while the shirt’s butterfly collar adds a cool 70’s vibe to the mix. What I love is that the hat could go either way… is it a traditional alpine cap or is it a pimpin' fedora?... I’d like to wager that it’s BOTH and therein lies its brilliance!
She’s like the Von Trapp kids' funk-lovin', street-wise cousin for whom the hills are indeed alive with the sound of music, it just happens to be that of Sly & The Family Stone…
I can’t believe someone actually came up with this.
Check out the 100% Thrifted flickr group for more fabulous fully thrifted outfits. I also highly recommend checking out Violet Folklore’s stylin’ new blog and Etsy vintage shop, both of which are wondrous :)
During my travels across the interweb, I come across lots of wonderfully altered articles of thrifted clothing which make me wish I was savvier with my poor neglected sewing machine. Luckily for us not-so-DIY-inclined (or just don’t have the time for DIY projects) types, there’s always the lovely folks of Etsy who are out there thrifting, altering, and embellishing for us.
I would love to be able to turn an oversized vintage dress into this cute little number, like Etsy seller NENEEE has done…
...and how sweet is this reconstructed vintage wedding dress from Etsy seller Lynn’s Rags?!?!
Customizing thrifted clothing with yarn is a new one for me, but I think it’s a great idea. I saw these reworked pieces (previously a basic full length denim skirt and fitted tee) on the blog NIBS the other day. They are from a spread in the gorgeous knitting magazine Rowan. You can check out the rest of the feature here.
While putting this post together, I also came across a darling Etsy shop called Photosynthesis. Megan, the seller and lover of ferns, hand prints thrifted vintage items using actual fern leaves that she collects, dries, and presses herself.
Myself being a scientist who once dreamed of studying botany, the fact that her inspiration to print ferns on clothing came from the specimens she collected for fern ecology studies in college, tugs at my heartstrings. The pieces she creates are one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly, and just plain lovely :)
But reconstruction is not just for clothes. In my experience, there’s no shortage of vintage jewelry out there for the thrifting, and jewelry reconstruction is one of those things that I’ve long wanted to try my hand at.
I found this NylonTV clip with Lulu Frost designer Lisa Salzer to be extremely inspiring and there’s even a little DIY project at the end. If you pay attention to the background there are also some lovely ideas for jewelry storage to be found.
How cool is her studio?! Oh, to have vintage card catalogs full of magical doo-dads and walls of vintage chains to choose from… *sigh*
Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds.
I’ve mentioned before how Milla and I enjoy sending one another packages of thrifted goodies. Well, since I can’t send her anymore stuff until she makes her much anticipated move to the States, I’m dedicating this week’s picks to her instead. If I were shopping for Milla in the Nifty Thrift pool this week, these are the items I would choose to send (and as always, want to keep for myself :)
These German fairytale postcards are too cool. Adorable illustrations AND they remind me so much of the cover art on The Monsters of Templeton, a most wonderful book introduced to me by Milla over the Summer.
For the girl who dreams of Alaska, what better thrifty gift than a vintage Alaskan Tea towel? By the way, I would grab this one too and have to try reaaaally hard not to keep it for myself ;)
How cute was Clover in her very first Halloween costume?!?!
The idea to dress her up as Holly Hobbie this year had been in my mind for several months. Ever since we came across the blue bonnet in an old box of toys at her grandmother’s house. For months, since I’m not much of a sewer, I had been keeping my eye out at the thrift stores for a suitable dress/apron/bloomers combo to go with the hat… to no avail.
A couple of weeks ago, just as I was beginning to think I may have to break down and settle for one of those *insert cute fuzzy animal here* suits, I came across this adorable hand made calico apron dress at the Goodwill. Luckily, it was a perfect fit :)
I stopped by the Salvation Army Friday afternoon (totally last minute) to look for some finishing touches and found this pale pink and white leafy patterned vintage onesie that looks like a little clown suit when she wears it on its own, but under the apron dress it was absolutely perfect. The white collar with embroidered flowers came out over the dress, the pant legs peeked out from underneath like little bloomers, and the prints on the sleeves and the dress were so sweet together.
I also found a fake bunch daisies and a little woven basket just her size. I have a stash of vintage ribbon bows with wire attachments that I picked up long ago at a garage sale, so I attached one of those to her tiny basket as the final touch.
We took her across the street to my sister-in-law’s house for a mellow evening of drinking lemon drops, eating cookies, handing out candy to cute little trick-or-treaters, and watching toddler hi-jinks ensue as Clover played with her twin two-year-old cousins on the living room floor… always entertaining!
They have this great linoleum in their kitchen and I loved how all the patterns in Clover’s costume looked against it as she crawled around on the floor.
I thrifted this vintage minidress from the Goodwill years ago. I’ve always thought it was a cool dress but it’s a bit much with that big crazy collar for everyday wear. It was perfect though for my costume, which was supposed to be me as a little girl back the 70’s, with my Holly Hobbie doll of course :)
Apparently big crazy collars did NOT bother me when I actually WAS a little girl back in the 70’s. This was me at nursery school on my birthday back in 1977, hence the paper crown and tray of cupcakes. If you look closely you can just make out the five candles. Isn’t it funny how similar the dresses are? I must have liked this one because there’s another picture of me wearing it on Santa’s lap.
I actually even HAD a Holly Hobbie doll back then, but I think the one I have now is much cuter ;)
While we’re on the topic of the 70’s, I thought I’d throw in these from Halloween 2006 when I was one third of Charlie’s Angels (though I didn’t know it the time, this was to be my final pre-Clover night of Halloween partying):
It was funny when all three of us, having each gone out on our own to find something suitably 70’s and Angelesque to wear, showed up in these awesome jumpsuits as if we had planned it that way! Between Lucie’s vintage neck scarf collection and Jody’s extensive collection of Bakelite bangles, we were accessorized and good to go.
It actually turned out to be quite an interesting night too as, due to a work obligation of Lucie’s, we spent the first half of our evening tearing up the dance floor as the only three straight girls at a wild New Age lesbian Halloween party where we were um,… a BIG HIT.
The best part was when a surly looking women (in a particularly convincing man costume) asked us if we had been hired as “entertainment.” Such. Good. Times. It was also pretty cool that my friend Luis provided us with a handheld tape recorder allowing us to, upon entering a room, invoke the soundtrack to this:
Thanks Luis, for the sound effects then, and for digging up the Angels pics! Hope you all had a fun Halloween this year!
I NEED to find a cute little pair of brown booties to wear with sweet girly peter pan collared dresses like these… and everything else I own for that matter!
On Sunday, I finally got around to wearing that dark blue lace dress with the big pockets that I thrifted months ago. What took me so long?... I don't know, I guess when you have too much stuff in your closet, even good things can get lost in the shuffle.
It also seems Lula "the dark issue" has gotten to me as well. Maybe it's the Halloween spirit, but I'm feeling drawn to this whole dark fairytale style right now...
... and this dress seems to fit right in.
I have a thing for saint imagery and like to collect old charms and trinkets and such. It's not a religious thing, I just find them beautiful. The top charm on this necklace was a flea market find and the one underneath came from the Welfare League Thrift. I strung them on an old thrifted chain and love the way they look together.
I believe this fascination can be traced back to when I was quite young. In fact, one of my earlier memories of when I was 3 or 4 years old, occurred in a small town in Massachusetts where I was born. The street we lived on at the time was Church St. and I remember it being on a hill at the top of which, there was an old white church.
One day in the parking lot of the local supermarket, the bells of this church began to ring. Now, from a very young age, I was familiar with spiritual endeavors, my parents being hippies and all, but not in the form of organized religion or church going. So, it was a little strange when I then proceeded to very matter-of-factly say to my parents "I must go to those bells." Yup, those were the exact words that came out of my little mouth and from what they have told me, I was quite serious about the matter. Pretty cute right... and yes, maaaybe even a little bit creepy.
To their credit, my somewhat surprised and totally amused parents obeyed my wishes. I still remember being carried through that church by my father. Looking up at the super high ceilings, watching the colored light come in through the stained glass windows, and hearing footsteps echo while marveling at all the beautiful statues. I remember there being many colorful, life-like statues, and for me at the time, this put the church on par with some sort of wonderful theme-park. From what I can remember, which is all a little surreal and hazy, it was a beautiful church and remains a favorite childhood memory.
I did a quick search on flickr and ahhh, the wonders of the internets... I was able to find this photo of Church St! We moved to California when I was 5 years old and I haven't laid eyes upon this street or that white church up in the distance since. How crazy to see this again! I also found a better view of the front of the church here.
On Sunday afternoon Lucas, Clover, and I took a stroll through the old rural cemetery not far from where we live (I also happen to have a bit of a thing for old cemeteries). It was a functioning cemetery from the mid 1800's up until the 30's. In the years following, unclear ownership lead to it becoming dilapidated and overgrown. Though, in the mid 1990's, volunteers began it's restoration and it has since been given Historical Landmark status.
The cemetery is located right in town but kind of tucked away on a small hill in an old oak grove. Oaks are one of my favorite trees, Lucas and I were married under a huge one :) I love looking at the intricate carvings on the worn headstones and reading the old fashioned names.
With the dappled light filtering through the trees, what a peaceful little afternoon getaway, or I assume it would have been had my one-year-old not been crying due to painful teething as I forced her reluctant father to try and get a decent outfit shot of me ;)
I'll leave you with this thematically and seasonally appropriate Silly Symphony cartoon, I love these!
