A Good InVESTment

I thrifted this vintage 70's floral vest last week at the Salvation Army for 2 bucks. I am totally diggin' it. I love the muted plums and browns in the print and it's super light weight, so great for spring weather. Most of all though, it fits perfectly! I've been searching for a vest for a while and it's so hard to find one that fits well. They are usually way too big. I also wanted one that didn't have the satiny back and this one doesn't, the back is the same material slightly gathered on either side at the bottom with a little tie of the same fabric in the middle. I got the brown leather belt too for a dollar from that same tangled mess of belts I showed in this post.

Nifty Thrift Picks of the Week (5.05.08)

Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds:

Little bird doll teaset
Originally uploaded by Oliveark

Oh Oliveark, clearly you can do no wrong! Another week, another adorable tea set. Funny how they seem to be growing in size...while last week's set was practically microscopic, this early 60's lusterware doll set is merely small. But apparently good things come in small packages because it is absolutely stunning! Those little birdies and the trees with the flowers... oh the cuteness of it all... and in the description it says they are to be used for teddy bear picnics... SO PRECIOUS!

Pull Me
Originally uploaded by phlora

I love cute wooden baby toys and I can just imagine finding this perfect little specimen swimming in a sea of plastic, what a score! I wish I could find more toys like this for Clover but they seem to be pretty rare in my thrift stores. The two tone green with the pops of red on this adorable rolling caterpillar make such a perfect color combo and it appears to be in such great condition! Not to mention the way it is pictured here just steals my heart!

Favorite Shoes
Originally uploaded by beccabluebonnet

In addition to the black oxfords, I've also been searching for a pair of brown lace-ups for what seems like ages, in fact they are probably at the top of my list of things I look for when I go thrifting these days. What is it with me and shoes? Well, beccabluebonnet is the lucky owner of this lovely pair and I can see why they are her favorites. The color is perfect, they are nicely worn in and look super comfy, and the woven detail is the best!

100% Thrifted

I just joined the very cool flickr group 100% Thrifted. The little white dress was my first post. This wonderful group, started by joulesstar (the vintage maven you may also remember as the lucky luggage thrifter from this post) is a place for people to post pictures of themselves in totally thrifted outfits.

Since starting this blog, other than the occasional item from Target, I’ve been thrifting most of my clothing. Having been so inspired by all the awesome thrifters on wardrobe_remix and the many style blogs that I frequent, I haven’t even felt the urge to go to the retail stores. When it comes to fashion and style, I love the elements of uniqueness and creativity that thrifting has to offer. Saving money is another motivation and of course there are also the important eco-concious reasons for thrifting as opposed to buying new.

100% Thrifted is such a great source of inspiration. I love seeing how all the stylish members put together their outfits and it especially makes me smile when I see someone do something unexpected that really works. These are some of the recent posts (in order of most recent) that I especially love:

anja louise verdugo


sunshineupton


irene_adler


greta*grenada


trash.picker

I'm thinking it would be fun to start doing a 100% Thrifted Pick of the Week where I'll post the thrifted look that I find most inspiring from each week along with what I love about it :)

The Little White Dress

The little black dress has long been considered a woman’s most important wardrobe staple, but I have to say I’ll take the little white dress over the little black one any day. While the little black dress conjures images of high heels and cocktails at a chic soiree, the little white dress makes me think of bare feet and daisy chains in a sunny field. It’s the clean fresh innocence of the little white dress that makes it so appealing.

Inspired by the wearing of children’s clothes I’ve been seeing amongst many a stylish wardrobe remixer as of late, I decided to check out the kid’s section on my last trip to the Goodwill. There on the teen dresses rack was this white cotton dress with little blue flowers embroidered onto its precious peter pan collar and just big enough to fit me.



In the pics, I’m standing under a giant rose bush in the process of dropping all of its spent blooms and feeling a little like a flower girl at a garden wedding with all the dried petals crunching beneath my boots. And I just realized today is May Day, how perfect!

I love how the lighting in this shot makes it look like I’m stepping through the gate into some enchanted light filled realm. Unfortunately, that light filled realm is only my neighbor’s driveway. That’s their garage door I’m walking toward. ;)

Nifty Thrift Picks of the Week (4.28.08)

Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds:

1969 kids book
Originally uploaded by anja louise verdugo

I adore vintage children's books, especially when they are from the 60's and 70's and have awesome psychedelic illustrations, so when I saw this cover my jaw dropped. It's absolutely perfect in every way: that hair, the dress, those tights, the flowers!!!!! I wish I could reach through the screen and open it up to see what's inside. I have to say, Anja Louise Verdugo is a thrifting genius, she has such a great eye! You may recall this book cover featured in my first Picks of the Week post. You can also see more of her fantastic finds on her lovely blog Clever Nettle and the good news is that most of them end up in her Etsy shop estate sale where her wondrous vintage wares are made available at extremely reasonable prices. In fact, the little gem above had already been purchased by the time I saw it in the flickr pool... lucky duck!

thrifted shirt- neighborhood
Originally uploaded by yummygoods

A vintage polyester shirt with a whimsical print is something that in my opinion everyone should own at least one of, and this one thrifted by yummygoods is seriously one of the best I've seen! The blue/orange color combo and the neighborhood print are truly awesome. I think there should be a designated day once a year on which everyone wears their most fantastical polyester print shirt, what a wonderful spectacle that would be :) Visit her bloggy blog yummygoods for more peeks at this fantabulous shirt.

Tiny teapot
Originally uploaded by Oliveark

Oliveark finds the best little charity shop treasures! This is the third time (#1 and #2) I have featured one of Oliveark's finds as a Pick of the Week, and I am now officially convinced that I need to make a pilgrimage to the Scottish Highlands for some thrifting. This minuscule turned wood tea set and the tiny woven baskets were discovered by surprise inside the smallest of a set of nested baskets, I love that, and can you believe the wee baskets are only the size of a fingernail?!!

Buried Treasures

Some might shy away from such a tangled mess, but not I.

Found these at the very bottom:

Two shiny sequined belts. Figured a little extra sparkle might be nice.

The multicolored one was tiny, must be a kid's belt, so I decided to wear it as a headband... all the cool kids are doin' it. I found there was a fine line between ethereal wood nymph and Olivia Newton John a la Let's Get Physical... it's all about placement!

Moral of the story: next time you go thrifting and find yourself staring down an ugly heap of whatever... just dig in! I know... but there was really no way around being cheesy right there, there just wasn't. ; )

The One that Got Away

photo via warhalday's flickr

I've been on the lookout for a simple pair of black oxford shoes for months now with no luck. I stopped by the Salvation Army yesterday afternoon on the way home from a walk with Clover. At last, I found one! Perfect fit and everything... yay, right?... wrong... I found one...ONE... as in ONE shoe! I searched that thrift store high and low for its mate to no avail. ARGGGHHH!!! Oh thrift gods... why hath thou forsaken me? :(

Thrift Wrap

I'm a shopper by nature. Shopping brings me joy, I don't even need to buy anything. I just love the process of searching for the perfect whatever both for myself and other people. I enjoy shopping for gifts, hunting down just the right thing for a given person, and creative gift wrapping is something that makes me happy... really happy. I usually go the ribbon and fresh flowers from my yard route, but I love this idea featured in a shot from stylist Stella Nicholaisen's portfolio (via Desire to Inspire). A tea cup or saucer in lieu of a traditional bow not only makes for gorgeous gift giving, it also fits right in with my ongoing quest for ways to use my thrifted teacups.

This got me thinking about ways to use other commonly thrifted items as interesting gift wrap options.This combination of baker's twine and a single vintage button (via noddyboom's flickr) is so simple, yet so perfectly sweet!

I was inspired to see what I could do with what I had on hand. For years I have been thrifting various calico fabric remnants in hopes of someday making a quilt. (This has yet to occur. In reality I'm not all that crafty, but I'd really like to think that I could be if I tried, and even that I will be one day as soon as I get around to it. I have ideas, I just need to get better about following through.)

So one piece of fabric, one thrifted vintage handkerchief (another one of those items I collect and don't know what to do with), one vintage flea market brooch, some recycled ribbon from a gift given to me, and a couple of safety pins later, I produced this pretty little package. Perfect with Mother's Day coming up and the possible variations are endless. I also thought about using a pendant in place of the brooch and what a perfect way to make use of a lone ear ring. Check me out, how Martha Stewart am I ?

Nifty Thrift Picks of the Week (4.21.08)

Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds.

Let me just start off by saying how blown away I am by how PERFECTLY this week's picks go together. This is bringing me great pleasure... I don't know why but it is! It's all about cute, cute, and more cute with these picks:

ShiningEyes.
Originally uploaded by sherbet tone

My head is spinning from the adorability of this vintage cotton little girl's parasol. The colors and that print are just so perfect! If a more charming way to shield oneself from the sun does exist, I don't know what it is!

Rocking horse
Originally uploaded by hownowdesign

I love that this lil' fella looks like he came right out of that glorious print on sherbet tone's parasol! I first saw this amazing rocking horse the other day on the wonderful blog Aesthetic Outburst, of which I am a fan. I was so excited to see it show up in the Nifty Thrift pool yesterday so I could feature it as one of my picks! If I were to have come across this in a thrift store, I would probably have fallen over with joy. That is how much I love it, what an incredible score, and that little blue collar with the bow tie... too precious!!!

pottery mushrooms
Originally uploaded by cottonblue

I am loving this little set of ceramic mushrooms and how they appear to have just sprouted up on this book shelf. The colors and their polka dotted caps... so delightful!

Thrift Style Icon: Enid from Ghost World

I recently re watched the 2001 film Ghost World with Thora Birch as Enid the outsider art student. From her coke-bottle glasses to her combat boots, this girl is the epitome of what thrift style is all about, being unique and creative and most importantly having fun. With her flair for eclectic vintage and dry sarcastic wit she's definitely a girl after my own heart!

She was also the inspiration behind the much loved Luella Spring/Summer 08 collection:

Leaving you with this unedited version of the dazzling dance number from the 1965 Indian film Gumnaam, featured during the opening credits in Ghost World:

This makes me want a shiny dress layered with fringe and ruffles, in which to dance masked and with reckless abandon... SUCH MOVES!!!

Blue, Green, and Gray

The only non-thrift items in this outfit are my olive green tank (layered under the blouse) and gray socks. The main pieces (other than the hat which you've seen before) were all scored half-off on Friday at the Salvation Army. Here's the break down:


I had been on the lookout for a secretary style blouse for awhile and as far as what I was hoping to find, this one pretty much has it all. Gray is a favorite, so the color is perfect. It has a lovely sheerness and drapey quality that I like. Most of all, I love that even with the wonderful feminine details like the puffed sleeves and the ruffled collar, it's not too frilly. (cost: $2)

The little coat is a perfect spring cover up. It's actually Liz Lange Maternity for Target. I love the way it fits though. It also has wonderful details like the peter pan collar, the fabric covered buttons, and the gathering. Most of all, I love that it has pockets! (cost: $2)


I couldn't believe it when I spotted these boots. I'd been wanting a pair of combat style boots ever since I saw this picture in an old issue of Lula magazine. They look black, but close up and in the sun, you can see that they are actually a very dark green. (cost: $2.50)


Dickies carpenter pants are just an all around great basic that can pretty much go with anything and I really like the way these fit. (cost: $3.75)

It seems obvious now, but not until I got everything home did it even occur to me that all of these pieces could be worn together. Not bad for just over ten bucks!