10 Things to Thrift

A bit ago, the lovely Adrienne, with an assist from her equally lovely daughter, Tori, posted the ten items they like to look for in thrift shops.  That post inspired me to write a post about the ten items I like to look for.  And here they are, in no particular order.

Dresses

I know I said that this list was in no particular order, but dresses are probably my favorite item to thrift.  The majority of the dresses in my closet are thrifted and I can�t imagine that changing any time soon.

Scarf Print Blouses

I love scarf print blouses and though you can find them in retail stores, I prefer the authentic blouses from the 80s and 90s, festooned with jewels, chains, cherubs and gryphons.  Sometimes all at once!

80s Prom Dresses

Speaking of 80s, you can find some totally radical prom dresses at thrift stores.  With the exception of one year, all of my dresses for the 80s prom I attend every year have been thrifted.  And in the case above, so were my shoes, my headband of glory, my bag and my sunnies.

Skirts

I do thrift a lot of dresses, but I also thrift a lot of skirts.  In fact, I�d say the majority of my skirts, like my dresses, are thrifted.

Coats

Coats are a pretty great item to thrift, especially fancier coats, because people don�t wear them every day so they are often in pretty good shape.  I love coats but I don�t necessarily like shelling out the moolah for them so thrifting is a great way to build a coat wardrobe without spending too much.

Housedresses

As I admitted the other day, I am a housedress fanatic.  I wear them all the time and they�re all thrifted.  In fact, I�m not even sure where to get a housedress if it�s not at a thrift store.

Giant Sweaters

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away called The 1980s, people used to wear ridiculously oversized stuff.  Like giant sweaters that they paired with stirrup pants and flats.  I don�t know why, but they did.  And then they donated those sweaters to thrift stores for me to find and buy because they fit my giant self perfectly.  Thank you, kind citizens of the 80s!

Lady Ties

There are few things I like better than pairing a lovely, silky lady tie with pretty much everything.  You know who has lovely, silky lady ties for a song?  Thrift stores.

Brooches

If you�re looking for a signed rhinestone monstrosity of a brooch, you probably won�t find them at thrift stores.  But, if you�re looking for fun, glittery-but-not-gaudy everyday brooches, I strongly suggest thrifting them.  You can buy a whole cluster for less than ten bucks.

Belts

Belts, like coats, are another item that I don�t really like spending money on, even though I wear them constantly.  Happily, thrift stores carry a huge selection of belts, from leather to pleather to elastic to plastic.  And they�re generally pretty inexpensive too, which makes it easy to pull the trigger.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Do you shop at thrift stores?  What are some of your favorite items to look for?

Gracey

Why Not Try: Dark Florals?

I've given up on summer.  It hasn't gotten above 85 for over a week and this morning it rained on me on my ride in.  And, of course, I wasn't wearing a coat so my shirt was stuck to my chest by the time I got to work.  It was decidedly not awesome.  Take it from me, surprise rain storms are not a pleasant surprise at all.  Having given up on summer, I've decided to jump into some fall posts.  Specifically, a series I like to call "Why Not Try?".  You see, I'm beginning each title with those words so it seemed like a good idea for the series.  And now, without further ado, I give you the first post in my "Why Not Try?" series.

This fall and winter, why not try Dark Florals?  If you�ve seen my blog, you�ve probably seen me in a floral print.  It�s true, I love a good floral.  And, lately, I�ve been especially enamored of dark florals.  So, as you can imagine, I�m pretty thrilled that this is one of the trends for fall.

I�m excited about this trend for a variety of reasons.  One, I think dark florals are more unusual, and, for me, more interesting, than run-of-the-mill pastel florals.  Two, I think they�re easier to utilize in a year-round wardrobe, given their natural ability to be paired with winter�s darker hues.  And three, they�re pretty easy to thrift. 

Like most trends, dark florals aren�t a new invention.  This means that they can be found in abundance in thrift stores, whether you choose blouses, skirts or dresses.  Here are some of the dark floral pieces I�ve thrifted that I look forward to wearing this fall and winter:

Animal and floral.  Win-win.

Fall colors on a black background.

White roses on a black background - a graphic take on floral.

The dark teal background & orange flowers are perfect for fall.

And I always have my eye out for more.

How about you, Dearest Reader Friends?  Will you be going to the dark side this season?

Gracey

Shopping for Giants � How to Thrift

Although I provided a large list of where to shop online in this post, and information on how to shop online in this post, most of my shopping is actually done at thrift stores.  I love thrift stores because, as Sal points out every season, there are very few current trends that you can�t find at thrift stores.  I�ve stated that fast fashion retailers (like H&M, Zara, F21, etc.) can be useful for trying out trends on the cheap, but they really can�t hold a candle to thrift stores in that regard.

And, unlike fast fashion retailers, thrift stores also contain high-quality, well-made garments for the same next-to-nothing price.  (Unless, of course, your thrift store has decided to charge more for items they think are vintage (yes, you, St. Vincent�s!)).  I�m not going to tell you that you�re going to find the studded velvet Miu Miu pumps of your dreams at a thrift store; you�re probably not.  But you can find some great pieces.

Here are my tips for thrifting like a giant.

One, be patient.  Seriously, proper thrifting should probably take much of the day, if not all day.  For me, it takes all day.  Especially for my trips to Portland; I like to map out all of the thrift stores I plan on hitting for the day.  This website is a national thrift store directory that I use to locate thrift stores in Portland and plan my day from there.  I usually allot a couple of hours per thrift store; some take longer and some take less.  Just remember, you need to allow enough time to go through the racks andto try stuff on.

Two, go west young man, go west.  Or, if you�re on the West Coast, go east.  Essentially, go where the people aren�t.  Thrift stores in big cities can be pretty picked over and a lot of the time the prices are higher due to the increased interest in thrifting (Darn you, hipsters! (angry fist shake to the heavens)).  On the flip side, thrift stores in smaller towns (usually inland for most of us) are lower priced and/or haven�t been plundered by the mobs yet.  And while you probably won�t find any DVF or Gucci at these stores, you can find a lot of great items, often handmade.

For example, I love driving to the smallish town of Albany, Oregon and thrifting there.  That�s where I found this fabulous handmade coatdress:

Three, thrift on vacation.  Thrifting on vacation is a great idea because even if you�re in a bigger city, there is a good chance the locals have already perused the selection and weren�t interested.  And you know what they say; one man�s trash is another man�s treasure.  What they locals pass up may be the perfect piece for your closet.

For example, I bought one of my very favorite skirts while on vacation in Santa Fe last spring; I wear this skirt all the time:

Four, size ain�t nothin� but a number.  Especially when it comes to vintage.  Sammy, at Sammy Davis Vintage, breaks it down in this post, but basically, modern sizing and vintage sizing are completely different.  I have vintage dresses in size 20 that fit me perfectly.  I also have some from the 80s that are a size 12.  If you like something, try it on.  Don�t depend on the tag to tell you whether or not it can go home with you.

Five, buy petite.  I know it seems counter intuitive when you�re six foot and a size 14 to buy petite pieces, but trust me, it works.  Especially if you�re a fan of midi skirts.  All of my midi skirts are thrifted and most of them are petite.  I think they�re probably ankle length on the less tall, but on my giant self, they are the perfect midi skirt length.  This is true for dresses as well.

Here are some petite pieces I've thrifted:

Petite Dress

Petite Skirt

Petite Dress

Lest you think petite dresses won't fit your wider shoulders, they often have shoulder pads and are cut to allow for those.  I just tear the should pads out, insert my no-padding-needed broad shoulders and couldn't be happier.

For more, non-giant-specific tips on thrifting, I�d suggest this post of Sal�s and this post of Sammy�s.  I'd also suggest exploring their blogs further; they are both great resources on thrifting.

Happy Shopping, All!

Gracey