Month: December 2016

Tales From The Thrift: Eclectic Is The Name of The Game

One of the things I love most about thrifting is the fact that, much as with Forrest Gump’s chocolate box, you never what you’re going to get. Sometimes the selection is delightful; other times, it’s delightfully kooky. Or just ever so slightly not “you”. Or, sigh, the wrong size. One thing’s for sure — thrifting is never boring.

Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look.

Left, Lily; right, Joseph Ribkoff
Left, Lily; right, Joseph Ribkoff

The dress on the right spoke to my floral-loving heart, but it was too big and also impractical. I’d have nowhere to wear it, sadly. The Joseph Ribkoff dress on the right was just comical. I have no idea what that style is supposed to be; all I know is that it was nearly indecent on me. You can’t quite appreciate just how “nearly” from the angle of this photo — and that’s a good thing.

Left, Tulle; right, J. Crew
Left, Tulle; right, J. Crew

I have a No Anthro Left Behind policy, but sometimes I break it. The Tulle top on the left is not within my current style wheelhouse. The striped J. Crew sweater on the other hand? Come to mama! The collar is the same Liberty print as one of my old blazers.

Pink Tartan skirt
Pink Tartan skirt

This Pink Tartan skirt was very “early 2000s” in my eyes. Like, I can see Carrie Bradshaw or perhaps Charlotte York wearing this. Probably Charlotte. I’ve been on a SATC nostalgic kick lately, in case you’re wondering. Not enough to buy this skirt, mind you.

Marimekko skirt
Marimekko skirt

I would love to own a Marimekko piece, but this skirt wasn’t it. In the past, I would have bought it just for the label (it’s the first Marimekko piece I’ve ever seen locally), but I resisted the temptation. Someone else will love it more than I would, I’m sure.

Arcadia bag
Arcadia bag

I love Arcadia bags, but I don’t like small bags, so this was a no go for me. I hope it found a good home.

left: Bailey 44 dress; right: Gabby Skye dress
left: Bailey 44 dress; right: Gabby Skye dress

Ditto for these two dresses. The Bailey 44 one was too body-con (and the material disappointingly thin), while the Gabby Skye one (though cute) was simply not my style.

Chalet dress tunic thingie
Chalet dress tunic thingie

I don’t know what this was supposed to be, but I kinda loved it. I also realized that I could never actually pull it off in real life, so I didn’t even attempt this particular style experiment.

left: J. Crew Factory; right: Talbots
left: J. Crew Factory; right: Talbots

The battle of the blue blazers! I bought neither, but the colour was awesome.

right: Deletta; left: Equipment
right: Deletta; left: Equipment

The Deletta top on the left washed me out completely, but I couldn’t pass up the new-with-tags-for-$3 Equipment blouse on the right. Can you blame me? No.

Vanessa Virginia dress
Vanessa Virginia dress

I love this dress, shapeless sack though it is. The sleeve detail, in particular, is amazeballs.

Stella & Dot necklace
Stella & Dot necklace

This necklace is awesome too. I rarely find nice contemporary jewelry at local thrift stores, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Nicole Miller dress
Nicole Miller dress

Talk about a stunner. This beautiful, 100% silk dress was in perfect condition except for the clasp at the back of the halter neck. An easy fix for a dress that cost me less than $5 in the end.

Twinning with Jennifer Westfeldt, like NBD
Twinning with Jennifer Westfeldt, like NBD

Did I mention that Jennifer Westfeldt once wore the same dress on the red carpet? Clearly, we’re twins.

Fluevog pumps
Fluevog pumps

I’m not usually a fan of Fluevog shoes but I liked the quirky-but-not-overly-so heels on this pair. They were also in like-new condition and hella cheap (under $10 if I recall correctly), so I made an exception.

OK, enough from me, your turn: tell me all about your recent thrift finds.

[Heads up for Edmonton peeps: Nicole and I will be doing our Tuesday Night Thrift thing again next week, December 6 (location TBD but will be announced on Instagram). Come join us if you’re free and want to try your hand at a little thrifting action. Hijinks are almost always guaranteed.]

Floral Collar

Sweater, J. Crew (thrifted); jeans, Paige (thrifted); shoes, Ferragamo (thrifted); bag, MbMJ
Sweater, J. Crew (thrifted); jeans, Paige (thrifted); shoes, Ferragamo (thrifted); bag, MbMJ

I spotted this cute J. Crew sweater at Value Village and couldn’t resist it. The collar is made from the same Liberty print fabric as an old blazer of mine, and I think it provides a nice contrast to the stripes. I added my fave Ferragamo heels to round out this rather preppy casual Friday outfit.

details
details

Speaking of stripes, does anyone else find them tricky? Unless they are a certain thickness and distance apart, I find them visually discomfitting; they give me a headache if I stare at them too long. I thought this was a weird personal tic (which has been getting worse as I get older) until I heard that a friend`s mom was also sensitive to certain patterns, including stripes. It is an unfortunate sort of affliction in my case, seeing as how a love of stripes is a style blogger convention; at last count, I have only 3 striped tops in my closet, which would probably get me kicked out of the blogging sisterhood if anyone knew about it. Err, oops.

preppy chic
preppy chic