Thrifting – Page 16 – Blue Collar Red Lipstick

13
Nov
2015

Thrift Tales: Recent Scores and Misses

I’ve been doing practically no shopping except for thrifting lately, so I have a lot of photos to share. Hope you’re sitting comfortably, with a beverage of your choice close at hand.

Cute office wear dress. Not my size, but I figure this one went to a good home sooner rather than later.

At first, I was sort of intrigued by this coat, but the longer I looked at the print, the more it started to remind me of bacteria growing on an agar plate. Pass.

Cute but wrong size, and overpriced. Come on, Value Village!

Just slightly too big, but so on-trend with the fringe and the 70s vibe.

Adidas ... shoe things ($???) — Adidas … shoe things ($???)

These were just a hoot.

I was torn, you guys. I almost bought this, but ultimately decided to exercise restraint. I just didn’t see myself wearing it very often, and as much as I liked it, it didn’t spark joy. Even at $7, it wasn’t worth it. I hope it found a good home.

Cute dress and great fit – plus, this came from a made-in-Canada label. Too bad I hate brown.

I really loved this, even though it’s an “older” style, but it was simply too big. Sadness.

I recognized this brand from blogland – I think it’s one of those mid-level labels that gets sold at Nordstrom maybe? It was 100% silk and a cute enough style, but I ended up passing. I liked the colours, but they weren’t super flattering on me.

Cute dress, just not my thing.

You know I love a good RL jersey dress, but again with the brown tones. Brown just makes me feel “whoop whomp, sad trombone” for some reason.

Value Village has wised up to Jimmy Choo, hah! I bought my old pair of Choo pumps for $8 a few years ago. This pair of flats was marked at $40. Whoo boy.

Corca Joan & David shoes ($15.99) — Circa Joan & David shoes ($15.99)

I tried to get my mom to buy these brand new peep-toe wedges, but she held out because she thought they were a little pricey. And you thought I was cheap …

No secret that I bought this. And loooove it.

Nathalie Lete / Anthropologie dress ($3.50)

I also bought this Anthro dress. For $3.50, are you kidding me? Thrifting Anthro pieces is one of my biggest weaknesses, and I love Nathalie Lete’s whimsical prints. I hunted one of her skirts on eBay for almost a year, after all – there was no way I’d leave this behind. Plus, I love butterflies. This dress was missing its belt and detachable shoulder straps but that didn’t bother me at all because I likely wouldn’t have used either.

Technically, I bought this at the antique mall, not at a thrift store, but the price was in the same ball park. You know I love me a good brooch.

These are some weird-ass shoes, and I love them. For some reason, they remind me of the bottle of that Angel perfume that used to be super popular when I was in high school. Anyone know what I’m talking about? Anyway, I bought them because I thought they’d work great with an outfit I was planning to wear at a gala event. Since I wasn’t buying anything else for the occasion, I didn’t mind splurging on shoes I may only ever wear once.

These, on the other hand, are pretty much classics. And they were brand new – the sole completely pristine. They came to less than $12 after a 30% off coupon. Crazy good deal.

Ditto for these La Canadienne boots, which netted around $18. I’m now set for winter boots for a while, I think.

All in all, another solid month of thrifting. How did you fare, my fellow thrift lovers?

09
Nov
2015

Camo Floral

categories: Favourite things, Flowers, style, Thrifting

Dress, Simply Vera (thrifted); cardigan, J. Crew Factory; belt, H&M; bag, Longchamp (thrifted); boots, Bandolino (thrifted)

I loved this outfit, you guys. You can usually tell how much I like my outfit from the number of photos I put up, so consider this your warning – it’s going to be a picture-heavy post. I thrifted this Simply Vera dress at Goodwill (which meant it cost me a whopping $7 – yay, Goodwill!) and there’s nothing too special about it, I guess; I just adore the colours in the print. A friend of mine said it reminded her of camouflage, but I see watercolour-like florals. Regardless, moody green is where I’m at, currently, as far as colour goes so this dress is totally my jam.

I also thrifted the boots and bag – for under $20 together. Not bad for leather boots and a Longchamp bag, right? In fact, the most expensive single item I’m wearing here was probably the belt, which cost something like $30.

knitted scarf/shawl thingie - can't remember where; vintage brooches — knitted scarf/shawl thingie – can’t remember where; vintage brooches

Another thing I’m loving at the moment is displaying my vintage brooch collection on chunky knits. This mild fall has been fantastic for that – no heavy parkas in sight.

Ok, a few more photos for the road. Happy Monday, y’all!

14
Oct
2015

Crafty Thrift

categories: style, Thrifting

Jacket, Tommy Hilfiger Factory; tee, J. Crew Factory; cardigan, J. Crew (via eBay); skirt, vintage (thrifted); belt, Holt Renfrew (via consignment); shoes, Tory Burch (swap); bag, Longchamp

I am not a crafty person. All those cute Pinterest DIY projects my friends post on Facebook? I’d rather have a root canal than attempt any of them. The facts that (a) I have no patience, and (b) hate following instructions, doesn’t help. I tell you all this by way of introduction of the greatest crafts project I have ever (successfully!) completed.

I hemmed a skirt, you guys. With my own two hands. It’s okay, go head: let those ooh and aahs out, I’ll wait.

Ok, I’m kidding. About the magnitude of my accomplishment, not the hemming part. I really did do that. It’s, like, Sewing 101 stuff but I’m still ridiculously pleased with myself. Remember, no crafty bone in my body and all. When I saw this vintage, homemade skirt at Value Village, I fell in love with the print. (Of course. What’s new?) But the length was very “sister wife”, which is not the vibe I’m going for. I knew a hem job was in order, but I also knew that I didn’t want to pay $20 or more to have it done professionally. So, I decided to take my chances and give it the old DIY try.

I think it turned out pretty good considering that: (a) I followed exactly zero instructions, and (b) I eyeballed the length. Needless to say, don’t try this at home, kids. I ended up looking at the way the original hem was hand-stitched, and did my best to approximate it. My stitching is pretty crappy, but the way this hem is done, you don’t see any of it on the outside. I also decided to add two belt loops, because I felt like the skirt could benefit from being belted to add more waist definition. I improvised on that part of the project, and the end result probably shows it, but the print is busy enough to hide those “sins” pretty well.

even hem? I call it a miracle ... — even hem? I call it a miracle …

As for the rest of the outfit … it was a no-brainer. I loved how the belt and cardigan picked up the coppery tones in the print – and I’m not usually a fan of brown. The layers let me wear my denim jacket in (almost) mid-October, which is perhaps the biggest accomplishment of all. #WinterIsComing #ButNotYet

Category: Thrifting