This dress, ah! This dress is a dream, and it’s also a bit of a thrift fairy tale. I first saw it on IG a few weeks ago; someone I follow posted about this dress she found on ebay which was sadly not her size, but which she fell in love with. Well, so did I as soon as I saw it. There was some uncertainty about the brand, which didn’t help my searches. And yes, I immediately went on the hunt for it. It’s everything I’d want in a dress: colour, twirling, length, cut. But no luck. I couldn’t find it anywhere, and I pushed it out of my mind because I was certain it was a lost cause. After all, what are the odds of finding a very specific vintage dress?
Well, pretty good, actually … if the thrift gods smile on you. Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago, and what do I randomly stumble upon at a local Value Village? Yep, THE dress. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It felt like a bigger score than most of my designer items only because the chances of finding something so specific, after a relatively short time, are so remote. But here we are. And this dress truly is everything I had hoped for. A rainbow in dress form.
Coming Up Daisy
I was drawn to the print of this Topshop camisole because it’s graphic and whimsical without being childish. It reminds me a bit of Marimekko, actually. I wore this for a recent girls’ road trip to Calgary, so kept the outfit pretty simple — my fave culottes, and my old plain sandals.
Graffiti x 2
I bought this skirt on consignment years ago, and later found a dress in the same print so of course I bought that too. The dress somehow ended up in a laundry accident which slightly deformed its bottom half (or it was always a bit weird? who knows), and I haven’t worn it much as a result. Then I got an idea. I often wear dresses as “skirts” (i.e. with a top over it) … why not wear a skirt as a “dress” … using a dress as a “top”! And that’s what I did. Looked pretty good, if I do say so myself.
Time for another round-up of stuff I recently thrifted for my house (and the future vintage shop of my dreams). I’ve actually taken a little step towards the latter, by starting a new page for vintage sales and testing the waters a bit. At this point, I’m just listing things from my house that I wouldn’t be devastated to “lose”, and my goal is to see what people are interested in (learn your audience), practice my object photography/styling skills, and slowly start to build a local client base (fingers crossed). Baby steps towards a someday dream 🙂
But on to All The Things I found:
I “paid up” (thriftwise) for this Jae Dougall framed print but I love her work, and this one immediately caught my eye – love the composition and colour palette. It’s my third one, so I guess it’s officially a collection, hah.
This is an unsigned painting, and I love it so much. I only paid $5 for it, which seems like such a steal. Love the warm palette of red, ochre and brown. It’s perfect for my reading nook with the yellow wingback chair.
I can never resist an interesting MCM brass candle holder. As if.
Speaking of MCM, I’m obsessed with this chrome GloHill Gourmates tiered stand. The handles are Bakelite. It’s such a cool, sleek vintage piece. I’m using it as a fruit display at the moment.
Ditto for this made in Italy brass bowl. I think it’s like an 80s piece, but it still has that MCM feel to me. It makes my apples look quite chic 😉
Itty bitty painted bud vase. Sooo cute. It reminds me of traditional pottery back in the Old Country.
This is a Prinknash vase with a “Tudor rose” motif. I’ve been trying to learn more about the various English potteries, but online information is scarce so I may need to try to find a book. Any recommendations welcome.
Speaking of English pottery, this is an HJ Wood vase. Interesting design and a lovely vibrant cerise colour.
Adding to my swan/water fowl collection with this large Blue Mountain Pottery piece. It’s my first time finding one in this colour; I’m used to the traditional green/black glaze.
Finally! I’ve been obsessed with finding hand statues for a while, and no luck. This is my first piece that’s not a pair of praying hands. I was hoping for a more MCM design, but I love how dainty and delicate this piece is (made in Japan). It’s perfect for my vanity table.
A small platter from what I believe is a local pottery studio (Selfridge). I was intrigued by the colours.
A very cool find — I know it’s not housewares, but bear with me. It’s a Wedgwood brooch! Stamped 1956 on the back, which makes it definitely vintage.
While this brooch is not lacquerware, it’s made in the same style as my grandmother’s Russian lacquer pieces so I had to grab it. There is a date and signature on the front (1992), and the brushstrokes are quite delicate, which makes me think it could be an original piece (but I have heard that there are now repros or knockoffs too, so who knows).
One of my fave recent finds! This is one of the first crewel work pieces I’ve spotted at my local thrifts, and I love it. After some debate, I finally managed to convince my husband to hang it up (in a hallway, but still!). I don’t know how he can not love it — it’s so whimsical and colourful.
Aqua coloured glass? Cherry blossoms? Sold!
I liked the shape and vibrant colour of this vintage Seewal vase (Canadian pottery company). It really doesn’t take much for me to add more pottery to my collection, sigh.
I got these two bud vases because, well, they’re so odd! They remind me of circus tents.
As a plant mom, I can never pass up a cute pot. This one is vintage, made in West Germany, and looked unused. It’s now housing my miniature African violet.
I’ve been obsessed with irises lately, so of course I had to get this vase. The colours are stunning, it looks like it might be hand-painted then glazed. So pretty!
And that’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed my “thrift haul” and stay tuned for more adventures in treasure hunting soon.
I have been hunting this dress for over a year, no joke. Finding it in my size, for a price I was willing to pay, proved something of a journey. But … I triumphed! And it was worth the wait. My goodness, I love this dress so much. It’s not a fancy designer (just Topshop) but I adore the unique pinafore style and the whimsicality of the contrasting polka dot patterns. It’s fun without being juvenile. I think it has a lot of layering potential, but I wore with a “safe” option this time — a white H&M swiss dot tulle top.
Column Style
One of the reasons why I love this style of elongated pencil skirt (column skirt?) is that it makes one look taller than one is. Platform shoes help too. A sleek mock-neck top in a coordinating colour completes the trifecta. As someone who always aspired to be a willowy Nicole Kidman type (and wasn’t), this is some serious fashion magic.
Casual in Black
I don’t wear head-to-toe black very often anymore, but it does look quite sharp and cool, doesn’t it? Especially with a few touches of bold, bright colour; red and blue are probably my favourite accent colours, and they work so well here. This is an outfit that worked well for a hot day — cotton muscle tee, sans muscles, plus linen pants — but still looked pulled together. I think the pants were the key; they are lightweight linen but cut like a dress pant, which makes them appear dressier than they are.
Layering Achievement
This is my favourite iteration of this Phillip Lim dress I got in a swap from one of my IG friends. Inspiration struck me randomly: I’ve worn a tulle skirt under this dress, why not one of my tulle dresses? This cream one was prefect because the colours are so similar, plus the black swiss dots are a subtle but pleasing contrast to the pattern of the Lim dress. It all works so wonderfully well, even the different length sleeves.
Exaggeration
This is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of skirt, but I won’t hear anything against it because I LOVE IT. I love the audacity of that exaggerated hip line; as someone who didn’t always love her wide hips, it brings me a weird joy now to lean fully into this aesthetic – like a modern version of the 18th century pannier look. Let the hips breathe! Let them take up room! I kid, but only sorta. I decided to double down on the exaggerated effect with my peplum belt, and I have to say, I was quite pleased with myself, hah!
Atonement Green
Ok, it’s not quite the exact colour … but it is ever so close. You know what I’m talking about, right? That famous green silk dress that Keira Knightley wore in Atonement. I (along with many, I’m sure) have dreamed about that dress for years. The style isn’t especially practical but, my goodness, the drama! I thrifted this Tara Jarmon dress for its quality (the heavy silk is heavenly, and it’s lined!) without thinking much about the colour. I don’t wear green a lot, and used to have a bit of a bias against it if anything. But once I got it home and tried it, I was hooked. It’s a beautiful colour, and the dress does have a bit of that dramatic quality to it, except in an updated, wearable style.
