Thrift Friday (oops). Luxury Hunt.

Dress and jacket, thrifted. Original post here.

I've been going to thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales for as long as I can remember, but I didn't get very serious about regularly thrifting for clothing until about two years ago. I went a little crazy at first; drunk off cheap prices and endless opportunities, I saw potential in everything and I would come home with huge bags of thrifted clothing, only to donate it back a few months later. I am now much more aware of what is worth bringing home. These are some things to look for to ensure that an item is of good quality and deserves to go from the 'could be interesting' pile in your cart, to the 'yes, honey, I really needed that' pile at home.

I love this dress. There are times when I am in a huge rush and only have a few minutes to browse (this can also be described as cruelty) and I just check out any interesting material that pops out at me from the rack. When I found this dress however, I was meticulously checking each item, careful not to miss something good. I saw the fabric and thought it was really pretty but it needed a quick inspection before I parted with any cash money.

Feel. At first, I thought that the dress might be from Zara or h&m because the nude fabric with the tulle overlay looked rather trendy. However, as soon as the dress was in my sweaty little grip, I could feel that it was much better quality. The fabric, including the tulle (which usually feels kinda crunchy) felt very soft to the touch but still substantial. If it feels good, it usually is good.

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Finishings. I knew further that I had hit the jackpot when I looked inside the dress and saw bound seams. This seaming technique is expensive and time-consuming. Looking inside an article of clothing can reveal a lot... Quick indicators of better quality include french seaming, even serging and perfectly matched seams.
It is a real struggle to keep things succinct on my Thrift Thursday posts. There is so much to say about the hand of good quality fabric and nice finishing techniques but if these are a completely foreign concept to you, then a trip to a high end department store like Holt Renfrew or Saks might be a good idea. Bring your smelling salts because it's easy to suffer from sticker shock and it's important to stay alert and learn from what you see and feel. If you can't handle the looks of salespeople measuring your credit card limit based on your shoes (generalization but often true), then check out Filene's Basement, any of the Last Call shops or even the designer finds sections at Winners or TJ Maxx to see quality garments first hand in a more relaxed setting. You may never be able to afford designer clothing new (though their 80% off a 70% off item are a mathematical puzzle and generally a good deal) but you can get more of an idea of what to look for and what to steal from my buggy at a thrift store.

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Tags. My hunch was correct when I saw the side tag of the dress that labelled everything but the tulle, as silk. Natural fibres are a beautiful thing... cashmere, wool, silk, cotton, linen... Even better is finding out that a garment is lined in silk. Lining is a hidden but essential element of many garments... an area that most manufacturers skimp out on. If the lining is a good quality fabric then chances are, the rest of the garment is of even better fabric.

Also, garments manufactured in many parts of Europe, Canada or the United States are often either vintage, higher quality or produced with ethical intentions (lots to debate on that one...) and are worth a second look.

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Brand names. The jackpot was finding the Notte by Marchesa label at the back of the dress.
I buy too many magazines. I have made honest attempts to curb this habit by borrowing them from the library instead, but I have a hard time resisting their glossy magnetism in any check-out line. However, it is through magazines that I am aware of a wide spectrum of brands and their price points. I hope to claim my magazines at tax time as part of my education expenses this year. If you are unaware of the brand name... the tag itself may give clues. Higher quality clothing often has higher quality labelling. Labels are not printed but woven, names are clearly marked (people pay for the prestige of a name so labelling is an important aspect of high end clothing) and the design is sharp and clear. I had never heard of the Notte by Marchesa, but I knew of Marchesa and based on the detail and feel of the tulle flowers to the clean labelling, I could see that this was a winner. Many of you are cooler than me and can do a quick search for brand names on your iphone or crackberry. I had to go home and look online before I could confirm the the dress as a Certified Kick Ass Thrift Deal.

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Final Checkover. Even if all signs point to awesome, you have to give your garment the final once over before you hit the cash. Besides fit, deal breakers include pilling (!!!! that never gets better!!!!), deep stains and unfixable holes. It's also worth taking a second look because you may have fallen to the lure of a name brand without checking for the other signs of quality. I happily carried a quirky Marc Jacobs dress around for an hour until I looked closely and saw unfinished and unmatched seams all over the bust. Either it was a fake or Quality Control was sneaking a smoke in the bathroom on the production line. But it's worth weeding out phoney Marc Jacobs dresses in the search for more Marchesa!