Little Ridiculous

I'm working on a thrift wardrobe make-over for my friend's husband. He wants to look less dad and more stud (my words but that is the idea...). I hit up the Value Village 50% off sales to get a start on that wardrobe overhaul and I was humbled to find out that thrifting for men is a little (a lot) trickier than thrifting for women. Especially when the person who you are shopping for has a modelesque physique; he's tall and skinny. I did find a cool vintage plaid shirt and some snappy Kenneth Cole shoes but this thrift overhaul will probably take a little more effort.
As my success in the men's section was fairly weak, I wandered over into the ladies'section to turn my shopping around. And turn around it did... Especially in the form of this $5 Canadian made Irving Samuel jacket... You can tell from the animal print, the leather trim (yes, that's leather!) and the gold hardware that this was a pure 'notice me' jacket from the 80's. A twist on the ever popular Chanel bouclé jacket...

I always wonder who originally owned the crazy pieces I find at the thrift store. This person undoubtedly appreciated quality and a little bit of the ridiculous. Pretty sure we could be BFFs...

And how will I wear this lovely piece of thrift? With ripped denim, of course... How else?

This Week I Thrifted

Yesterday I had a pretty successful day at the thrift store. I took my time and made some big decisions in order to narrow my cart of goodness down to 4 items. I took those items to the cash and discovered that 3 of the pieces were actually 50% off. I struggled mightily to restrain myself from leaning over the counter to plant a big kiss on the lady behind the cash. Good thing I learned about personal boundaries at some point...
If you follow me on Instagram (myeditblog) then you will know one of the pieces I found was a vintage Etienne Aigner trench coat with burgandy leather details (here is the exact one on Etsy). Do I need another trench?
Please stop with the hard questions...

I also found this dress.

What? Silk Wayne Clark (Canadian high end designer) polka dot dress
Where? Talize
How much? $6.50

At first I could not figure out what that extra piece of material at the waist was, but in true Jentine-in-a-thrift-state-of-mind moment, I figure I would just make it work (did I just refer to myself in the third person? hmmmm...). This unabashedly optimistic attitude in the thrift store can be both a good and bad thing. But I knew I had to make it work because I couldn't leave a silk, full circle, polka dot skirt behind.

Side note. Full circle skirts are a beautiful thing. When they are cut in a nice material, they fall so flatteringly and their twirl potential is incomparable.
Anyways, when I put the dress on, I saw that the extra piece of material was actually a waist sash.
So what we have here, is a perfect summer dress with a slight drop waist...

Cue wistful longing for summery days. Which are a long way away from this December 11...

This Week I Thrifted...

Dress? Thrifted Necklace? Flea market

What? Vintage, wool,, long sleeved, pretty friggen awesome dress
Where? Value Village
How Much? $12.99
Why? Don't know where to start on how much I love this dress. I love the long sleeves, the pattern mix, the length of the skirt and it's quality. It's in near perfect condition (I need to put one stitch on the neckline) and I can't wait to wear this with a super high pair of heels and some mulled wine this autumn. Note: I'll be drinking that mulled wine, not wearing it... unless I drink too much then I may wear some.
Sadly, as thrilled as I am with this dress, this will be my last thrifting trip to my Hamilton Value Village for a while. I have extensively bitched about Value Village's prices before and even threatened a break-up but this last trip cemented my decision. The stained Mexx shirt dress for $17.99 got my blood pressure up high but it was the Urban Behaviour polyester dress (if you are unfamiliar with UB, click here for a price sampling... I think it's kind of like a Charlotte Russe?) for $24.99 that broke a bit of my thrift heart. I don't mind paying $13 for a high quality, wool dress; I would prefer to pay $3 but $13 is still value for my dollar. But when a thrift store puts items at higher price points than consignment stores or even a good sales rack, the point of thrifting is lost for me. It's a pity because some of my favourite thrift finds (here and here) have come from this very Value Village. I thrift because I love the thrill of the treasure hunt and seeing crazy prices on mediocre items steals all the joy out of the experience. And so, I'm breaking up. Maybe it's over like Robyn and Ted or maybe time will heal all wounds, like Ross and Rachel. I'm not going to start a boycott campaign complete with a Facebook page and some bad spelling; I may write a letter (be afraid, very afraid...) but for the most part, I'll just be taking my thrift elsewhere. Peace out Value Village, I'll be back when you stop stealing my thrift joy.

This Week I Thrifted...

Shirt? J. Crew, thrifted Sweater? Gap Necklaces? Banana Republic and The Last Hurrah

What? J. Crew cotton button-up
Where? Talize (again... of course)
How much? $8 minus 10% with discount card. I think this is a little expensive but I was feeling sorry for myself.
Why? I love the royal blue/purple colour. It's an unusual colour that really contrasts nicely. It's also an easy-going button up, which I seem to wear a lot lately; roll up the sleeves, undo a few buttons at the neck, hopefully remember to put on a pair of pants and I'm ready!
The truth is, this shirt was my consolation prize. I've been in a bit of a thrift rut; life has been overwhelming and uninspiring lately and it's been messing with my thrift luck. I found a tie front Miu Miu blouse last time and I thought that it would be my comeback kid. It was the same great purpley colour and because I felt like I was back in the game, I grabbed the J. Crew blouse beside it that was the exact colour. Because two is better than one? Sadly, the Miu Miu blouse gaped at the buttonholes over my chest. What's even sadder is that for one brief second I considered wearing two sports bras to bind my chest down and make the shirt fit. Sometimes I think stupid things. Actually, often I think stupid things but I cover it up by spouting knowledge about plants. I distract with botany; it's a true story.
Anyways, I left the tie front blouse and I took home the J. Crew blouse. And styled like it is with the apple green v-neck and a glob of necklaces, I'm OK with the fact that I paid $7 for it. No new cat toys this week, I guess.

What did you thrift this week?

This Week I Thrifted...

Skirt? Thrifted Shirt? F21 Necklaces? Thrifted and stolen from my Mama

This week I thrifted a handmade, chevron printed, pleated skirt. Say that 10 times fast! Never mind... don't waste your breathe, I can't hear you over the sound of the Spice Girls singing in the background.

Where? Talize, Hamilton
How much? $6 minus student discount and coupon so about $4.
Why? The skirt is cute and can be styled a lot of ways. Blah, blah, blah... Mostly, I just like the fact that it is homemade. Sewing in a chiffon fabric and putting in pleats is no walk in the park, unless you are walking through the park in high heels and trying to eat a shwarma at the same time; basically, it takes focus. And even though the skirt is well made and the pockets lie nice and flat, I am charmed by the fact that the sewer screwed up on the button holes and put in two button holes with no corresponding buttons... and then gave up and just added a hook and eye. I am betting that this skirt waistband has heard a lot of bad words and seen some tears. Whoever you are Mystery Sewer, I shall thoroughly enjoy this skirt... double button holes and all.

What did you thrift this week?

This Week I Thrifted...

This week I thrifted a leopard print (yes, I am a nerd and I just googled to make sure that this is, indeed, a leopard print), cowhide belt.

Where? Talize, Hamilton
How much? $5 minus student discount and a donation coupon... so, about $3.50
Why? Because I wear belts a lot. Because I wear my other leopard print belt a lot (here and here). Because a leopard print belt is the easiest way to be a fashion super starrrrr! and mix prints. And because no matter what happens, there will be a magazine out there that'll tell you that this fall's hottest trends are tweed, lace and leopard print... just like last year. So, you might as well join the trend for $3.50 instead of $80...

What did you thrift this week?