Thrift Thursday. Size Wars

You know what they say... don't pay attention to the size label in the clothing, find something that fits you and looks good.

If that rule is important in that place infested with teenagers (ie. the mall), it's 3X more important in the thrift store. There are three huge reasons why you need to place little importance on the the size tag...

1. Vanity sizing. It's not an unfamiliar concept to any of us... At Old Navy I grab a size 6 and head to the food court for some fries and at Guess, I can't button up a Large. OK, I never shop at Guess but you know what I am talking about... At least when you shop regularly at a certain store you get familiar with their system of sizing but at a thrift store, you never know what you are going to get.

2. International sizing. Every country has different sizing standards and number systems. It confusing to you but it's often confusing to the thrift store stock person as well. Items are often hung on the wrong rack. (Little tip: this happens at Winners/T.J. Maxx too... they get European brands which get hung on the wrong rack and so get left for deep discounts. Yeah! Discounts! And you thought this was just a thrift tip blog... I need to start charging.)

3. Vintage sizing. Different decades have their own styles; even body types changed over the years. When I find truly old clothing, it's a hard fit because I am so tall but on the opposite end, clothing from the 80's (are we really calling the 80's vintage already?) is cut really wide and large. I am going to be Captain Obvious and recommend you try it on...

I hope this doesn't make thrift shopping more complicated. Maybe sizing is the only compass you have when you set foot in a thrift store and now you have no idea where to start. It's not that you shouldn't pay any attention to your size... start looking where you usually fit in but don't be afraid to look at the next size up and down. Shopping at thrift stores requires an open mind and that applies to sizing too.

And now my favourite part of this post... the part where I eat a big slice of humble pie. Remember this dress?

I found it a couple of months ago at Value Village during one of their 50% off sales, I paid maximum $5 for it?... I saw it on the rack, thought it was cute, checked the size, it was a 12 and I figured I would consign it. Because I am not a size 12, OK? (note: that is my pride talking in a valley girl voice, waving my hand back and forth, snapping my fingers) Back in the day, I was probably like a lot of teenagers... scarfing down MacDonald's (behind my Mom's back, for the record) and ridiculous amounts of candy, secretly delighting in the fact that I was still slim. And then that thing called metabolism slowed down and I woke up one day and my pants wouldn't go up. And I am aware now that I can't take those things for granted and so I do my best to eat healthy and be active. And that's why my pride told me I couldn't be a size 12. But I tried that dress on and um... did you see the lift it gave my booty? Am I allowed to say that? Turns out I am not consigning that dress. Change the tag from size 12 to size swallow my pride and look good.

Unfinished Business

Vest? Thrifted
Maxi dress? Lida Baday, thrifted
Boots? Cole Haan, thrifted
Shirt? Gap
Belts? Thrifted

I took these pictures (yes... me! Lots of swearing and learning was happening) in the attic of our new house. It might be my favourite place in the house and it won't even be completed for a long time. Our goal is to have a finished attic in 5 years but we'll see how that goes. We're better with short term goals, like finishing a bag of chips in one sitting, then we are with expensive house plans. Regardless of its unfinished state, it makes me happy to be in our attic, it's such a great space... the former home owner got the attic framed up as a huge bedroom/closet/en suite but the word man cave has been floating around...?

I wanted to take pictures up in the space before we insulate it soon. Something about efficiency and lower heating bills... blah, blah, blah. I'll be a little sad when the exposed beams are covered with spray insulation.

Another good thing about the attic, is that we were left with an ancient rowing machine up there. I don't think it was left out of concern for my ticker; it was just too heavy to move. The former home owners also left us with a government regulated boiler inspection that was 6 months overdue and we didn't know about it, so we came home to our gas turned off BUT lets focus on the good stuff they left us. Which is a rowing machine! It happens to be the only piece of exercise equipment I tolerate. Matt hooked up our old TV in the attic for his #1 sweetie (that's me, not the cat, Kyle) and now I can watch Springer and work off that bag of chips I ate in one sitting. Look at me...accomplishing my goals!

This Just Happened

Dress? Jones New York, thrifted
Tights? Betsey Johnson, Winners
Boots? Aldo
Clutch? Hilary Radley, StyleSense

I'm going to go ahead and say the obvious about these pictures. It must have struck you immediately that this is the second time I am wearing these tights. It doesn't happen often that I keep tights run-free; this is a big deal.

A little bit less obvious is the fact that this dress matches the wall...perfectly. It's pretty subtle, so you may have missed it. Go ahead and scroll back up... maybe even take out your Pantone colour swatches... I've written before that sometimes a bit of doubt creeps in my mind about why I do this blog thing, but when I found a whole building painted in the same colour as my dress, I had a bit of a revelation. My city has my back... buildings are being painted to match what I wear. I will know that I have really made it when I find a wall covered in sequins. How will you know you made it?

Thanksgiving Thursday

It's Thanksgiving and Thrift Thursday is taking a week off.
Yes, yes... in Canada we already had our turkey but I'm celebrating with our friends across the border in spirit by eating too much and hugging the fam damily. Or... I am working last minute to finish a final project for my night class but whatever...
Either way... No Thrift Thursday but I do want to take a moment and say Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! to this beauty...

(I stole this photo off her awesome blog... now she is going to sick her cats on me. I can handle it.)

You may have noticed my blog got a make-over. It was probably way overdue. I've been frustrated for a long time that my blog had no cohesive look, and that it was hard to see at first glance what this blog and I are all about. Now I am no longer just the chick on the suitcase (though I love the pic but it's from the old house and to be honest, those jeans I was wearing have always pinched...)...
I am a sad representative of my tech savvy generation and after beating myself up for a long time over my lack of computer skills, I came to terms with the fact that I can't do it all. And so, I turned to the person who does do it all and that is how Merl gets all the credit for the new blog look. I sent Merl a scratchy sketch and a tearful plea and 48 emails and she made some blog magic. Merl, I love you.
When I check the blog, I have to do a double take before I realize this fanciness is actually my blog. It looks so professional that I am thinking of becoming a professional blogger. I am not sure what that entails exactly... but you know what they say about turning pro... you can't qualify for the Olympics anymore.

Merl... have I said thank-you yet?
xo