Un-Flounced

Dress? Vintage, gift Shoes? Jeffrey Campbell Purse? Tignanello, thrifted

My parents gave this vintage dress to me a few years ago. They weren't sure I would actually wear it or even fit it but they knew I would appreciate the workmanship of the embroidery, the pin tucks and the crochet panels. All that work was done by hand; someone spent a lot of time making this dress. And while I enjoy the dress on a hanger, I really did want to wear it out too. For a blasphemous minute I thought about hemming the dress to update the look but then I mentally reprimanded myself for even thinking of such a thing. I am really, really cautious with the scissors around a vintage garment. Surprisingly the need to flaunt my legs is trumped by the respect I have for quality vintage. 

After a thorough inspection, I realized I could remove the big flouncy section of the sleeves without damaging the crochet panel. And removing that extra flounce suddenly made the dress so very wearable. In a moment of future preparation, I put those extra flounces carefully away in one of my sewing drawers, in case I ever want to re-attach them. I doubt it though. I change my mind about hem lengths, my hair and sandwiches at Subway but I don't think I am ever going to get into fussy sleeves. 

Thrifting Pants

(thrifted Hudson jeans which have sadly bitten the dust by now)

A while back, someone asked me to write a post on thrifting pants... Why such a hard request? Ask me instead how the caramel gets in the middle of a Caramilk... Or why the sky is blue... Or how to get cats to stay still while you french braid their tail hair...
Sadly, I find that the pant section in the thrift store has the lowest success rate for me. In general, pants are the hardest for me to shop for and this difficulty follows me into the thrift store as well. Pants deal with waists and hips and thighs and it's often a puzzle to fit all three at once. Finding pants takes focus and I would rather shop my feelings in the dress section. And while I don't think that pants will ever become my greatest thrift shopping strength, I do hope I can pass on a few tips. If you are a thrifted pants maven or ridiculously smart, please add your pants wisdom in the comments!

Try them on. Sometimes I am too lazy for the changeroom... Hanging up my purse, taking off my shoes, getting distracted and making duckfaces in the mirror; it's all a lot of work. On lazy days of thrifting, I stick to looking for skirts, dresses and tops, items that I have gotten pretty good at just eye balling to guess their fit. But if I am specifically looking for pants (like the jeans below, I was looking for a cheap pair to use for a bleach experiment), I know I need to try them on. Between waist, hips, thighs and inseams, there are a lot of measurements that need to fit to your body. So save the thrifting for pants on the days you have had your oatmeal for breakfast, or for days when you have artificially increased your energy levels with a tasty, ice-cold Rockstar*.

Look for brands that fit your body. This is especially relevant with jeans. I am going to take a slightly educated guess (I googled it) and estimate that jeans are probably the most worn item of clothing in North America, maybe even the world.
The popularity of jeans results in plenty of denim at the thrift store. While the blazer section might have every colour of the rainbow and synthetic and natural fibres thrown in together, the denim section has... just jeans. The closet turnover for jeans is high, so it is very likely that you will find denim from your favourite mall brand on the thrift store rack. I know I can be a bit hard on thrifting mall brands but brands like Gap, A&F and h&m all carry well-cut and well made jeans. If you know that Gap jeans have the power to make your booty look 10 years firmer, then keep your eyes open for some Gap jeans! Of course, since you are putting in effort by shopping for pants anyways, try on some other brands as well... I have also seen plenty of high end denim, which is good news for denim snobs (ie. myself in university). And as I've recommended before, look beyond whatever size label you assign your body. Your perfect pair of pants might be a size larger than you normally wear because sizing is all over the place at the thrift store.

Find what era suits you. In fashion, everything comes back into style at some point. In the past I hated flares and I hated pleated pants and then I took it all back and embraced both. I am fickle. So is fashion.
While you should still try on every pair of pants you deem to have potential at the thrift store, your search can be narrowed down by avoiding what silhouettes don't work for your body and embracing what silhouettes do work. The thrift store carries clothing from the past few decades, so there is a wide variety in fit and style. For myself, I avoid the lowriders of the early 2000's... mostly because I say no to crack and no to breeziness on the lower back. I also avoid the highwaisted vintage bellbottoms of the 70's... When I try them on, they make it up to my knees and then... that's it. Pleated pants from the 80's are much more successful. They fit snug at my waist and the pleats leave extra room for my hips and thighs. Figuring out what silhouettes from the past fashion eras work for your body type, will help you sort through the racks of pants and find success.

(thrifted and bleached out h&m jeans)

*Not a sponsored post. Though that would be awesome... Thrift posts brought to you by energy drinks? Clearly a good match.

Peplum

Peplum top? Thrifted  (similar here (petite) or plain  here)Skirt? Target (similar here though a little pricey) Shoes? Boutique 9, thrifted (similar here) Clutch? Hilary Radley

I thrifted this top years ago when I was still in university. I am telling you this to let you know that I am not belatedly jumping on the peplum top bandwagon... In fact, I would say that back then already, I was simply ahead of my time. A peplum visionary, so to speak...

Or... 

I just bought the top because I liked the silk fabric and the sweet print and I thought I could make it work. Every time I clear out my closet, I think about letting it go but it always makes the cut and stays with me. I'm a faithful peplum visionary like that...

Post-Wedding

Skirt? Vintage, thrifted Tank? Roots Necklace? Clyde's Rebirth Shoes? Napoleoni, Winners (kinda similar here) Bag? Joe Fresh Belt? Roots, thrifted Lipcolour? Maybelline, Super Stay 10, Berry Heavenly

I was a bridesmaid in a wedding this weekend. The wedding went annoying well. I say annoyingly because something is always supposed to go wrong at every wedding. It pours rain. The ring-bearer loses the rings. The limo forgets the bride (haha... yes, I am talking about you, K). An uncle grabs the mike and tells awkward stories. But my friends' wedding went smoothly and wonderfully well. And the bride was a beauty. Trust me. I might have to share pictures later...

I feel like this outfit is partially composed of wedding leftovers. My hair is the slept-on remains of my wedding hairstyle; you know, getting my money's worth. My shoes are the shoes I bought for the wedding on  the day before the wedding. I had two pairs of shoes picked out and I let my dad make the final selection. He chose the more expensive pair... of course. My nails were also professionally done for the wedding. The landscape dirt was cleaned out and my nails were painted an obnoxious shade of orange (they are more eyeball assaulting in real life). That's probably why the wedding went so well... A bride that is chill enough to let me paint my nails the colour of safety vests, in the midst of her navy and mustard wedding, deserves a great day... 

Slouch

Pants? French Connection, Winners (similar but expensive here or all white here) Tank? Joe Fresh Shoes? DvF

 Purse? Thrifted Necklaces? Thrifted

I was pretty excited to find these pants on clearance at Winners for $20. They are a bit big so they sit low on my hips, which makes the long inseam even longer. If I were a lazy person I would hem the pants with some duct tape or a stapler (I believe you have my stapler?... go ahead take an Office Space moment). But I am not lazy, I am super lazy and so I just left the hem to pool a bit around my ankles. And you know what? I like it... These pants feel like the love child of tuxedo pants, harem pants and track pants all at once. My pants have three biological parents... the future is now.

This Week I Thrifted...

(Thrifted blazer, Joe Fresh Tee, Clyde's Rebirth necklace)

What? Vintage wool blazer
Where? Talize
How much? $6
Why? It's not quite the white vintage blazer that is at the top of my GCOGH wishful thrift list but it's pretty good find none-the-less... I almost left it behind too, even though it is great quality blazer at a low price (that being the primary reason to buy blazers from the thrift store) but when my friend questioned why I was leaving it behind, I had no good response. Honestly, I think it's just been so hot lately that I can't even fathom sleeves, collars and wool. In the autumn however, I will be thankful I thrifted this beauty because that contrast collar and exaggerated nipped in waist (check the seaming detail...) are going to look pretty sharp up against a scruffy pair of jeans... Ugh, jeans... another thing I can't even think about in this whine inducing heat...
Somebody please, bring me a cold beverage...

Summer Heat

Skirt? Winners (similar here) Tank? h&m (old) Shoes? Ash, Winners (very similar here) Bag? Roots

 Earrings and bracelet? From my parents and Oma

It's been hot and busy around here. The worst combination; just ask Kyle. Our delicate flower of a cat can't handle the steady stream of company in our house and has resorted to hiding himself away on this secret little shelf in the side of Matt's closet. In an attempt to stay cool, he sticks his front paws out of the closet and the sight of those little paws is, at the same time, the cutest and the saddest thing ever. In this heat, our house is generally a pretty sweaty place to be but that hidden little shelf seems like the worst choice. I've said it before, Kyle was given an extra pinch of fluffiness and good looks but he's no genius.
For those of us with more brain power than Kyle (that is not saying much, is it?), we have resorted to finding different ways of staying cool. We're hugging fans, drinking on the back porch and wearing natural fibres. Like this polyester skirt...?
Wow, my beating the heat strategies are as wise as Kyle's...

Nouns to Verbs

Dress? Vintage, Out of the Past (taken in and hemmed) Shoes? Lamb, Winners (can't really find them online any more but here is a nice pair in the same colour that is probably more walkable...)

I wore this out for a family dinner at a local Korean restaurant. As could be expected, I was a tad overdressed compared to the rest of my family. We should just refer to the art of overdressing as, Jentine-ing... Anyone else do that? Add 'ing' to a name to make it a verb?
For example, my brother Henk has this theory that the best way to beat jetlag is to immediately adjust your body to the new timezone. So when we fly to Holland, the flights from Toronto to Amsterdam almost always land in the morning and Henk-ing it would be to stubbornly push yourself to stay awake all day, even if you have had no sleep all night. I am not a fan of Henk-ing it, once I feel so tired I might fall in a canal, I take a sweet, blissful nap.
Sadly though, I am afraid Jentine-ing will never catch on, even as a hashtag... Too many possibilities for misspelling and mispronunciation. For now, we will just call overdressing, overdressing...

She Thrifted (and other skills)

This is my friend Emily from Tomorrow Never Knows. She thrifted, well, pretty much everything except for the old F21 tank top. I can respect Emily, she gets up early on Saturdays and goes to church sales. That's dedication. Church sales are where the good vintage and the old ladies hang out, and both are pretty cool, if you ask me. 

And while I think Emily's thrift skills are admirable, it is her photography I like the most. I am always going to like peaking at wedding photography;  to check out what the bride is wearing and rate the groom on how uncomfortable he looks, but what I love most are the little snap shots of scenes we pass by everyday. I think I have looked at this NYC post of hers (also featured on FreshlyPressed! Whoa!!!) about 6 times and each time, I am amazed at her skill. Pictures like that make me want to be a photographer... but I already have enough hobbies. I've said it before, cat herding takes a lot of time and effort.

Compliments

Shirt? Giorgio Armani, Antique Avenue Jeans? 7faM, Winners Necklace? c/o Love at First Blush (here)

Shoes? DvF, Style Sense Clutch? Thrifted

If you have a problem accepting compliments, you probably should not get this necklace. Thankfully, I can handle compliments like a champ; I sit back, bask in them and throw out air kisses and 'thanks dahhhhhlings' as if it is second nature. Don't I just sound like a treat to hang out with?
The best part about this necklace is that one of my former classmates from Fashion Design at Ryerson made it. I love hearing what some my fellow graduates are up to these days and where in the world they are living... So much talent. For example, Kristiann runs Victory Patterns. Blair outfits a plethora (my favourite word) of brides with fancy head wear. Danielle is a fashion illustrator and runs a successful and thoughtful blog. And Sabrina makes these really beautiful, handcrafted leather pieces... and I was lucky enough to be the recipient of one. Thanks dahhhhhling! Air kiss?

Back Again

Skirt? Thrifted (similar here) Crochet top? Thrifted (similar here or expensive here) Bag? Tignanello, thrifted

Shoes? Calvin Klein (here)

Two years ago while on vacation, I found this bright orange vintage skirt in an Owen Sound thrift store. Thrilled with the purchase, I wore it out the following day. We took outfit pictures at an abandoned gas station in the area.
This year for our vacation, I packed the skirt with me and I wore it to go hunting at the same thrift store it was originally found at. And then, to complete the cycle, we again took outfit pictures at the same run down gas station. This time around, the weeds were taller and my hair was wilder. I feel like I need to take a moment to wax poetic about the passage of time and the circle of life but it's Friday and I will spare you. I should mention that I did find a pair of pleated leather pants for $4 at the thrift store this time around. Maybe this skirt is my lucky thrift charm or maybe the pants are so ugly, no one else would give them a home... I guess you will just have to wait and see...

Beach Lessons

And we're back from a short week away at Sauble Beach... I would have loved it if it was a full week, but we had commitments, so we came back early. Saying that 'we had commitments' makes me feel important... and sad because the beach was glorious indeed. And lest you think I did nothing this last while except for lie in the sand and frolic in the water, I will share what I learned while I was away. Because the learning never stops around here... (A few of these pics are repeats from Instagram... follow me at myeditblog to get up to the minute coverage. Maybe not quite up to the minute though...)

I learned that you can get over sleeping in the bed that is too short for you, as long as there is poorly applied, very awesome Rocky Mountain wallpaper in your bedroom. Though I already knew this from the last time we stayed here.

I learned that my nephew, at the tender age of 8 months, is already getting fresh with the ladies.

I (or should I say, we) learned that dollar store tattoos of the Canadian flag are easier to apply than to remove.

I learned that even though I have jumped Sauble Falls (it looks scarier in the picture than it is...) for years, I always need to hold someone's hand.

I learned I will always stop to take a picture of a nice sunset; even if there has been a glorious sunset for the past 5 days. Pausing to Instagram a sunset, is the new stopping to smell the roses...? (Also... that is my mama and papa waving in the picture. Cute, eh?)

I learned that Matt loves me. Well, I already had reason to suspect he did but when he went to run some errands and came back with the best cat towel ever, my suspicions were confirmed. Honestly, I was impressed.

I learned that I love sparklers almost as much as I hate Matt's shirt. But seeing as he bought me that cat towel, the shirt is suddenly forgiveable. I pick my battles.