Good fortune: A thrift & gift haul

It has been a hard week for a few reasons I won't be blogging about, but this is a little high point of the week (gotta think positive). I found a few things of my own, which we'll look at first, but the real gems are the items my mom found for me (read on!).

First exhibit: vintage bathing suit that looks freaking awesome on, thrifted at Value Village.
How often do you find a bathing suit and think "OH MAN I LOOK SOOOO GOOD IN THIS"? Case closed.



Exhibit Two: Vintage white wicker nautical box bag. Yes. 

Exhibit Three: Roots leggings, in perfect condition, complete with marled grey (favourite) and worksock hems (other favourite)

Exhibit Four: Mid-century-style hand carved wooden candle holder, made in Nova Scotia

But here is the really good stuff.

Mom and Dad went to an auction the other night and my thoughtful mother found these (in a larger lot of stuff) for me. Three pairs of fancy antique 1930s round glasses, a 1960s-to-1980s pair of sunglasses, and a fffaaaabbbulous pair of 1950s Bausch & Lomb horn-rimmed glasses with mother of pearl inlay (which I am definitely getting refitted with lenses).  

  

My favourites!

So much fun stuff! Will share a few more finds soon!

Uninsightful Fashion Tip!

I read a lot of fashion magazines, and one thing I tend not to enjoy is when there is an article on "remixing your wardrobe" or "shopping your closet" or "get more out of your outfits!" because usually all the tips are the same and most are, for lack of a better word, like DUH. Yeah yeah, wear a blazer "for night" instead of for day. Wear a t-shirt for a fancy thing. Wear a scarf as a belt. Groundbreaking! (Actually, irrelevant - like, all those tips are from 2003 but I still see them in these articles - and condescending.)

I find it is usually tips from fashion designers that are the most condescending. I'm pretty sure I once read Tory Burch recommend wearing things inside out - if you're such a poor plebeian that you can't afford her $800 tunics in order to mix things up, well, jeeze, I dunno, maybe show off all the seams and tags of that Old Navy t-shirt, that will be so tasteful!

(On second thought, it might've been Isabel Marant, but I could see her actually doing that so it's not as condescending. Or it might have been Kelly Wearstler and that is pretty much the same as Tory Burch.)

Anyway...

I do have one of those tips that I just needlessly ranted about. I found this 90's dress at work and thought it was just so almost cute, but not quite what I'm looking for... until I turned it around! The front is just a little too My So-Called Life, but the back is kind of dreamy fifties, no?

 Could it work? Well, let's take that Dalmy's tag off first and find out...

Verdict: yes, it works. A lot dressier than wearing it the conventional way - as Pete says, good for a wedding reception!

I love the high boat-neck neckline and the 1/2 sleeves, and even the little shoulder pads. Plus, the back is now a deep-v with lace, and it buttons all the way down. Kind of blah as a front, but quite pretty as a back! 

And finish it off with a little belt (found at Ardene) 

Remixing is fun! Looking forward to an occasion to wear this dress!

Easter brunch

Easter dress!

Vintage handmade, thrifted at a Salvation Army on Queen St W in Toronto last October.

Thrifted d'Orsay kitten heels and coral belt

Self-made earrings :)

As if!

This past week Peter and I went to a Beverly Hills 90210-themed surprise party - here's my get-up:

Vintage Florida crop-top, tucked into

Vintage high-waisted Levi's

90's pastel earrings

Socks No More

Spring is here, goddamnit, whether there are snow banks outside or not!

So I bid adieu to socks and defiantly wear flats.

For that matter, I'll be doing without a coat, too, thank you.

If the crocuses can do it, so can I!

Thrifted grey sweatshirt
Black Rockstar jeans
Grey almond-toe flats
Vintage sunglasses
Vintage printed Indian pashmina

I made some earrings 2: The Reckoning

Here's a bunch of earrings I made. Some were posted last time, some are new. Thinkin' real hard about putting a few of these suckers on Etsy (the nice ones, naturally).





The three pairs at the top are using recycled vintage silk, pearls from a damaged tank top bound for the garbage at work, and pink plastic beads from a thrifted vintage necklace.

 

Lots of broken and antique things here... and leather! Lots of leather.

Lots of vintage leather and suede up in here, drawn on with gold and copper Sharpies. The dangly gold pair have antique gold-plated bracelet links and chains from a broken vintage necklace.

(Pictured throughout, a thrifted embroidery circle with vintage bed sheet fabric.)

The mess!

Mint lace

Oh and here are some selfiez. Loving my (self-cut) hair lately, with these big floppy sideswept bangs. Also, this lace top (thrifted, worn backwards) always gets a snort from my sister, with whom I make fun of 'Pinterest colours' (mint green, shown here, or coral, peach, pink, rose gold, etc).

What would happen if I went blonde? How would I go about doing that? Help, Internet!

Winter loves

Just a big ol' vintage ballet-pink chunky knit sweater. Thrifted at work. Comfort!

(Please don't pay attention to that, um, collection of recyclable cardboard...)

Outfitted: Early winter Canadiana

When the weather starts to hover around the freezing mark, I start to give in to what most other Island ladies are all up in: skinny jeans, work socks, and ankle boots. I would love to get a pair of hand-knitted, made-in-PEI, Island wool work socks from Northern Watters Knitwear, but for now, I'll settle for any old pair. To up the Canadiana ante, I've added a pristine vintage cinnamon Danier suede drawstring jacket and vintage men's flannel. Cozy and very Canadian indeed.

+ thrifted vintage Danier suede jacket

+ thrifted vintage royal blue scarf

+ thrifted vintage flannel from work

+ thrifted vintage men's braided leather belt

+ Old Navy Rockstar jeans

+ Sears-house-brand work socks

+ Leather lace-up ankle boots, Corney's Shoe Store

+ Sky-blue floral earrings from Love Charlie

Homey

Peter and I were hoping to host some visitors over the weekend, so the apartment is still unnaturally neat and tidy right now. So here are some pictures.

The living room (with my family's dog, Mia, for the afternoon)

Sniffing around. Conclusion: yes, I do in fact live here.

 

And the sun room (or, the laundry room, I guess) - the best hangout spot in the apartment.

Orange! The table was repainted orange; thrifted Navajo-patterned rug, pillow cases, Hudson Bay throw.

You need a wool blanket if you hang out in there!

 

The JR's sign - an old bar in Charlottetown until the 90's, I think - we found at the flea market. 

Thrift Week 2012: Mid-Century Modern Edition

This week's haul has been mostly about fashion, but there were some neat finds for the home, too. Take this mid-century modern-style vase I found at Value Village for $2.99. I've been seeing this shape everywhere, in design magazines, on Etsy, blogs, you name it. But it's not like I can just go shopping at Hollace Cluny and buy some designer ceramic vases that cost as much as rent, so you can imagine my delight at finding a knock-off here in PEI for so little! Good things come to those who thrift.

Cheers! Happy hunting!

Thrift Week 2012: Important Brands Edition

Moving along, Thrift Week 2012's third post brings us some pretty fabulous brand-name finds. My two favourite types of brands: high-end designer, and heritage (local, at that). First up, a Great Northern Knitters sweater, possibly vintage but likely not - it's in excellent shape so I'd be surprised. People do take good care of their GNK sweaters, though, so who knows! Either way, they used to run about $140, I bought this one for just under $5. Huzzah!

(For anyone not familiar with Great Northern Knitters, it was a wool products company based in Charlottetown that was famous for its ridiculously thick, cozy Island wool sweaters, mittens, worksock-patterned garments, and more, all made on the Island. It closed a number of years back and has more or less been replaced by Northern Watters Knitwear.)

Next up: Oh, just a vintage Christian Dior Monsieur t-shirt, monogrammed all-over, for, oh, $2.95. Yeah. And it's not the first Dior I found this week, if you can believe it! 

Dig and ye shall find. Happy hunting!