pics of my Whitby Cowl from Tara-Lynn of yarnovermovement, and THE BEAST. the strangest thing i rescued from Value Village. i love it. it keeps my chair warm but i have never worn it outside. the Whitby Cowl is another matter. and i have the sweet Tara-Lynn to thank for that. thank you Tara-Lynn! the other coat is my vintage tweed trench coat which got me through the shock of an east coast winter. hopefully this is a “bye-bye” winter post.

and just a reminder the SWANclothing store re-opens tomorrow… see you there ;)

Tweet this

thrifted vintage belt, has another double pocket but took if off here.
vintage 80s shoes from etsy.
$2- plaid shirt that i love.
70s thrifted denim dress i’ve had forever.
tights i’ve had forever.
little sleeve holder i keep trying to wear.
drop “pearl” earrings i made.

i always have this peripheral western clothing obsession. not sure why. i’m from the prairies but a city in the prairies. here are a couple of screenshots from The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet episode “Rick’s Riding Lesson“. i love the instructor’s tucked in plaid shirt, boyish/girlish curvy jeans, and little updo. she’s sassy & tricky in this episode too, if you care to watch it.

the rest of the pics are in my flickr stream.

Tweet this

my sister Katie thrifting with me in Toronto back in some day.

nice thing about thrifting, it can almost go on forever. almost. and all those girls who recently bought piles of vintage clothes that wouldn’t have if it didn’t get so popular, well, those clothes now show up again in thrift stores. round and round.

i haven’t posted about thrifting for a while, except for my outfits. i still thrift a lot, even when i think i’m not, the piles of clothes grow in and around my closet. and i continue to use recycled materials in SWANclothing. mostly leather reuse at the moment.

The Coveted recently posted What’s your thrifting strategy? and I liked my comments so here they are…

i have an ongoing wish list of what i want to find at thrift stores. sometimes it takes a few years but… eventually it shows up.

i only buy what fits, even if i love it and it is cheap. and definitely going more often will get you what you want, it’s very random of course. very!

i wouldn’t really count stores that have already thrifted for you as a thrift store, but if you really want something and can’t put in the shopping hours, it’s a good option.

and try to go to places that aren’t too overrun by other savvy thrifters, sort of impossible but worth a try.

also, look in neighbourhoods where the type of clothing you want is being thrown away. when i wanted more “boho” type things back in the “boho” day and a lot of Indian clothing fell into that category, i would thrift in a suburb where there was a large Indian community.

and really look carefully for flaws in the store, it’s so easy to miss moth munchings and tiny holes and stains, but later on they will drive you crazy.

and remember to test out certain things well at the store. there are a whole bunch of shoes from the 80s that have the blown foam soles, i don’t know the real name for it, but they often look perfectly preserved but one good bend or a few full-weighted steps and the sole just kind of cracks and starts disintegrating. yuck!

never fully trust the stores categorization of clothing. look in the kids section for things that will fit you, look in small sections even if you are large etc.

and remember that sizing changes pretty much every decade. so just try it on.

i am definitely a bit of a committed thrifter.

Tweet this

i found this amazing t-shirt for a few dollars at a thrift store, hanging all alone from the ceiling in the corner. it’s from the movie Black Dahlia. ok movie, great shirt. the back is all faded in big tan streaks from the sun. it’s so nice.

.thrifted Black Dahlia t shirt
.thrifted vintage men’s shirt
.SWANclothing tote by me!
.thrifted really amazing fat fat 70s tweed tie
.thrifted 90s pinstrupe pants
.90s black ankle booties from etsy

Tweet this

this is from last night actually, and really more of a looking forward to fall thing. during the day yesterday i got a sunburn, not a very OTK gogo boot friendly day. so… a favourite thrifted 60s vintage dress of mine. and also favourite over the knee 60s black leather gogo boots, which were a thrift-trade of sorts. bigger here.

Tweet this

.80s short cream cabled sweater, thrifted.
.thick cotton cinch belt with vintage brass buckle, made by me.
.equestrian skirt, thrifted and shortened by me. i love the intertwined belts along the hem.
.80s brown western style shoes, found on etsy.
.pearl necklace made by me.
.deadstock 80s rolling stone gold tongue earrings from The Rock Shop.
.rhinestone T stud from dunno where.

Tweet this

i am pearl obsessed now and for this fall. fall! i want fall! this is my favourite pearl encrusted belt. it’s 80s and thrifted and kind of metal queen. it’s missing pearls but who cares. and my favourite forever grey sweatshirt, thrifted too. a gold rolling stone earring from The Rock Shop, and a rhinestone “T” stud too. more pearls soon…

Tweet this

view large here.

i still thrift of course. yesterday i found a pink satin tie. yum! a huge HUGE grey men’s polo t-shirt that i will wear all wrong, and a perfect beautiful black 80s sheer draped top. $8! oh, and i made those pearl drop earrings. the pearls are sort of grey toned.

Tweet this

Dorothy’s Deco Blouse from TELL IT TO THE MOUNTAIN. it’s just lovely. vintage, pale pink, beaded, openwork. i had to blog it.

Tweet this

sunshine of blog full of jelly made this perfect oxford shirt hack. there is a text tutorial on her site with photos coming soon. i love love love it.

Tweet this