Thrift find!

I rarely hit the thrift shops anymore as all the little independent shops are disappearing and the chains like Goodwill have gone "upscale". Usually my best bet are estate & yard sales. But yesterday after a lovely afternoon of cooling off in the pool my friend Jeanne over for a visit & I had a few hours to kill before supper so off we went to a Goodwill.

Jeanne must be a lucky charm for me as whenever we go thrifting I find at least one AMAZING find. Once I found a vintage YSL Rive Gauche blouse balled up with a bunch of scarves for $2! time, a perfect condition 60s chartreuse swimsuit, the list goes on. This visit I wasn't hitting it, nothing catching my eye, prices all crazy. I happened to just waltz by the linen section (which I rarely do as lately all you find are cheap curtains and stained crappy tablecloths) when a pattern hit my eye. I of course ran my hands over it & found that it was vintage brand new barkcloth. Now intrigued I took it off the hanger & Jeanne & I stretched it out. At first I thought it was a sofa cover, then I realised it was a bedspread. Priced at $19.99. So my mind started racing wondering if I could use it somehow to cover the 60s sofa we have. Then it hit me, we had to dump the original cushions as they were disintegrating, and being lazy, we got a futon, I scored it with a box cutter so it would be an "L" shape & its very comfy. And this bedspread looked to be the same size as the futon. So I took a chance. With my Goodwill points, I only wound up paying $10 for it.

At first I left the bottom hem down...

Then decided to tuck it under so you could see those great mid-century slender legs. It's much more orange in reality, which I thought perfect since the original upholstery was a light orange. (Excuse the mess behind, I'm not in a good state of mind today to attend to details.)

So now my living room is truly a riot of pattern with my Picasso print drapes! Eh I love it, its interesting and besides barkcloth is such a workhorse, I have original 1940s drapes still in perfect condition and as bright as the day they were made! Oh and Jeanne? She found a HUGE Bally tote for $20, plus some cool scarves. Not too bad considering I wasn't expecting anything interesting!

XXX
Jet

Jumbles and Thrifts

One of my favourite things to do is hit the charity rummage sales in spring and autumn. People tend to be more generous with their donations to their church or synagogues, and its a very inexpensive way to perk up your wardrobe. A few weeks ago a local church had their sale and we were able to hit it fairly early (I am not a morning person so making it there early was a feat) so the pickings were great! I was able to find things for myself, my husband, my daughter, and some friends all at bargain prices.

The first thing I found was a L.A.M.B. "Dolly" dress from the Fall 2007 collection that fits perfectly. My only regret is that I'll have to wait until the cooler weather to wear it as its lightweight wool. I googled and found out it originally sold for about $400!

It has little ruffles along the seams, plus its tartan which I love. The best part is that its a grey tartan, not a scary bright red or blue, but quite muted.

Then I found a Christian Dior double breasted suit jacket in a gorgeous shade of red. I love that its lightweight but still has that pea-coat look to it.

Its missing its belt, but I tried it with a few of my funky 80's belts and think it looks superb.

I love this bubble skirted dress by Iisli. Its cable knit mohair in a deep chocolate brown with black straps. I'll have to wait to wear this too, but think it will be a great winter layering piece.

Here I've paired it with a studded belt I also got at this sale.

Okay, this is a little wacky, but I couldn't resist the fabric -- silk and lace -- as well as the dolman sleeves. I can't figure out if its supposed to be lingerie or a dress, but the label says "Liebe Made in Italy" and then also has a "made in Italy for Bergdorf Goodman" label so it had to have originally cost a pretty penny. Regardless, my scissors will be making some alterations and I think it'll become a blouse, and the bottom part may become a dress for my daughter.

Karl Lagerfeld red silk blouse, paired with deep navy chunky Mary Janes (that my husband actually found -- the man is learning!) by Michel Perry -- don't know the brand, but they are beautifully made shoes. (Update Note: I found the brand online and it is indeed a mid to high end brand, so I did really well!) The blouse is big, but it has a teensy, tiny tear in the back near the sleeve seam so I may play with it and turn it into something else. (I have no idea why I made it look as if Zombella is birthing a shoe!)

The skirt is a black wool mini with striped piping along the slash pockets by Barami Couture. It also has two zippers in front. The blouse is a Karl Lagerfeld blouse that I found while going through some of my old shop stock. I have no idea where or when I got it, but it may start making appearances in my wardrobe this summer as its a perfect fit!

It didn't photograph well, but the blouse has lace along the neckline, and its got a very slight peplum to it.

At a different sale last week I found this beautiful 1960's velvet sheath dress.

Underneath the lace waistline is turquoise satin, and the lace is dotted with rhinestones (unfortunately black velvet doesn't photograph well.)

Also at this sale I found this pretty chocolate brown silk chiffon blouse. The piping is silk satin, and there are silk satin covered buttons in four groups of two going down the front with a tie at the waist, and three covered buttons on the sleeves. No label anywhere, so this is an example of when it pays to know your fabrics!

The skirt and shoes are from the first sale, and the blouse is from a local thrift store. The skirt is Issac Mizrahi (his line, not the one he did for Target), the shoes are Bally cream leather ballet flats, and the blouse is Carmen Marc Valvo.

The blouse has beautiful embroidery -- I wish I could remember the name for this specific type of embroidery, but its sort of like cording that has been embroidered on top of the blouse. Hard to photograph its true beauty, but trust me, its a stunner. You can also get a little better look at the shoes which feature a grosgrain bow.

This is a 1980's Ungaro silk blouse found at the thrift shop. I love the summery colours and know I will get loads of wear out of it this summer.

I have a bunch more to photograph, but as usual Zombella was getting cranky so I had to stop for the day.

Cheers!