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Friday, June 27, 2014

June Thrift Scores: Enough is Enough!

My lovely local thrift store has been like my personal Neverland...a quick escape from wife and mommy hood, a chance for my inner child, aka fashion designer (read, hoarder) to burst free and dream up all kinds of fun possibilities with the clothes and fabrics I encounter. Even the entrance is somewhat magical, no? I love living on the East Coast for all of its ivy covered buildings and moody architecture.
Past the neatly manicured lawns, the roses creeping out over the walkway, down the stairs and through old wooden doors that lead you into...the basement of my local Presbyterian church ;). It's a small thrift store, and I love it. Upon first moving here, I was a little bummed that there were only two local thrift stores, and one seemed to cater to more 'name brand' 'high end' pieces. In Queens and Newark we'd been fairly close to much larger options filled with tons of clothing and bric-a-brac...not so much here. But I quickly found that I didn't need all of that and the treasures I've encountered have far outweighed any of my previous finds (minus shoes...not a great shoe selection for my size 9 feet! But if you have size 7 or below, this is the place to be for some sweet vintage shoes). I love my local thrift store!

Now that I've sung the praises of my local thrift shop, here's a few things I picked up while in Michigan! Hehehe ;) I've already cut into this first 'dress' but have decided on a new path and will hopefully finish it up today, the skirt might need a slight pinch at the waist, and the dress needs a major change...I just couldn't walk away from all of that airy floral fabric!!!
Tribal print 'dress' $2.50 + floral skirt $2.00 + floral dress (to be refashioned) $2.50 = $7.00.
I'm not completely sure where I'll go with this blouse...probably keep it a blouse, but I'll have to do some looking at my Pinterest boards for inspiration.
Polyester 'granny' shirt with interesting pattern (to be refashioned) $2.00.
I so can't wait to work on this bathing suit...either making adjustments for myself or just tightening up the elastic in the lining and reselling it!
Vintage bathing suit $1.50.
And here are some of the things I picked up back here in New Jersey: The lace slip will stay as is and become a layering piece, the tribal print dress will probably become a skirt, and I need to change up the hem of this blue blouse...there are two pleats at the bottom front and back! So weird.
Lace slip $3.00 + tribal print dress (to be refashioned) $4.00 + blue blouse (to be altered) $4.00 = $11.00.
I haven't worn white shorts or jeans in a long time...basically I've felt too fat, but that's silly and I'm over it. I found these two and they fit great! The floral pants are too big and HOPEFULLY I'll be able to do with them what I plan to do with them...hopefully.
White shorts $2.00 + white jeans $3.00 + floral pants (to be refashioned) $3.00 = $8.00.
And what can I say? I've been a Star Wars fan since it came out when I was a little girl...and I couldn't pass up this t-shirt when I saw it! I've wanted/needed a black zip hoodie for a while and found one, and my obsession with stripes continues as I add these two striped t-shirts to the mix!
R2-D2 shirt $2.00 + black zip hoodie $2.00 + striped t-shirt $1.50 + striped v-neck $2.00 = $7.50.
That's $37, though there are actually more items that are not yet pictured...yeah, that self-imposed ban didn't go over so well. So, it's on for July! Some other items I picked up include sewing notions (a whole bag of salvaged zippers!!), clothes for my son, a new set of saucepans after I ruined the two that we had (these are made of tempered glass and clean up so well, great find!), and a few other clothing items that are in the wash.

I'm on the verge of a pretty major purge as I decide to start selling some of my previous thrifted finds and refashions, so keep an eye out for info on that. Which leads me to this question: what are the best online ways of selling thrifted/refashioned items that you've come across? Do you have any experience that would prove useful as I look to set up shop? Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you on some of your thrifted finds from this month...you can always send me an email or message me on the Little Did You Know Facebook page if you'd like to share pics. I can even put together a collage of reader's favorite thrifted finds as a monthly feature, if anybody is interested :).

Peace,
Andrea

10 comments:

  1. WOW I am speechless. Still have no visual idea where you put it all but I am loving it. You have to have a stash of garments if you are a REdesigner. I have all of my garments for REfashion in a very large plastic tub on castors at the bottom of my hubbies wardrobe in the spare room. I also have two racks in this room one for vintage clothes and one for my upcycling workshop examples.

    Karen from Rude Record

    http://ruderecord.wordpress.com
    Twitter at Rude Record

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    1. I know, Karen, it's getting to where I just have too much and know it. I think setting up shop will help to weed out the excess and hopefully I can whittle my wardrobe down to a more manageable size while continuing to refashion for me and others :).

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  2. I love the tribal dress. I can't wait to see what you do with all the other finds...

    ~Becky

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    1. Thanks! Already got to work on that dress, and the other tribal print dress as well ;) Both will be posted up tomorrow!

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  3. I love the entrance! If you're ever in Kansas City, we have a lot of awesome thrift stores here. I have six or seven I frequent.

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    1. I'd love to do a travel challenge where I pack one or two outfits and thrift/refashion my way through whatever else I'd need to wear...:) Never been to Kansas City, but I think I'll do that the next time I get to go somewhere :)

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  4. Love all your thrifty finds! I'm super addicted as well. I actually found selling on instagram to be fairly successful. You build real relationships with your customers and you can always see what other people like and are looking for. Customers can directly interact with their shop owners too which is nice. I haven't used it, but I know a lot of people who like store envy. Poshmark is worth a try too! Definitely stay away from eBay or etsy if you aren't selling expensive items because the fees are too high. Hope this helps!!

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    1. Wow, thanks so much for your feedback, Beautifully Flawed! I appreciate it so much. I'd definitely considered instagram and think I may start there. Yay!

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  5. What a beautiful building, and lots of nice things to work on. Good luck with setting up shop!

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