Posts Tagged ‘thrifty’

Thrifty & Chic: Hush Puppies

October 10th, 2011
7 Comments

This last weekend was insane. I don’t believe I went to bed before 2 a.m. from Thursday through Sunday. There was just way too much to do & too little time to do it. Friday, as part of the Sewing Summit festivities, I led a group of ladies around downtown Salt Lake on a little thrift/vintage shopping excursion. Hands down I was the one that scored the most loot. I left a lot of fabulous stuff for everyone, but I found so many great things I just couldn’t help myself. It’s been a while since I’ve done a Thrifty & Chic feature, so I thought I’d do that today since I’m still trying to get on top of laundry, dishes, sleep, projects, etc.

I found these never-been-worn moccasin hush puppies for $23 at my favorite vintage shop: MisC. MisC isn’t like Goodwill or Salvation Army. The owner carefully curates her little shop keeping trends & seasons in mind.

I don’t shop there all the time, but when I’m looking for something different, specific & in near-perfect condition; I go there. Part of me was hesitant to buy these shoes because I’m used to finding deals for under $6, but come on! Where would I ever find a pair of shoes quite like these for even $23?

Have you found any good deals lately? Just recently my sister in thrifting, Laura, emailed me how she found an amazing modern wooden kitchen for $17. I won’t lie, I’m so incredibly jealous. Feel free to share links in the comments! I’d love to see what you’ve scored lately.

Thrifty & Chic: Swapping Clothes

June 30th, 2011
7 Comments

Saturday, I packed all of my ill-fitting clothes in the back of the car & headed for a bloggy swap meet & pool party. I actually spent zero time in my swimsuit (the water was a bit cold), but I did show it off to everyone there (seriously, I love my suit this year).

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Here I am unpacking my goodies. I’m the most under dressed there!

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Here are all the lovely ladies who attended.

I met some really lovely women & I’m so excited to see how they end up wearing & styling my old clothes!! I found some great stuff there and I’m so excited to refashion a few things. If you want to see how I end up wearing those finds, be sure to subscribe to my fashion blog.

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all of the above photos can be found here, taken by Jessica.

I had a great time eating delicious treats, getting some new duds & getting to know bloggers I’ve never met in real life. Truly, all of the things I did last weekend were a testimony of why I blog: friends & crafting.

This halter wrap dress was one of the items I scored at the swap. I love the print & the skirt part. I’m tempted to refashion it into a skirt. Sorry the photo is blurry & gross. The lighting the last couple of days has been less than desirable in the studio. You get the idea, though. I found this wrap skirt (that I wore on Sunday) there, too. I love both of these pieces, but I know for sure I would’ve completely walked past both of them in a thrift store or any store for that matter. I don’t do wraps. Well, not until now anyway.

Here’s a list of bloggers that were there:

Cotton and Curls • Wearing It On My Sleeves • Sweet Serendipity • Meet Virginia Design • Frills & Bils • Feather’s Flights • the stationery place • Life of a Passeri • Living on the Chic • Crowley Party • yours, mine & ours • Livy Love • madison avenue • brooke passion • A Day in The Life • Exhibit 221 • Harley & Jane • Snarky Drea • My Nutshell • The Sisters 4 say MORE is more…

It’s so fun to have a bunch of new pieces to brighten up my wardrobe that didn’t cost a thing! Have you participated in a swap before? I definitely want to do it again.

Thrifty & Chic: Glasbake Soup Bowls

June 21st, 2011
13 Comments

On our way to the Tracy Aviary to hang out with friends & family, we were running early so I thought I’d check out the newest DI (for you Utah locals – it’s the one in Sugarhouse). I’ve heard that thrift shop grand openings can be pretty lack lustre. This one wasn’t terribly disappointing, although I did notice that some of their prices were a bit higher than normal. Not terrible, though.

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It was a circus there, though. An employee passed me with a rolling cart full of new donations (that’s when I spied the above bowls) and as soon as I started following her, a crowd of about 15 people swarmed around the crate like piranhas! Thankfully no one seemed interested in the bowls, so I discretely ushered them into my cart. I spent $4.50 on the set of 6 bowls. A steal in my opinion. They tend to go for $4 per bowl around the interwebs.

I’m slowly working on organizing my kitchen cupboards with matching serving ware. Right now I’ve decided that I’m going for an all-white approach with a mix of orange & olive green accent pieces. I’m wanting to totally revamp my kitchen cupboards & get them perfectly organized & matching. I’ve always had an obsession with all-matching (or cohesive) serve ware.

I’ve also decided that I’m collecting yellow containers of any shape & size. I already have 5 or six. The above yellow container was 50¢ and the southwest-inspired scarves were also 50¢ each.

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Isn’t Penelope so cute? She loved seeing the Flamingos today. I just couldn’t help but share this sweet pic my sister-in-law took. I’ll be taking pics of sweet Felix this afternoon. I’ll be sharing those with you soon. He’s getting so big!

So. . . have you found any good deals? I was impressed with your awesome finds from last week. Meredith found a gorgeous Lotus pendant lamp for $30 (we also have twinner chairs – she scored her pair for $30)! Kat found an arrow coat rack for $1 that I’m SUPER jealous of. Vintage Scapes found gorgeous vera scarves for $3. Heather found a gorgeous white coat for $10, then tailored it. You look fab, Heather!

Please share links to your fun, cheap finds in the comments! I’d love to see!

SouthWestern Menswear Refashioned

June 16th, 2011
48 Comments

I just used my new dressform for the first time! It really does make a difference when tailoring/refashioning clothing. I couldn’t have achieved this kind of fit if I didn’t have my trusty dress form.

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I found this great button-up at the Tooele DI while out on a little excursion with Sarah (one of my many thrifting idols). We both were in love with the embroidered arrows on it. Arrows are so hot right now. Have you noticed? The first thing I saw when I first laid eyes on this beauty was a tailored skirt. With pockets. Here’s what I had in mind:

I don’t really ever share these little sketches, but Jill says I should. So I will. I had envisioned switching the buttons in the front to the back & using the sleeves for pockets & doing a drop pocket in the front. I originally thought it’d be easier & faster than it was, but as I was going along, I made sure not to take any shortcuts which added to the time considerably.

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I usually take shortcuts; just little ones here & there, but as I’ve refashioned more & more, it’s not worth it to spend the time to refashion something if I’m not going to do it right the first time. It’s pretty crucial to finish edges & hems properly. It takes a bit more time, but it looks SO much more professional. I started on this little project around 7pm and finished at about 2am. I ended up having to unpick everything in order to get the shape I want & that took about two hours. Every seam was finished with a regular stitch, a top stitch & a surged edge. It’s a lot more work when you have to unpick 3 sets of threads per seam.

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I’m really proud of the final product. I feel like it looks polished & not at all like it was originally a mens shirt. What do you think? Would you have passed this shirt up in the thrift store?

To see the full outfit & all the other outfit details, click here.

• U P D A T E •

To answer your questions, I originally thought that it’d be better to have the buttons along the back, so that when I sit down they don’t pucker & reveal my whitie tighties. I did have to sew in two hook & eyes; one above the top button and one in between the first & second buttons, because of puckering, but that fixed the problem.

I’ve worn this skirt all day: at the park, at the computer, on the couch, in the car & it’s been incredibly comfy! None of the buttons have popped open (that can be a problem with front button dresses) and I haven’t even noticed the buttons while sitting. Not quite sure I would’ve thought about this approach if I didn’t already have a dress that buttons up the back.

Thrifty & Chic: A Chair with No Name

June 9th, 2011
20 Comments

I know I’ve already shared one T&C item for this week, but I couldn’t help myself with this one. OH. MY. GOSH. It’s my favorite chair. While running some errands with Penelope the other day, I thought I’d stop in Thrift Town (a thrift store I used to go to in high school, but haven’t gone to since). I’d heard they’d upped their prices a lot more than Savers & DI, but I checked it out anyway.

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It was almost refreshing to go to Thrift Town. It was like there was a whole different demographic of people donating & shopping there, so there were some pretty unique things there. I found this gorgeous chair sitting triumphantly atop a large shelf. I knew I had to have it. It was $8; a little more than I’m used to spending on chairs at thrift stores, but well worth it. I’m not going to complain.

undefined I wish I knew what brand/designer and era this chair was from. There are no markings indicating anything like that. Any of you savvy folks out there know possibly where this chair is from? I’m so in love with it, I think this baby needs a mate.

Have you found any good deals lately? A couple weeks ago, Heather scored a large ring of skeleton keys for $1, Faith scored a Pottery Barn crib sheet set (retail $170) for $15 and Laura (I just saw this OMG) scored a BCBG bag for $1! Please share links in the comments. I love to see what you’ve found recently. And again, if you can help find the chair a name/designer, that’d be killer.

Speaking of good deals, our complex is hosting a community-wide yard sale this Saturday! I’ve got a couple of things I’ll be putting out on the lawn, but I’m mostly excited to troll around & see if I can score anything sweet. Email me if you want to swing by. I’ll get you the address.

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