:: nifty-thrifty | five ::

I’ve re-thought this post about a zillion times since this morning! lol. I think its because there are so many other facets, side stories, and general “interestingness” one can talk about when it comes to thrifting. But alas, I had to narrow it down because it would’ve ended up being the Post of the Century. hehe!

The best part of thrifting, in my opinion is not only the hunting for treasures, but finding something truly fun and exciting that is just nickels and dimes! Something that makes you happy, even if it seems silly to everyone else. I have lots of little collections of quite inexpensive finds I am always on the lookout for…

My favorite collection is vintage laces; finding a bag of assorted laces is one of my favorite surprises! Usually they’re mixed up with some truly hideous, synthetic lace. But for a few dollars–who cares?! hehe!

I love using it about my space too; pinning it to my bulletin board, or displaying a fetching collar on an old hanger!

I have many other collections, of course (I tend to be a bit of a packrat–lol!), but I think this is the collection I’m always hunting down new additions to add to while I thrift. Do you have any collections that you find yourself amassing when you thrift?

This ends the week of Nifty Thrifty posts–I sure had fun! I think the best part was hearing about your thrifting stories, adventures and amazing finds! Thank you for sharing this week of thrift love with me!

Cheers!

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:: nifty-thrifty | four ::

I was going to post this one on the fifth installment of Nifty-Thrifty, but I think I’ll switch the posts, and instead do my last post of “favorite finds” tomorrow! So instead, in keeping with the usual “Inspiration Friday” linkage, I’ve gathered a bunch of links on thrifting and recycling those finds–I hope you’ll all enjoy!!

♥ Amanda’s fantastic list of thrifting tips!
♥ national directory of thrift stores (great especially for finding places when you’re travelling!)
♥ Lorimarsha makes some really swanky refashioned clothes
♥ painfully hip’s “thrift stars” category–quite inspiring
♥ Tricia is the Queen of Thrifting (in my humble opinion! hehe!)
♥ a wardrobe “thrift-along”! [ via ]

Know of any good thrifty-links? Please share!

[ Read the other Nifty-Thrift posts here. ]

Cheers!

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:: nifty-thrifty | three ::

I grew up with a wardrobe stocked of mostly thrifted garments. Saturday mornings were devoted to hitting our two favorite mega-stores, right as they opened; Mom sifting through the racks searching for garments to clothe both myself and my sister. Inevitably, we’d get bored following her around, and start darting through the aisles, pulling out gaudily beaded evening gowns and howling in laughter at ourselves in the mirror when we’d hold them up.

This was back in the early 1990s; and I still remember to this day seeing the racks of 1960s prom dresses, and fur coats. I credit my sense of “eclectic fashion” style to these early years spent in thrift stores. Where Christian Dior rubbed shoulders with fringed hippie cast-offs. Somehow it made the idea of mixing things up, and not being “trendy” a lot more palatable when I decided to return to my roots (thrifting).

Needless to say, I still love going through and finding gems of garments; even though its a bit harder these days to really strike gold with vintage. But occasionally, you do… usually when you’re not expecting it!

These are a few of my favorite finds; some of which I thrifted a few years ago, and others that are more recent. None I’ve ever shown here. Be sure to click on the photos for larger views and descriptions! (And stop by my Flickr stream for more photos.)

Have you ever found a real, thrift-store gem? Tell me your story!

[ Read the other Nifty-Thrift posts here. ]

Cheers!

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:: nifty-thrifty | two ::

Besides the clothes rack, my biggest preoccupation whilst digging through thrift stores is vintage patterns. While yes, part of the motivation is that I do sew, and thus am always on the hunt for some new and “exciting” style to whip up, I do love collecting them for their graphics! (Because honestly–I don’t think I could ever sew all of the patterns–although I’d like to think I could! hehe!)

They’re little time-capsules of previous eras and fashion styles. I love seeing how not only the trends have changed for the home seamstress, but also the sewing techniques!

I also feel a slight connection to the ladies who owned these patterns before me. I think the best patterns are the ones that have pin markings, notes, or even just simple circles around the size they needed to cut out! (Something I do!)

I also occasionally light upon a “how-to” booklet from the 1950s or 1960s. I love flipping through them for ideas and inspiration! Look at some of these pages:

See more vintage-pattern goodness here and here!

[ Read the other Nifty-Thrift posts here. ]

Cheers!

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