Thrift Haul Scores of Late......

 

I don't always buy my clothes at thrift shops. Sometimes I shop Ebay and Etsy and then there is that rare event that I find treasures at estate sales. Lately the thrifting Gods have been kind and I have been able to score some sweet things.

 

Take a look!

 

 

This darling pink and black dress is actually a modern piece

by H & M styled to look more vintage. It is in lovely condition so I had to have it and at only a

few bucks... why not?

 

 

This blue dress is vintage. It's cotton, buttons up and even has a sweet little red and white belt.

The piping on this is in red and blue. Very patriotic and perfect for a 4th of July picnic!

 

 

 

This black cocktail dress is also vintage and was a mere 1.00 at an estate sale.

It was not in my size but at a 1.00 I picked it up and it quickly sold in my Ebay shop.

How sweet is that?

 

 

 

 

 

With Tiki Oasis coming up, I thought this dress was perfect!

This dress is not only vintage but it sets the tiki mood so perfectly!

I love the mandarin collar and sweet buttons on the front!

 

This is a great modern skirt with a great tiki-ish floral print. This is a perfect summer

skirt to wear with strapless shirts and sandals! I found this at Goodwill where the skirts were on sale

for 1.99.

 

 

I also found this pretty aqua skirt at the 1.99 sale! It looks like a wrap skirt

however it has a side zip and just ties on the side. The bottom has a bit of a leopard print which I love and the color is just so Summery!



 

 

 

Just a few of the many things I got.

Sometimes I wish I could thrift all day! All these items were purchased locally so I was very lucky.

 

 

 



 

 

Retro Glam: Capri Pants

 

Audrey in her Capris

 

 

 

The Capri pant is a staple..a must have in a retro glam gal's closet. The Capri can be summery, saucy, dressy and sexy. They can come in solid colors or prints. You can belt them or leave as is. Sometimes they sit high on the waist or zip on the side. Capri pants are normally above ankle length and sometimes are shorter which I think makes them perfect for showing off fabulous shoes. They are sometimes fitted or relaxed. They can also be a bit pricey should you purchase a vintage pair or a well made repro.

 

 

 

Fitted High Waist Vintage Capris

 

 

Relax Fit Vintage Capris

 

 

 

Leopard Print Repro Capris

 

 

 

I am a gal who loves a bargain as well as a challenge. While I could have easily purchased a pair of  vintage or repro capris online, the price of them as well as the shipping cost is what sent me out the door on a hunt for well made capris at a bargain price. Because I'm a believer that I can thrift just about anything, I went in search of Capris at a few thrift stores.

 

I tend to thrift every week and I usually keep a list of items I am on the hunt for. In my search for the Capris, I knew that I wanted printed ones. I wanted to keep it Retro so that meant that my prints needed to be in that same family. In my many thrifting adventures, I was able to find 3 pairs of Capris that I felt fit the bill AND at a fraction of the cost of the vintage and repro I had seen online.

 

 

Now I do realize that there are some gals out there who prefer vintage. I love that! If my budget allowed, I too would love to have a few vintage pairs of Capris. I still look for quality items when I thrift as I try to get the best bang for my buck so I tend to avoid certain fabrics and prints that look too faded. Another good reason to thrift is that they have clothing for ALL seasons. While you may be able to find a pair of Capris at a department store in Spring or Summer..... you may not be so lucky to find a pair in the cooler months. Because I live in California.... I can basically wear Capris all year.

 

 

Here are the three Capri pants I was able to find:

 

 

 

 

 

These beigey fern print capris have a very retro tiki look to them.

They are also 100% silk! They were WELL within my budget and they

had a more relaxed fit to them which I am a fan of.

 

 

 

These darling cotton black and white polka dot capris are in stellar condition and the look

is very retro. They can easily be worn for day or night. I found these for only

$4.00!

 

These lovely gold Asian print Capris have a more thinner cut. They also sit

higher on the waist. They are 100% silk and zip and fasten on the side.

These were less than $6.00.

 

I think I did pretty well. I did not however find these all in the same day but I did find them all in thrift stores which saved me a ton of money!



 



Skirts

 

 

Skirts are amazing. They can look so professional at the office and so chic out on the town. It's that alternative garment to pants, dresses or shorts. There are pencil skirts, maxi skirts, mini skirts and hoop skirts all of which are fine but I have set out to find the perfect summer skirt for my wardrobe.



I have pencil skirts. Two in black. But I wanted something with a print. I wanted something light in weight and something that would go summer tops. I wanted to dress it up and dress it down. I wanted it comfortable and easy and I did not want it short. I wanted something with a retro look and I was not limiting my self to just vintage.


In my search for the perfect summer skirt I checked out Goodwill. They had plenty of denim! I skipped that rack and went right for the multicolored rack of skirts. After browsing the entire rack, I ended up finding just one. Normally I would consider this a bad thing but I really liked the skirt! It was black and white gingham with fabric covered buttons down the front. It was long and it most def had a retro vibe even though it was from the 80's! At 4.99... it was mine! I knew it would look great with a red, black or white summer tops paired with my wedges!

 

Thrifted Vtg Black n White Gingham Skirt: $4.99

 

The next day the hubs and I went to a few estate sales. I was excited about one of them because my mother in law had went the day before and said they had a lot of jewelry. This excited me because I always hope to be one of those lucky gals that finds Bakelite for a bargain. Unfortunately this was NOT the case at this sale. There was ALOT of jewelry however none of it was vintage :(  Sometimes I still browse and end up finding something but the lady that was running it (she was no professional!) was making me VERY nervous. She must have had 5 people working with her and they had a LOT of stuff. She seemed to get freaked out by having a few customers in her area at the same time and she would yell out to the lady at the door NOT to let anyone else in. She kept doing this and was so flustered I just did not feel comfortable browsing and had to move on. I wanted to tell someone that she was making it hard for people to enjoy the sale. Oh... and there was also some sort of animal...a cat I think .. locked behind a door.. that would HISS and make creepy noises!

I did not buy anything!

 

We stumbled upon another sale that had some really cool furniture and other things. I saw that they had some clothes out in the back yard. I rummaged through it and found nothing too interesting at first but then saw a glimpse of something TROPICAL! I pulled at it and saw that it was ... A skirt!

This skirt was not vintage but the vibe was so perfect and I knew I could pair it with my summer tops

and vintage straw vacation totes!  I loved the colors and the buttery soft fabric. It felt TIKI to me!

I'm not sure how much it was (hubs paid for our loot) but I think it was only .75!

 

 

Estate Sale Find Retro Tropical Skirt: .75

 

That estate sale was much sweeter and we ended up running into my mother in law who then took us to a few more sales! I ended up finding a vintage hair dryer for 5.00 at another sale! It's the kind you sit under! Now I must find some rollers and set my hair! Beauty night ..here I come!

 

The Retro Glam Girl

How To Create The Vintage / Retro Look On a Budget Part 2

 

Estate Sale Vintage Navy Evening Purse: $4.00

 

 

Once again having good stock in vintage accessories helps when creating a vintage

look from non vintage items. As I have said before, these accessories can be pricey but they don't

need to be if you frequent yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores and have cool aunts and grandma's who give you said items for free.

 

I scored this 90's Vtg dress at a local 1.00 thrift store. I knew with a pretty slip and some vintage accessories I could make it look more retro. I did not do anything but add a brooch, a belt and a pearl necklace (which I already had). This dress is navy and it has pretty embroidered detailing by the neck. Here I did not add the slip but I did wear it with a nude color slip. It looked BLAH and shapeless on the hanger but sometimes you have to look beyond the blah to see potential. I often grab belts in the store and belt it right there and then magically it comes to life.

 

 

Thrifted 90's Vtg, Navy Sheer Dress: $1.00

Vintage Pearl Necklace: Free / Gift from Aunt

Vintage Gold Brooch: / Free / Gift from Aunt

Thrifted Black Belt: $2.00

 

 

 

When I thrift, I often check for sales. Sometimes shirts will be on sale. Other times it's a tag color on sale. I find out what the sale is and go there first. My favorite is when Coats and Jackets are on sale.

I found this sweet vintage inspired black velvetine evening jacket at a thrift store where jackets were 50% off that day. I went straight for the jacket rack and came up with this.

 

 

Thrifted Black Velvetine Evening Jacket: $7.00

 

This jacket was made recently though it had such a vintage look. It was fully lined in red and had the most beautiful rhinestone button in the center. I loved the collar and the trumpet sleeves! The regular price on this was $14.00 but because jackets were 50% off..I got it for $7.00!

 

The dress is the same one from the photo before and the gorgeous vintage necklace was also a gift from my aunt.

 

 

 

 

This next dress has a 1950's look to it though it was actually a 1970's dress. I loved the chiffon and glamorous look to it. It had a sweet V neck and tied at the waist on the side.

 

 

Thrifted Vtg Chiffon Dress: $6.00

 

I actually got this up by Solvang when I went on a mini wine tasting trip with my girlfriends.

We saw a thrift store and just HAD to stop in. I got this dress and some mid century teak salt and pepper shakers for a steal! Sadly this dress was not my size but I sold it to a very happy customer on Ebay.

 

 

It's amazing the things that you can find in the stuff other people toss out. My mother's friend has a daughter who is going to get married this year and she told me she has spent so much on the wedding that she can't seem to think about spending more on a dress (mother of the bride). I suggested that she go to a thrift shop then showed her some of the lovely things I have found. She was so excited about that idea that we have a date to go thrift shopping together.

 

 

Thrifted 80's Vtg Polka Dot Dress: $4.00

Vtg Pearl Necklace: Free / Gift from Aunt

Thrifted Vtg Belt: $1.00

Yard Sale Vtg Christmas Wreath Pin: $.50

 

This secretary dress was 1/2 off. However, it was wrinkled and wadded up. For four dollars, I took it home, washed it in the sink, let it drip dry in my shower and then gave it a little steam and it was PERFECT. It even doubled as a Christmas Party Dress with the aid of some sparkly accessories.

I see past the wrinkles and wads and I dig like I'm hunting for buried treasure!

 

 

 

This next find was one of the BEST. I found it at a little church thrift shop in the city of Orange

and paid.... $3.00 for it! A vintage skirt suit. two pieces, floral print! It's so chic and really timeless.

The best part of this find is that it was MADE for the orginal owner and the detailing was

magnificent!

 

 

There are ways around an expensive looking vintage wardrobe. All you gotta do is go on a little adventure and be open minded. I suggest trying everything on if you can.

 

So check your local paper for estate sales. Stop at that yard sale you see when going for breakfast on Saturday morning. Visit your local thrift store and inquire about sales.

 

Your next outfit could be right around the corner!

 

The Retro Glam Girl