I've been in a major style rut lately. All I ever seem to want to wear is jeans and t-shirts or oversized sweaters - not that that's a bad thing! - but I remember those days at Oberlin when I'd wear heels and a crazy outfit to work at the student union, and I sigh. Where has my panache gone? My desire to wear kickass high-heeled boots while setting up tables, high-waisted skirts and tailored jackets to coffee dates?
And then I realized that I hadn't gone thrifting in something like five months. Egads - no wonder! For some reason, looking at old clothes inspires me to go home and try things on, to make color combinations I wouldn't ordinarily think of, and to gather up my courage to wear looks that border on costumey.
So yesterday I went on a Magical Mystery Roadtrip to Issaquah to one of my favorite vintage and consignment shops. I poked around in the racks for a bit and took five things with me to the dressing room. Then the unthinkable happened: I liked all of them. Every single one either fit perfectly, or had some great design detail, or was a great color. I bought all of them - four dresses and one cashmere sweater - for less than I've paid for a pair of pants.
And I was inspired to dress up this morning. In clothes that I already had in my closet.
I think at least part of my lack of recent vintage shopping/thrifting is because my absolute favorite haunts are back in Ohio. In Seattle, some of the areas with the highest volume of thrift shops are also the most picked over, so I have a really hard time finding anything I like. Issaquah, about 20 miles out in the suburbs of Seattle, is actually fast becoming my favorite place to look for old stuff - there's a high end vintage boutique called Stella, the vintage/consignment shop I went to yesterday with mid-range prices called Doubletake, and an antiques mall full of books, beautiful old furniture, and various housewares.
It's funny how sifting through a huge variety of things can make you think differently about what you already own. The funniest part of my outfit today is that only item I bought new was the shoes. The rest have been in my closet for six months to five years. I guess everything old really can be new again.
Shawl-collar alpaca blouse: Catherine Malandrino, vintage
Mustard suede skirt: Brass Plum, thrifted
White slip: Thrifted
Shoes: Fluevog Belle Stars
Tights: Hue
1 comment:
come back and thrift with meeeeeeee........I went to an auction last saturday that had some kick ass 1940's evening gowns. Still skimpy on volume of material due to war shortages-but just edging back to more stylish lines. True classics that were in pristine shape....noticed a vintage ragger nabbed each and every one. You would have looked awesome in them. Don't cry-but they went for 45 dollars each. yeah-someone got a great deal.....sparkle
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