Things I Didn’t Buy 53

I really liked this dress from the 1960s.

These pants and tops from the 1970s are interesting—I really like the white top.

I liked this dress from the 1970s, although it may be slightly too Little House on the Prairie for me.

I liked the dress quite a bit, and it looks fairly comfortable.

Finally, I liked this Asian-inspired dress from the 1980s.

Bed Sheet Culottes

I had to alter my culottes pattern, so I wanted a fabric that I could use as a muslin to test my alterations. Culottes require quite a bit of fabric, so I bought a bed sheet from a thrift store (and thus had an ample amount of fabric to work with).

I didn’t run into any issues sewing this pattern; it was pretty simple. It uses buttons for closures, rather than a zipper. And it has pockets—which is awesome. The culottes took me a bit of time to finish them (as I slowed slowly here and there during the weekends). And overall, I’m satisfied with the results. I’d like to try this pattern again with a heavier fabric, and perhaps one of the different versions of it.

Four Sewing Patterns for $1

First is a dress pattern from the 1960s. I think all of the versions of this dress are cute.

Next, this dress pattern from the 1960s is also nice.

I thought this blouse pattern from the 1960s was cute.

And finally, this dress pattern is from 1981. I like the simplicity of this dress and it doesn’t look difficult to make.

Things I Didn’t Buy 28

I saw a few lunchboxes that were a blast from the past. First, a New Kids on the Block lunchbox…the cartoon version of them.

A Popples lunchbox. I have vague memories of this cartoon (basically that the characters could make themselves into balls). But when I see the characters now, all I can think is: those characters are ugly.

A Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox.

At a thrift shop, I saw Star Wars framed art that a kid must have drawn. It was kind of endearing. This is the first one.

And here’s the second one.

Thrifted for $16

I got this black Banana Republic top for $8. I really like the detail around the neckline and the peplum. The back has a gold zipper that goes most of the way down. It’s a really cute top.

And I bought this totally 1980s sweater for $4. I liked the general shape of it and thought it was interesting. Truthfully, I was on the fence about it (as I’m not really crazy about the color pink nor the fuzziness of the yarn), but my friends thought I should get it, and $4 wasn’t much to spend. My guess is that this sweater is handmade just by looking at the inside of the garment and the fact that there’s no tag.

I also got this plaid H&M shirt for $2. It’s lightweight and comfortable.

Finally, got this striped Daniel Hechter top for $2. I often see striped shirts in stores and think they’re cute, but I never like them when I try them on because it just doesn’t feel like me. The stripes often make me feel dizzy and the pattern is just too bold for me. But I really liked this striped top that has thin stripes that lack a huge color contrast—so it’s a more subtle statement.

Zipperless Skirt

Every so often while thrift shopping, I’ll find a skirt that has no zipper. The first time I noticed it, I thought it was a mistake or that someone had taken out the zipper, but on closer examination I realized that it was supposed to be that way. This initially perplexed me because I’m so used to seeing zippers used as closures on my garments, and not having one seemed odd.

But of course garments were made without zippers before zippers were invented. [Pause.] Obviously. For centuries people constructed clothing with closures other than zippers. Buttons are an obvious choice (and great if you want a decorative detail), but eyes and hooks work as well (and they’re cheaper).

I’ve made a number of skirts before, but all of them had zippers. Not this one that I made from a pattern from 1980. I decided to try this pattern that just uses eyes and hooks for the closure; the pocket creates enough of an overlap with the skirt that you don’t flash anyone. The skirt is a circle skirt with a bit of gathering, and isn’t much different than skirts I’ve made in the past. The part that was new to me was sewing the pockets to the skirt (and then to the waistband) in the correct way. It wasn’t hard, but it did make me pause to make sure I was doing it right.

Overall I’m happy with this cotton skirt. It’s simple and comfortable (and I always love navy). And I think I’ll get some good use out of it in the warmer months to come.

Comfy Gray Dress

I felt like sewing something that wasn’t going to be too hard, so I chose this easy pattern from the 1980s. It’s a pullover dress with an elastic waistband, and because of its looser fit, it’s more forgiving of my sewing abilities.

There weren’t too many pieces to this dress, but it still took me some time to sew and alter. [Shakes head in disapproval.] I keep forgetting to measure the sewing pieces first so see how large things are before I cut and sew it together. [Sigh.] I thought I was pretty close to the sizing on the pattern envelope, but maybe I was wrong or maybe I just like things to be more fitted than they’re intended to be.

I was swimming in this dress. I couldn’t believe that the waistline was sitting on my hips. I had to shorten the waistline on the top by about 2.5 inches and bring the shoulders in about an inch on each side. So through belated trial and error, I fixed the fit and sewed the dress.

I also had to refresh my brain on a few things since it’d been a while since I’d last done it. Like I did a blind hem on the skirt, which is a much cleaner finish than I can do by hand, but it took some time and practice to do. Or putting in buttonholes, which isn’t hard (with my buttonhole foot), but I still had to recall how to do it.

This dress was fairly straightforward to make. The one thing I’d never done was creating two buttonholes for a single button. I thought this was a pretty interesting solution on the cuff; it makes it more fitted and allows the button to be seen, but I didn’t have to create a more complicated cuff that’s generally found on a traditional button-down shirt.

Although it wasn’t part of the pattern, I decided to sew a sash as well because I think it’s a nice option to have (if I don’t feel like wearing a belt). Overall I’m pretty satisfied with this dress. It probably took about a month to sew (since it was mostly just sewed for a few hours on weekends), and it didn’t cost much [maybe around $5 for the fabric (from an estate sale), thread, elastic and buttons]. It’s a very comfortable dress and it has pockets (which is always a plus in my book).

Three More Patterns

I refrained from getting too many patterns the last time I went thrift shopping. The selection wasn’t as wide as it often is, so I just picked up three patterns for $0.75.

The first pattern is from 1966 and has a skirt, pair of pants and jacket. I thought they were all cute classic pieces. And I love the drawings.

The second pattern is a dress from 1971. I like the simplicity of the silhouette; the high collar and long sleeves makes this pattern different than most of the dress patterns I have. While I like the option for a ribbon around the neck and waist area, I do not like it in the skirt portion that makes it look like you’re wearing an apron.

The third pattern I couldn’t find a date on, but it’s clearly from the 1980s. I like the pleated skirts and the skirt with godets. I have a few skirt patterns, but none like these so I thought it would be a nice pattern to have. To me, skirt patterns aren’t as exciting to look at (compared to dress patterns), but they’re more useful because I’m more likely to make a skirt than a dress. I find skirts are often more versatile, easier to fit and quicker to make than a dress.

Flashback to the 1980s (and 1990s) Estate Sale: Tops

I don’t think I bought any tops Saturday at the estate sale, so on Sunday I really stocked up. Somehow I’d overlooked certain areas of the store so when I stumbled upon the previously unseen garments, I grabbed a whole lot of stuff. I didn’t bother too much with the size because I figured I could probably alter them to be smaller if I needed to. Some blouses I’m not very excited about and others I loved once I tried them on.

White bow blouse. (Top photo) This is one of my favorite tops that I bought. It didn’t look particularly special on the hanger, but when I put it on I immediately loved it. It fit me and draped beautifully. I love the pleated detail and the feminine bow.

Sleeveless black silk top. I love the pleated detail at the neckline. It has covered buttons down the back. It’s just very simple and elegant.

Sheer top with beaded shoulders. I unexpectedly liked this top (unexpectedly because I’m not really into beading). I saw it on Saturday and put it to the side thinking, “When am I going to wear this?” But on Sunday it was still there and I was still drawn to it so I bought it. It fits well and I think it’s cute. Some of the beads have gotten loose, so it will need to be mended.

Off-white blouse. (Left) It’s not the most exciting blouse.

Off-white flower pattern blouse. (Right) I was on the fence on getting this blouse (I swear my grandmother had this exact same blouse…).

White high collar blouse. (Left) It wasn’t really exciting-looking on the hanger…or on me. It’s too big.

Cotton pleated shirt with buttons down the back. (Right) This fits very strangely. It’s loose in the body and tight in the sleeves. When I look at I just feel like I’m an extra in Anne of Green Gables.

Blue and white stripe button down shirt. (Left) I like that the sleeves have that optional button if you want to role it up.

Blue shirt with pleated trim. (Right) I thought the pleats along the front and neckline were kind of interesting; the shirt is way to big for me though.

Sheer gray blouse. (Left) It has buttons along the shoulder and some frilliness at the collar.

White top with pink and blue trim. (Right) I bought this on a whim; I knew it was super 80s, but I still thought it was interesting. (I think I was channeling my inner Molly Ringwald.) Not sure I’d ever wear it…

Red short blouse. (Left) I like the pleating down the front and the wider neckline. It fits well and I think it would work well with skirts.

Red silk tie blouse. (Right) This blouse is a bit large on me…

Pink silk top. (Left) I like this simple top and it fits well.

Cobalt blue blouse. (Right) I like the blue color but the fit isn’t very great.

I love getting a good deal and I think I spent a grand total of $7.50 for these 15 tops.

Flashback to the 1980s (and 1990s) Estate Sale: Skirts and Dresses

While I photographed many of the estate sale items on me, I didn’t for some of them because it was either to large or small for me; or because of the hanger it’d been on. Some of the hangers (for dresses and blouses) had those sponge strips on them (so they’re less likely to slip off the hanger). Well, after however many years these items had been sitting around, the sponge had rather disintegrated; it became a dust that went everywhere. It made everything feel grimy and disgusting, so I couldn’t bear to try them on until they’re washed.

I got a lot of skirts; they’re older so they tend to be longer—about mid-shin.

Purple wool polyester skirt. (Top photo) I love the deep purple of this skirt and I like the pleating. (I wished it was lined, but for 50 cents, who cares?)

Black polyester wool skirt with slit in the front. I didn’t think I would like this skirt as much as I do, but I think the fit is pretty good.

Gray wool skirt. It’s a fairly loose fitting skirt; the best part about it is the pockets.

Navy blue skirt. It’s a simple skirt and a nice color.

Gray pleated skirt. I really like the pleats in the front and I like the lightweight material it’s made of. It has pockets too (which is always a plus). It’s one of my favorite new skirts.

Olive green wool culottes. I’m not really a culottes person (or an olive green person), and this pair is large on me, but worst-case-scenario I got some quality material to use.

Red button-down wool skirt. This isn’t the cutest skirt (I’m not a fan of the waist with the belt loops). I like the color; maybe it can be altered into a short skirt.

And then here’s five skirts that didn’t fit me. Red skirt: wool nylon. Gray skirt: wool polyester. Dark gray skirt: wool polyester. Light blue skirt: wool. Black and white skirt: wool viscose.

And while not photographed, I also got two slips that still had the tags on them; truthfully I’m not sure what all I can wear them with since they’re fairly long slips (below the knee).

Next, I got some dresses.

Blue plaid polyester shirt and skirt. I was on the fence on getting this outfit… It’s not my favorite piece (but for whatever reason I thought it was kind of interesting); I have yet to try it on so I have no idea what the fit will be like.

Blue silk dress. This dress has sun damage along the shoulders. Really I bought this dress thinking I’d either make it into a skirt or tear it up for the fabric.

Red silk shirt-dress. This is a very simple dress. It does have a small hole in it (maybe the hanger poked it?), so that will need to be fixed.

Blush silk dress. The shape of the dress is fairly simple; it has a tie to bring it in at the waist. I like the covered buttons that go down the back of the dress. I am not a fan of the sleeves or the beaded shoulders. While I can appreciate the workmanship it may take to create the beaded detail, I can’t see myself wearing this as-is…ever. It’s so 80s—like what you might see on Dynasty. I thought I could just use the fabric for something.

I think I got all my skirts and dresses for around $10. Pretty great deal.

Flashback to the 1980s (and 1990s) Estate Sale: Jackets

So I bought more clothes than I’ll ever need at this estate sale. I just couldn’t stop myself. I sort of restrained myself on Saturday when clothing was $1 a piece, but when it became 50 cents the next day, I kind of went overboard. I thought, “When else am I ever going to get clothes this cheap?” If I can wear it as-is great, but I could also tear it up and use the material. At worst, I’ll donate the items I don’t want to a local thrift shop.

It took quite a bit of effort to try anything on. I dragged my pile of clothing to an available mirror in the store and tried them on. It doesn’t sound like much work, but the room was pretty warm and some of the clothes were a bit grimy. I basically felt gross so I wanted to try on as few items as possible. I really only tried on jackets since they were easy slip in and out of; I didn’t bother trying on the skirts and blouses because I think they would be easier to alter or tear up for material.

Here are the nine coats and jackets and I got for under $10.

Short black wool jacket. (Top photo) This is my favorite jacket. The fit is pretty good (perhaps a smidge large, but still fairly good). I love the simple collar and the short length that I think would work well with skirts.

Reversible tan and black coat with a tie; mid-shin length. (Left) It’s a lightweight coat that would be good for spring and fall. I like the simplicity of it; it’s unfortunately a bit large on me.

Tan mid-shin length coat. (Right) Although I like the collar and sleeves, I wish it came in at the waist (I could probably add a waist tie). And it’s annoying that the sleeves are a bit short of me.

Blue mid-shin length coat. (Left) The stitching detail at the collar and wrists feels rather dated, but I do like the overall shape of the jacket.

Blue jacket (part of a suit with a skirt); made of polyester, acrylic and wool. (Right) I initially thought the pocket detail was rather interesting. The jacket feels a bit big and the skirt is a bit small.

Tan jacket; made of wool and polyester. (Left) I don’t really wear a lot of browns, but I do like the coloring of this jacket; it’s a good neutral.

Camel jacket; 100% camel hair. (Right) I generally avoid this color, and the jacket is unfortunately large on me, but I love the way the material feels—it’s so soft.

Gray button down jacket; 100% wool. (Left) This is also a suit that has a matching skirt that’s too small. The jacket isn’t as fitted as I would like, but I like the style of it; it feels very 1940’s to me.

Gray jacket; made of wool, acrylic, rayon and nylon. (Right) Good neutral color. I like the cut of this jacket.