Thrifted for $6.69

I got these two tops at a thrift shop—they were on sale and together they were $3.50. I loved the color of this purple Ann Taylor Loft blouse. I liked the details on this top and the bit of texture of the fabric. I think it will be a nice light blouse for warmer weather.

I also got this navy Ann Taylor top. It's a simple jersey top. The most interesting part is the back that has a gold zipper that goes a third the way down the back.

At another thrift store I got a mason jar, three small bowls and two tops for $3.19. I thought this mason jar was cute.

Three more Pyrex small glass bowls. They match some bowls I bought previously.

This black and white top was interesting to me—it's kind of retro. I'm not sure when it's from, judging by the sizing, maybe a couple decades back.

Finally, I got this navy Banana Republic anchor sleeveless top. I liked the pattern and the detail around the collar.

Things I Didn’t Buy 46

I love this 1950s dress. It would take a lot of fabric to make this dress—the skirt has a lot of pleats in it.

This 1950s dress is pretty cute.

I liked the full skirt on this 1950s skirt pattern.

These 1960s tops are nice and simple.

And I liked these 1960s tops as well.

Finally, this 1960s top, skirt and jacket are quite nice.

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.

1956 Sears Catalog: Set 2

Some more cute dresses.

I really like the one on the left with the cute piping and little buttons.

And the second one from the left—I love that little bolo jacket.

I think there are some cute outfits here, but that one second in from the left is just too much. Bows everywhere.

And some simple separates.

Tops and a Cape

I went on a thrift store shopping spree and bought quite a few clothing items for $32. My initial plan was to get some summer tops because I feel like I’m lacking in lightweight clothing options—I’m just drawn towards fall and winter clothing. I love anything warm and wool and my closet is definitely weighted towards those colder months.

I did have a bit of success. I got this navy sleeveless cotton shirt from The Limited (that still had the tags on it) for $4. It’s a short shirt so I think it’ll be best worn tucked into a skirt.

I also got this Banana Republic silk navy blouse for $8. I love the little buttons and the detail down the front.

I generally don’t wear clothing that’s brown and tan, but I got this shirt for $3.50. It’s an acceptable beige color that looks okay with my skin tone. Basically I thought it was a good neutral and I liked the fact that the fabric had some weight to it. It’s not a see-through shirt that I constantly seem to be surrounded by.

Next I got this red wool shirt for $3.50. I love the color red.

And I like the buttons down the back.

And finally, the item I was probably most excited about, a long (mid-shin length) gray wool cape. I’ve been wanting a cape for a while and considered making one (one day), but I happened to see this cape and decided to buy it. It was $13. It needs a little mending; one of the snaps is gone and the previous owner tried fixing a seam that still looks rather loose to me. I know it’s nearly summer, and while I do enjoy the sunshine, I’m looking forward to winter when I can wear all my cozy clothing.

Simple Purple Blouse

A while back I got this vintage blouse pattern that looked simple to make. Since this blouse has seams down the front and back (and therefore didn’t require a wide piece of fabric), I thought a narrow piece of purple fabric that I bought at a thrift store would work perfectly.

After measuring the pattern, I thought it would fit me as-is and thus left it unaltered. I sewed it sporadically over a couple of weekends and didn’t run into any problems.

My favorite part of this blouse is the color. However, the fit of the blouse isn’t quite what I would like. I find it a bit loose in the bodice (I didn’t put the darts in because I thought it would be too tight…maybe that was a mistake). But the biggest issue I have is that the sleeves feel tight. Looking at the pattern drawing, the sleeves do seem to be more form fitting, but I don’t like it. It feels a bit constraining. So if I use this pattern again, I’ll have to make some changes.

Thrifted for $11.97

I went to a couple of thrift stores and got a few things. First up, I got two sewing patterns for 50 cents each. The first is a dress/jumper and blouse pattern that doesn’t have a date on it. My guess is it’s late 1940s, early 1950s (as the original price is less than the other pattern I got). It looks like a fairly simple dress to make.

The second is a blouse pattern from 1957 that’s “easy to sew.” Overall, I have fewer blouse patterns than dresses and skirts, so I thought this one might be nice to have. I like all the blouse versions and could see this being a very useful pattern.

Next, I got some silky purple fabric for $2.99. It’s been cut to an odd size, 22.5 inches wide by 4 yards long. I liked the floral pattern that’s fairly subtle, and thought the rich color could be flattering on me.

I also got a black short-sleeved Ann Taylor turtleneck sweater for $5.99. Truthfully, I don’t look at this sweater and think it’s particularly special. I bought it because I thought it could be useful. I don’t have tons of sweaters and it’s a neutral color that I think will go well with many of my skirts.

And finally, I bought a patterned navy and white belt for 99 cents. It looks like it’s one of those belts that come free with a new pair of pants or shorts. I don’t really wear these kinds of belts (the kind with the metal loops for the belt to go through), but I thought I might be able to use it because I think the pattern is pretty cute.

Altered: Sleeveless Bias Tape Top

I picked a blouse to do my first alteration from the mountain of clothing I got at the last estate sale I went to. I chose this white blouse that I had no desire to wear as-is; it was too large on me and had a slouchy high neck that I didn’t like. Since I wasn’t attached to this blouse (in any way) and had bought it for 50 cents, I didn’t feel bad cutting it up (because usually a part of me will worry that I’ll “ruin” a garment in some way if I try to alter it).

When I looked at this blouse I saw some potential. I liked the lapped front that covered the buttons. I also thought that the polyester material it was made from wasn’t bad. I thought about different altering possibilities and decided to use black satin bias tape (that I’d made a lot of some time ago) to finish my edges.

So first I cut off the sleeves and took out the shoulder pads. Then I cut around the neckline, along the base of the high neck neckline. I cut the sides open and sewed them in and then I finished all my edges with my bias tape. It wasn’t hard (although it did take me longer than I anticipated). But I think the result is pretty good. It’s a very simple black and white top that will work well with a lot of my skirts. 

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.

Altered: Red Blouse

A while ago, I dropped by an estate sale and the clothing was the only thing that caught my eye. Most of the clothing was $3 a piece, and I took out a bunch of blouses (probably from the 1980s and 1990s) to try on. After going through my pile of potential blouses, I only liked one enough to buy: a red button up Elle blouse. It’s polyester, but it’s nice polyester; it’s silky not scratchy fabric and drapes fairly well.

Although I love the color red, I don’t really own red articles of clothing. Pretty much anything is made in black, but red (or any other color) happens less frequently so there are fewer opportunities to buy a red garment. Also, a large reason I don’t often buy red is that I only think certain shades of red look good on me, so I avoid anything that leans towards orange.

The blouse was large on me, so I bought it with the intention of altering it. Even though I’d never made a blouse sleeveless before, I figured there’d be a simple way to do it. And after looking online I found some instructions that seemed doable (although altering it took me longer than I anticipated).

I think I did an okay job (and at least it’s wearable unlike it way it was before). If I look closely at the armholes I see problems (like I didn’t quite cut them at the exact deepness on each side or the stitching is a little messy). But from a distance it looks fine. It was my first time doing it so I can’t really expect perfection. Hopefully I’ll just do a better job next time.

Hot Sewing

I have heard of (although never done) hot yoga—where people do yoga in steamy temperatures. I did my own version of doing things in the heat: Hot Sewing. I don’t go to a special studio with the thermometer cranked up, no, I let Mother Nature take the reigns and just sew at home in a non-air conditioned environment. It was a balmy 85 degrees indoors, and it only got hotter when I turned on the light and had the iron on. [Pause.] It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but I wanted to finish my top.

I haven’t really sewn many tops since I tend to have the best results sewing skirts. Looking over my fabrics, I also have an excess of heavier fabrics that aren’t ideal for many top patterns. I decided on using this gray material (left over from my gray dress) and sew this bow tie top.

When I initially bought this pattern, I was put off by the size (since it seemed small). But after I measured the pattern pieces to see the width, I figured it might actually fit me because of the looseness of the top (and that I prefer less ease than is generally used in a pattern).

So I sewed this top despite the heat. I didn’t have any actual problems sewing it—it was a fairly simple pattern. And I’m pretty happy with the result.