Thrifted for $5.22

For $3.41. I bought this blue Adidas jacket.

I got this cool vintage travel book. And a garment bag that wasn’t interesting enough to photograph.

For $1.31, I got this cute white and navy sailor dress. It’s super simple but I like the detail around the neck. The one downside is that it’s a bit long in the bodice—as though it was made for someone much taller than me. So I think I’ll have to alter it in order to wear it.

I also got this blue with black trim Express top. It’s very simple. I liked the color and the rolled-up sleeves.

And I got two cds, Sheryl Crow and No. 1 Hit Mix for 50 cents. The No. 1 Hit Mix cd has an interesting array of songs—about half I like—like Jon Secada’s “Just Another Day Without You” and P.M. Dawn’s “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss.” There are some great 1990s songs on the cd—and I’m not going to lie, I enjoy Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” and Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” They’re utterly silly, and while I would never have paid full price for them back in the day when they were new, I will enjoy them now (along with the other songs here) for a quarter.

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.

Thrifted for $6.63

I got this red wool jacket for $3.50. It looks like it’s the inner jacket that can zip into an outer jacket. It fit well and I like the collar and snaps down the front. I didn’t need another wool jacket—but it’s different than my other jackets in that it’s more casual...and I liked it because it’s red.

The next two items I got for $3.13; I probably shouldn’t have bought either of them. First is a gray and maroon wool sweater—it’s clearly a man’s sweater as it’s large on me. It also appears to be handmade (since I can see the yarn ends on the inside); it’s a well-made garment. I like the design and color choice of the sweater.

And I got a petticoat that I thought I could wear under skirts and dresses to make it more voluminous…and it does, but perhaps too much for me.

Bought for $6.83

I got a few things at a pay-by-the-pound thrift store. First is the adorable Pendleton wool red short jacket. So cute.

Next is this navy wool jacket.

I got this black sweater that’s perhaps a bit large for me.

And this white woven belt that I thought would be good for summer.

I liked this light-weight floral skirt. It’s also a bit large for me, put I thought the pattern was interesting.

And I got a pair of Not Your Daughter Jeans gray pants that are super comfortable. I was needing some pants for cooler weather, so I was really glad to get this.

Ann Taylor Jacket

My friend gave me this Ann Taylor short trench jacket. She had bought it at an estate sale a year ago and hadn’t really worn it (and didn’t think she would wear it in the future), so I was glad to take it off her hands. I haven’t had a tan jacket in a while (not since I accidentally got Indian food on the last one…which was incredibly sad).

At first I wasn’t too sure about this jacket, mostly because of the tie. Sometimes ties seem kind of clunky to me. If I tie it in a bow, then it may look too girly or take up too much space. I thought about tying it so there was one looped that showed, but it was taking too much effort for me. And just knotting it left two long tie ends that looked really awkward. So I decided to wrap the tie around me twice so I could give it a small knot. I liked this best so I didn’t have the floppy tie ends getting in my way.

In general, I have more difficulty with tans and browns because depending on the hue, it can look terrible with my skin tone. But I like this tan color; it’s a good neutral. And I like that this jacket has pockets. It should be a great jacket to wear as the weather becomes warmer.

Things I Didn’t Buy 6

I saw this jacket at a thrift store and really liked the cut of it, but I wasn’t crazy about the natty fabric (that was also going bald in some places). So I couldn’t justify buying it, but I wouldn’t mind trying to make something like it…someday.

I love book covers, but I didn’t need any of these books.

I don’t need a sewing machine, but I love the look of this Royal sewing machine. I like the almost badge-like type on the machine.

Seven Sewing Patterns

I got some more sewing patterns; some of the patterns I didn’t see dates on, so I just ordered them in increasing costs.

The first is a dress and jacket pattern from 1966. I like the simplicity of the garments. I like the drawings of the dressed-up women.

The second is a wrap dress from 1974. It’s a half-size pattern for petite women. I think this looks like a fun and easy dress to make.

Next up is a skirt pattern that looks like it’s from the 1970s. The main reason I got it is because of the pockets. I’ve only done non-visible pockets and thought this might be a good pattern to try different pockets.

This Pucci dress pattern (that looks to be from the 1970s) is super simple. I like the ease of the dress.

I avoid knits, but I liked this shawl collar blouse and dress pattern from 1980.

Okay, when I saw this Oscar de la Renta top and skirt pattern, it clearly screamed 1980s. That top immediately reminded me of a Members Only jacket. But I think if it was a bit slimmer in the fitting, it could be pretty cute. Although I think the bow version is a bit odd.

Finally, my mom gave me this skirt and cape pattern from 1995. I’ve never had a cape before, but I think it could be fun to have one.

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.

Box of Mom’s Old Clothes

My mom was doing some cleaning and offered me a box of her old clothes (she thought I could use the material to sew with) and I readily accepted. There was a range of clothing sizes (some that fit but most that didn’t). They were her work clothes (from years ago)—much of it wool jackets and skirts.

There were a couple of items that I liked as-is and would wear: a long white pleated skirt (that’s very light and perfect for summer) and a wool red A-line skirt (although it’s a bit big). I actually liked a couple of other skirts as well, but as I looked closer at the garments, they had moth holes. [Pause.] Super disappointing.

I’m pretty excited about having this box of clothes that I can (hopefully) reuse. Because every so often when I’m at a thrift store I consider buying something and altering it but I never do, because I can’t justify spending much on a garment that I’ll be experimenting on. However, the garments my mom gave me are free (and also some are damaged with stains and moth holes), so they’re the ideal items to experiment with. I have about 12 items that all need to be cleaned and most that I’ll have to tear apart in order to use the undamaged material sections.

I have no idea what I could make (and hopefully I’ll actually get around to doing something with the fabric), but I think it would be cool to make something with my mom’s old clothes. It’s funny, as a teenager I wouldn’t be caught dead in something my mom would wear, and here I am, years later, trying to find a way to wear my mom’s old clothes.

Waiting for Autumn

I dropped by a thrift shop the other day on impulse; I had been there fairly recently but felt like checking it out again—and I’m glad I did. I didn’t really expect to find anything and wasn’t looking for anything in particular (which often tends to be the easiest way to shop.)

Black and Tan Jacket

Once I sewed my Mint Summer Skirt, I got back into sewing mode and wanted to sew more garments. I decided on sewing another simple garment: a jacket.

Pretty in Pink

I’ve had a sort of love/hate relationship with the color pink over the years. As a child I loved pink. Bubblegum pink, pastel pink and hot pink all drew my eye; I wanted to be dressed in pink, I wanted my toys to be pink and if given a color choice I preferred pink. Then I hit my tween years and suddenly pink was stupid—it was too girly and too childish. For years I avoided pink altogether; it didn’t matter what type of pink it was, if it was pink then I wanted no part of it.

I’ve finally hit a middle ground with pink and I like some pinks. I doubt pink will ever again be my favorite color, but there are times when I like certain pinks for certain things. I prefer roses, blushes and dusky pinks and I’m apt to be drawn to clothing in those more subdued pink tones.

I picked up some dusky pink sateen and decided to make a jacket with it. It was my first time sewing a jacket and putting in sleeves, and overall it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it’d be.