Thrifted for $11.25

I got this brand new (tags still on it) H&M button down white shirt for $4. It’s not the most exciting shirt, but it’s a good basic to have.

I do not need more boxes…at all. But they are my weakness. My kryptonite. I got these two slide boxes that feel very 1970s to me.

The large one was $2. It has two levels to it.

The small slide box was $1.50.

I got four silver tins for $1. I thought I could use them for gift boxes if I couldn’t find a reason to use them for myself.

I got a Cuisinart frying pan for $2.

I bought Janet Jackson’s Design of a Decade cd for 25 cents. It had some songs I was missing—like “Nasty” and “What have you done for me lately?”

And I got the My Fair Lady soundtrack for 50 cents. I really like the music—it’s fun and has good lyrics.

Thrifted for $26.98

I got this awesome tennis top for $7.99. It has one pocket (for an extra tennis ball for serving). I love the simple geometric design on the front. I also got a pair of jeans for $4.

I got this Banana Republic navy blazer for $6.99. I used to have a blazer similar to this one—except it was black and a much cheaper version of it. I wore it until I had to throw it away since it was looking pretty ratty. So I was pleased to finally have a replacement for it.

And I got this leather skirt for $5. I would never buy a leather skirt new because they’re so expensive, but I couldn’t resist it at such a low price. And I like the stitching detail on it as well.

I love this mug. I like the simple design, the white glaze on the rough clay—so pretty. This was 50 cents.

And this cute Japanese animal mug was also 50 cents.

I got this white bowl for $1.

Finally, I got four cds for $1. Some blast from the past music.

Thrifted for $4.50

I love this red, black and blue striped skirt. It’s awesome—it has an elastic waistband and is very comfortable. And it has pockets.

These navy pants scream little old lady. I bought them thinking I might be able to alter them.

Men’s Star Wars shirt that I won’t wear out in the world. But fine as a pajama shirt.

And measuring cups I got an estate sale for $1. There’s no one cup size, which is unfortunate, but it has all the other sizes so I thought it was worth it.

Thrifted for $3.97

I bought a few things at a pay-by-pound thrift shop. The glassware came to $0.86 and the clothing came to $3.11. First up, these cute Asian teacups.

Next up, what looks to be cups for sugar and milk for serving tea. Truthfully, I’m not sure if I’ll use these—but I bought them anyway.

I liked this Jones New York sleeveless sweater. I thought the pattern and colors were interesting. The only downside is that it’s probably a little too big for me.

I also got this pink polyester shirt that to me feels like it’s from the 1970s. I noticed after buying it there were a couple tiny stains that I’ll have to see if I can get out.

Finally, I got this vintage grass green dress that is also is too big (there’s too much room in the bodice area). I’m not crazy about the color and I don’t know if I will wear or even keep this dress. But it was so interesting. Simple, but I really liked the design detail on the sleeves.

Gifted Clothes

My friend was cleaning out her closet and gifted me a few items. First is this Columbia Sportswear blue and white checkered sleeveless top. It’s cute and summery and screams, “ Let’s go on a picnic!”

Next, this Halogen blue and green patterned top is pretty nice. I think many people would wear it out over pants (on the left). But I prefer it tucked into a pencil skirt. The bottom section of the top is a bit too much for me.

This Caslon gray and white button-down shirt is nice. It has a geometric triangle pattern with little bits of seafoam green in it.

And finally, she gave me this magenta Nike sweatshirt.

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.

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.

Super Simple Shirt

A while back I got this very simple top pattern from 1991 at a thrift shop. It looks like a loose T-shirt (except not made with jersey). Looking at the drawings of the shirt, I knew it was going to be voluminous and ill-fitting (since much from that time period seemed to be over-sized). However, since it had kimono sleeves, I thought it would be an easy pattern to alter.

The shirt looked too long and too wide; I decided to trace the uncut pattern onto Swedish tracing paper so I could alter it. I traced the pattern as-is and made marks to indicate how much I wanted to shorten it. That was the only change I made before cutting out my fabric. I knew it was going to be too wide on me, but it was hard for me to visualize by how much so I left the shirt with its original width.

I sewed the front and back pieces together, sewed the neckline and then sewed the sides together—and the shirt was way too big. Not truly shocking. The length was okay, but the width was huge on me. So I sewed in each side by a couple of inches, and cut off about four inches off the length of the sleeves. I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite as precise as I could have been (as I sadly realized as I hemmed the sleeves that one sleeve’s circumference was about an inch less than the other’s). [Sigh.] However, the overall fit was better than it had been before.

This purple shirt is not perfect, although I don’t think it’s horribly noticeable. I like the color and I think it’ll be good for warmer weather. It’s an easy shirt and didn’t take long to make—two afternoons (since I’m not a fast sewer and was fixing things as I went along).

About a week later, I decided to sew this shirt again with a blue and white patterned fabric. I used my altered Swedish tracing paper pattern of the shirt, and this time it took a lot less time to sew. This may become a pattern I sew often because it’s just so easy and quick to do.

Two Silk Shirts

When I received a box of my mom’s old (mostly wool) clothing, I made the decision that (although I’d always avoided it) I was just going to have to hand wash dry clean items. It comes down to the fact that I like expensive fabrics and want them, and since I don’t want to dry clean everything, and I don’t want to ruin everything by washing them normally, that pretty much just leaves hand washing.

With this hand washing decision in mind, I decided not to immediately dismiss two (slightly large) silk shirts at a thrift shop, and instead bought them for a total of $9. The tank is a very light pink; it’s a blush tone that I really like and feels very light and summery. I also appreciate that this tank is well made; it has a lining (so it’s not paper-thin) and it has a little strap with a snap at the shoulder seam so you can hold your bra-strap within it (so genius).

The purple blouse I bought solely because of the color; I love deep rich jewel-colored purples. (Although you wouldn’t know it looking at my closet, which tends to be a mix of black, navy and white; there’s just a smattering of color). The blouse design itself is nothing special; it was a popular style back in the day. It just has a button in the back for the closure. I’m hoping I can alter this blouse, bringing in the sides and getting rid of those too-long sleeves.