Styling the Lumber Barons Ball 2012

Photo from http://vintagesonia.tumblr.com/

Meet your stylist! It's....me! Tada!

I'm so thrilled to announce that the staff of Watermark 920 in Muskegon, Michigan has asked me to be their stylist for staff attending this year's Lumber Barons Ball on October 6th, 2012--hosted by the Lakeshore Museum Center!

This event is going to be held at Watermark and will feature period dress from World War II, a swing band, cocktails and a silent auction. The entire event is designed to be as authentic as possible and I couldn't be MORE over the moon about assisting the staff in transforming themselves into stylish, 1940's folk!

My first step in brainstorming was to create a pinboard on Pinterest.com for dress, hairstyles and makeup of the decade, which I already take much inspiration from (and that's probably fairly obvious from the vintage content in my blog!).

Come on over to my World War II/1940's Fashion board on Pinterest and don't forget to follow me! 

I'd love to hear about which of the looks are your favorites. You can expect to hear some follow-ups on how the process is coming, and of course, coverage of the event itself!

Thrift Review: Toys Are Used of Grand Haven, Michigan

5 out of 5 Thrift Chicks!

Toys Are Used: Grand Haven, MI

 1320 Kooiman Avenue
      Grand Haven, MI 49417
616.842.5200 

http://toysareusedgrandhaven.com

I had almost forgotten about this hidden little gem (after not visiting for almost five years) until this afternoon, as I pondered over how I would spend my lunch break. 

As I cruised down the nearest cross street, the sign struck me and I remembered that I wanted to look for extra Legos for my son to build with. He's recently become entirely obsessed with Lego kits of all kinds, and if you weren't already aware, the price of one small box of Legos these days is darn near the cost of a small grocery trip--and I'm too cheap for that!

I turned onto Kooiman Avenue and approached the darling little building that was the original "draw" for me years ago. The shape is so vintage and fab--very similiar to an Airstream. A semi-circle of aluminum sheeting with yellow trim and a pram parked outside most days, the building itself is so fun! 

And then...you open the door. ;) How could I not pull out my iPhone, and decide to share it with you all today? I started to snap away as I ventured inside...

The toys are so incredibly plentiful and closely stacked that literally every inch...wait, MILLIMETER...is covered with pile after pile of board games, dolls, science kits, dinosaurs, horse collections, and anything else you could imagine.

One could almost become claustrophobic...if one wasn't a small child ready to pee themselves with delight. ;)

As I slowly walked around, taking it all in, I heard a small voice say, "Hello!". Peeking in at the teeny register area towards the front of the building, I didn't see anyone, so I just kept exploring, right around the corner to more walls packed to the gills with secondhand childhood treasures, until I almost died of a heart attack. Can you see why from the picture below?

At this point, I assumed Toys are Used was selling some freakishly humanoid life size Barbie doll! 

But only for moment.  

Meet Pamela, the energetic and LONG TIME owner of Toys Are Used (23 years now!). She just happened to be curled up in a pile of stuffed animals when I came to visit, happily eating her lunch. 

I thought this was quite hilarious (after I recovered from the shriek I let out) and fitting that someone who loves toys so much would choose to recline amongst all of her treasures.

And plenty of treasures there are!

Toys are Used is both a consignment and resale shop, and yes--the prices are a little higher than the average, bottom of the line thrift store (and I do love my cheap prices). However, you can find great deals at Toys Are Used and HERE is why the value is great: the toys are cared about here. Not only are they truly appreciated and celebrated (clearly communicated through their loving display and careful stocking) but they are also well accounted for, clean, and taken care of. Pamela claims to know every piece from all of her board games--and I believe her. 

She welcomes parents arriving with their children to play, test and peruse for hours, and willingly offers suggestions of toys that children might like, having "just the thing" in a box or on top of a high shelf. To me, that kind of enthusiasm and energy is worth a bit of a premium.

I'd say for any parent, teacher or toy collector, Toys are Used is a must see. In fact, before I had my son and I was teaching preschool, I'd often stop here because I knew I'd be able to find just what I was looking for, and in decent shape. So come and check it out, from Monday through Saturday in Grand Haven!

Just watch out for the well camouflaged Miss Pamela. ;)

Wowie Zowie Thrift Haul!

WOWIE ZOWIE THRIFT HAUL!

Boy oh boy, did I hit a home run on Saturday while I was out thrifting. Read on to discover what I bought for a total of $15 (some of the items had additional discounts at the register)!

Kate Spade Handbag with vintage handmade dress from the 70's...$3.50. 

That's right, you read that correctly. $3.50.

All of these great dresses as well! Each dress pictured here was $2 and the sweaters were .75 each.

A vintage map of Michigan and a vintage embossed leather book cover with built in leather bookmark from Chile: $3.50

Vintage gold cuff: $2

Vintage "Buttoneer"--buttoning for lazy people, packaged in vintage deliciousness! Love it. $1.49.

Vintage Clip ons: $1

Pretty amazing, right?

How I Wore the Duct Taped Belt Recover DIY...

HOW I WORE THE DIY DUCT TAPE BELT RECOVER

(Instagram iPhone series)

Happy Saturday everyone!

Just a quick recap on how I wore my duct tape belt recover for you, here (yesterday's blog)! The black and white gingham shirt dress was a cute little find for $1.49 at Hope's Outlet. The black cardigan was a freebie from my mom and the owl, watch and bracelet were all thrifted some time ago for about $2.50, collectively. The ring was a cheapie statement from a bulk order I placed on Ebay but I've found myself wearing it very often. Somehow this purple/orange/bronze flower goes with so much! The Guess patent leather open toed flats with amber embellishments were a $2 score brand new at Goodwill and I've been loving them for two years straight. Finally my sunglasses (vintage of course) were a .49 yard sale find. 

And the belt, of course, was a 99 cent thrifted item that I covered myself with animal print duct tape. I'm wearing it again today with an emerald green outfit and I just love it!

(At Goodwill trying not to be noticed by fellow shoppers, haha! iPhone fashion shoot!)

DIY Thrifted Belt Recover with Duct Tape!

DIY Thrifted Belt Recover With Duct Tape!

A few weeks ago, I was shopping at Dollar Tree dollar store in Muskegon and I spotted animal print duct tape for $1! I grabbed a roll of the cheetah, knowing that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I’d find something to do with it. They also had leopard, tiger and zebra print! I’m sure they are still stocking the tapes, which aren’t the largest roll, but most certainly enough for at least one fun DIY, and you can’t beat that price!

Here’s what I came up with (it took five minutes!!!):

Belt Recover!

I had this old black leather belt lying around (thrifted for .99) and for some reason, it always felt a touch masculine when I would put outfits together with it; it is a woman’s belt, 

but still…

I decided to recover with the duct tape and it was the easiest thing ever!

________________________________________________________

What you’ll need:

--Scissors

--A belt to upcycle (try your local thrift store for a cheap item to experiment on!)

--A roll of your choice of printed duct tape (They come in so many awesome options these days. Even black and white damask—what??? Checkout these Amazon.com results!)

First, I lined the belt up with the tape, like so:

As I unrolled the duct tape, I secured it to the sides of the belt and folded over the excess. I did the same to the other side, but trimmed the excess this time at the top carefully. I did not wrap the edges because 1) I didn’t want a seam showing and 2) I didn’t want the tape to begin to “gum” up and either roll up and begin to peel or rub any sort of residue on my clothing.  I carefully pressed the seams down and smoothed it many times with my hands to ensure that it was sticking everywhere and not peeling back at all.

I saved the buckle for last, wrapping the belt loop separately and pushing the tines of the belt buckle through an extra strip of duct tape before securing it around the top, to cover all of the surface.

Last but not least, I felt where the old belt holes had been, and popped the tines through in the appropriate space so that the belt could be buckled. They went through the tape easily and are also hidden well by the animal print!

And…BOOM! Cheetah print belt!  I have already worn this belt with an outfit—I’ll show you in my next blog post!—and I LOVED it. Not only did it stay put, but you could not tell it was recovered with duct tape. I actually showed a few people at work who were completely surprised that I had easily recovered with duct tape so seamlessly.

Try it for yourself!

The Precious: vintage suitcase and luggage collection

THE PRECIOUS!

Of course, I’m referring to my collection of vintage Samsonite luggage and other retro suitcases and carry-ons. And believe it or not, this isn’t all of them!

I can’t help but buy them when I see them for only a few dollars. I’m sure that it already looks a little like hoarding disease up there in the picture, but I try to put all of them to good use! The suitcases I usually fill with crafting supplies and fabric and store in my craft room until duty calls—when I actually DO travel with them as my functional suitcases. The smaller bags are rotated into my outfits and the larger carry ons are used as camera bags, teaching bags, and even shopping bags!

That covers the functionality part. But really, what I love about the vintage Samsonite is all about the dimensions, the bold retro colors, the sturdy zippers, and even the old “smell”. Yep, I’m a weirdo.

I’ve been carrying around these old bags and suitcases ever since I was a teenager, and no matter what I stashed inside them, they always made my items feel “special”. Isn’t that what attracts us to bags and purses of all kinds? If I could only choose one, it would be the absolutely precious mini-suitcase on the left—with the blue/green tapestry fabric. SO in love. And have been for years!

When vintage luggage makes you feel this great, how can you stop collecting pieces? I must admit, though, looking at most of my entire collection DOES have me thinking…

I need something yellow.

Fancy Shmancy Thrifted Collar!

Fancy Shmancy Thrifted Collar!

I’m on a collar kick today as this is part two of a double blog post from yours truly regarding the fabulous glam of the fancy collar—both on and OFF the shirt! (See my tutorial from earlier, “Upcycled Statement Collar Tutorial”.)

I was inspired by something I’ve had up on my fashion corkboard in my room for several months now. It was a feature on fancy collars from InStyle magazine:

I wanted to find myself a lacy, fancy long sleeve collared shirt to layer in several different ways and, as it turns out, a few weeks ago I found exactly what I was looking for at Lakeshore Rescue Mission Thrift in Grand Haven, Mi!

As you can see from the tag below, the shirt was $2.99, but it just so happened that there was a “Buy one get one” sale happening that day, so in reality, I scored the shirt for around $1.50.

                          

                          The Way I Wore It...

I love the white and lace texture—I feel that it is going to pair with 

SO many things! (Click the pictures to enlarge--note that, in the last picture, I'm layering gold jewelry underneath my collar and I centered the collar with a gold brooch as well!)

What do you think?

Upcycled Statement Collar Tutorial

Statement Collar Tut!

I really have been loving all of the statement collar necklaces and fancy collars that have been showing up in my fashion magazines since mid summer. However, if you were living in Michigan in July, even LOOKING at a thick statement collar over a t-shirt or worse YET, a long sleeved collared shirt under a cardigan or with a statement necklace over it…well, it may have actually thrown you into heat stroke. Luckily, the look is still very chic well into fall and still pretty trendy at the moment—but who really cares about trends, right? J

Anyhow, I couldn’t wait for fall weather to come around so that I could start to wear these styles, and I knew I wanted to both DIY my own statement collar, as well as thrift a fancy collared shirt to pair with fall items! (See my second blog from today’s dual posting, “Fancy Shmancy Thrifted Collar”.)

Naturally, I’m not the first person to think about making their own statement collar out of recycled materials or crafting supplies and fancy things lying around. However I didn’t really want to just chop the collar off a men’s dress shirt and “bedazzle” it. I wanted a rounder, more vintage collar that would compliment many of my vintage shift dresses, and also work with t-shirts, sweaters, or anything I thought of pairing it with!

The search began and ended in my own closet. This vintage piece was actually part of a skirt and blouse combo that I picked up for a mere 1.49 last year. I’ve worn the skirt many times and though I like the top, I haven’t really put it to use yet.  The collar was absolutely perfect and I knew in a heartbeat that this was the one:

Here's What I Did:

1)    I trimmed the collar from the shirt, leaving a bit of the extra fabric where it had been sewn on to act as a hem. (Don’t cut too close!) Of course I saved my leftover fabric—the neat rouching in the front might be a cool addition to another piece, and the gathered waist seems like it would make a great belt…but that’s for another day!

2)   I trimmed off the button (and saved to be moved and sewn back on).

3)   I hemmed the edges of my collar using the bit of extra fabric left from the blouse as the body of my hem, and sewed the button back on.

4)   Voila!

This collar looks great with a tshirt, or with a shift dress, or any other blouse with little or no collar! I’ve shown it here with the addition of some fun bling—maybe a pair of fabulous vintage clip-ons, or a brooch! I even like it sideways!  Side note: I attached my clip ons using safety pins. Losing cute clip-ons is not allowed! That is muy mal—no bueno!

  

SO…what do you have lying around that could be repurposed? Or maybe your dream statement collar is hanging on a used clothes rack somewhere, for a mere dollar or so, waiting to be scooped up and fashioned in your hot little crafting hands. Get to it!

PS, This beautiful vintage necklace was only $8 at an antique mall in North Muskegon I visited called "Memory Lane". (I highly recommend their vintage jewelry and clothing selection, for an antique mall it is very reasonable. Also they have a FABULOUS selection!) Can't you imagine it rotated and worn more as a collar with the angular edges facing out, instead of the way it was intended, as a circular piece? That's what I'm thinking. ;)