Dooney, Bourke & Stripes!

 DOONEY, BOURKE & STRIPES!

I posted a little while back that I had admired a vintage Dooney & Bourke at Regeneration thrift store in Detroit (check out my review, article and the handbag here!) but the price just wasn't right for me. To quote myself:

"They had a great selection of vintage and thrifted designer bags. I REALLY wanted to take this Dooney and Bourke home with me....and looking at it now, I regret leaving it behind! However, it was marked $15 and I just get a bigger thrill out of finding them on my own for cheaper."

Well, I'm pleased to say that I not only found ONE Dooney and Bourke recently that is almost the identical replica of the bag I wanted at Regeneration, but TWO! I'll show the other in a blog very soon, but I bought each of the handbags for only $2, totaling $4. I'm featuring the one that is most like the bag in the blog linked above...check it out! Remember from the article that they D&B had been marked $15...more than I was willing to pay!

Sometimes it really pays to wait when it comes to thrift. I almost never regret passing things up...but I sometimes regret buying. I know this might not be true for everyone, but it's a practice I like to exercise as often as possible...and this time it paid off!

I'm doing my D&B handbag with a thrifted Gap 3/4 striped knit, long black thrifted skirt, *brown boots, *brown woven belt and brown faux snakeskin cuff/leather band. (Starred items are not thrifted). I LOVE black and white stripes and brown together!

 

What's new on the thrift tip...

HELLO!

...And welcome to another episode of "I Can't Stop Thrifting!" It's the program you love to love, where one cheap and fashionable girl can't stop herself from purchasing ridiculously inexpensive, vintage and kitschy things!

And fabulous things!

And shiny things!

More! More! More!

The vintage belt was one of two that are very similar; stretchy vintage gold belts from the 60's. Twenty-five cents at a yard sale ...fifty cents total. I wore one in this outfit, Purple Animals and Panda Winners..

I love this carved wooden box. It has a neat wooden scene on the outside and inside, there is a vintage mirror with a gold design on the lid. It was another yard-sale find for only a dollar. Presently, I'm storing family photos inside!

Little wide cuff black quartz watch. $1 thrifted.

Wooden vintage hotrod; 60's. 49 cents!

These are actually two matching vintage rhinestone PINS! Love them. Only $1; outfit post with these coming soon!

I've had so much good fortune lately. A friend brought me two Marushkas (kitschy vintage screen printed art that I collect, see it here) for my collection and I even found some more free scores on my own. I think FREE may be my most favorite of all. The white cabinet was an "on the side of the road" score! It looks cute in my living room -- especially with my favorite art deco vase from the '30s and a baby picture of my son! :)

Also…a direct solicitation…

I'm really excited to have launched a new photography page,"Pineapple Chantal Photography" ! I'm really looking forward to growing as a portrait artist and serving the West Michigan area as a photographer. I'd love it if you became a fan! Thanks for your support and continued reading. :) Hope your weekend is off to a fabulous (and thrifty!) start!

InStyle Plaid and Fur Remix

It's another InStyle remix!

The outfit above caught my eye in this month's InStyle magazine on pg. 108! The original is great--lots of colors, textures, and it's a little bit rock and roll. My version was slightly more conservative without the cute lace up boots and the vest, but definitely a very close runner up! Here's the $1,120 dollar question though: do you think my frugal and thrifted outfit is really $1, 085 dollars LESS of an ensemble? Because that's how much MORE the InStyle version cost. It's fabulous, but I could never justify spending that much. What else could you buy with just over a thousand dollars? That's alot of dough. What do you think? Did I hit the mark?

This outfit is easily dressed down with jeans. In fact, it was a blustery, blizzardy and cold day in Michigan, and I remixed this outfit once again with dark jeans and calf boots. It was JUST as cute. Very glam with dark sunglasses. I also posted another alternative to the grey boots that I thought would be quite sassy--bright green Chuck Taylor All Star high tops!

Everything in this outfit is thrifted with the exception of the white shirt underneath, a "Danskin" plain white tee from Walmart ($7) and the grey slouch boots, "Upper East Side" for Payless ($13).

Proof of today's arctic weather below!

P.S., my one of my favorite gals, Drew Barrymore, was on the cover this month! I personally thought she looked strange--too digitally altered, perhaps? BUT, I digress!

Lifer

LIFER:
I suspect that I will be one. A slave to fashion, addict to thrift. I just love clothes, jewelry, and all things ornamental. And I refuse to buy them new or pay top dollar for them. Virtually everything in my closet is secondhand and if it wasn't secondhand, it was clearance, a gift, or free. There are very few items I'll buy new (yes, undergarments and beauty/food products are in this category, and usually a decent pair of fall boots) but I make a conscious effort to thrift everything else in my life--including furniture, appliances, cars, and everything else you can think of.

MY MOTTO: THRIFTED, GIFTED OR FREE!
I started this blog in 2011 mainly for myself (a type "A" personality that doesn't need even ONE more creative project on the back-burner). I suppose that categorizing and highlighting all of my great thrifting finds and outfit combos was just the perfect compulsive cherry on top of an already delicious hoarding fantasy. :)

It was easy to fall in love with "Thrift Trick" because I adore fashion and vintage life; I'm completely obsessed with photography, fashion shows, thrifting and finding great deals on edgy, colorful, quirky and vintage clothes and household items. It isn't just about being cheap...for me, it's a continual effort at conservation. 

REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT: CONSUME LESS. BUY SECONDHAND!

Something magical happened along the way, though. As a woman in her early thirties who was STILL struggling with body image and a transforming lifestyle (one that was struggling to become more healthy and active), taking pictures and talking about image began to help me heal. What began as a casual thrifting blog and pictures of my antique dress form, Kay, wearing my outfits metamorphosed into a serious project for me, and one that put me in front of the camera, unable to run away from all of my insecurities.

LOVE YOURSELF and TREAT YOURSELF WELL.
Since then, putting health and positive body image into the forefront in addition to the vintage, thrifted and fashion coverage has been of utmost importance for me. My hope is to bring fun tidbits of style, inspiration, vintage living and, most importantly, HAPPY AND HEALTHY living to you.

Thank you so much for reading--see you on the blog in the comment section, on Facebook, on Pinterest, and--of course--at the thrift store!

--Chantal