Invested

OUTFIT: Jeans: Liz Claiborne, thrifted: 2.99, Striped tee: OP, $5, Grey sweater vest: Vintage, Boundary Waters, .99, Necklace: white chain from previous thrifting blog posts, .99 (doubled it for this outfit), cocktail ring: Amazon, $10. Couldn't find this exact one but HAVE FUN looking at all these darling, cheap little trinkets: Cocktail rings on Amazon (inexpensive). I also bought the little Buddy Holly glasses (fake, ofcourse) on Amazon as well, for $4. Shoes: Unlisted, black mary jane high heels...thrifted, $3. Watch...a cute, delicate little Armitron I picked up fo .99, thrifted ofcourse. So dainty and elegant. I wore my lip piercing today, too...sometimes I throw it in there for a little edge. LOL. :D I have lots of them and today I went with some girly "bling" on the lip.

Isn't the pink glitter mani cute? I adapted the nude glitter mani that I got from Love Maegan...check the original, it is one of my favorite nail looks EVER and I just took it off last night to replace it with this pink, which is fun. So girly! Normally I don't do my nails because I'm not so hot at it...but this was fun. Lasts well, hides imperfections, too!

Do you rock the "SWEATER VEST"? You should. Love 'em. If you are bodaciously curvy (see the girl above that has to dress carefully for a thick figure), this is a very flattering look. (Longer tee under a buttoned, fitted vest).

Have fun...stay dry and warm today Michigan!

Soggy Saturday

It was a soggy Saturday today! I grew up on the west coast in the Portland, Oregon area, so the rain is comforting to me. I love it! Normally, by this time of year in Michigan, it's the "white stuff". Ew.

So today I've got on the DIY blazer I made, a black undershirt and black leggings, black boots, a teal knit cap, the gold Armitron watch from earlier blogs, and this little tan infinity scarf that was actually a piece of scrap knit fabric I bought at the thrift store for 29 cents! It happened to already be a perfect long rectangle, and I tied it together with a small scrap of fabric (NO SEW!) and then looped it twice. Yes, it was a 29 cent, 29 second DIY. :)

This was me running back to the camera to check on the wet drips going everywhere, lol...an outside shoot was impossible and I don't have the best studio set up yet. Haha! Perhaps tomorrow will be more dry...

Thrift Review: Goodwill on Robbin's Rd, Grand Haven MI

THRIFT REVIEW:

GOODWILL

1112 Robbins Rd Grand Haven MI 49417

(616) 844-2229

Map this location

Thrift Trick rating:

I give Grand Haven Goodwill 4 out of 5!

I've been going to this store for years but first impressions upon walking in are that the store is clean and well organized. Unlike some other thrift stores, they do not have "tag sales"--everything is priced as marked with barcode. Sometimes the stickers are annoying and hard to remove from housewares. Also, like many other places, shoes are marked with silver on the sole to indicate price (try pencil eraser to take care of this).

However, everything is very well organized in this store and there is a large selection! I've always had very good luck with electronics and gadgets here. It's a great place to get a nice DVD player or kitchen gadget that works well. Knickknacks, mugs, housewares and things of the like all are well priced.

Also, the awesome thing about Goodwill is that they get leftover brand new clearance items from Target, so the houseware brands and clothing/shoes like "Merona" are plentiful here and brand new with tags. The downfall: sometimes they are marked up from their previously crazy clearance price: for example, a brand new pair of shoes that were previously $2 at Target but didn't sell are now marked up at Goodwill for $4 or $5, etc. The plus? You didn't MAKE it to that clearance rack in time, and now it's at Goodwill, hanging around until someone buys it!

This store is an awesome place to buy shoes and clothes. Everything is clean, and in great shape. Bags and belts are also nice. Kids clothes, accessories, toys, videos and books are all priced decently and usually in quite good shape!

Furniture and bigger items are also here and usually marked fairly reasonably, though in my opinion the large pieces I've seen (such as couches, etc.) have been a little overpriced. I have picked up coffee tables and end tables for a steal here.

Paintings and pictures are usually at great prices...yes--I've scored Marushkas here for next to nothing. Also this bitchin glitter unicorn piece you see in the frame was only $3! I almost bought it...but the frame was a little out of shape. If you like odd pieces...that would have been great for you. Haha!
Overall, the highlight of this store is a great clothing selection that is clean and in great shape.

I honestly would give this store 5 out of 5, but sometimes I think things are overpriced (and their jewelry prices aren't as good as the Goodwill store in Muskegon, MI--though the clothes and shoes are better). I did catch a great deal on jewelry when I was there Wednesday to review though! Check out these darling screw on vintage rhinestone earrings! Love the orange ferns. These were in my outfit featured yesterday!

Good place to go. Check it out!

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QUICKIE HIGHLIGHTS:

--Decent prices, occasionally overpriced

--Well lit, organized, good parking

--Friendly customer service

--Great selection

--Lots of items

--Nice location

Visual Potpourri, 2012

This is just a little visual walk through some of the things I've seen and loved for 2011-2012 fashion. I'm really digging all the fabric and monochrome stuff I'm seeing from Chanel, Dior and others for winter. I'm not going to get too crazy with labeling designers in these pictures. I'm still working on doing that even with my outfits because I'm not a BRAND girl. I am inspired by how things look, feel, and how low the price is...and not what is printed on the inside tag. I recreate them with the creative and upcycled means that I have (the mission of my blog in the first place)! I know for some people, the brand is necessary to know so that they can acquire the items they want to get. For me, because I know I will hunt for a lesser priced or used substitute, this doesn't matter so much. I think this is what frustrates people about thrift in general. If you are one of those people (though most folks reading my blog probably like thrift), I'd encourage you to step out of your comfort zone this year, trust your own instincts and creativity, and jump into thrifting. Even if it is just one piece of your outfit puzzle!

--Chantal

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12 Grains

Outfit: thrifted brown corduroy blazer: LL Bean, $1.59, Dress: no name,vintage, $2.99, carpet bag style clutch + wood (no name): thrifted, $2.00, belt, thrifted: $1.00, shoes: vintage leather(will update brand later): $2.00, red pleather cuff: Free (I made this out of scrap material and buttons!), vintage rhinestone earrings (twist-on, shown above screwed onto jacket lapel), $4.00.

Wore this outfit with brown tights and my hair up, and sage eyeshadow.

Grey Theory

OUTFIT: All thrifted vintage; blue polyster shirt "Blair" $1.59, Blue/cream print floral vintage shirt "Korret" $1.59, vintage wool ribbed skirt "Graff" $2.99. Cultured pearls from Macy: gift from a gal pal...freebie! White vintage leather purse (no brand): gift from an estate sale my FIL worked...freebie! Boots: grey suede slouch boots, "Lower East Side" for Payless, $12.99.

I love this outfit and especially the floral shirt. So cute! This outfit looks awesome with a knit cap or hair up and grey tights. At the office today I may replace the outer button up shirt with a scarf and/or cardigan for a little more conservative color scheme.

Sleeveless Blazer DIY

Yesterday, I took an an InStyle DIY project on: create a sleeveless blazer with an over sized men's suit jacket. The project was supposed to be simple: just cut the sleeves off! No...that wasn't happening. I griped about it on my Facebook page. I actually ruined the first hounds tooth men's blazer and that was simply because I followed the advice in the DIY, lol. (No offense to InStyle). Good thing it was only $1.59! I would not recommend that project unless you sew and are comfortable with at least a basic hemming stitch. Also, my advice would be to choose a lighter jacket, as a more bulky men's jacket (as advised) will be harder to hem and also (in my opinon) does not fit as well, even when belted. The other problem is bigger and more deeply sewn shoulder pads. As far as the "jacket down", I will be using the fabric from that for other things...so look for up-cycled hounds tooth in the future! :)

IF you wanted to do a men's jacket WITHOUT sewing, in my opinion, a better option might be to buy a small one, remove just the shoulder pads, and then try a 3/4 length sleeve, and maybe even "cinch" it. Then adding a feminine brooch or a belt might create an overall edgy, yet feminine, look.

So...back to jacket story. I bought a second thrift jacket, a women's jacket, that was closer to my size. Cut the sleeves off, double and top-hemmed hemmed them, added a cinch in the back, embellishments on the shoulder, and vintage abalone buttons all around!

This was the result! I think I will wear this belted with maybe black leggings/pants. I have a super cute mustard yellow beret that would look great with it. More on that later! Overall, this project took about an hour and was at a beginner sewing level.