Thrifting | Lamppostings

January 10, 2014
by Melissa Leave a comment

Fashion on Friday – Party Frocks

One of the things I love about the Christmas season is works dos. Both Colin’s company and my work have fun parties that are suitable for dressing up. We live in a very casual town so there aren’t a lot of opportunities to truly dress up.

Both of the dresses that I wore are from ASOS. The first one that I wore to my work party I wasn’t too sure about when I saw it – it’s not a color that I gravitate toward, but it was on a super clearance so I thought I’d give it a go. I love it!

It’s super comfortable, easy to wear and has a lot of whimsy. I loved wearing the vintage style, three-quarter sleeve jacket with it as well. I felt very early 60s glam. The brooch is blue aurora borealis and totally gorgeous.

Outfit details: Dress – ASOS, Jacket – Ross, Tights – Forever 21, Shoes – Target, Brooch – vintage/thrifted, Ring – made by me

The next outfit I wore to Colin’s work party and I am so totally sad that I didn’t take more photos of it. I don’t know how it slipped my mind, but there you go. I’ll get more photos when I wear it next. I feel like it’s a dress that I can wear not just to fancy events.

This is one of those dresses that I saw and absolutely fell in love with. The silhouette, the fabric, the whole design. I was smitten. It wasn’t particularly cheap, though not outrageous either, but I bided my time until ASOS had a sale and then I snatched that baby up. I am so glad I did. This is a garment that truly brings me joy.

Sadly, in this photo that was taken with my phone, I look like I’m in a lot of pain and you can’t see my amazing shoes! And apparently Colin has a light shining out of the top of his head. Nonetheless, I love this dress!

Outfit details: Dress – ASOS, Tights – Forever 21, Shoes – Torrid

Secondhand Sunday – Jackpot!

There is nothing like walking into a thrift store & seeing a sign that says “50% Off Everything in the Store”. Nothing like it. Then, when you actually find some treasures, well, it’s what thrifting is all about.

The three treasures that I am sharing today come from just such an experience I had yesterday. The St Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in town has moved location several times & I hadn’t yet visited its latest abode. I finally did yesterday & they were having 50% off everything.

My first find was an amazing vintage 60s hat box, I couldn’t believe that it hadn’t been claimed – the woman at the checkout said it had been around for a couple of weeks! It’s going to be great storage for some of my vintage hats. They had it priced at $4.99 – I got it for half that! The pattern on the outside is so fun & the lining is lovely too.

At the jewelry counter, I found a sweet little vintage handbag. The opening mechanism is cool – can’t really show that in a photo, and the beaded fabric is nice. It was priced at $5.99, so half of that…

My final find was at the exit. It was hanging on the wall. I probably wouldn’t have looked at it if it wasn’t half off, but I’m so glad I had a closer look. It’s a vintage mirror. I love it! Haven’t decided what I’m going to do with it yet, but there might be some spray paint involved & it might end up in our powder room. It was half off $12.99.

I also visited a few other thrift stores in town & was tempted by a couple of things, but I’m learning to exercise restraint. Just because something is cool or fun or rare, doesn’t mean I have to have it. I even turned my back on several vintage owls Because they didn’t really appeal to me. I want to learn to only add things that are meaningful to my collections.

Yesterday was a fabulous thrifting day!

November 13, 2011
by Melissa Leave a comment

Secondhand Sunday – November 13, 2011

Oh how I love to thrift. I love finding treasures amidst heaps of junk (which might just be someone else’s treasure!). I wonder about the stories behind what I find. Who owned it before me? Why did they get rid of it? What can I do with it?

Here’s a few recent finds…

I found these lovely handbags at one of my favourite local thrift stores, The Opportunity Foundation Thrift Store. I find that they have the best sales in town – regular percent off days & of course, their wonderful $4 per bag clothing sales once a month. The two smaller bags were $3 each & the large bag was $2! What?! Yes, please. I love the cool details on vintage handbags.

At the same store, not too long ago, they were having a random linens sale for $2 per bag. Bins & bins of sheets, blankets & fabric. Spread out over several bins I pieced together this amazing 80s rainbow sheet set. I love vintage sheets, and mostly just use the fabric for projects because it’s not easy to find complete sets. This set is for a double bed. We only have one double bed in our house & it’s in the Guest Room/Sewing Room/Library/Dress Up Room. Whoever comes for a visit next gets to enjoy these great sheets! When I was growing up, I really wanted to have rainbow sheets – I was a bit obsessed with rainbows. Now I have rainbow sheets!

I also love vintage suitcases. I love the really old wooden ones, the flowery 60s ones, the 70s vinyl ones & the hardcase 80s ones. I have quite a few, but they are a bit bulky & take up space. I also want to be able to see & enjoy them. I saw this idea on Pinterest to use stacking suitcases for storage. They also live in our Guest Room/Sewing Room/Library/Dress Up Room and I use them to store fabric for future projects. I think they look so cool.

Have you found any thrifted treasures lately?

October 23, 2011
by Melissa 1 Comment

Secondhand Sunday – Merry Mushrooms

A couple of weeks ago, I got to spend the day with my Mom. It was a lovely birthday present. We went to some thrift & vintage stores – one of my favourite things to do. We also had a yummy lunch. We both found some gems, but my favourite find was a set of Merry Mushroom dishes from Sears Roebuck & Co from 1977 & 1978. It’s actually two sets & neither is complete, but there are enough of both to make a set. It was only $8! So much fun.