A weekend of San Franthriftco

I recently visited the Bay Area for the weekend. Thrifting was involved, so I'll report back on what I did there. :D

Here is my first successful capsule wardrobe:

Citizens of Humanity sweatshirt (thrifted)

7 for all Mankind jeans (gift from brother)

ANAC mesh top (eBay)

OCCO Paris teal top (free)

Nancy Giallombardo denim skirt (thrifted)

Fitzwell Laura sandals (6pm.com)

I also had my trusty New Balance sneakers. Everything went with everything else! First time I've been able to do that. (My usual method of outfit selection is 'waaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh I wanna wear thisandthisandthisandthis') I also figured since I'd be thrifting during my time up there, that I could add stuff if I wanted.

I actually went up to visit my favorite Joe (srsly. I have met no other Joes I like better.) for his band's show and EP launch. The band is called The Hangover Brigade, they have a folk rock sound, and they are immensely talented and fantastic. (Which is good, because it'd be really awkward if I thought they sounded terrible.)

You can listen to the entire EP on CDbaby (they are also sold on iTunes, Amazon, and other large vendors) and you really should. I had the first track stuck in my head for 48 hours after the show, and that's an endorsement.

The Hangover Brigade's last show!

Here's their cover of No Diggity, that they played as an encore:


Before the show, we drove into the city and walked up and down Haight St. looking for gig-type clothes and accessories for Joe. The only thing more fun than thrift shopping for me is thrift shopping for someone else. Even competing with the pre-Halloween crowd, we had great luck!

Here's what we found:

Exhibit A: grey 5 button vest from Goodwill

Exhibit B: Fuzzy black J's Awake shoes from Wasteland. The soles are red!

Exhibit C: Marshall Collins flatcap from Goorin Bros. Not thrifted, just awesome. I'm pretty sure flatcaps were put on this earth for men with van dyke beards.

We also found these low grey Alfani boots and the following day Joe found the sweet Olympique Marseille track jacket at one of my favorite thrift shops. Soccer's his favorite sport, so extra win. It was in great condition, with a plastic tag loop still inside. I think it was new! I found another picture of it online:

Happily, Joe dug my style suggestions, and the things I thought he could rock he totally rocked. I thought he looked great, he thought he looked great, happy shopping vibes all around.

The items are all multipurpose and can be used for music gigs, work, or everyday. There was a coat with tails briefly tried on at a Steampunk shop because when it comes down to it, I think everybody should wear Regency style clothes, but maybe for another time.

And because I had a few hours to kill during soundcheck before the show started, I tootled back to the Goodwill down the street and went shopping for myself this time. >.>

Whee! My haul from two thrift shops that weekend:

I've been looking for mustard skinny jeans or jeggings for a long time to wear with sweater dresses & boots in the winter. I'm slowly taking steps into the world of color. Thanks to style blogs, I know colors I'd never wear near my face because of my complexion can be worn on my lower half.

These jeans are by Margaret M, and still had the tag attached. I found out it's a Canadian brand that makes their products domestically. Any northerners heard of the brand?

The wide leather belt is by Pellemelle, and thanks to alert readers, I know 'pelle' is Italian for leather. :D Italian leather, it says on the inside, and made in the US.

The grey and black checked vest is from TRF, which I think is a collection within Zara. It's size L, but it has criss-crossing straps in the back that let me cinch it in to the correct width.

The Forever 21 Japanese print shirt shell was a go back behind the counter that I pointed to excitedly as we were checking out. Instant sell! I'm not sure how I feel about the red lace, but the print and the long square fire hazard sleeves absolutely do it for me.

Check out the luster on these fake pearls! I don't often have luck thrifting jewelry, but I thought I hit it big with these. I want to wear the blue pearls with the lace-feather-ribbons flower pin with my dark blue OzzOn dress.

Lastly, these Candie's green and brown platform boots fill another hole in my wardrobe- casual sturdy boots in the brown color palette. My thrifted Doc Martens chafe my Achilles tendon something fierce, so onto eBay they go.

I put so many holes through my October budget that it's curled up in a corner somewhere licking its wounds, but I regret nothing. Sometimes I've thrifted things and gone 'aww crap, that wasn't a good idea' but this time, all items feel like practical fits within my existing wardrobe. Vest, wide belt, shirt shell, boots, jeans... this is basically Couturgatory right here in one thrifted heap. What's your latest treasure or your latest 'aww crap' purchase?