September Thrift Round-up

It's only halfway through October! I've only experienced 8 train delays this month so far*! Time for a round-up of my thrift purchases last month.

Stop 1: the flea market at De Anza College

Indonesian wide leather belt $5

I don't think this cool flower belt had ever been worn. There were black threads still on it that appear to have been from a tag, and the leather isn't bent or broken in. I am looking for a plain saturated dress in a nice deep green or blue, as I think this would look killer over one.

 

Dana Ashkenazi sweatshirt $1

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with the sweatshirt. I got it because I like the reverse exposed seams, and quartering on the front like a shield.

I am not gonna sport Che Guevara on my left boob, though. Time for some sort of patch. And I don't know what's up with the Charlie Chaplin graphic on there either, but all signs point to me not being young-hip-urban-blonde-trustfund enough to wear this brand:

Go on and Google image it yourself. It goes on. Haha!

Dear gawd it's so comfortable, though. I've always wanted an IDGaF shirt to pull on over broken-in IDGaF jeans, that would make me look good while clearly still not GaF. I've tried a few (in my head they must be grey, a traditionally underwear and therefore IDGaF color) and it's never worked out. I think this may be the one.

Not pictured is a sheer green top I bought from the same lady that sold me the sweatshirt, also for $1. It took me 20 minutes to untangle, so it was worth the money for the entertainment, but for all the promise that the different panels and wrappy bits and pointy hem promised, it was disappointingly symmetrical and makes me look like a squat tube.

Munro American navy and brown flats $10 

More work shoes! The color scheme of these reminded me of my beloved Naya Lightning boots:

...whose heels are not suitable for scootering to and fro and standing all day at a desk.

Stop 2: ARF (pet benefit thrift shop)

Tahari silk and cotton cropped cardigan $2.50

I call the color Dusty Burga-roon. Pictured here with my skunkfunk skirt I can never get to go with anything for love or money. I'm playing with color triads now. (No, not Triads.)

NYDJ straight leg cut, $2.50 each

I'm trying more straight leg jeans to see if they don't make me look unhappy sausage-like in the way that skinny jeans do. I don't know what to call the color of the pair on the left other than Lake Bottom. Not romantic-sounding, but a cool slightly unusual dark neutral to try with things. I want a set of Pantone color chips like Anne of Spy Girl has so I can know the names of all of these new colors I'm adding to the wardrobe.

akdmcs capris $1.50

Never thought I'd buy capris, but herringbone denim, embroidery, and cool snaps and zippers are enough to sell me on anything, apparently! I also live in an environment in which I would not freeze the lower half of my calves off wearing them, so now's the time to experiment.

motherhood maternity navy shrug $2.50

I was just talking about looking for one of these in my last post, and I found one not long after! It's not my first piece of maternity clothing, though I don't know what's maternity about a shrug. I guess it's like a plus size brand making scarves. Why not make it a one-stop shop for your demographic?

mod-o-doc striped v-neck $2.50

Way out of my comfort zone. Stripes?! Bright colors? No blue? I want this to go with something deep green. The same deep green that I've been looking for in thrift stores for months.

White silk hair clip $1

This bow is half the size of my face. I love that.

Trinkets for my front windowsill $2 each

These two actually came from the Goodwill and Salvation Army. Favourite Joe says the textured glass globe on the left is Pluto. My apartment has a large window looking out on the porch and courtyard, so I've put some pretty things on it to catch the afternoon light.

Total spent on clothes in September comes to a little over $30! Hooray for making budget!

Man, this post got long. I thrift a lot. I think I will break my round-ups into two from now on.

* This isn't enthusiasm. This is inner screaming.

Entrenched Meanders

  The other day was pouring rain and I was meeting a friend downtown, so I took a break from my Style or Die! challenge to wear my beloved trench coat:

Trench coat: J. Gallery (thrifted)

Purple knit top: Elie Tahari (thrifted)

Grey wool skirt: Express (eBay)

Necklace: unknown (thrifted)

Heattech leggings: UNIQLO (gift)

Lark boots: Naya (eBay)

  I thrifted this J. Gallery trench coat not long ago. It's made in Korea and has quickly become one of my favorite garments of all time. When it is buttoned up, I feel like a military commander princess (the protect-the-innocent hero kind, not the parasite-off-the-people kind.) I think this all ties back to my fantasy of dressing like an airship captain.

  It may be difficult to tell, but it's light grey lined with a lavender. Lavender and grey is one of my favorite color combinations of all time. I went with the same combo for my outfit, pairing a purple knit Tahari top with grey wool miniskirt and some black leggings and boots.

  It's a bit madness here at Couturgatory HQ (hah!) with two research projects and finals going off, but it's fulfilling and I am notably not stressed the hell out and losing vast amounts of weight. I wanted to thank you all again for reading this blog because it's so much fun to write. :D

-Aya

Giveaway winner and a peek back in time

  Congratulations *drumroll* ...to the Couturgatory giveaway winner Tag R! I'll be in contact shortly to ask about what thrifted goodie you'd like from San Francisco!

  And since things have been a whirlwind this weekend (I'll have a full post on the Bloggy award from Ally of Shybiker when I think I have some words. You should check her blog out in the highly unlikely event that you did not find my blog through hers.) here are some older outfits that got left behind for one reason or other this last month.

  Spoiler alert: the reason was usually lighting. Stupid time change. Stupid sun not putting in enough hours at its job.

Laguardia Cloche: Goorin Bros. sample sale (available here)

Long cloak hoodie in blue suede: Prairie Underground (old, more colors)

Purple knit top: Elie Tahari (thrifted)

Cotton godet skirt: Free People (old)

Floral gauze square scarf: Old Navy (available here)

Boots: Two Lips (thrifted)

  This outfit is pretty much exactly the same as the Waiting for Godet one except with a different top and a scarf. (Scarf is no longer on sale for $6. Boo.) Got skipped due to lighting, made a very similar outfit to photograph later, but I was super excited at the time because it was the first time I'd managed to coordinate an outfit, scarf, shoes, and a hat. Unfortunately also the last.

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Dress: Treasure Rock (Treasure Rock on eBay)

Top: Treasure Rock (old)

Sandals: Eastland (old)

  Last wore this shirt way back in June, when my dear friend Diana was visiting. Since I never wear it, I hacked the bottom off and turned it into sleeves as a topper for this sleeveless dress, also by Treasure Rock. Well, formerly sleeveless. I also added straps to the dress as it was driving me crazy.

  They line up great, I just wish I hadn't chopped quite so much off. I was worried the sleeves wouldn't be long enough, but there turned out to be more than enough fabric, length-wise. Width-wise it was close! I had to draft a custom sleeve pattern, but I'm pretty happy at how it turned out.

  I'm also endorsing Eastland Sandals as having a wide toe bed. I own two pairs of their sandals, and these aren't even wide width (they offer wide width on some of their designs.) My toes aren't squished, and I usually have to go with at least width D for that to happen. I'm working on a wide shoes review page that I'll stick in the sidebar. :D

  Happy rest of the weekend, folks, especially for those who have a long weekend for Remembrance Day. I have my own strong feelings on war, military, and authoritarian power pyramids in society, but I do recommend checking out the history of the 442nd Infantry Regiment from WWII. It was composed almost entirely of Japanese American soldiers who volunteered despite their families being imprisoned in internment camps. I'm sad there was a schism between those who served and those who angrily refused the draft (some of whom were deported to Japan, a country they'd never lived in,) because of the loss of their and their families' rights. I think both courses of action took such incredible bravery.

All Dressed Up in Black and Blue

  About a month ago, Ally at Shybiker wrote a post on a dress that turned her bad day around. It was the first time I'd read of someone else keeping items in her wardrobe of no practical value because their beauty made her happy.

  I live a highly casual and very budgeted life as a returning student, but I have several items that make me feel magical that I keep in my closet. Since reading Ally's post, I've wanted to do one about my own mood-changing dress, in a kind of solidarity or a virtual cocktail party.  If we have nowhere to wear our prettiest things, we'll wear them inside together on our style blogs. :D

  I found this Elie Tahari dress at a thrift boutique for $18. I hesitated because again, student! Any occasion that would warrant this type of dress would cost money I did not have. Heck, I wasn't sure I had the 18 beans to splurge on something utterly frivolous.

  Trying on the dress, however, was like getting a punch of endorphins to the brain. The dress made me feel like a goddess of sexy and nighttime and class.  I love the color of the blue satin sheath and the overlayer of black lace. I love how it's clingy and has that hint of boudoir nighttime wear without going into lingerie/trashy territory.

  I paired it with a necklace I got at a Styles for Less closing sale for $6.50, again because it was very pretty though I had no practical use for it. Then I put on the sparkliest shoes I own, a pair of Matisse sandals with pewter flowers and rhinestones:

  A former coworker once described the sandals as 'Slave Leia for my feet.' I like the super reasonable wedge height. Even though they do not come in wide width, there's only a toe strap, so my little toes can hang off the edge and not get crushed. I require formal shoes be comfortable enough for me to stand for hours in them, and these absolutely fit the bill, while being sparkly to boot. *thumbs up*

  Thanks to Ally for the idea and opportunity to do this, though it took much longer than I expected because of my semester of URGHawiohga;wekah. I'd love to hear about your special closet items, too!

Dress: Elie Tahari (thrifted)

Necklace: Styles for Less (old)

Shoes: Matisse (DSW, old)