Have you ever wondered what it would be like to do a Salvo Wednesday with me? Well, wonder no more. This week I have decided to walk you through the experience, step by step.
This week I decided to go to another couple of local Salvation Armies. I started in Greece, because you really need to get there right as it opens there, to have any chance of a shopping cart. The Greece Salvo is competitive! As I expected, I came in and there were no carts. But I got lucky and someone decided they didn't need theirs pretty quickly and I RAN for that sucker. They're priceless.
Before achieving a shopping cart, I headed for the display case first. And saw these:
I have always, always wanted a pair of these (they're Christian Louboutins, if you can't read the sign). And while I know that $350 is a steal for these shoes, I couldn't talk myself into that. If they'd been part of the half off day, I'd probably have had a major crisis over whether to buy them or not. As it was, I walked away fairly easily from expensive shoes that I would probably never have a chance to wear. But! So close.
My next step in this particular Salvo is always the shoes, which totally goes against my norm. This is partly because it's right near the entrance, but also because I'm usually lurking and waiting for a shopping cart. Which is exactly what I did, and about halfway through my browsing, the cart appeared, and as you know, I ran for it.
I didn't find anything of interest in this section, so I moved on to the main event.
Dresses, obviously. Greece always has a generous selection, and this week was no exception. The rack all the way to the left with a red mini dress has dresses, plus the three circular racks to the right near the dressing rooms.
One of them was this. This is the third week in a row where I've found a Salvo that was charging high prices (for a thrift store) for what they figure are fancy dresses. (Also, the extraneous apostrophe. Ugh. Almost as bad as the price.) I went through them despite the $60 price tag (which was part of the half off sale, so only $30 in reality).
There were a couple that were tempting, and one that I might have bought for myself if these weren't all a little large for me. This was the only one I thought long and hard about buying, because it was Jeannette for St. Martin, which seems to be a pretty big deal. So it's valuable but... ugh. I know I'm hopelessly cheap, but when you're starting a new shop and you're still in the red from startup costs, $30 is just too much. So I left it behind.
I found a ton of great stuff in the dresses, and I moved on to the rest of the store. I used to spend a lot more time in the other sections, but as I get increasingly obsessed with dresses and less interested in wearing anything else, it hardly seems worth the effort. I did find this, and had to take it home for the shop even though it's not my size.
Dragonfly pattern! So pretty.
I moved on to the dressing room, and these were the dresses I was trying on just for me.
A respectable pile! The first dress had a solid black top and black lace with cream underneath (I LOVE black lace with other colors underneath, I just love it!). This will make a great concert dress!
The next one fit, and even had pockets, but... hmm. Something about it didn't make me excited, so it stayed behind.
I tried on a few more that didn't fit so much so that there was no way I was taking pictures to show any of you. The next one fit but....
...something was wrong. It made me look large and I couldn't place it. I texted it to my friend and she confirmed my suspicions: It's the pattern. I felt wide. It's like the reverse of those slimming illusion patterns. It added width. We women love that.
This last one was a major win. I'm really into florals lately, it has pockets (obviously a major win there) and there's a built in wire frame to the bodice, making it that highly desired type of dress for heat waves - the kind that do not require me to wear a bra. I'm wearing it right now, in fact, in my delightfully sweaty back yard. Ahhh. *Side note: for those of you just tuning in, that wasn't sarcasm. I am in love with the heat this summer. It's my dream summer. A magic summer, if you will.
I packed up my finds and checked out. I wasn't quite sated yet, so I headed to what I call the Hidden City Salvo. I call it this because for several years running, Google has misdirected me and taken me elsewhere. As I mentioned in last year's blog about my visit there, I starred it in Google maps and this time it stayed put! I searched for Salvation Army Thrift Stores in Rochester - and it tried to send me elsewhere. I knew better this time, searched for my star, navigated to that location instead, and voila!
I win! Take that, Google! I found you, you little hidden Salvo.
I never have trouble getting a cart at this location, I imagine because everyone else who's looking for this store is following Google Maps blindly around the city. I headed straight to the dresses, passing handbags and shoes on either side as I went.
I bought the straw handbag in the first crate because it was from McCurdy's and still had the original tag! Super cute. Also, there's a bra purse. Just because you need a bra purse. I did not buy that one.
I had some trouble weaving my way through the store because of some hipster girls who kept getting in my way. I'm about 99.9% sure (from personal experience) that one of them was faking a British accent, since the only time I've heard such a weird sounding accent is when I myself was faking one.
This dress is Adrianna Papel Evenings and it's beaded delightfulness. I have no idea where I would have worn it but if it wasn't about 2 sizes too big I'd have bought it anyway. Non-vintage, sadly, so it stayed behind. I hope someone took you home and loves you, pretty dress.
This dress is Calvin Klein. You probably can't tell, but while the top is my favorite stretchy knit material, the skirt is faux leather. And it is KILLER. And I want to be that girl, I really do. I want to be the girl who wears leather because the dress is amazing. But I'm not that girl. I have no doubt I would have taken this home, hung it in my closet, and never ever worn it. So it stayed behind. I'm sorry, dress. But I see you, and I recognize your amazingness. I hope you also have found a happy home.
This one did come home with me. Layered black fabric, strapless, from the White House Black Market. Gorgeous. I don't have that many opportunities for strapless black dresses but I'll find one. Or I'll make one. Whatever. You're pretty and you're mine.
This one has pockets, I'm really into floral this year (as previously stated), and I loved the ruffled hem. Unfortunately, despite saying that it's a size 6, this Lauren Conrad did not fit this size 4 girl. Not even a little bit. Wouldn't zip up. Come on. Get your act together, Lauren Conrad.
I found a number of great vintage dresses there too, and here's my haul when I got home:
I can't handle too much of the Etsy listing process after all that thrifting, but I do love to go through them, remove the tags (especially ones stapled right on to the delicate fabric, grrrrr!) and delight in all my wonderful finds. Here is the vintage I found in Greece:
And here's the vintage I found at the Hidden City Salvo:
Ahhh. So much delightfulness. Some of these have had stain removal performed, some have been steamed, and a chosen few are already listed.
At this point on Salvo Wednesday, it was time to walk away from the Salvo world and instead enjoy lunch in the back yard with my dogs. Including, but not limited to, a salad made 100% from my garden:
So how did you enjoy your trip to the Salvo? Want to come with me next week?
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