For the first Salvo Wednesday of my summer vacation, I headed down to my hometown. I do this at least once a year, and I always do well. Last year I found a vintage Betsey Johnson and a Bob Mackie! I'm always a little surprised to find such good stuff in such a small town, but it always happens! My shop has done well over the winter, but my thrifting excursions have been equally productive. I have a bit of a space issue in my small home with my spare-bedroom-Etsy-shop, so I was determined to only take home the best of the best.
My mother, sister and niece joined me for the excursion. Since it's a bit of a drive, I like to make it really worth my while and go a little further and do 2 Salvos instead of just the one. We started in Dansville, my hometown.
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| Heading out the door |
I had my mom take my OOTD picture in front of my very first thrift store. If you read my last blog, you will recognize my new FAVORITE DRESS OF ALL TIME (yes, it has to be stated in all caps). It's bright, it's summery, it's supportive of all my LGBTQ loves, and it's just so darn pretty.
This store always makes me reminisce. I have fond memories of me as a junior higher, staunchly refusing to get out of the car and go in because WHAT IF SOMEONE SAW ME IN THERE? Never mind that to see me in the store, they'd also have to be in the store as well. I guess the trauma of possibly being seen entering such an establishment was too horrible to comprehend. My mom always has a good laugh at my expense because of this, because obviously, I feel slightly differently about thrift stores these days. I always brag about my thrifting finds to my students, hoping to de-stigmatize the bargain hunting lifestyle to them (and because I'm really proud of my finds), and I'm pleased that many of them are also thrifting fans!
I didn't find anything for myself but I did find a few really great things for my shop on this trip! This dress is so pretty that I couldn't look at it directly at first (it's like looking directly into the sun! blinding!). It's a plus size 50s chiffon dress and it's pretty much perfect (and will be available in my Etsy shop in the near future). Love love love! I couldn't resist trying it on the dress form as soon as I got home!
GORGEOUS.
My second Lilly Pulitzer find this month! It's a size 0 so I won't be keeping it, and I haven't decided where I'm going to list it, so if you're interested, either contact me directly or keep an eye on my Instagram account!
This purse is a plastic woven hard shell case and it's amazing. Also coming to my shop in the near future!
I was pretty pleased with my finds, but still felt up to doing a little more, so we headed on to Bath. It's another half an hour away, but is OH so worth the trip. This is only half of the dresses!!
Only HALF, people. I knew I was doomed.
This is a 1950s Hilo Hattie vintage Hawaiian dress. It fit me, and I will be keeping it forever. No sharesies.
Fits perfectly!!
This is 100% cotton and says "Jamaica" in the embroidery of the skirt! So cute! I considered keeping it for myself, and while it looks pretty cute on, I don't have quite the bust required to fill it out properly. That top elastic was pretty loose.
But that's OK, since I already have more vintage summer dresses than I can actually ever wear. The problem is that I can only wear them outside of the home (because dogs + vintage aren't a great combination, especially when one of them prefers to spend the entire summer right on your lap, and that dog happens to be a not-very-small, decidedly-muddy-because-she-loves-the-doggy-pool kind of dog).
This was another that was SO GOOD that I couldn't look directly at it. A 50s/60s blue party dress. Swoon!
I have a thing for 70s skirts and dresses. I recently found a skirt on Etsy (via Instagram) that had the most adorable embroidered whale on it (you can see me in that on Instagram and here on my blog). So I was really excited to find this bunny wrap skirt, complete with a matching shirt. I think the shirt might be a bit much of an adorableness-overdose, but I certainly will not be party to splitting them up!
I had this EXACT dress in my Etsy shop once already, and gave it to my amazing alum Noah who is going to be Blanche for Halloween this year. I think I can promise you pictures (right, Noah?). Shortly after giving him this dress, I was watching Golden Girls and discovered that not only does this dress remind us of Blanche, there's a really good reason why:
Oh yes. It's the EXACT same dress. I need to keep an eye out for that exact purse for Noah's ensemble...
I did actually find some things for myself at this store. A simple Old Navy in my favorite jersey fabric - feels like jammies - and this one is not vintage so I don't care if a certain puppy puts her muddy paws AAALLLLL over it. Which she will. This is what I call a "back yard dress" and I have a lot of them. Which is possibly an understatement.
Bandana print (fun!), also Scarlett-friendly!
This is a Calvin Klein and was priced $1 (with a half off tag) so I got it for fifty cents. It was marked "as is" and it clearly had a stain on the skirt. I have gotten a LOT better at getting stains out, but this one woudn't budge. And it had a different texture than the rest of the fabric. Judging from the color that came flooding out when I rinsed the stain remover out, a color I have heretofore only ever seen with vintage dresses from eras where smoking in public was common-place, I'm going to go ahead and guess that the previous owner was a smoker and that it is in fact a burn, not a stain. It gets hidden in the pleats so I'm honestly not sure I care. Pretty!
I got this twisty, minty necklace, too!
I didn't take a picture of this one in the store but it was another I couldn't resist trying on the dress form right away. It had a long set of stains near the hem that came out immediately, and this 40s dress is now completely flawless. And breathtaking! And will be available in my shop in the upcoming weeks!
Beautiful, right? Now, I've had experiences in the past with finding beautiful vintage sundresses with additional, inexplicable tops that were hideously ugly and I couldn't comprehend why anyone would cover something so beautiful up with something so ugly. So when this came with a top in the same fabric but a larger, boxier style, I figured it was the same thing.
I knew something wasn't right. That not only takes away from the beauty of the dress, but it's not the right length at all. I started to get a sneaky suspicion that maybe what I had here wasn't a layer but a his-and-hers matching set, and then I saw this on Instagram.
Aha! Ahahahaha! YES! It is in fact a couples' set. This looks SO much better!
I almost wish the dress fit me so I could make my husband wear the matching shirt!
Guys, I restrained myself. I really did. There was SO much in that store that I started feeling a little overwhelmed. I can't tell you how much vintage I left behind in Bath, and only for reasons like "there's a seam I'd have to restitch" or "it didn't give me the feels". Because I had to draw the line somewhere. I ignored a few areas of the store because I just couldn't. There was too much. So keep an eye out for sales this summer when I can't squeeze anything else into my spare bedroom!
When I dropped my family off at my parents' house, my mother brought out a coat that she had promised me a while back. This coat is the best kind of family heirloom. Not only is it a vintage coat, but it was handcrocheted for my grandmother by my grandfather. Yes, you read that right. My grandfather crocheted! I have several of his crochet tools but this is the first full garment I've seen. Isn't it amazing??
My mother also felt inspired by my hunt for vintage jewelry at the thrift stores and brought out jewelry from both grandmothers and let us go through it. I found this set from my maternal grandmother:
It's Coro and has irregular pearlescent stones with aurora borealis beads (my favorite!!) in between. I got a little giddy over that one!
My paternal grandmother didn't have anything as showy but had a lot of fun pieces!
Only the earrings were my grandmother's. I got home, went to put them away, and saw the necklace that was given to me by Sarah (of The Snug Bungalow) that just happened to match them perfectly!
I love a good set!
A pearlescent feather pin that I'm going to put on a shawl!
Shimmery orbs in cages!
Rhinestone clip ons!
This is one of my favorites. This is a cardigan clip, and yes, that's an eggplant (insert favorite eggplant-emoji joke here). Adorable.
Another cardigan clip, and I have no idea where the M came from. I can't think of anyone in my family with an M initial prior to my marriage! But it's perfect for me!
A rhinestone necklace! Pretty pretty!
Whew. Only one Wednesday in, with a whole summer's worth left, and estate sales to boot (the next joint blog coming soon!) and already SO MUCH GOOD STUFF. Are you ready??
Scarlett is!
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