Vintage and Me

Here's a recap of our deals over the Labor Day weekend -

I had a big audition in town on Friday so we couldn't leave as early as we had planned - It was in Santa Monica, so afterwards we walked up and down Main St., looking at the boutiques, and had lunch. There is still a thrift shop there - & I picked up a jaunty yellow visor for $1.

A few days before I had chanced into the re-sale shop run by the Assistance League - and seen a lovely vintage patterned silk chiffon dress, 70s I think.  The material is just gorgeous! And the style was just right for me.  It was more than I usually spend ($50), and I had to think it over for a day before coming back for it.  But I did, and went home pleased. 

Then when we were windowshopping in Santa Monica on Friday, I saw a vaguely similar printed silk chiffon dress in a shop window and had to ask the salesgirls how much it was - Turned out to be $995!! (almost 10 dollars, my husband said.)  And it didn't even have an underslip!  How many times is that over the price of my dress? Rounding out to $1000, about  20 times!!!

The clothes in the boutiques were very nice - and it was good for me to drag my husband into a shop every so often, to remind him what REAL prices are, as he sometimes gets on me for my wardrobe expenses!

And then I live working at home on the computer in jeans and t-shirts....

But for the audition, for example, I had to drag out a blue blazer and a blue skirt I rarely wear, with a silk scarf, and a white shirt ,as I was supposed to be a flight attendant - Keeping it all out and clean in case I get a call back.

Oh, and I found some very nice vintage 50's jewelry at what I call "the old ladies thrift shop" in Camarillo.  (It supports a senior meal program.)  I got a chrome chain choker necklace and 2 pairs of CLIP earrings - One was silver with turquoise, an Indian design - and worth at least $25 if I could find clips anywhere.  No pierced ears for me, so I always comb vintage/thrift stores for clips.  Also a pile of interesting paperback books.

I have a LARGE collection of costume jewelry, going back to things I got in high school.  It's harder to find good deals in vintage pieces now, as the market for them has gotten so good. So I grab things up when I see good deals, even though they aren't $1 any more - or not often...Ditto silk scarves. Do you know that new ones cost $30 up? And really good ones last a long time, so there are good thrift shop deals out there.   They have just recently come back INTO fashion - but I have always worn them a lot.

My fantasy is that when I am really a little old lady, I will sell the jewelry collection off, if I don't wear the pieces.  I used to go through it all and sell what I didn't really love - but as it's harder to find, I hold onto it all...

That's the thing about buying quality vintage - it has re-sale value.  As I stated elsewhere on the thriftyfun website - Our re-furbished 50s vintage gas stove is worth more used than a new one would be - and a much better made product.  The only equivalents nowadays are incredibly expensive European stoves, so it's fashionable for even the well to do Hollywood types to have refurbished 50's stoves in their kitchens.  My husband didn't believe it until I tore out a newspaper style article and showed it to him!

And now that vintage has become stylish it's become easier for me to wear it around.  I remember going to the Emmys years ago wearing a vintage 40's dance dress made out of a filmy ribbed silk and hearing comments in the rest room ("What is she doing, a Barbara Streisand?)  Well. those days are OVER, as the prices have gone UP.  (That dress cost me $15 just out of college.) And I rescued a 20's gilt lace shift from being a lamp shade in a friend's apartment!  Now that lace is back, I am thinking of taking it out again.

Just goes to show you....

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Ah! the charms of vintage.

You can get more for your $ if you are canny about vintage.

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