The Green Military Sweater

It's 9:27 p.m. and I'm exhausted.

This post's shortness will be approximate to my sleepiness. 

 Green Jones New York Sweater

$3.50

Thrifted from the Goodwill in Florence, Kentucky.

 I was drawn to the juxtaposition of the military style/fitted structure with the soft texture.

I'm contemplating dyeing it black to make it more versatile...thoughts?

It may not look like cotton, but it is, 100%! 

Digging the shoulder details.

Bonne nuit de Cincinnati Thrift!

Oh! Darling Vintage

 

Every weekend I learn about a new place to shop for second-hand items.

This time, it was about the adorable vintage shop,

Oh! Darling Vintage

 on the south end of Monmouth in Newport, KY.

This is my first post about a vintage store, so you may be thinking, why vintage? Or you may be a robot who doesn't think, but acts based on a series of 1s and 0s.  Either way, I'm going to tell you my opinion on the matter.

I'm a fan.

You can find vintage items in thrift stores, but often they are scarce and likely in non-pristine condition.

Unlike thrift stores, shops specializing in vintage items are much more particular in their selection of stock.  Oh! Darling is no exception.  In fact, I would say their pickiness is their strength as, like a child in a candy-encrusted jewelry store, I wanted everything I came across.

If you're not already an avid thrifter, vintage shopping can be a nice way of easing into the process of buying second hand. Lately, when I've been chatting with friends about thrifting, they tell me they just don't have the time for it.  I can respect that.  If you know exactly what you're looking for, i.e. a pair of low-rise, straight-leg, mid calf, cherry red cotton pants, you may be searching for a while.

Vintage helps bridge that gap between the massive ocean of worn items and neatly-organized, mass-constructed sweaters in every color and size.

Vintage shops pay attention to current trends and find the original items those trends originally derived from. It's a great place to find accessories that feel modern, yet genuine, in terms of design, materials and construction. 

The shop feels very 50's, 60's and 70's, with muted accessories and bright clothing.

 I rarely find cute, LARGE purses at thrift stores, so I almost hugged this display when I came across it. 
Just another perk of shopping vintage.

 Had I not been chaperoned, I may have taken home every beaded clutch and doctor bag.  Can you blame me?

This display took me back to childhood, with its yellowed storage tins and vintage Butterick sewing patterns.

 Digging the vibe: purple walls and Dinsaur Jr. playing on a burned C.D.

 The widow display reads "His, Hers and Home," a perfectly simple description of what the store offers.

Oh! Darling may be small, but their selection is hand-picked and packed-in without feeling claustrophobic.

Lots of great clothing, shoes, dead-stock, hats, bags, arts, and an obscene amount of vintage match boxes.

Check it out!

Oh! Darling Vintage

937 Monmouth St.

Newport, KY 41071

Tue-Sat noon-6p.m.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oh-Darling-Vintage/194423460595933

The Cozy Professional

 

For me, the way I dress dictates the way I act.

Clothing with more structure, i.e. pencil skirts, a jacket, heels, tells my brain"tush to the cush(ion)." Sweatpants on the other hand, make me want to lay my head down on anything plush, feathered or otherwise non-hard. I will forever maintain that glasses are the sweatpants of the face, as my eyes refuse to concentrate on email when encased behind glass. If your eye balls can rise above it, congratulations, your head is more talented than mine.

As an American, I often feel we live a life of extremes.One of the beautiful traits (that I perceive) of generation Y
is that we are able to step back and say...

HEY. Where's the happy medium?

(in work, relationships and here, with clothing)

The Pink Shirt

$4.50

(Read about it in other posts:
with a mustard pencil skirt or when I made the purchase.)

 As a professional, my goal is to look pulled-together, modern,
and unexpected yet comfortable.

Ninety percent of the sweaters I own are from thrift shops as they are found
in abundance because they show less wear than a t-shirt or pair of jeans.
BUT last year I was craving a high-low sweater.
I found this incredibly soft one at Old Navy ($5).

Skirt, Gap Outlet ($10)

Thrifted choker  necklace ($1).  In the previous shot
you can see I made it longer by adding a normal chain to each end.
This helped to balance out the collar.

I'm a big fan of texture.

Beautiful cameo bobbi pin my friend Rebecca made.

2009 flashback: socks with heels add comfort and dimension to an outfit.

2005 Heels from Target ($19)

Bonne nuit de Cincinnati Thrift!

Shopping with...Cory

 

BREAKING NEWS

Cory Deal, my fiancé, wanted to go 

thrift shopping.

 

We decided to explore a new store, at least new to me.
This thrift store had been recommended to me by a co-worker the week before.

Goodwill in Anderson Township (right on 275 on Beechmont)

 

 The parking for Goodwill wasn't massive, but the adjoining lots made it feel that way.

 

The Goodwill location has an enormous amount of stock (and customers).

Great selection of shoes, including a healthy dose of brand new Target stock.

I wish I was cool enough to have organ skills.
Oh, and a vehicle with hauling capabilities.

 

 

Most of the area Goodwills have daily specials. 

 

Just like the Florence Goodwill,
this Saturday was 50% off of clothing.

Thrifting 101: throw everything you like in the cart
and narrow-down items at the end.

All 5 dressing rooms were packed
so I opted for trying on jackets in the aisle.

 This one was a winner!
More to come on this jacket later.

One of the main reasons for this trip was
to prove Cory WRONG.

In high school, Cory was a left tackle on the offensive line. Number 67 to be exact.

As you can see he still wears that sexy frame (hands off ladies and gents)

and when shopping, often finds it a challenge to fit his shoulders.

Our mission was sweaters. 
There was an entire rack of big and tall sweaters,
approximately 30 or so, in sizes ranging from XL-4XL.

 "Give me your tired, your poor,
your broad-chested and sweater-less."

Cory tried on a sweater and caught the spirit.
(spirit not included in price).

I love a man in a cardigan.

 The winning sweater. 

$3.49

Thanks Cory!

Until next time, bon nuit!

Ketchup and Mustard

Here's another segment for Thrift at Work.

This time I'm working a seemingly classic button-down.

The Pink Button-Down

$4.50

The fit, sturdy cotton and beautiful texture, is what drew me to this top.

In order to keep this shirt feeling fresh,
I turned to the classic color palette of
ketchup and mustard.
The twist is that the ketchup is a subdued pink,
while the mustard is more dijon.

Button-ups and pencil skirts are both classic items. 
Keep it modern with the accessories.

Many thrifted items have one funky element. Here, the cuffs are long and huge. 
I've folded them once and in the future, I hope to use cufflinks to calm them down.

I purchased this pencil skirt at the Village Discount Outlet ($3),
a thrift store in Newport, Kentucky that unfortunately, no longer exists.

It feels fresh to button all the way up.

This necklace is fun yet refined, keeping it in line with the business model. Necklace, $5, Nordstrom Rack.

I never get enough of boots.  I feel like me in a leather pair, with a low heel.

The thrifting robot. I couldn't resist.

The Plaid Yellow Jacket: Part II

 

The Polished Weekend

Jackets are back and

 in a BIG way.

So when I saw this lovely little number at my neighborhood  Thrift Shop
I was excited...
even if it was a

LITTLE crazy.

So here I am in part II of the series, trying to make it work.
As you can see, the challenge here is to work the black and yellow paid without looking like I'm hiding a stinger.

Previously, I had luck mixing this bold print with another, subtle print.
Black tank $8 (Old Navy). Shorts $29 (LOFT) Shoes $29 (MIA at Nordstrom Rack)

You can see that the leopard print almost acts as a neutral --
it helps distract from the boldness of the jacket.
Brown is usually a good way to tone down an outfit.

This outfit is totally 90's meets 50's to me. 
The jacket takes me right back to Cher in Clueless
while the shorts make me want to sip an old fashion soda.

The Outfits that Could BE

When you take a super laid-back look and add a jacket, it looks polished, yet unfussy.
Thrift American Eagle shorts. Sheer mint tank, $5 (Nordstrom Rack)

I didn't know it was possible, but I'm using
"sexy" and "yellow plaid" in the same sentence.

I am convinced that any item can work with jeans.  I see these as casual Friday outfits.

Bon Nuit!

The Plaid Yellow Jacket: Part I

Sometimes when you go thrifting you think,

"HEY. This could be REAL interesting."

Then you get home, and suddenly, it's a different story.

It's like every other item in your wardrobe speaks English and all this item knows is Pig Latin.

So, I'd like to call this segment...

making the crazy work.

(as many ways as I could think of at one moment in time).

The Plaid Yellow Jacket

originally mentioned in this Oakley Thrift-ing

$3.50

The "crazy" item in question. The swing style helps calm the look down -- it' has a boxy shape,  hits at the natural waist and the sleeves are 3/4 length.

Part I: The Professional Approach

The Modern Suit

As you can see, this first outfit is very suit-like.

The twist in this outfit is the polka dot shirt underneath.

Purchased at the Village thrift store in Newport, KY last fall.  Sadly, this store is no longer open.

Shoes, $29 (Marshalls) Skirt $10 (Gap Outlet)

 

Color Blocking

(for the business woman)

The bright magenta helps deflect
the bee-like color scheme.

With the jacket open, you can see the top's trim
peeking out underneath.

As you can see, the only difference in this outfit is the top.

This flower lattice work feels very Marc Jacob circa 2010.

Stay tuned for Part II!