The early bird catches the worm - or could they be fake?

Now I get why people buy expensive sunglasses: they just look so much better than the cheapie ones. Like these purple Coach shades I recently thrifted at my fave new thrift shop, Canadian Thrift. They're just so substantial - and they're purple to boot!Actually, I left them there for a day to think about it before going back and scooping them up. The owner told me today numerous folk have come in asking about them. Ahem.Now I'm not an expert in...

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Valentine's thrift gift pour moi?

Do I need another lamp? I have divulged somewhere in the contents of this blog just how many lamps I have, so I won't repeat myself here. Let's just say it's a style obsession - a true love, perhaps? But changing up the lamps in my life is a fun way to give my space a bit of a face lift.And this mammoth ruby red glass base lamp, in the window of my neighbourhood thrift store, is just to die for, isn't it? My mummy is sending me some money for a Valentine's...

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Table bling with vintage brooch

I did promise to show you a few creative ideas for using vintage brooches you find in the thrift and vintage stores but never know what to do with - and finally, I am delivering!There's no rule that says you have to wear a pin on yourself. My philosophy is this: treat pins as an accessory you can use to dress up a tablecloth, a lamp shade, or even a chair (providing you don't sit on it!).Having a splashy dinner party? Want to jazz up an expensive...

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Vintage necklace by Regina, in action

We interrupt regular programming about vintage pins for several reasons - namely to be timely as this is the last post I'll do with my OLD haircut, having just gotten a sassy shorter do that's a bit of a cure-all for the winter blahs I've been having of late.In a way the theme is the same as the pin posts: how to incorporate a vintage piece of bling into my wardrobe that I haven't had much luck incorporating!I'm not kidding: I've worn this vintage...

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Horseshoe pin on my hat

Ok, this is the most obvious way to wear a pin, aside from a coat or a lapel. Never really done it except for my mini-photo shoot in my apartment tonight, but I love this blue horseshoe pin I bought a decade ago at a flea market. It looks pretty jaunty on my thrifted wool beret and a recently thrifted wool trench, n'est pas?. Perhaps I should find un airplane and fly ma butt to le grand Paris pour un cafe in my little Frenchie getup!If you are of...

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Got the blues?

In honour of the winter blues, and the snow that's falling down tonight, I am happy to bring you this vintage blue snowflake pin I thritfed for two bucks. It is signed Coro. The New York jewellery company, Coro, I know, made various levels of costume jewellery in its 80-year history starting in the early 1900s. There were budget collections for the masses, so to speak, and higher-end collections that are worth more and more collectible today.Judging...

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Mirror, mirror

Did I need it? Of course not. Do I ever really need anything I thrift? Rarely. But I love things of beauty that are cheap, cheap, cheap - like this wee mirror, made in Italy, I found at Canadian Thrift for about 5 bucks.It's so sweet isn't it? Metal. Kinda beat up. Kinda chic. Just my cuppa t...

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Monet pin for hardly any money

I really restrain myself in thrift shops when it comes to buying up pins. They're always in abundance and are typically super cheap. But they invariably end up in my 'collection' doing nothing but sitting in my jewel box dedicated to all the pins I never wear ....This vintage Monet pin, found in the jewellery-brimming cases at Canadian Thrift at 1053 Pape Avenue, was a couple bucks. But I just loved it on sight. Like most of the vintage bling I'm...

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Vintage faceted shades: which is thrift?

Can you tell which pair of faceted sunglasses I paid a 'vintage' price for, and which I paid a thrift price for? One pair was $300; the other, a buck.I kid you not. I bought the $300 pair as I loved them (and let me tell you, I had to really love 'em to drop a buck like that). They were never worn. And faceted sunglasses just can't be found any more new - they just don't cut them that way these days.Well, just goes to show: you can always find it...

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I got me some vintage bling afterall

Do I look like that cat that ate the canary here? (and like I have a lamp sprouting out of my head? oops). I must confess: I didn't just spend a buck at the jewellery club the other night. I also came home with this 1980s chunky Lucite necklace I've been eye-balling for some time now (you'll see it featured a few posts below), from a seller and collector with impeccable goods.I'm very happy with it. It's a lovely piece for my collection and just...

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Baby it's cold outside but it's summer in my apartment

Minus ... twenty ... five ... degrees C with the wind chill this morning, on Blue Monday, what the radio announcer has just told me is the most depressing day of the year for peeps in this part of the world. My tootsies may be numb when I step outside soon, but in my sauna-like apartment this morning they're as snug as can be - in these thrifted Italian shoes I picked up at Value Village the other day for $12.99.They're in such good condition that...

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One Buck Pick-Me-Up at the jewellery club last night

It's been a crap week - shows on my face eh? - so last night's Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club meeting was a bit of a tonic. Nice to see the gals, talk about bling, and well, shop. We pass around this "buck bag" every meeting, into which members throw little bibs and bobs they've found, and we toss in a buck if we take something from the bag.I really liked this 1970s style necklace. I love the matte pieces mixed in with the tarnished ones....

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Fast fashion-y sweater but I like it

I see the Kenzie label in a lot of smaller boutiques and I don't mind the label, but I find the line too pricey pour moi. Plus I'm not a big Made in China thrift shopper, preferring older makes that were actually made in Canada, or Italy, or France.But this metallic wool-blend Kenzie cardi, Made in China, was only $8.99 at my local thrift shop, Stretch Thrift, and it's just perfect with a cashmere turtleneck and the wool boucle leggings I've been...

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Would Anna Wintour approve?

This is my Anna Wintour impression with a pair of thrifted glasses I picked up for under $10 the other day (at my fave new thrift shop, Canadian Thrift) - not bad eh? I think I look somewhat serious and intimidating, like the American Vogue editor-in-chief often does in photos, at least - as though I am scrutinizing some runway collection and about to release my verdict to the shiny beautiful masses.There. I've managed what could be termed a smile....

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Dream lamp & decor piece found a la thrift

Remember these gorgeous hammered hanging lamps I showed you post-Thanksgiving, found at the Ottawa-area Third World Bazaar? I've actually been coveting them for two years now. They're made in Egypt and cost $50-$150 or so depending on the size. I loved them and even though they were tres affordable, I couldn't spare the cash to buy one.Well, looky looky what I found in a thrift shop the other day! It's a cut-out orb, likely from the Middle East,...

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Can a thrifted dress change your life??

You bet your bottom dollar thrifty-loving booty it can. Yes, as I take a look back at 2010 and all my thrifting exploits, I can most definitively say that a thrifted dress changed my life - for the better, natch.The frock in question: this silk, Italian-made designer dress (must have been influenced by Pucci; I call it my Pucci dress anyway) I found at Value Village for just under $20.I'm wearing it here, along with a spray-on tan, the night before...

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Forgotten table in the trash

There aren't just sad little Christmas trees curbside this week. This solid wooden table has been here all week, in a well-known trash pile I walk by every morning, which is behind a neighbouring apartment.By solid, I mean heavy solid wood. Look, there are even extensions and legs, the whole shebang, just waiting to be picked up by someone. I can't really believe no one picked it up. The garbage was collected the other day and I don't think...

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January blahs & vintage bling

I got the blues, bigtime. My solution: bling, and colour.I've been eying this 1980s Lucite necklace at the last two Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club Show & Sales. Isn't it fab?May have to call the dealer and see if it's still available.If you're interested in joining the club, we renew memberships at our first meeting of the year next week, so leave a comment or send me an email and I'll send you the email of the appropriate person to ...

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Thrifted regrets & looks you hated from 2010

Regrets. I've had a few. But not that many in the thrifted department! When you start thrifting you want to buy literally EVERYTHING because it's so cheap. That, dear reader, can lead to the odd mistake. Then, as time goes by, you refine your eye and pick only quality goods.Here are some of my thrift regrets, some of my thrift looks I wasn't sure about - and a couple items readers hated.WRONG IN SO MANY WAYS. Not sure what planet I was on when I...

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My fall & winter 2010 uniform: thrifted blazer, skirt, statement shoes & 1970s bling (plus new cashmere & tights)

FALL: J. Crew wool blazer; skirt with saucy leather waistband and front pleats; faux croc shoes from Spain; vintage 1970s pendant chain by Raphael (cashmere sweater a gift and crochet tights bought new but on major sale at a warehouse sale).lWINTER: 1980s wool blazer with big gold buttons; high-waisted skirt; vintage 1970s chain; Stuart Weitzman platform pumps in mint condition! (cashmere sweater, another gift and tights, also new - until I ripped...

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Thrift looks of the year: spring & summer

Couldn't believe I found this 1970s? Lucite-like and silver-tone chain at my local Goodwill for $6.99In honour of the New Year I thought it'd be fun to take a look back at some of the looks I've created using pretty much 100 percent thrifted vintage and contemporary goodies. Enjoy! Tomorrow I'll do winter & fall!SPRING: PUNKER CHIC. 100% thrifted! Teenflo mini skirt; J Crew wool blazer; generic black top; Nine West booties; vintage chain.SUMMER:...

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New Year, new look a la easy peasy bohemia

I've been a wee tired and bored with myself of late - a line I snatched from a Bruce Spingsteen song that perfectly encapsulates my feelings. And when I start feeling that way only one thing can help: an apartment re-org.I was in the mood for a new look, but not in the mood for lugging big pieces of furniture around. So all I did was shift a couple of Persian rugs around and reposition one love seat so that the two love seats are facing one another...

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