Fabulous Thrifted Finds! Peek Inside My Closet & Share My Obsession

I took some shots of some of the recent fabulous thrifted finds and figured I'd get a couple others I've had hanging around (literally--this stuff hangs from every possible hanging spot in our house: the knobs on the pantry, hooks on doorjambs, a nail in the door to the hot water heater closet, the shower curtain rod in the front bathroom, and here, where you see them--from the rod for the curtain that covers the shelves of paper in The Voodoo Lounge). I can't put them in the closets or the storage building: I have to see them to think about what I want to do to/with them.

I've got plans for most of these, but this first one has me baffled. I've had it for years and years and know I want to do something with it, but I don't know what. It's 100% cotton, of course.

Where I got it: Goodwill, I think. Thrifted, for sure.

How much: less than $5, I'm pretty sure

Why I bought it: Fabulous with jeans. I'm always cold, so I can never have too many coats/jackets/sweaters/wraps.

What I might do with it: At one time I thought I'd stitch in all the white lines, but that's probably not going to happen unless I end up on a cruise or something (i.e., with a ton of time on my hands). Beyond that, I can't figure out what I might do.

This is a lovely black rayon/silk velvet jacket/coat. It looks new. The price tag says $45, but I think we got it for 20% off that--it was at an estate sale, and I left it there and came home and thought about how cool it would be with sparkly black beads sewn around the edges. I have a shawl that "matches" it, and it's still waiting to be beaded, too.

Where I got it: estate sale

How much: $36, over my "limit," but it feels fabulous!

Why I bought it (actually, The EGE went back and got it for me, so it was a gift): jacket! Velvet!

This is a rayon hoodie I couldn't resist.

Where I got it: BJ's consignment

How much: $10, I think

Why: Jacket! Me = always cold. I like rayon. The colors are fabulous. Beads!

What I might do with it: more beads and sequins. The note you see pinned to the front: all the clothes to be altered have those; I just took most of them off for photographing. I have to do that so I can think about how much work is involved when I'm doing the triage: I put them in order with the quicker things first. The beading and handstitching always goes at the back of the line.

Here you can see the rip.

What it is: rayon blouse with (gasp!) ruffles

Where I got it: BJ's consignment

How much it cost: $0

What I'm going to do with it: mend it, add beads

This is a Johnny Was rayon blouse. It was white, and when I saw it, I couldn't tell exactly what it was--one sleeve was pulled inside out on the hanger, and when I adjusted it, I saw that it had a rip in it--apparently someone who didn't quite fit tried it on, ripped it, yanked it off and stuck it back on the hanger. I showed it to the owner, and she said I could have it. I demurred, as I don't do 1) blouses or 2) ruffles. But she said it was an expensive blouse (this isn't on the website, but here's something that's kind of close to give you an idea) and she didn't want to throw it away and she couldn't sell it, and she knew I could Do Something With It. Sigh. Well, it was rayon, and I adore the way snow-white rayon takes dye. It really is this brilliantly orange now. Cool, huh? I have some hot pink rayon floss, and I'm going to mend it with big obvious stitches and then add some beads. I saw a Midland Woman (if you're From Here, you know exactly what I mean), about my age, wearing one of these this past week. She had on a denim skirt, knee-length, sandals, and a tank underneath. I saw her from across the parking lot and told The EGE, "That's my blouse." I could just tell: once you start working with something, you get to know it. Whether I'll ever actually wear it, I don't know--it depends on how it feels when I finish. But I *will* finish it and take it to show the shop owner, of course. It feels pretty good--a nice drape to the rayon.

On Friday afternoons, if I've worked hard all week, I go *shopping.* To BJ's, sometimes other places. Yesterday I scored big, finding 4 things I love.

 Soft linen top, mid-thigh
Where I got it: BJ's
How much: $16, I think
Why I bought it: I like to wear these jeans, cropped and stretch, that are form-fitting. They are fabulously comfortable: they stretch but don't look like stretch jeans, so I can sit cross-legged in them without them pulling across the knees. You know how it is when you try to sit cross-legged in 501's. Almost impossible unless they're huge. When I wear tight jeans, I wear a longer, loose top. (I wear full/loose skirts/pants with form-fitting tank tops; it's one of the only "rules" I follow, and I follow it because it looks good to me: never tight on top and bottom, and hardly ever (I make exceptions with some really cool stuff, like some linen things) loose on both top and bottom. One of each = a flattering balance)

What I'll do to it: dye it in either golden yellow or deep orange. It's too pale and peachy right now. That's probably all I'll do to it--I'm not in love with it; it's just a good top to wear.

 Bryn Walker top. Oh, my. I adore Bryn Walker, as you've heard me mention. I don't adore it enough to pay full price--it's ridiculous. But I lovelovelove finding it for cheap. I love that it's shorter in front--I love that cut. The ends of the sleeves are fuller--after I launder it, they should be puffier. It's a deeper purple than this--hard to get the color right in this room (the first photos were in the Voodoo Lounge; these new ones are in the office studio where the washer and dryer are because I haven't washed them yet)

Where I found it: BJ's
How much: $22, I think (and worth the extra $2) It was probably $98 new; everything of BW is either $98 or $198, as far as I can tell.

Why I bought it: Bryn Walker Linen. Need I say more?
What I'll do to it: I have no idea. I may wear it like it is for a while, as I have a bunch of other linen things in line ahead of it. It does beg for some handwork, though.

 Free People dress-ish thing.
Where: BJ's
How much: I think this was $28, but, for obvious reasons, I couldn't resist it
Why I bought it: COLOR! plus BEADS!
What I'll do with it: wear it as it is as soon as I wash it. Some things are so fabulous they don't need my help. Having said that, I may eventually cut it shorter in the front and leave it longer in the back. I don't know yet, but that *would* be pretty cool. Soon I'll have everything cut like that--longer in the back--and then I'll get tired of it and wish I hadn't. Or maybe not--maybe I'll love it forever. Who knows? Who cares!

 Another Free People top. I don't think this one has ever been washed or worn.
Where: BJ's
How much: around $20.
Why I bought it: I can't wait to add more patches to it. It begs for them--it called to me in the shop! Really! "Ricë! Buy me! Mend me! Stitch me!"

What I'll do to it: add patches, beads, stitching. I'm going back to Dillards today:  they have these new Ralph Lauren Polo shirts in the men's department. No, never fear: I would never buy these. The EGE would never wear one. But they have this hand-stitching on them and these hand-sewn (I'm pretty sure they really are) details that just made me happier than snot, never mind that they're not that well executed, and I studied them (not wanting to replicate--they're not that cool; just thinking about them), and then I came home to find them online to see what it says about them. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. So I'll go back after while and find out what else the tag says. Anyway, it gives me ideas for hand-stitching on knits. I used to think I couldn't because of the stretch, but I'm finding you can do some really cool stuff, even on them. Huh.

I like the button-placket detail. When I bought this, I had the idea I'd come home and try making one myself, just to see if I could. But then I realized, eh, I have no desire to do that. At least I don't think I do--if I work on this one and wear it and love it a LOT, then I might try to make something similar (the arm and neck bands would be from the hems of some chambray shirts I cut up for patches--I saved the edges, and they'd be PERFECT for this).

OK, so that's a sampling of what I've got lined up to work on. As my taste focuses, I'm weeding out some of the stuff I thought I wanted to work on and pulling out other stuff that's more exciting. It's a constant weeding and sorting, thinking about what I want to do and, more important: why. Why do I want to have things mended and patched? Why does that appeal to me? What is it about linen that I love? Rayon? (My mother, who lived through WWII, thought of rayon as a cheap, tacky, war-time fabric, and she hated it. I like it because it's made from wood pulp and takes dye and is NOT polyester (the word I use for all synthetics because I don't care enough about them to differentiate)). I like the texture of good rayon, the heavy, almost silky weight.

[Note: I've said this before, but: when I decide I don't want to work on something, I take it back to Goodwill. They hire kids in the special ed classes at the high school (both? or just Lee? I don't know) to sort and price clothes. The EGE has gone with them when he subbed there, and he thinks it's an excellent program that the kids seem to enjoy. So the sign in the shop that says "Your Donations Provide Jobs for The Handicapped" isn't just a poorly-worded sign; it's a sentiment that's worth supporting. I feel good buying stuff there, and I feel good taking and re-donating it, too.]

I've got more photos for another post but figured this was enough for now. I don't want your brain to explode from thinking about how there's someone who has all these used clothes in her house and is thrilled beyond belief to think about ways to make them better. It's a peculiar obsession, but it's *my* obsession.

XO