Uncategorized Archives - Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

I found this early 1990’s vintage heart-print dress a couple of months ago. I liked the colorful green hearts immediately. The blue is a navy but out in the sunlight it casts off a bit of a periwinkle color. It is made of a soft and comfortable cotton. I wanted a short dress. So many of my dresses tend to be mid-calf since I like them that way. It is nice to mix it up though, particularly in the spring and summer months when it gets warm!

One of the great things I have noticed about not dwelling on trends much is that I really buy significantly less. I stick with the classics and occasionally I find something else that I like that I add to my wardrobe. It is a nice to feel that my closet is full enough. I also have more time to focus on my crafts and other pursuits since I am far less inclined to go out and shop to keep up with trends. When I see a trend I like I either figure out if I want to participate in it, or how I can make something similar myself, or find something similar either thrifted or vintage so it is further down the chain of production. I haven’t had time but I want to make myself a pair of slacks that have that Japanese loose but feminine look with the fullness that almost looks like a skirt or harem pants. I am in awe of the ideas for designs that the Far East has for slacks. They make the slacks in the United States look so standard, while theirs are avant-garde and unique.

I bought the dainty gold necklace at Accessorize. I really like some of the designs in their shop. They have a lovely collection and variety of designs. I liked how the necklace is so thin and delicate.

My stocking come from Trendy Legs. My sweetheart gave them to me as a gift. I also have a pair with hearts on them but I like these with the paisley pattern paired with the dress’s green heart pattern. They are really nice for us ladies who aren’t into tattoos, we can get kind of the same effect but without the tattoo.

I have been quite buried working on getting the Etsy shop up and running. Then after the first one is opened I am going to create another with handmade items. It is a learning curve and a big project but I have been reading a lot about it. Plus it is exciting, all the more so since I get to focus on pieces of myself that I haven’t had that much time to really let loose and watch evolve in many years. I have a real reason to bring the things I enjoy and the things I like creating forward. I get the opportunity to focus on my hobbies and interests but on a larger level so I can share them with others. In a certain way it makes me feel twenty-one again. At twenty-one my brain was as if it was on fire with creativity!

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of spring and hopefully it will get warm enough so that I can take some blog-post pictures outside again!!

Vintage 1990's dress

1990's green vintage dress

trendy legs tights

accessorize necklace 1990's dress

Thrifted T-Shirt Dress With a 1920’s Look

January 29, 2016

01/292016

Several months ago I found this lovely T-Shirt dress (yes that is also the brand name) at St. Luke’s Thrift Shop in the West Village. They are located at 487 Hudson Street. It was on sale for half price and I really liked that it had a mid-1920’s look to it. The drop waist is an attractive twenties feature and I like the twist in the neckline. I was excited that I found myself another Anthropologie-type dress since I really like their website but can rarely afford to buy clothing from them new. Plus the whole idea of something further down the chain of production is great as far as I am concerned. This dress was the second t-shirt dress I found at St. Luke’s Thrift Shop last year. They generally have really good quality donations coming in on a regular basis, so I find the shop to be a great place to find a new outfit. Their shop is very small, which means they have a lot of sales to keep things moving quickly. The T-shirt dresses I bought were under $15 each! When items aren’t on sale expect them to be expensive for a thrift shop since it is the West Village. The quality of their clothing is really worth it though. If you want a real deal just wait for the sales, which is what I generally do!

I changed necklaces a few times for these shots. With a shift dress this simple it is all in the accessories to liven the look up. I didn’t have a super-long, heavier pearl necklace so in one photo I wore two pearl necklaces slightly different from one another, yet close enough in color. I look best in pale pink pearls as opposed to white. They match my skin tone best. I really like grey pearls though! I think they are super- elegant. The lariat necklace that is burgundy is one I made myself many years ago. It is supposed to portray my personality, in the colors and shapes that feel at home in my vision of myself. Of course I was somewhat limited in portraying all that by the shapes, in order to get the necklace to tie. However that was the basic concept behind the design. Lariat necklaces were big in the 1920’s. They were often very long, light and thin so they had the velocity to swing around when the ladies were doing the Charleston. If I had wanted to wear black accessories I could have worn the black Austrian crystal lariat necklace included in the photos for this post. The pearl necklace with white and blue beads I also made for myself years ago. I liked those bluish pearls that are around the center piece, which is an opal-colored teardrop.

The scarf I wore with the sweater is an old April Cornell scarf from when I worked at one of their shops years ago. My honey-brown sweater is from Uniqlo. The shiny beige shoes were from Target. I saved them since I really couldn’t wear them due to my bunion and hammertoe. Now finally I can wear them as long as I don’t walk too far. They don’t have the best support for my foot issues but they’d be fine to wear on occasion. I like that they have that 1920’s look with the little heel.

The flat shoes with four straps were a screaming deal I found at St. Luke’s Thrift Shop a couple of years ago for $25! They are John Fleuvog shoes and usually are very expensive. When I bought them they were practically new. They also have a 1920’s look with the four straps. I first saw shoes like these in the movie The Hours, in a scene where Virginia Woolf was at the train station. I wanted them that instant! It took a while but I finally found them! It took some patience to get them since the manager at the shop had separated the shoes because they were not part of a half-price sale. I kept calling and following up until finally the manager was available and took the other shoe out of hiding! Anyway John Fluevog shoes are wild, funny, zany and super-unique!! I am a big admirer of his shoe and boot designs.

Oh, I have a quick update on my right foot. Now I can run for ten minutes!! I couldn’t do that before my surgery! Those of you following the blog know I had surgery last September. I feel like Forest Gump when he kept shouting “I am running!”

Well I hope you enjoyed this post. I am sure some of you readers are also out looking for vintage or thrifted items and shopping further down the chain of mass production. If you haven’t started thrifting it might be a good goal to learn and discover how much fun it is. It is not only a great way to save some money on clothes but also a way to help out our planet at the same time. Every time you buy something vintage or thrifted it helps cut down on the energy involved in mass manufacturing. Plus I have also discovered that with thrifting it is not that difficult to find items that are made in the United States if you really look for them. This T-shirt dress was made in Los Angeles. If you would like to know more about the whole topic of the effect of mass production on our environment you could read my post about the book, Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. Elizabeth Cline writes about her journeys traveling the world and learning about how much it costs our planet to be constantly buying mass-manufactured clothing. If you choose to read the book it really makes you think before you shop.

Well happy thrifting!

photos for blog 031

thrifted T-Shirt Dress 1920's look

Thrifted John Fluevog's

Flickr Photos:Christine592 collection

Spooky Vintage Halloween Photos

October 28, 2015

10/282015

Aprons with Vintage Linens and “Granny Chic”

June 7, 2015

06/072015

I made these two aprons, for my daughter, Emily, using Tif’Fussell’s a ‘perfectly peach’ pinny recipe for making an apron from vintage and retro pieces. The only new things I bought, aside from thread, was ribbons since I didn’t have old sheets or other long pieces of fabric that I wanted to use for making the ties for the aprons. This “recipe,” as well numerous others for crafts projects or ideas for decorating your home in a lovely floral, or doily, “Granny Chic” style are available in the book, which was put together by Tif Fussell and her friend Rachelle Blondel. Both have a history of blogging, Rachel is still blogging. Tif is no longer blogging however one can view her older posts at: http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/ and Rachell’s still current blog is at: http://www.dockandnettle.com/ She also has her blog from at the time the book was written:http://talesoftedandagnes.blogspot.com/ I have found that looking through the old blog posts one often finds nice craft projects.

I was considering doing an entire post on this “Granny Chic” book; however it seems like it’d be easier to do various posts about some of the different projects as I go along. The book is great, by the way, especially for those who have a notion to be “crafty.” There are covered lamp shades you can create with floral fabrics, round pillows, bottles covered in fabric, these are just to name a few. If you’d like a glimpse into Dottie Angel’s world you can go to Flickr and view her albums like Mossy Shed, which display photos of Tif Fussell’s lovely home and air streamer. I’d show you some pictures; however they are not available for download. You can view them at: https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=dottie+angel I have spent an hour or two viewing these albums a few times since they are so inspiring!! The other good news is that Tif has a pattern coming out for her “Dottie Angel Frock” this month with Simplicity patterns. I am eager to buy it as soon as it comes out since her dresses are marvelously simple and beautiful. I created a small gallery below, of a picture of the book and a few photos I took of the book, and some of its pictures inside.

The first apron I made was relatively simple to create; it is the orange and yellow one in this post. I used one side of a vintage pillowcase, added a vintage placemat, sewed down the center of the placemat to create large pockets and added some colorful ribbons to the top. Emily had just folded over the ribbons in the photos and I didn’t realize it! I used an old t-shirt’s orange lace for the lace. I found the t- shirt at a clothing swap. We all know I like to recycle things, find a new use for them.

The second apron was significantly more work, yet it was really fun to create it. I used a retro pillowcase my mother had embroidered years ago, a few pieces of vintage linens and some small pieces of fabric, or patches of embroidery to cover stains, or spots, where the fabric was wearing thin on the blue vintage piece in the center of the apron. I was very pleased with the lovely collaged look of the final outcome of the project. I have a history of enjoying making collages so that part came naturally to me. The corner pieces in the apron that are patchwork quilted is from a fair in Pennsylvania, where I bought several of those squares for a low price from a quilter about thirty years ago.

I hope you enjoyed this post about making these lovely aprons. I certainly enjoyed making them, and Emily will enjoy having them. I want to make a couple for myself now! I need to go hunting for more vintage pieces to add to what I have!