Thrifted T-Shirt Dress With a 1920's Look - Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

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!