Camo Shirt and Thrift Finds

Busy week this week. I did find time for thrift shopping on Tuesday and will post the found items next week. Since the temperature was a little cooler this week, I wore trousers, a t-shirt and a sweater for thrifting. Next time, I'll leave the heels at home. ;-)

The details:
T-Shirt: Simply Vera, Vera Wang
Trousers: FDJ French Dressing
Sweater: Nic + Zoe
Shoes: Thrifted Nine West (see below)
Bracelet: Relativity

The following items were found on Tuesday, September 24.

A beaded collar shirt and a black a-line skirt, nothing special but good basics for fall.

My favorite this week: a brown tweed skirt with brown crochet trim.

 A red rag weave cardigan,

 an oatmeal v-neck, and

a black leather and sweater knit jacket. I'm seeing leather sleeves with knitted bodices this fall, but hope I can make this opposite style work instead.

The only sleet/snow repellant coat I own is a sporty parka, so this dressier coat will be a great addition for midwest winters. (What's with all the spots on this photo? Sorry.)

I think I can find lots of uses for this versatile gold beaded sweater.

I'm not certain how I'll use this denim duster ... I'm having a little buyer's remorse ... but I hope I can figure out how to use this. Ideas are welcome!

This is a vintage velvet vest and I'm really excited to own it!

I think this is a vintage jacket; it's oversized for me, but I hope I can make it work. My husband called it the "Sgt. Pepper Jacket".

Two pair of shoes -- the Nine West are (poorly) pictured at the beginning of this post. The Nina pair are ankle-strapped and have a really fun painted heel.

Finally, a pair of jeans that fit! But how to wear this style? Only one way to make these jeans work -- get my Cowgirl on.

And, finally, I found three pieces of jewelry: a bracelet and two broaches; none are vintage. I already own an identical bracelet.

I also purchased a 70's vintage outfit that I'll wear for the birthday party of Sheila of Ephemera. That's it for last week.

Thrifted details:

Beaded collar shirt: Talbots $9.99

Black A-line skirt: Talbots $9.99

Crochet trim skirt: Talbots $9.99

Cardigan: Talbots $9.99

V-Neck sweater: Banana Republic $9.99

Leather and knit jacket: Ann Taylor $14.99

Coat: Drizzle $8.00

Beaded sweater: Designer Original $3.49

Denim duster: Gap $14.99

Velvet vest: Dino Ricco Original "Bell Boy" $4.00

Sgt. Pepper jacket: Julian Taylor $2.00

Brown shoes: Nine West $3.00

Black painted heel shoes: Nina $3.00

Embellished jeans: Ann Taylor Loft $12.99

Bracelet: $2.38

Bunny broach: $1.19

Vintage-look broach: $1.49

A Fedora and a '66 Chevy

Saturday afternoon, we attended a vintage car show. We've attended the show in the past and have always found a blue 1966 Chevy Impala Super Sport. This year, I was looking forward to having my picture taken standing by the car; unfortunately, we were not able to find one. Why a picture? Well, after high school graduation in 1970, I got a blue 1966 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport. I wanted a Camaro, but got an Impala SS instead. I loved that car and had a lot of fun with it.

So, no pix with a car, but here's what I wore to the car show:

Jeans two days in a row ... a record for me. These RL jeans fit really well, if belted and shirt tucked; that's a rarity for me. The Jessica Bennett shoes get a lot of wear time; they fit well, are extremely comfortable and wearable for walking and standing for long stretches of time, even with a higher heel.

The details:
Thrifted Turtleneck:  Talbots here
Printed Jeans: Ralph Lauren
Leopard Print Fedora: Unmarked
Belt: Talbots
Shoes: Jessica Bennett
Watch: Fossil
Necklace: 90's Unmarked
Silver Bracelets: Old and unmarked

Thanks for stopping by! Comments/thoughts are always welcome.

Norma VanV

Oye como va? -- A Santana Homage

I'm not a stranger to skinny jeans, rock 'n roll, or a little edgier look. It's just not always appropriate for every day wear in my life -- not at the allergist's office, the market, the thrift shops, some luncheons, meetings, etc. Friday night cervezas with my husband before a quiet dinner at home -- you betcha!

I've read that Marilyn Monroe, after dressing, would always remove one item. I didn't think of Marilyn at the time, but I removed 2 items before we left home for the local pub.  The above picture was taken before I removed the leather banded watch.

And the picture above was taken before I removed the necklace. I also fixed the wonky seams of the skinny jeans and the uneven pushed up sleeves of the blazer before I left home!

Close-up photo of my Santana shirt, above. Manufacturer and date unknown.

I don't often wear jeans/trousers because it's nearly impossible to find a pair that fit! I mentioned in an earlier post that I have a love/hate relationship with trousers and would discuss in a future post. It's still something I want to discuss in a future post, but I'll supply a brief explanation here: plumber's rear is very unattractive and most trousers give me that effect. These jeans, as long as they are belted and shirt tucked, work for me. Of course, the longer jacket provides additional confidence.

THE DETAILS

Thrifted items:
Jacket: Vintage J.G. Hook here

Belt:  Brighton here
Shoes:  Carlos Santana here

Other items:
Santana Shirt: Unknown from my closet
Jeans: White House/Black Market
Necklace/Cuff Bracelet: Relativity

Thanks for viewing! Comments/critiques are welcome.

Norma VanV

Rafael Sanchez Belt, Vintage 80s

Vintage Rafael Sanchez Belt here.

Must be a spot on the lens.

But spot doesn't appear in this photo. Darn poltergeists.

Back view only to show the exposed zipper in the skirt, which doesn't show.

Intended to take pictures of the olive tiered dress (seen here), but ran out of camera battery life.

The Three S's -- Skirts, Shirts, and Shoes Plus A Bit of Vintage

Day 2 of last weeks thrifts finds. First, OOTD.

Autumn in the Midwest -- so unpredictable. Yesterday, I didn't wear a jacket and was a little cool with the blouse and dress combo. Today, short boots and a vest -- and just too darn warm.

BTW, I tend to plan my clothing choices for the week on Sundays; it's funny that I occasionally have planned to wear an outfit and Lisa of Dreamz-n-Wishz wears something similar :-) (Lisa, we're beginning to think alike LOL). I've changed plans before, but today I decided to go with the striped shirt.

The details:
T-shirt:  Talbots
Vest:  Talbots
Pants:  J.Jill
Belt: 80's and unmarked
Boots: Nine West Vintage America Collection

Thrift Items
All of these items were found at Goodwill; everything, except one pair of shoes, was found last week.

First up, a couple of skirts -- one summer and one gold silk.  The silk skirt has a couple of spots that I hope the drycleaners can remove.

 A brown corduroy vest -- great for this autumn.

 A short sleeve turtleneck shirt that didn't photograph very well.

 Two 3/4 sleeve knit shirts -- red and red print. Nothing special but couldn't pass them up.

This is a vintage (I think 80's) J.G. Hook olive blazer. I have plans to funkify it.

This is a sparkly midnight blue dress.

A vintage blue handbag, I think 60s, and brown suede pumps.

 Two pairs of shoes, slingbacks and ballet flats, for the summer.

And two more pairs of shoes, high heels and snake skin embossed kitten heels. The high heels were purchased from Goodwill this week and I plan to wear them tomorrow Friday in a post.

Whew! That's it for last week! I found even more this week. I think I may be addicted and may need to attend a thrifters anonymous meeting. LOL But can't wait to start playing with, and wearing, some of these finds.

The thrifted details:
Summer skirt: Talbots $7.98
Silk skirt: Talbots $3.99
Vest: Talbots $3.00
Turtleneck: Talbots $2.80
Red 3/4 Sleeve Shirt: Talbots $2.80
Red Print 3/4 Sleeve Shirt: Talbots $1.75
Blazer: J.G. Hook $3.99
Dress: Carole Little $4.99
Purse: Unknown Made in Canada $2.40
Brown Suede Pumps: Nine West $2.40
Slingbacks: Van Eli $3.00
Ballet Flats: Talbots $3.00
High Heels: Carlos Santana $3.00
Kitten Heels: Talbots $3.00

Thanks for viewing! Comments are always welcome.

Norma VanV

Animal Print, Thrift Finds, and a Duh Moment

Tuesday afternoons have become my thrift shopping times, so today's outfit is another easy on/easy off getup.

I wore this dress at the end of August for a Friday dinner date with my husband. This time I went casual, and following Lisa's (the thrifting queen of Dreamz-n-Wishz) wise advice, added a blouse underneath for trying on skirts/pants. Simply accessorized with flats, a necklace and a watch (I tend to lose track of time when shopping at thrift stores).

The details
Dress: Calvin Klein
Blouse: Anne Klein
Shoes: Nine West Vintage America Collection
Necklace: Old and unknown
Watch:  Fossil

The Duh Moment
Over this last weekend I planned to photograph the thrift finds of the week. As I was gathering items together, it dawned on me that I had a perfectly good antique dress form in the attic. DUH! Why didn't I think of this sooner??? Previously, I collected antique and vintage clothing and displayed items on the dress form. Unfortunately, after a few months both my husband and I found the dress form to be a little creepy (it sometimes startled us because of its human-like shape), so off it went to the attic. Well, I've rescued it from the attic, but will keep it put away when not in use. It's not perfect but it's in pretty good shape for its age. The tripod stand and the cap at the top are black painted cast iron, although some of the paint is chipped away. The fabric that covers the form is spotted and  in very delicate shape. The dress form is currently wearing an old camisole and half slip. I think she needs new lingerie!

BTW, I know the baseboard and wall are in need of fresh paint! The drop-down stairs to the attic are directly above the dress form and the wall there takes a little beating when items are moved up or down. (I think I created a new spot or two with the cast iron legs -- oops.) It's on the hubby to-do list and you know what that means.

Thrift Finds From Last Week
Lots of items found their way home with me last week. First up, items from the charitable organization for women:

A brown tweed straight skirt. This skirt will work with many items I already own.

A pale yellow sweater. I own just one item of yellow clothing -- a pair of jeans; I never thought it would be a great color on me but I decided to give this a try. I'm discovering that thrifting is a great way to try something different.

And this skirt.

This beautiful embroidered wool skirt should look great with boots this winter. I think I have the perfect suede jacket to wear with it.

From the Goodwill Boutique:

This striped shirt looks great with the tweed skirt. It's funny how that works -- you get home with items and find that they work together!

Both of the above photos are of the same fine wale corduroy shirt, but the color certainly looks different in the photos. The second photo is more accurate of the true coral color. I'm not certain how I'll use this shirt, but was drawn to the color and fabric for fall.

The thrifted details
Tweed skirt: Ann Taylor $14.99
Sweater: Talbots $9.99
Wool embroidered skirt: Talbots $9.99
Striped shirt: Talbots $9.99
Corduroy:  Talbots $12.99

I found a few more items at the regular Goodwill store and I'll post those tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcome.

Norma VanV

Tunic, Belted Low

Last Friday, I wore a tunic/kurti belted high. This Friday I wore another tunic, this time belted low.

Last fall I wore this tunic with leggings. I think I like it better with leggings. In order to balance this with the skirt, I had to pull the tunic up along the side shirring.

Time to give layered necklaces a try.

It wasn't hugely successful. Oh well.

The details:
Tunic: Relativity
Skirt: Max Studio
Belt: Ellen Tracy
Shoes: Jessica Bennett
Tassel necklace: Jessica Simpson
Elephant necklace: Relativity
Cuff bracelet: Talbots
Small gold bracelet: Unknown
Where I wore it: Shopping, errands, lunch, flu shot (ugh)

Thanks for stopping by! Comments/thoughts/critiques are always welcome.

Linking with Patti's Visible Monday @ http://notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.com.

Norma VanV