Ha! How sultry am I in that first pic? I’m all “yeah, wall, I like the way your brick is layed.” Blogging and taking photos is hilariously dumb sometimes. Then again, I can truthfully say that about most of my favourite things. The best things in life are sometimes free, sometimes not, but they are always hilarious and dumb. That should be on a motivational Pinterest poster.

Anyways, let’s rein in this entry. If I look like I’m romantically into that wall, it’s because I’m romantically into this outfit. Well, not romantically, but I am pretty into it. I bought this vintage skirt at the Salvation Army last year (worn also here), and I don’t wear it nearly as often as I should. It makes me feel like a bouquet of flowers. I also feel a little like a ballerina, and a little like a gymnast. The bun accounts for the ballerina vibes, and the gymnast within comes from the double-strapped Lululemon tank top I scored at Talize a few weeks ago.

Oddly enough, Ballerina and Gymnast were the #2 and #3 future professions on my “When I Grow Up” list from age 5-7. Back then, my career aspirations were determined by the attire associated with that career. Obviously, Figure Skater handily secured the #1 spot for all of Kindergarten and most of Grade 1. Flouncy skirts! Shiny leggings! Sparkles!…Sadly, those dreams were dashed the moment I realized that skating is very cold, and I suck at it. I would forever be relegated to the penalty box, silently weeping as all my crushes skated pass me during the painful coming-of-age ritual known as “Couple Skate”. All the funny-tasting hot chocolate from the instant hot chocolate machine in Georgetown couldn’t warm my sad, sad soul.

If I could have offered young Julie a few words of sage advice, I would have told her that eventually she will get to wear all the sparkles and ballerina buns in the world, without ever having to set foot in an arena again. It’s true. They let anyone wear sequins these days! The same goes for all my forgotten gymnast dreams. When I bought this Lululemon tank at the thrift store, I didn’t even have to pretend I was stretchy enough for yoga. I can wear it just because it’s comfy and the straps are groovy.

Eventually, I stopped picking careers based on the cute outfits, and instead picked them based on whatever unit we were studying in school. At one point, I sincerely thought I wanted to be an astronomer (this was before I realized I suck at math and science even more than I suck at skating), and during the Ancient Egypt unit, I thought Future Archeologist sounded pretty rad.

Obviously, I did not become an astronomer (although a few summers ago my friends and I were pretty confident we discovered a new constellation in the shape of a K, and called it Special K), but in my own small way, I practice a bit of archeology every time I enter the thrift store. Archeology is the study of human activity in the past, and my favourite thrifted finds always reveal a little more of that. I didn’t grow up to be a ballerina, a skater, or an archeologist. I grew up to be a thrifter. That means I can steal a little from all of those professions, and do it all in a climate that’s more temperate than an arena or the pyramids of Egypt. I’m definitely into that.

Vintage skirt: Salvation Army | $3.00
Lululemon tank: Talize | $17.00
Sandals: Talize | $3.50
Photos: Yen :)

Hi friends! Thank you for all the kind comments on our fanciful photoshoot. We had such fun wearing those beautiful dresses, and I hope I’ve convinced a few more of you to check out the dress sale this weekend. Before that time comes, I’m sneaking in one more White Elephant dress for your viewing pleasure (and a gratuitous picture of a Perrier bottle because I think it looks cool. Now you know how utterly banal my Instagram feed is). If my last post illustrated all the dreamy, fantastical ways of wearing vintage, this one is meant to bring it back to real life. A wedding, a prom, or a party is the perfect occasion for a vintage splurge, but even if you don’t have one of those events coming up, the right piece of vintage can be worn on the daily – no occasion necessary.

For me, the trick for bringing vintage into the everyday comes down to the accessories. This dress actually had a coordinating belt with it, but I opted for my trusty Ralph Lauren (via Bibles For Missions) belt. It make the dress feel more casual and wearable. I left a few of the buttons undone, and the look was finished when Yen slipped me her golden loafers and this sweet necklace from Merl.

Vintage can be worn with balloons, flowers, kittens and ice cream, but it can also be worn in the office, on the bus, at home, and at the baseball diamond. I always cringe a little when people say “vintage just isn’t my style,” because “vintage” has no inherent restrictive style – it spans decades of trends, fashions, and fads, all of which can be reclaimed and re-worn with a little help from your favourite belt.

See you at the sale!

Photos by Yen and her bro Henk! Except the Perrier. That piece of art is all mine.

Just over a week ago, Yen and I spent some time sifting through frocks of tulle, silk, and cotton over at White Elephant. This activity in it self was a dream come true: we were like kids in a candy store. You know what? We don’t even need that metaphor: we were like fashion bloggers in a vintage dress store. That alone should indicate our level of glee.

The lovely ladies of White Elephant are the curators of an amazing collection of vintage from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and they’re putting it ALL up for sale next weekend. While they put the final touches on their selection, they invited us to take a few of these beauties home and show them a good time.

Narrowing our selection wasn’t easy. It’s like choosing a favourite child! Or cat! But as soon as I stepped into this full skirted lemon yellow number, it was love. Not long after, Yen slipped on a similarly-sheer minty green beauty, and we knew we had our girls.

These dresses look like they belong together. They look like they belong to debutants going to prom; to sisters in a wedding party; to friends meeting up for a night on the town. Simply put, the girls in these dresses look like they are going places.

That idea of a special destination is just what we aimed to capture in the photo shoot that followed. Wearing vintage brings a sense of story and whimsy, and we wanted to play up all of that (we also wanted to make sure we used balloons, because there’s a helium shortage and we’ll need something to show our grand kids when balloons go the way of the 45 record player).

With our dresses in tow, Yen and I let ourselves dream for the next few days. Our vision finally came together when Yen secured the use of her brother Henk’s FABULOUS 1977 Cougar. Look at this car! We weren’t just going places now, we were going places in style. In additional to lending us this sweet ride, Henk also took many of the photos you see here, and didn’t say a word as we primped and preened well into the evening. Thanks Henk!

I won’t say too much more, as I’m hoping the photos will speak for themselves, but I will remind you that these very dresses, and hundreds more, are available at the White Elephant To The Nines dress sale next weekend. This sale has become one of my favourite events in this city. It’s an incredible collection from ladies who love and live vintage, and it doesn’t get much better than that. They are joining forces with Ottawa’s Victoire, so get thee to James Street North on May 10 and 11, and you too can live the dream.

For a closer look at Yen’s dreamy dress, head over My Edit for her side of the story.

If you follow me on any other medium (Twitter, Facebook, traditional stalking), you’ll know that last Saturday, the ever-wonderful Jentine and I spent the day with several other pretty ladies: these UHMAZING vintage beauties from the loveliest shop in Hamilton, White Elephant. The girls over at White Elephant are gearing up for one of my favourite events of the year, the “To the Nines” vintage dress sale. In order to spread the word, and get all of you a little more aquatinted with the incredible selection that will be on display (and for sale!) next weekend, Yen and I got to live the dream in these dresses for a few short hours, and fall in love with vintage all over again. We’ll both be posting full spreads tomorrow, but in here’s a little sneak peak while you wait!

Alright guys. Upon viewing my outfit, you know there is only one place this post is going. It was headed there even before the exchange I had with my husband about this particular combination. That exchange went like this:

“You look like a…(VERY LONG PAUSE)…beautiful woman.”
“Matt, you can say it.”
“…Say what?”
“You can say I look like a pirate. I want to look like a pirate. I’m going for pirate.”
“Oh GOOD. You look like a pirate! A beautiful pirate.”

I originally thought I’d frame this post around spring cleaning, and how it can lead to finding things you forgot you had. After all, I thrifted this puffy shirt nearly 36 weeks ago (according to my instagram records) and it took a closet-wide clean for me to discover it anew. But c’mon, there isn’t much to say about cleaning other than you should do it more often than I do. Instead, I’m going to seize the chance to post this clip, and call it a day.

That episode aired 20 years ago. TWENTY YEARS! The pirate trend Kramer referenced has finally come around. No one ever did the old “character wearing something embarrassing” bit quite like Jerry & Co., but there have been a few similar scenarios in the last two decades of multi-camera sitcomdom. Like the puffy shirt, though, both of those examples revolve around items that, while supposed to be embarrassing, I’d happily wear. Chandler’s Mr. T bracelet has never been more in style (…don’t make me say “arm party”), and Barney’s Ducky Tie is actually pretty hot right now.

It turns around sitcoms aren’t just comforting filler TV to watch while waiting for the next episode of New Girl, they are mighty fine fashion forecasters as well. Who knew?

Leather jacket: Salvation Army | $7.99
Lace blouse (puffy shirt): Valu Village | $4.99

This time, I’m taking you to Valu Village. Let’s talk about Valu Village for a minute: They’re the big box chain gang of thrift stores. They’re roomy, clean, and everyone knows about them. People who don’t thrift know about Valu Village. Because of this, VV can get away with some very suspect pricing. Almost all of their dresses are $12.99 and up, and everything else is mostly $10. That’s why you don’t see all that much from Valu Village on the blog. Every so often, though, if I have the time and am willing to exercise the patience, I can find items of value that warrant the higher price tag. That’s challenge I took on for this trip.

As usual, it took a few strike outs before I hit anything good. Item numero uno was this yellow lacy mini. You’re only seeing the top half of it, because only the top half was suitable for a woman of nearly 27 years. The bottom half was better suited for 21-year-old-Julie, who belongs to a bygone era, characterized by much later nights and much shorter dresses. Next!

Contrarily, the second item swung the pendulum a little to far the other way. This beige, stretchy Joe Fresh shift dress was nice enough. I could have gussied it up with a belt, and it would have sat comfortably alongside my other “boring office” clothes. But, blah. I don’t need another office dress. I’m not that old.

The third item, thankfully, hit the right balance. It wasn’t too short, nor was it a total snore. Rather, it was perfectly respectable length, with neon stripes and a groovy back. While this one was marked a little high at $12.99, it still had tags that listed an original price of $40, and a clearance price of $23. So, I’m bought something brand new for less than half of the clearance price. Happy dance!

I snapped a picture of this item because it illustrates something important about Valu Village’s pricing structure: they may jack up the prices on H&M and Forever 21, but they still price wacky vintage stuff on the cheap. This weird, dropped-waste, sheer black thing with bows all over it was too big, but it was the only thing in my change room for $4.99. So, if wacky vintage is your thing (as it is sometimes mine), yay.

Ahhh. In every thrift haul, there’s always one that will leave you second-guessing, especially if you take pictures of it on your phone and continually return to said pictures. This dress London Times was coooool. It had this fantastic asymmetrical ruffle detail. It was dramatic and fun. BUT it was $24.99. Valu Village, that’s crazay! Also, pictures aren’t always that reflective of the truth – in addition to being way too much money, it was was also too small. I made the right choice in leaving it behind.

In my attempt to thrift some pants, I added two more misses to my score card. The coral pants on the left were awesome and silk and made me feel like Aladdin, but they were too short, and the ones on my left were a totally unremarkable pair of gray trousers. Sadly, I did not land a third “just right” pair this time. I stand by my hypothesis that pants are dumb and we’d be better of as a species without them.

My last three finds were just what I needed to end my trip on a high note. Remember the leopard death shoes from my Goodwill visit? Well, in compensation for that earlier scare, the thrift world offered up these similarly-patterned, extra-cute Steve Madden peep wedges for a mere $9.99!  Actual retail price (said in Price is Right voice)…$84.95!

I then hit up the sunglasses rack for two pairs of $0.99 sunglasses. I refuse to pay more that $5 for sunglasses because I lose them faster than you can say “UV Protection”. The pair you see above are for when I want to look like I belong to an early nineties bicycle gang, and the second pair are when I want to wear some that are moderately less embarrassing, and purple.

So, let’s recap the haul:

• 1 fun sun dress;
• 1 pair of leopard flats;
• 2 pairs of cheap sunglasses; and
• 3 more reasons for summer to get here A.S.A.P.

And that’s all she wrote for this edition of Behind the Seams. Until next time!

In my last post, I featured a few of the items I left behind at the thrift store, and a few of the reasons I left them. Some were left because they were too small, others because they were too big, and still others because they weren’t quite right. One of the items I passed on was a $7 Target sweater, and while $7 doesn’t seem like much, I knew I could do more with those dollars than a too-short sweater. After all, $7 at the thrift store is like $40 in real life. Basically, 1 thrift dollar = 5.7 regular dollars. Whoa. I just did math! Anyways, because I know the value of a thrift dollar, I passed on the sweater and patiently waited for something better to come along.

Well friends, patience paid off. Granted, I only had to wait three more days for the -50% sale at Talize, but still. On sale day, I marched into Talize, and spent no more than 10 minutes in the dress section before heading to the change room. On the way there, my patience was tested by four unruly children playing hide and seek in the racks, but I just hit their mom with a pretty severe glower and headed on my way (yeah yeah, that might be me some day, but in the meantime, I’ll glower all I want). A $3.50 dress and some $3.50 sandals were the only standouts in my haul, so headed to the checkout and was out the door in no time. Upon pairing my new items with the right accessories and a welcome bit of sunshine, I’ve concluded that I put $7 and a bit of patience to very good use.

…And having just read a forecast that includes the words “ice pellets,” I’ll need all the patience I can get. Here’s hoping spring will also be worth the wait.

Vintage Dress: Talize | $3.50
Sandals: Talize | $3.50
Purse: Salvation Army | $5 (I used an old gold necklace to fashion a new strap)
Belt: Salvation Army | $0.99
Earrings: Ten Thousand Villages

Over the Easter weekend, Matt and I headed to the USA to visit some in-laws. You may recall that last spring, I scored this excellent $1 rainbow dress from a Grand Rapids Salvation Army, so I was eager to try my luck again. This time, we started at a Goodwill. For the longest time, I thought we didn’t have any Goodwills in Canada. It turns out we do, but we don’t have any in Hamilton, so, same diff. Either way, Goodwills are a rarity for me, so they always feel like a bit of a treat. This one was particularly nice – well organized, decent selection, nice size, too. That said, thrifting in the USA is a bit like looking into the future for Canadians. In 2012, mega-retailer Target recently announced its impending arrival in Canada, and the first wave of stores have just opened up. Upon hearing this news in January, I quipped this on Twitter. That was probably a little harsh, but seriously accurate. Nearly every third item at the Goodwill we pillaged was Target. All that Target could seriously dilute the quality of the haul if you’re not smart about it.

All that said, I took my fair share of Target pieces into the change room, because trendy cheap crap is quite a siren when it’s $8 or less. Let’s talk about those things first:

The striped dress, while cute, was just a little large. It was also a little flimsy, and one of those items that I tried to justify with “I could wear it to the beach!” Then I remembered that I don’t live in the OC, and, sadly, the time I spend on a beach every year adds up to about 8 days if I’m lucky. The second black and white Prabal Gurung dress was priced attractively: $3.50 for something that Target is still selling for $44.50. BUT the zipper was busted (quality merch), and let’s be real: I don’t fix things. The only item that almost made it to the check-out line was that cute little neon sweater. But it was a little short, and I had the sneaking suspicion it was something that, upon laundering, would become a lot short.

On to the non-Target items: most of them were just all just a half-size away from being perfect. The jeans above were rated R in the back if I wasn’t careful, and the minis were adorable for spring, but a touch too tight. But worry not! The last item I tried on (which was the first item I picked up) was an easy win:

This Nicole Miller blouse is a beauty, especially for $3.50. I love the colours, and it’s something I can wear to work and play.

I’m just about ready to wrap up this re-cap, but not before I share with you one last thing, because it’s extra bizarre sort of concerning. Among the mostly-pre-worn shoe shelves, there were big piles of never-worn shoes called “Chatties.” I suspect some new-stuff-retailer had a surplus order of these shoes, and gave a whole batch to Goodwill. All of the brand-new shoes were priced at $9 – quite a bargain. I took a liking these leopard print loafers, and was just about to slip them on when the label caught my eye:

GAAAHHH! What the heck, right? I didn’t even know that was possible! And why are you selling these shoes, Goodwill?! Yikes. When I saw these, it reaffirmed that my rule of thumb is the complete opposite of Barny Stinson’s. He may believe that new is always better, but I’d say that old is the way to go. We do both agree that suits are nice, though.

Scary chemical shoes aside, it was a good trip. While I didn’t find all that much, the few things I came away with are wearable, quality pieces, and they won’t give any of my future offspring a third eye. That’s the real target for any thrift trip. More than that, I can pat myself on the back for exercising restraint, and bringing a sense of practicality into the change room. Maybe I’m not such a petulant child after all.

I don’t even check the weather anymore. I just assume spring is never coming and it will be cold and miserable forever. I’m starting to suspect that this eternal winter is actually an elaborate promotional ploy by HBO to get us all super pumped for the premiere of Game of Thrones. WE GET IT, HBO. WINTER IS SCARY.

…In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m feeling a little exhausted by winter. We’ve just had enough here in Canada. We’re over snow, we’re over wind chill, and we’re over our winter wardrobes. My friend Leanne also introduced me to the term “winter uglies” last week, and it about sums up what I’m feeling. What are the winter uglies? They are an overall feeling of “ugh”, resulting from the culmination of several factors:

1) Skin so pale, it’s nearly translucent.
2) Skin so dry, it’s cracked beyond rescue by even the most intense moisturizer.
3) Boots so salt-stained, they look like maps. Salty maps.
4) Sweaters so worn, they’re pilling and saggy.
5) Basically, it all sucks and everything is the worst.

This particular syndrome arrives mid-February. The uglies can continue well into late March unless treated with sunshine and frequent visits to any sort of patio. Since we’ve been denied any of that up here in the True North Strong and Free, the winter uglies are taking new victims everything day.

But there is hope. I’ve quit hoping for spring, and have instead found relief from the winter uglies under this newly thrifted Olsen Europe boucle jacket. I scored it at the Salvation Army last week for $3.50 (take away the decimal in that price and you get an idea of what these jackets usually retail for). This jacket has allowed me to break out my favourite pink shift from the White Elephant vintage dress sale last spring. If winter were a Dementor, this outfit would be my patronus.

If we were living with the warm, balmy temperatures of March 2012, I never would have bought this jacket, I never would have paired it with this dress, and I never would have worn it with this dickey (I also never would have written “dickey” on my blog, snicker about it, and prove to all of you that I’m an eight year old). This is the bright side to a dark winter.

If winter is intent on hanging around for a while, I have no choice but to slip on my salt-stained boots, and do all I can stave off the uglies for a few more weeks. At least I’ll be in my prettiest pink.

Expecto patronum!

Olsen Jacket: Salvation Army / $3.50
Vintage Dress: Love in the Afternoon via White Elephant / $40
Leather gloves: Danier / $25
Dickey: Cut from an old blouse from Salvation Army / $2

Alright guys. I had a hard time writing this post. Or, rather, I had a hard time not writing this post. There is much to like about my latest head to toe thrift-ensemble. I like that I got this Liz Claiborne 100% silk emerald blouse for $4. I like that I got a chance to wear my silver pleated skirt again. I even like that cheap little $0.99 belt that pulls it all together. I like the colourful wall where Yen and I took these photos. I like the crispy chocolate cookies we had later. But can I write a whole post on crispy chocolate cookies? Well, I probably could, seeing as I wrote a whole post on icecream once, but the world isn’t ready for Cookie: The Sequel.

Truth be told, all I really want to write about is Veronica Mars. Since the Kickstarter/movie news blew up on Twitter last week, I decided it was finally time to hop on that bandwagon, and ride it all the way to the fictional town of Neptune. I’m now ten episodes into season one, and all I want to talk about how GREAT it is: How bad-ass Veronica is. How clever and sharp and sassy she is. How awesome her dad is. How “2004″ a Paris Hilton cameo is. How annoying Logan is and how lovable and tortured he’ll someday be. But tying that in to my new green blouse? A bit of a stretch.

I mean, if I were to try to and write some parallels between me and Veronica, I might point out that we’re both blonde, that we both like big cameras, and that we both hang around graffiti-filled walls talking pictures. Sure, she’s talking them for sleuthing purposes, and I’m talking them for a blog, but same diff, really. We also both dressed the same in high school and were big into the Postal Service, but…

…Yep. It’s definitely bit of a stretch. Instead, I’m going to keep this nice and tidy and save my Veronica Mars essay for another day, and maybe another blog. I wore this shirt on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s green like a leprechaun. I like dressing for holidays. Case closed.

I’ll see you creeps after episodes 10-22!

Blouse: Salvation Army | $3.99
Skirt: Talize | $9.99
Necklace: Salvation Army | $3.99
Belt: Bibles For Missions | $0.99