Costume College: Haul

I do have some pictures of Sunday (not of me, of course) but this is my blog so I'm skipping right to the fun shopping post and we'll come back to Sunday. I went to the LA garment district Thursday for a few hours and again on Monday for more than a few hours. Here's what I got:

Yummies! I had two partners in crime *coughenablerscough* to help me navigate the garment district, determine fabric content, and to tell me that yes, I did really need to buy that other fabric I just saw. The total damage: 32 yds.

50s style print mystery fabric $2/yd destined for a 50s dress

Another mystery fabric also destined for a 50s dress $1/yd. I now have a handy burn test chart so I can light stuff on fire and tell what it is. :)

Green and Pink Plaid Silk/Silk blend for a secret project for next year's Costume College $8/yd

White and blue rayon for 40s things $4/yd

Fabulous 40s style tropical print rayon $4/yd also for 40s things.

Buttons! I don't know about where you are, but where I live buttons are pricey! I can easily spend $4 for 3 tacky plastic ones and I got all of these for under $25. They're all metal except for the pink ones which are glass. I got all of these from a seller at the Costume College Marketplace.

Close ups! Top: rose and strawberries. Bottom: western, basket weave, pink flower glass.

My other big item is this 1950s petticoat (or crinoline) which I made in a class at Costume College. I only got the first two layers of tulle on during the class and I've been sewing like crazy the last two days and fighting with yards and yards of tulle to get this thing finished. This was so not a UFO that I wanted hanging around until next year!

Really, it's crazy huge! I've set my old one on the left for size comparison. Wow it was a lot of work but I love wearing it. I just don't think I'll be making one for a loooooong while.

If you get a chance to go to the LA garment district, take it! Good deals are to be found but a guide is very helpful. Nothing is marked as to fabric content and, unfortunately, some of the vendors are dishonest or just don't know what they're talking about.

Thrifting Fun

Thrifting is a rare occurrence for me because I don't have a regular thrifting buddy. And when I take my poor husband, he's ready to leave after 5 minutes, but today we worked something out. I thrifted and he went to a near by bar or some place to watch sports. As I hate watching sports, this was fine by me.

First, I stopped by a thrift store I'd never been to before. Several people had told me that I had to go see all of the vintage stuff they had. So I was pretty excited. They did have some clothes, hats and furniture but I was a bit under whelmed. The bad thing about going to a thrift store that knows they have vintage is that they price like they know they have vintage. I was hoping to at least take home a hat but it was not to be. Most were damaged. :(

I did find some goodies in the craft area. I snagged two pairs of knitting needles, a vintage belt kit and a pack of lingerie guards.

I also found this lovely hiding among the 80s knitting magazines. I wasn't entirely sure what it was in the store but I thought these two ladies were cute enough to warrant $0.80

It appears to be an interfacing kit for making a tailored jacket. Here's what was inside:

Two pieces of canvas with some felt attached and also a piece for the collar.

The felt is attached with these zig zag stitches that look similar to things I've seen on other people's hand made jackets. It's a size 14 which is a bit smaller that I wear so we'll see what happens with it. Have you ever seen anything like this?

I also went to another thrift store (after some yummy Mexican for lunch) but no luck there. I wasn't really expecting much since there is a local vintage store right down the street from it. And since I was right there, I couldn't not pop in the vintage store for a visit. I was looking for separates today but I got distracted by hats.

I got this lovely 40s hat. Just love it! It's actually a bit more maroon than the photo shows.

I was very happy to find a 40s hat to add to my collection. One day I want to have as many hats as Solanah but I have a long way to go!

I also couldn't resist this little navy and white 50s hat. I have some graduation parties to attend tonight and I think I just have to wear this hat out!

I know I have some local(ish) readers and really you should check this place out. It's called Feather's Vintage Clothing. It's smaller that the other local vintage store that closed this past summer but they have very reasonable prices. I thought the prices were very fair and I loved that everywhere I looked, there were more hats! I'll definitely be stopping back!

Snapshots!

 Finally got some of my hats hanging in my bedroom!

New shoes!

I was in desperate need of some black t-strap shoes.

And more shoes! These read so 40s to me!

On a side note, can feet shrink? I've been a size 9 as long as I can remember, but for the past 6 months or so I've been good with 8.5 a lot but for both of these I had to go down to an 8!

Because we all love shopping

Looking for some affordable 50s style high waisted jeans? Well you are in luck! After spying my Kohl's jeans I featured recently, Kohl's offered me and my readers a coupon code. Now usually I'm not big on promoting chain stores, but I think these are a really great option for retro gals on a budget. I actually went back and got another pair because I loved them so much.

The ones I got are Lee Comfort Fit just below the waist stretch straight leg and I opted for a dark wash. There are a couple things I'd change about these jeans if I was designing my perfect 50s jeans but considering that just the shipping on my repro jeans cost as much as this pair, I'm very happy. You can find all of Kohl's jeans here.

The coupon code is SPRING2SAVE and it gets you 20% off at kohls.com from April 4 to April 7.

Saturdays

Today was one of those days that starts off terrible. We had to go the the BMV today since I don't have a driver's license (or permit for that matter) and my military id expires next week. We scouted out a branch that was open on Saturdays and woke up early to be there right when it opened at 8 am so we could be in and out. Well, it was in and out, but that's because every BMV in the county decided to randomly be closed this Saturday for no apparent reason....

While driving home, we drove by our local market and decided to stop in. And that's pretty much where the terrible part stopped. :) I didn't have my camera but I snapped some shots with my iPhone.

I picked up a poinsettia plant and one of these cute pine bouquets.

Simple effective advertising.

I so wish I hadn't had breakfast before we came because this place makes crepes! Nom nom nom.

We made a repeat purchase at this cheese stand. One flavor we picked up was pumpkin. Nom nom nom again.

And they were all festive too!

I adored the tags on these aprons!

We also wandered around downtown and I couldn't resist taking a picture of this sign! Sounds like my kind of place!

I was all cute for getting my id picture taken. Yay for new teal tights!

The poinsettias and pine bouquet got me all in a decorating mood so decorating ensued when we got home.

And we got a tree today. Now the entire apartment smells like pine!

We also stopped by a Goodwill where I found this jacket.

I'm not sure if it's an old jacket or just has an old style tag. It does have care instructions so that places it at the earliest from the 60s. There were 5 or 6 jackets from this same company but the hubby reminded me that I didn't need 5 or 6 trenches.....

The faux fur lining zips off so it can be a trench too!

The lining under the trench is a great plaid!

I also picked up a roomy grey wool jacket. It's times like this that I love that my mother-in-law works at a dry cleaner so I can get stuff dry cleaned without worrying that it will be ruined.

I also found a great pencil skirt and it's old.

The tag says union made garment so I'm thinking 40s. It's a tad tight but loosing 5 lbs (or buying some spanxs) should fix that problem.

This is kind of a long post but hopefully it will tide you over during my finals madness! Hope all of your Saturdays were just as lovely as mine!

Black Friday Haul

Here's my very first haul video! I tried to keep it short for you all. Enjoy!

Sephora:
pink travel makeup brush kit $10
bare minerals makeup kit $10
Kat Von d lightening lip gloss in Marg $5
Kat Von D true romance eyeshadow palette $15

Charming Charlie:
grey belt $10*
pink and white scarf $15*

Kohl's:
Apt 9 tights lace pattern and argyle $6 each

Target:
Merona teal tights $8*
Merona green suede gloves $20*
Conair wave clips $5*

Jo-Ann Fabric:
Stitch Nation full o' sheep yarn in honeycomb (x4) $3.74 each
circular knitting needles size 11 and 15 $7* each
Singer shears $16*
plus 25% off total bill (yay coupons!)

*indicates no black friday promotion or sale (i.e. I was out and I wanted it.)

This weekend's shopping haul!

So, despite efforts to the contrary, I did some shopping this weekend.

First up, some perfume. It's called Cleopatra and is based off of an ancient Egyptian recipe. I adore all things ancient Egyptian and it smells fabulous! Then I picked up a lip butter and lotion bar from a company called Nature Craft. So far, I'm pretty impressed. They smell pretty good too!

But the big purchase of the day was this amazing hat! Yummy, yum, yummy. Two toned green suede and a boatload of feathers!

It was a bit of a splurge but I'm going to make it work with my costume. Plans so far involve removing the sleeves off of my dress and making them detachable. Then I'd also make a narrower sleeve so it'll pass for a bit later period to go with the hat. I've also decided that I need an outfit for weekends it's 80+ and will be making it in green to match.

The hat's made by a company called The Blonde Swan and lucky for you they have an etsy shop too! Aside from beautiful Renaissance pieces, they also do Steampunk/Victorian, pirate and witch pieces. They had heaps more options in their store than the etsy shop so I figure that once the Ohio Ren Fest is over, they'll be adding stock to the store.

Eeep! Feathers! :D

My Economic Stimulus Plan

Pretty much all that's on the news is about how the economy needs to be fixed. (Well, that or pondering if Sarah Palin is actually for real not running for president even though she says she's not.) Today I hit the local mall with one of my good friends and did my part to stimulate the economy. So here's my economic stimulus plan from today.

1) Look good, feel good, be successful!

Ladies in the 40s armed themselves with red lipstick before going to work in the factories. And I'm a firm believer that looking good leads to confidence which makes you more successful. Plus, I can wear makeup even at work or in inclement weather!

There is a Sephora at this mall and, while I've browsed inside, it's taken until now for me to get over the sticker shock enough to buy anything. I picked up Kat Von D's Autograph liner and red lipstick. I also picked up a brow pencil, eye primer and a highlighter for $3 each.

2) Back to Basics

My favorite pair of khaki shorts bit the dust this summer but I found these great replacements at White House Black Market on sale. Seriously, if I could afford it, I'd only shop at this store. I have found some really great deals on pants there like $90 jeans for $30. I also got a great cardigan on sale from The Limited. Yummy!

3) Pay attention to the details

I love accessories! They are a great way to add that something extra! Earrings are a great way for me to add a bit of work appropriate style to my look. Coral was my favorite color discovery of the summer and I think raspberry is my great fall color discovery!

Have you been stimulating the economy lately?