Virescent

Who knew that the SA on Little River was open until 9pm?  Not me.  But it’s the last time I’ll be over that way for a while, so I took the chance to look through again on my way home from my final exam.

As you see:  A gigantic, broken blouse, $4.  Perhaps it will become a skirt.  A top with lotuses on it, $4.  Very, very plaid dress, $5.  It has pockets!  Green silk classy thing, probably a bit too large, $7.  In case I have to do anything classy this summer.

Fare well, Little River SA, until next semester.

I did pretty well on my Construction Management exam today, and rewarded myself afterwards with thrifting. (If I’d done poorly, I would have consoled myself with thrifting. So’s we’re clear.) It’s getting hotter out, and I need skirts and short sleeve blouses. Thus:

Cotton wrap skirt with colorful print (detail shown), $4. I’ll need to pin it closed- it’s basically just a big bit of cloth with a waist tie. But it’s wonderful, and has pictures of five kinds of animal and two different people on it. Shapeless, huge purple skirt, $5. It’s a very light, swishy fabric, so I’ll take it in and make a proper waist band instead of the elastic mess. Pink Linen skirt, $7. Extravagance! Grey blouse, $4. Soft and light, plus a functional sleeve pocket. For…what? I might get the urge to add something to the bottom hem, but it will work nicely as-is. White cotton blouse with blue and purple threads, $4. Has some small stains, which will hopefully wash out. Navy and white plaid button-down for my darling guy, $4. Oddly dirty, so half of it is darker because I was soaking it. Needs a good washing. Former owner had a dog and some fine white powder? A blue-green guayabera with white embroidery for my ookle dumpling, $5. Guayaberas are so snazzy. Even when they’re made in Korea, and a have a little frayed seam. The latter, I can fix, and the former, I can ignore.

About half of the stuff I find at the Salvation Army is something that needs to be resized, or sewed on to make it truly cool. I’ve been getting ideas and inspiration from the newest link, Wardrobe Refashion- a group blog of people who challenge themselves to buy nothing new, and remake old and used stuff into awesome other stuff. Goodness, my project plans just keep piling up.

Also, I need to suggest to the Salvation Army-Little River people that they not staple price tags tot he clothes, especially in collars and other places where holes are noticeable.

Update: an album.

Then I went to the thrift store. I had a legitimate purchase today- I needed homes for the seeds I bought yesterday. Mission Accomplished. First though, the other stuff.

Picture Frame, $2, 8.5×11ish- it’s a gold and cream deco-like design painted on the underside of the glass.  I actually got this last week but neglected to put it up. Blue Star Shirt, $1. Colorful stripy camp shirt, $4. Blue tuxedo-style blouse, $4. Skirt with great fabric and horrific shape, $4.  Honey-colored sweater, $5, with a nice thick collar and cuffs, off-center zipper, moss-stitch front texture…ooh I like it.

I feel, after a few of these posts, that I should justify the amount I shop at thrift sales, and the amount I buy when I’m there.  Acquiring too much stuff being all unsustainable and whatnot.  I grew up hating shopping for clothes, so I never owned enough that I liked, or enough useful items, to make it through a week without feeling gross or awkward in my clothing.  That is very unsustainable.  So I’ve donated most of it, and now I’m having a great time getting things I actually like.  Thrifting has replaced about 90% of the “real shopping” needed to replace wearables.

This might all taper off when I have enough for warm weather.  Or when my tiny closet explodes.  But for now, I’m not feeling guilty about having “too much” stuff to wear.  And all that other stuff that’s not wearable, but just cool?  It’s at least all useful.  Though if I buy more fabric scraps, my sewing pile will explode.

Anyway, the alleged reason for the visit:

My new planters, obtained for under $20 together.  None of them have drainage holes, so how do I deal with that?  Someone mentioned gravel in the bottom to aid soil drainage?

Yesterday I went to the remnants of the “Tossed and Found” Junior League Sale in Crystal City with a house mate. The game was, we could buy a garbage bag for $35, and then whatever fit in it was ours. Plus everything that didn’t fit was 75% off (making possible our new wine rack), it being the last of the sale, and we got a free TV with the garbage bag.  It had a tag on it that said it worked, so that’s cool, I guess.

This is what I came away with. A couple blouses, a shirt for the Gentleman Friend- the grey one, the purple and yellow are for me. Some bow ties (just in case). A set of green napkins and a red cloth handkerchief. I’ll either use those to cut down on throw-away paper, or sew them into something. And a big ugly blue sweater, with decent-looking yarn and continuous seams. That’s going to get unraveled, and knit into something more awesome.

Last, but certainly not least, I found a pile of books. Apparently, someone named Tom, according to a couple inscriptions, had a big thing for Russian and Eastern Europe. I share this pas(obses)sion. I snagged a copy of the novel form of Ashes and Diamonds with screen shots from Wajda’s movie on the cover! Karamzin’s letters from Europe! Pardon me while I salivate. (Do you share this love? Would you like to? We should talk!) Plus, I found a nice copy of Lessig’s Free Culture, Backlash by Faludi (to catch up on my 90s feminism), and a beat-up copy of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, by TE Lawrence. And just last week I wondered if I had anything to read. (The answer was yes, I made a pile after the last used book sale I plundered. But still.) Anyway, let me know if you want to borrow anything. Or if you have access to a copy of “A Generation”, because netflix hasn’t got it, and I’ve seen Kanal and Ashes, and I’d like to complete the trio.

Also there was one more thing but it is part of a larger plan for a secret awesome costume, so I’ll post it later.

Handmade update:  Finished the white dress alteration.  Have knit 6 more inches of the scarf since the last post.  About five feet to go…

Here’s what I got (Salvation Army, Little River Turnpike- at #6 on the map):

Pink dress, 7$. I like the print, and the cut (maybe when I know how to do things of the sewing nature, I can copy it!), and the pink is definitely not what I normally wear. It has a couple small stains that are hard to see, so hopefully washing will get those out. If not, I hear vinegar is like magic.

Purple Skirt, 3$. Saw the fabric first and loved it- then remembered that warm days are ahead. Hurrah for breezes.

Here’s what I found at the thrift store this weekend, in my search for a dress to wear to a black-tie event. All these are from the Unique in Silver Spring, MD, which has a very large selection of clothing and house stuff. I’d like to note that all this was just laying around on a busy Saturday afternoon, several days after their last shipment of new things. The green bag was $2.50, the tank top was $4, and the sweater was $5. The coral dress was the best find at $7- and no, it won’t work for the event I had in mind. Though, after some dry cleaning (see previous post) and a few alterations- including in my diet and exercise regime- it could do for another event later in the year. And yes, from now on I’ll be posting the awesome things I find at second hand stores, for your inspiration.

At the Salvation Army, yes. I found this sweater there this afternoon while I was dropping off a load of unnecessary apartment stuff, and had to share. So classy and soft, and if the price and quality won’t convince you to browse your local second hand shop, nothing will. Finding something at a thrift store is way more exciting than finding something at a normal retailer- the element of surprise, the thrill of the chase, etc. Less chance of getting a winner, true- I saw plenty of ugly sweaters made with gorgeous yarn, so maybe next time I’ll try out this advice on recycling sweaters I found through another blog (which I’ll link soon, they’re nifty).

After that ecofriendly success, I balanced my day by getting caught in a rainstorm on my walk home from work, while carrying my bag of groceries. Fortunately it was the perfect warm evening and light rain, and I only stepped in the big puddle and soaked my socks a few hundred yards from my door. But it was a good reminder that practical hippies should carry umbrellas.