How to Thrift for Anything! Advice for vintage shopping for clothing, accesories, dresses in Thrift Stores, Garage Sales, Estate Sales, and Online

 

Selection of my recent favorite thrift store finds. All found locally! Ethnic metallic gold embroidered, lined & beaded Indian tunic, pink gunne sax knee length dress, and 80s blue embroidered gypsy maxi dress. My heart was beating a million miles a second when I found that gunne sax dress.

Summer is upon us! While I'm been away I'm been continuing my endless crawl around town for amazing forgotten treasures. I'm slowly building up a wardrobe of amazing Dolly Kei/Gypsy-esque items, it's almost like I have a mini chunk of Grimoire Shop in my closet. It makes me so happy to see it all starting to become visually cohesive and completely unlike anyone else's closet. As, that is my favorite part: finding unique, beautiful items that can't be found anywhere else. For me, that is what makes vintaging a great adventure! All the places you go and never knowing what will pop up: 20s flapper dress, 70s psychedelic prints, 80s ethnic revival, 60s mod, or modern designer brand names. Anything is game!

Rule number one, if you don't play you can never win!

Style Guide: Modern Stores

I'm crazy about vintage and antiques, especially how many items are one of kind. However, there are many opportunities to find brand new, mass produced clothing that have an intricate antiqued feel. It is also a safe and easy route for people not keen on the idea of wearing second hand clothes.

Some more upscale stores that definitely have a classic feminine feel: Anthropologie, Free People, Modcloth, and Lucky Brand jewelry.

These are the more common stores you will find at your mall and have a lot of things applicable, especially with spring rolling around: Forever 21, H&M, Macy's, Charlotte Rousse, Wet Seal, and shoes from Urban Outfitters.

In this post I'm featuring Forever 21 because this stores in particular change stock constantly and have a wide variety of styles they cater to, so anyone can find something perfect for their own style.

Currently, white lace dresses and scarves with layers of lace and crochet are in style for spring and are great for layering. I haven't seen any examples in online stores, but if you visit the various shops in person you're bound to find some.

You never know when you'll see something you like, so generally its best to peep into every store you can. Some of my favorite shoes and dresses I've found at stores you wouldn't necessarily go out of your way to visit like: Target, Sears, and Kohls. In my experience, for some odd reason usually the most unique and interesting stuff is in clearance.

Rule of thumb: If they sell clothes and isn't owned by the Abercrombie Company, Gap, or American Eagle, check out what they have!

Welcome to my Dolly Kei, Cult Party, Otome, Mori Girl, Vintage, and Antique Blog!

"The Tao that can be followed is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth

While naming is the origin of the myriad things.

Therefore, always desireless, you see the mystery

Ever desiring, you see the manifestation.

These two are the same-

When they appear they are named differently.

The sameness is the mystery,

Mystery within mystery;

The door to all marvels." --Tao Te Ching

If I could make a melting pot of every place in the past I've ever thought was beautiful, and take back a piece of clothing home with me, that is my wardrobe.

One of the most influential style for my wardrobe is dolly kei, originally a japanese street fashion. What is dolly kei? Similar to how Britain's Orientalism art period romanticized the Middle East and Eastern hemispheres, this cult of street fashion romanticizes old world Europe. Dolly kei uses different elements of vintages clothes and ethnic/folk costume to create an entirely new and fresh look.

I know what drew me to this style was the history behind the clothes, and have lived a second life before you ever came across them. However, it is your hand that selects them and gives them a new meaning, and a new life. It is also the appreciation of detail in handmade, and rustic feeling of artisan made objects such are paintings, embroidery, crochet, lace, tapestries, pottery, and metalworking. These objects does what our current mass production culture tends to turn away from: encrusting with detail.

Don't get bogged up on trying to emulate style icons, or even follow everything that I'm telling you. Dissect what pieces you like from an outfit, and from there build your wardrobe with clothes that are flattering on you and suit your personality.

This blog's goal is to give advice on how to find your own inspiration through exploring the beauty and energy of world's past.