Further Thrifted Pieces

I got a couple of clothes in January and February. Since some of them needed alterations by my mother (at my parents' house), this post took a while to be ready.

Green plaid skirt – 25 $

On January 25th, I went to a vintage bazaar in Montreal.

The place was okay. Some stuff was priced super expensive despite being in mediocre condition. I guess that's because it was considered vintage.

Anyway, I bought this skirt from Le Vintage du coin:

I like that the pleats start right at the waist. This gives the hips more volume than the red plaid skirt I bought previously. Because this green skirt was too long (a little bit above the ankles), my mom altered it and it now falls down below the knees.

The girl managing the pop-up shop was very sweet. I had forgotten to bring cash with me (I've become used to pay with my card) and my phone battery had died, so I was unable to electronically transfer her money (my phone battery drains out when it's cold and I had walked nearly 30 minutes to get to the place). However, the girl had Square and offered me the possibility to pay with my card.

The colour is hard to capture on camera. The green is very vibrant and there's quite a lot going on with the plaid pattern. If you look carefully, you'll see small pink lines.

Writing about this skirt almost a month later, this is another purchase I'm not the fondest of. As much as I like the skirt, I would not buy it at this price again. But it's still a pretty pattern and model, so I think I'll still have fun wearing it. I spotted a couple of weeks ago the loveliest retro cardigan in black from 31 Sons de mode on Fril, and I think it'd look great with this skirt (and any of my other skirts...)

Red and purple plaid skirt – 7,99 $

I love the pleats on this skirt and their symmetry. I'd never seen that pleated design before. The back doesn't have any pleats, but surprisingly, it doesn't look (that) weird.

I thought the waist would be way too large, but it wasn't that bad. My mom still had to alter the waist from both sides, but the result is great. I also love the colours of this skirt. The length is a bit longer than below the knees, but not as long as the green plaid skirt, therefore altering was not necessary.

If I count the skirts from my previous blog post, six skirts needed to be altered in total, and some of them needed more than one alteration... Thinking about it, some skirts weren't worth the work on them. Just a thought I hope I'll keep in mind when thrift shopping in the future.

Garage pink top – 4,99 $

Not a very exciting purchase, but I'm still very happy with it. I've been looking for simple 3/4 sleeve tops, similar to the blue one I got this summer. I liked the pink colour of this Garage one and its slash neck collar. Plus the fabric is ribbed. ✨

Apple green rib-knit top – 4,99 $

I loved the square collar and the belt buckle the minute I saw this knit top. It reminds me of the 70s. I've wanted to include more colourful pieces in my closet and I thought this was a fun and inexpensive add. I imagine pairing it with fitted pants and flats. Pants could a solid colour or checked or floral. I also thought about pairing it with Fi.n.t's grid skirt in yellow, but I currently have it in black only.

My mother had to sew the prong down because it kept going up

and its sharp side rubbing against fabric could damage it. 

Ralph Lauren camel top – 9,99 $

This top was more expensive than the other tops, probably because of the brand. Although I liked the colour and the boatneck collar, if not for the little belt buckles, I wouldn't have gotten the top at this price.

Honestly, I'm not sure which piece could be best paired with this top, so we'll see... I'm still pleased with the purchase though.

Slightly on another subject, I went thrift shopping with my mom the weekend before last. I didn't buy anything. There were pretty pieces, mostly at Value Village, but the price was either too expensive or the piece wasn't in my size... I still took pictures of them:

One of the prettiest knit cardigans I've seen, but it was a size large. (◞‸◟；)

Chloe top. I was tempted to get it mainly because of the brand,

but I didn't even like it that much... not regretting leaving it there.

Retro-looking cardigan in dark mint green. Surprised it's from Reitmans.

I love the big buttons, but sadly, the size was a bit too big.

Zara houndstooth mini dress. Gives me Twiggy vibes.

Would look great with tights and coloured flats.

Unfortunately, I found the price of over 20 $ too expensive.

White dress with lovely embroidered details.

I'd wear this as a nightgown as well as during the day. Sadly, also over 20 $.

I loved the design of this vintage coat, but yellow doesn't look good on me.

Moreover, I don't really like this kind of short, fuzzy faux-fur fabric.

Holidays Haul

During the holidays in my hometown, I went thrift shopping in a couple of places, as well as when I got back in Montreal. This post should've been published way before (beginning of January I would say), but I had washed in the washing machine the last skirt I had bought in Montreal and it desperately needed ironing (at my parents' house) since all the pleats were gone. Now that the skirt's fine, I was able to take the last two pictures for this blog post. (￣▽￣)

Note: All prices are in CAD.

Thrift Store #1

Red plaid skirt – 11,49 $

I bought this skirt at Value Village. I seldom find anything I like there, but I got lucky that day. This is my second find at this thrift store—my first one being a black velvet cardigan with a faux-fur collar that I never discussed here but that you can find in my OOTDs.

The colours comprise shades of red and green with white & blue lines. The fabric appears to be wool and is very thick. There's no tag, but it certainly looks like a skirt from decades ago.

The fit isn't terrible, but not amazing either. The upper part of this type of skirts tightly rests on the hips and I don't have enough of an hourglass shape to pull off the style. Actually, my right hip is alright, the problem is my left hip which is smaller. Lack of an hourglass shape combined with a smaller left hip makes the skirt look rather rectangular on me from the front and slightly asymmetrical. Tucking in a thick shirt does make my hips more voluminous, though the improvement is merely minimal. I still like the colour palette of this skirt very much and I believe I can pair it with lots of different coloured shirts.

Thrift Store #2

Blue-green skirt – 4 $

I regretted getting this skirt one month after acquiring it. It's one of the cheapest in the bunch "fortunately". But it was my second time coming across this type of skirts IRL and I feared regretting leaving it there later... (very bad thinking and now that I've encountered more of these skirts the more I thrift shop in person, my judgement has evolved).

It's not an ugly skirt per se, and I actually quite like the hem and the colour. The reason why I regret getting this skirt is that it didn't fit me at all—it used to be a size 18 that my mother accepted to alter. The thing is—and I already knew it—when you have to cut so much of a skirt that has pleats, it's bound to give a so-so result.

The skirt before (sorry that's the only pic I got of it pre-altered)

Before reducing the waist, we washed the skirt in the washing machine. We had already washed the red one above in the washing machine and it had come out perfect, so I didn't expect that this one would lose all of its pleats. Once the skirt was altered, I recreated all of the pleats.

Fixing the pleats with needles before ironing them

It wasn't easy because I hadn't pictured them clearly in my head (never did I expect to have to re-do them all), so I wasn't able to make the pleats look exactly like they used to. Some don't make a straight line, they seem to go diagonally and it just looks very off.

The skirt is also extremely long. It falls down to my ankles. I didn't think of it as a major problem, but now, I do. I'd really like if we could make the length shorter, but that would mean having to cut at least one layer of the brown hem and it's the bottom skirt that I particularly like.

Tags, if you're ever curious

I'm still unsure about what I'll do with this skirt because I don't really like it anymore...

Highland Queen accordion skirt | 4 $

It took me a while to notice this skirt because it was on a mannequin that was put up on a high platform. I only saw it once I elevated my field of view after having looked through the clothes on the floor-level. I'm not particularly drawn to these colours and patterns, but the fabric was of quality and I couldn't resist when I saw it priced at 4 $...

If it wasn't for my mom, I perhaps wouldn't have gotten the skirt. After waiting approximately 10 minutes for an employee to help us get the skirt, my mom climbed on a chair, unbuttoned the skirt and lifted the mannequin in the air while I took the skirt from the feet. I don't think the staff accepts or authorizes the practice (cuz the mannequin's naked afterwards), but we had been waiting for a while already. Anyway, all this to say that I'm pretty grateful for my mom because who knows if I'd still be waiting right now...

I have never seen such type of pure virgin wool before and this feels like cotton to me.

The skirt reaches almost to my ankles. I wore it two times and I wasn't very comfortable because of the length. The result isn't pictured here, but my mom shortened it to below the knees. I'm glad the skirt is much more wearable now.

Except for some unfortunate moth holes, the skirt looks like it was barely worn.

The skirt is also reversible. Lovely brown shades.

Moth hole

George velvet Mary Jane shoes (can't remember the price)

I saw these as I was trying one of the skirts. They caught my eyes as I had looked so long to find a pair like these before purchasing my ones from Amavel. Although I'm content with my Amavel, I also liked the George ones a lot. They're velveted, have a larger heel and bows on the straps. They were in good condition, and though I don't remember the price, it was under 10 $ (it was like 6 $ or 8 $).

I put the straps at the back in the pictures because I thought it looked cute

but they usually go at the front like typical Mary Janes.

When I tried them on, my feet felt pretty squeezed... less when I'd put the strap at the front rather than at the back, but still, definitely not comfortable to walk in. I checked on Walmart's website to see if I could order a pair in a bigger size (they're labelled as "George Girls' Velvet Mary Jane Shoes"), but I had the biggest one (size 13).

After a lot of hesitation, I decided to get them and try my luck at making them bigger. I had some hope from past experience. In fact, I used to have a pair of brand new black shoes (bought about a year ago) I had worn only one time because of memorable feet pains during a walk in them. Last summer, I compelled myself to wear them since they fit with every one of my midi skirts, and with band-aids, patience and a bit of pain, I succeded to break them in. They're super comfortable now. All this to say that I had hope to break in the George shoes similarly.

Fast forward today, I've been wearing them for a little over than a month every day at work. I don't know whether they've become bigger or I've gotten used to wearing them, but they're less painful than on day one. I haven't walked enough in them yet to fully break them in, but the workplace is an ideal spot to wear them since I'm not walking or standing up too often or during long periods of time. The shoes look good with all of my skirts and surely as well with a pair of fitted pants. I also like the faint click-clack they make when I walk. In the end, I'm really happy to have gotten them.

Thrift Store #3

Red & green plaid skirt – 4,99 $

Another skirt that I bought mainly because I was too excited to find a vintage-looking piece in person...

The fabric is similar to thin viscose and feels pretty cheap. It's also a bit see-through, especially in the sun, so it's best to wear a black half-slip underneath. Nonetheless, the colour of the skirt, the pattern and the length were nice, so it's not a terrible purchase as much as the blue-green skirt, but still, I could have kept my money instead...

So this is what I got during the holidays. Except for the shoes, I wouldn't say I'm in LOVE with everything else, but what can I say. Buying these pieces gave me some lessons and prevented me from splurging on Etsy which would've cost me more dollars for a comparable amount of satisfaction.