In my previous blog I gave some tips on finding high quality costume jewelery; to start your collection of jewelery for your new wardrobe!
Tip:
You always want to be an early bird shopper! Find out when they open, and be there when the doors are opened. You will get the best stuff first!
Browsing and inspecting:
The difference between these two? When you browse; you fluff some clothes around, peek at a few pretty colors, and generally, find nothing and decide to give up. When inspecting; you painstakingly flip through every piece of clothing, whether it may suit you or not. You will end up finding the treasure buried beneath Grandma's Christmas tree sweater, and the orange furry thinga-ma-bob that LOOKS like your cat Fluffy.
An open mind:
Bring one of these w/ you, even if you have to borrow it from your weird hippie co-worker! You may come out a whole new person, w/ your own unique and classy(Or not)sense of style. Thrift shopping invites all kinds, whether you want to dress like a punk, a hippie, an evening dress for a night out on the town, or you work for a business where you have to wear a suit. You can dress up in any genre, or find your own quirky fashion sense EVERY day! Thrift shopping is like when you were a kid playing dress-up. Be experimental, try things you've never tried before, colors you've never worn, don't stick w/ earthy tones and bland avocados, spice things up. Remember, you are leaving the cheap retail scene to escape the boring fashions that come and go.
How frustrating is it that every year the retail stores tell you what's "In", what colors are "Fall colors", and what cuts you should be wearing? We shouldn't let corporations dictate what we wear. We are all individuals with personalities, not cardboard cut-out of what's in or out!
The great thing is, you don't have have to find one specific style that is "you" you can have MANY looks and styles, for all occasions, and your g/f's will wonder WHERE you got all your great outfits!
What to do when you find something cool:
First, check the fabric! Read what kind of fabric it is, if it still has a tag. Check if has to be hand-washed, or dry-cleaned, etc. If hand-washing suits your lifestyle, and time schedule, its a good idea; otherwise, be wary of avoiding the clothing item until you finally get around to having it dry cleaned. The next thing you want to do check is the seams, and the fabric quality. Do the tug-o-war test on the seams, lightly pull the fabric taut and check if the seams are loose, or you can visibly see light through them. Check all aspects of the seams to make sure there are no loose seams, loose thread, or torn corners. Also; look for double-stitching, this is a good sign, noting that the shirt is durable. Look for small stains, tears, or rips, these can be easily patched and repaired it your item is a true find.
Sequins, beading, rhinestones and embroidery:
Make sure to check if the designs on the item your checking out, are strong, and well-done. Make sure the thread is thick, and if possible not visible. Check for missing beads, or sequins, or weak thread sagging under the weight of beads. You want the sequins to be tight knit, and well overlapped and layered. If the piece is particularly heavy in your hand, and the cloth appears strong, and the beading has no missing patches, then it is usually a good piece.
What about those rhinestones? Make sure your rhinestones are encased in a metal piece, that is firmly attached to your shirt. If they are just "floating" and glued on, they will fall off even with light movement and daily activity.
Embroidery; make sure that the thread is thick, and there are no stray threads sticking up. Make sure the design is strong, and not done quickly and factory style.
What I'm NOT going to teach you:
This guide is for Thrift-shopping functionality, not for brand-whores! I'm not going to tell you how to decipher between real vintage Louis Vuitton, and fakes, or any of that stuff. You have to decide that for yourself!
What I will teach you about brands:
I will tell you what brands to avoid, if you want your piece to last longer than its third wash!
Cheap mall brands, are to be avoided at all costs!
Brands like Charlotte Russe, Wet Seal, Forever 21, are big no-no's! If its cute and you don't mind it lasting only a few washes, by all means buy it! But be warned, mall brands have a higher chance of breaking, snapping, and unraveling, as well as tears, runs, and all around disarray.
Mall brands will fade quicker, lose their luster and appeal much quicker than quality boutique brands.
A lot of thrift stores will carry retail brand clothing; Fang, Southpole, Self Esteem; etc. These brands are a little bit better than mall brands, and their cotton tees and jackets usually last a good amount of time. However; the spaghetti straps, and lacy pieces have a tendency of falling apart quickly.
If you want to know what high-quality brands and labels to look for, I suggest getting some Harper's Bazaar magazines from your local library, and browsing through the clothing ads. You will find that some of these brands are at your thrift store. These brands tend to be higher-grade cloth, last longer, and are usually more fitted and contoured to your form than retail and mall clothing.
The Secret:
The secret to creating a wardrobe for ALL occasions? Check ALL the areas of your thrift store. Don't go in solely looking for tank-tops and blouses, check the skirt section even if you don't normally wear skirts. Check the formal evening dress section, even if you don't have a reason. Items tend to get misplaced, and stuck in odd areas as well. You can find cute tank-tops in the Pajama's section sometimes. Looking through the dresses, and blazers you can find high grade vintage pieces, because most people don't check the formal wear. Don't leave any area unchecked, because you might just be leaving a treasure behind.
After reading this blog, you will be equipped with a basic knowledge of how to find good quality items, and how to avoid being scammed into a shiny shirt, that will quickly fall apart.
With these skills you will soon be on your way to building your new wardrobe, with long-lasting timeless favorites, instead of cheap throw-aways!
In my next blog I will cover some notes of mine, on how to identify types of fabric!
Showing posts with label retail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retail. Show all posts
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Thrift shopping 101: Part 1; Costume jewelery
The other day my fiance and I went to Value Village; and I found this amazing dress for a great deal!
Detail: The dress was only $4.99, and the blue hand painted seed beads were only $0.99! Baby blues are a great accent w/ dark browns!
How can you get great fashion finds for a low price, without the guilt of buying slave labor?
Thrift stores, yard sales, and consignment stores are my favorite choices for cute, or funky clothes and styles.
What will you need?
A sense of adventure
An imagination
A few bucks!
I used to dread thrift shopping, it was a last minute option for me.
All I ever saw when I walked in were isles of old lady sweaters, and dirty old shoes. I practically refused to browse the isles, and just couldn't bring myself to try anything on.
Years later I finally let go, and realized that my pocket book couldn't take my trips to Macy's and Nordstrom's anymore. I also hated dressing like the rest of the population.
One of the great things about thrift shopping, is the fact that you can get a cashmere sweater for $5, and you can't even get a tank-top at JC Penney's for less than $10.
The upsides of thrift shopping; constant variety, vintage finds, and you always feel like your on a treasure hunt!
The downsides to thrift shopping; hip thrift shoppers like me knowing just how to get great deals, before Thrift-noobs get them!
But no worries, that's why I'm here, to tell you how to find amazing outfits, and get the good stuff before Lame Jane grabs your vintage sequined blouse.
Depending on the thrift store you go to, depends on the frequency of up to date clothing, or 80's belly-button smashing jeans. No worries, they all usually have a treasure hidden somewhere.
Creating your jewelery collection:
The first place to check for jewelry, is the wall-hanging section. It's usually all priced the same, and you can get some great bracelets, earrings, necklaces etc.
Start by checking every single hook holding the jewelry, just cause it looks shiny, doesn't mean its quality. You want to check for glass, and stone beads, and necklace pieces.
To do this; simply click the piece against your tooth, and if it feels dense, and makes a slight ting sound against your tooth, its probably glass or stone. This is an easy way to decipher between shiny plastic, and glass.
Pot Metal, and Silver:
Check whatever jewelry you are looking at, to see if there are any missing rhinestones, bent metal, or extremely flexible metal. You want to stay away from pot-metal(this is a very cheap and easily snapped metal, usually made in china, and coming from retailers like Kohls).
What to look for to determine pot-metal: The findings(round chain link like things attaching the jewelery to the hook, clasp, etc)are split, not welded, or easily bendable. This is a bad sign, because your jewelery could easily fall off, or snap. The color of pot metal is usually much brighter than that of silver, and instead of grey coloring, it has black coloring to mimic silver. Silver is usually dull, or grey, and it is a softer metal, it doesn't snap as easily as pot metal. Older silver has tiny scratches, and small dents in the metal. It usually heats quickly to the touch.
Pearls, costume jewelery, and big beautiful beads:
I myself don't really care if the pearls are real or not, they are a cool accent for some outfits. Although; an easy way to check if the pearls or plastic beads you found are real pearls, is another tooth-checking method; the teeth don't lie!
Roll the bead against your tooth, if there are dents or it feels slightly gritty, you probably found real pearls, or damn good fakes. Otherwise, if they are plastic, they will be completely smooth and round.
You want your beads to be dense, and strong, not hollow. Just tap them w/ your fingernail, and if it feels heavy in your hand, and there's no hollow sound, those are high quality beads. Also; if they are paint covered, or chrome covered, scratch them lightly w/ a fingernail to make sure no paint chips off.
Beaded necklace string:
You want to make sure when you buy beaded necklaces, that the string holding them together is reasonably strong, and durable.
Think what a mess it would be if your out on a date, and your necklace catches on something, and beads scatter everywhere!
To make sure the string is strong, first check how closely the beads are from each other, if there are tiny knots between each bead, this is a good sign; it means it will hold together well. Try the tug-a-rope test, and grab either side with your hands, and lightly pull to the opposite direction of each hand. If the necklace gives, I wouldn't buy it; if it stays firm, it has less of a chance of snapping randomly. Just make sure the string is thicker than fishing line. Inspect w/ a magnifying glass if necessary, to check if it is twined like a mini-rope, once again a good sign. Big round plastic beads are a fun way to accent almost any outfit!
Quality materials/beads:
Wood
Seeds
Crystal
Stones
Glass
Thick plastic beads
Silver/Sterling
Gold
The second place to look for jewelery is of course, the infamous glass display cabinet! Usually the items in the display cabinets are higher priced, and most of the time, incorrectly priced. A lot of the time there is some good vintage brooches, pins, and really high quality necklaces. On the downside they get in a lot of retail costume jewelery that looks really shiny, but its worthless. Thrift stores will often charge very high prices for these pieces because they "look new". If it looks like it just came out of the JC Penney's or Mervyn's Juniors section, it probably did.
If you are not a frequent retail shopper, I recommend visiting your local retailer(excluding Macy's and Nordstrom's)Try Kohls, Sears, Ross, TJ Maxx, Mervyn's, or JC Penney. These are lower-end retailers. Browse the jewlery section, and inspect the costume jewelery. You will note that some earrings are bent, or the clasps don't connect properly. Some of the necklaces have missing rhinestones, or broken chains. Make sure you make a mental note of the way this type of costume jewelery looks; so when you are thrift shopping, be sure to avoid this cheaply made jewelery.
This may seem complicated at first, but once you get the knack of it, you'll be a pro thrift shopper!
I hope these tips help Thrift Shoppers new to the scene, I also recommend an awesome in-depth thrift shoppers guide, that really helped me: Secondhand Chic: Find fabulous fashion at Consignment, Vintage, and Thrift stores: By Christa Weil
You can get this book at your local library, if they don't carry it, you can usually ask them to buy the book for you!
In my next blog I will cover the basics of finding high quality clothing, and where to look!
Detail: The dress was only $4.99, and the blue hand painted seed beads were only $0.99! Baby blues are a great accent w/ dark browns!
How can you get great fashion finds for a low price, without the guilt of buying slave labor?
Thrift stores, yard sales, and consignment stores are my favorite choices for cute, or funky clothes and styles.
What will you need?
A sense of adventure
An imagination
A few bucks!
I used to dread thrift shopping, it was a last minute option for me.
All I ever saw when I walked in were isles of old lady sweaters, and dirty old shoes. I practically refused to browse the isles, and just couldn't bring myself to try anything on.
Years later I finally let go, and realized that my pocket book couldn't take my trips to Macy's and Nordstrom's anymore. I also hated dressing like the rest of the population.
One of the great things about thrift shopping, is the fact that you can get a cashmere sweater for $5, and you can't even get a tank-top at JC Penney's for less than $10.
The upsides of thrift shopping; constant variety, vintage finds, and you always feel like your on a treasure hunt!
The downsides to thrift shopping; hip thrift shoppers like me knowing just how to get great deals, before Thrift-noobs get them!
But no worries, that's why I'm here, to tell you how to find amazing outfits, and get the good stuff before Lame Jane grabs your vintage sequined blouse.
Depending on the thrift store you go to, depends on the frequency of up to date clothing, or 80's belly-button smashing jeans. No worries, they all usually have a treasure hidden somewhere.
Creating your jewelery collection:
The first place to check for jewelry, is the wall-hanging section. It's usually all priced the same, and you can get some great bracelets, earrings, necklaces etc.
Start by checking every single hook holding the jewelry, just cause it looks shiny, doesn't mean its quality. You want to check for glass, and stone beads, and necklace pieces.
To do this; simply click the piece against your tooth, and if it feels dense, and makes a slight ting sound against your tooth, its probably glass or stone. This is an easy way to decipher between shiny plastic, and glass.
Pot Metal, and Silver:
Check whatever jewelry you are looking at, to see if there are any missing rhinestones, bent metal, or extremely flexible metal. You want to stay away from pot-metal(this is a very cheap and easily snapped metal, usually made in china, and coming from retailers like Kohls).
What to look for to determine pot-metal: The findings(round chain link like things attaching the jewelery to the hook, clasp, etc)are split, not welded, or easily bendable. This is a bad sign, because your jewelery could easily fall off, or snap. The color of pot metal is usually much brighter than that of silver, and instead of grey coloring, it has black coloring to mimic silver. Silver is usually dull, or grey, and it is a softer metal, it doesn't snap as easily as pot metal. Older silver has tiny scratches, and small dents in the metal. It usually heats quickly to the touch.
Pearls, costume jewelery, and big beautiful beads:
I myself don't really care if the pearls are real or not, they are a cool accent for some outfits. Although; an easy way to check if the pearls or plastic beads you found are real pearls, is another tooth-checking method; the teeth don't lie!
Roll the bead against your tooth, if there are dents or it feels slightly gritty, you probably found real pearls, or damn good fakes. Otherwise, if they are plastic, they will be completely smooth and round.
You want your beads to be dense, and strong, not hollow. Just tap them w/ your fingernail, and if it feels heavy in your hand, and there's no hollow sound, those are high quality beads. Also; if they are paint covered, or chrome covered, scratch them lightly w/ a fingernail to make sure no paint chips off.
Beaded necklace string:
You want to make sure when you buy beaded necklaces, that the string holding them together is reasonably strong, and durable.
Think what a mess it would be if your out on a date, and your necklace catches on something, and beads scatter everywhere!
To make sure the string is strong, first check how closely the beads are from each other, if there are tiny knots between each bead, this is a good sign; it means it will hold together well. Try the tug-a-rope test, and grab either side with your hands, and lightly pull to the opposite direction of each hand. If the necklace gives, I wouldn't buy it; if it stays firm, it has less of a chance of snapping randomly. Just make sure the string is thicker than fishing line. Inspect w/ a magnifying glass if necessary, to check if it is twined like a mini-rope, once again a good sign. Big round plastic beads are a fun way to accent almost any outfit!
Quality materials/beads:
Wood
Seeds
Crystal
Stones
Glass
Thick plastic beads
Silver/Sterling
Gold
The second place to look for jewelery is of course, the infamous glass display cabinet! Usually the items in the display cabinets are higher priced, and most of the time, incorrectly priced. A lot of the time there is some good vintage brooches, pins, and really high quality necklaces. On the downside they get in a lot of retail costume jewelery that looks really shiny, but its worthless. Thrift stores will often charge very high prices for these pieces because they "look new". If it looks like it just came out of the JC Penney's or Mervyn's Juniors section, it probably did.
If you are not a frequent retail shopper, I recommend visiting your local retailer(excluding Macy's and Nordstrom's)Try Kohls, Sears, Ross, TJ Maxx, Mervyn's, or JC Penney. These are lower-end retailers. Browse the jewlery section, and inspect the costume jewelery. You will note that some earrings are bent, or the clasps don't connect properly. Some of the necklaces have missing rhinestones, or broken chains. Make sure you make a mental note of the way this type of costume jewelery looks; so when you are thrift shopping, be sure to avoid this cheaply made jewelery.
This may seem complicated at first, but once you get the knack of it, you'll be a pro thrift shopper!
I hope these tips help Thrift Shoppers new to the scene, I also recommend an awesome in-depth thrift shoppers guide, that really helped me: Secondhand Chic: Find fabulous fashion at Consignment, Vintage, and Thrift stores: By Christa Weil
You can get this book at your local library, if they don't carry it, you can usually ask them to buy the book for you!
In my next blog I will cover the basics of finding high quality clothing, and where to look!
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