Trash Treasure

This one I learned from my father- there is nothing wrong with doing a little trash digging. I pity the person who avoids picking up perfectly usable or interesting items just because a stranger has deemed them trash.

Countless things in our home have been acquired this way, including this antique birdcage I pulled from someone's trash near my office this afternoon.

One more thing old and charming has avoided the landfill for an opportunity to be treasured again.

Getting Dressed Mess

Dress Form Dress Up

This really is not as weird as it sounds. Here is my ticket to getting rid of the several boxes of clothes cluttering up our spare bedroom and basement. Everything '50s and older was sold last year to help fund vacations, but I still have a ton of great vintage to part ways with.

Of course, I will let you know when the sale is officially going, but for now, I have some lighting to figure out.

Big Foot Needs Swedish Hasbeens

Despite consistently thrifting for the past 15 years, I have very few pairs of vintage shoes. By very few, I mean maybe 12 or so. Compared to the number I would like to have, this is just a few.

The problem is, I have big feet.

Unlike me, it seems the majority of women of years past had tiny feet. I frequently find fabulous vintage shoes in sizes 5.5 or 6 that look to be made for children to this big-footed contemporary woman. Less frequently, I see an 8, 9, or a 9.5 narrow that really screw with my emotions, but very rarely the size 10 that my hooves require.

Because of this, I find myself shopping 'new' for shoes more than any other clothing item. Right now, the Swedish Hasbeens have my eye.

These beauties are based off of real vintage shoes, as the Hasbeen website puts it:

"Her name was Anita and she was the hottest mum in all of southern Sweden in the 1970’s. While smoking Camel she screamed at her kids until her curlers fell out and just looked fabulous in her white high-heeled clogs.

One summer day in 2006 we found the shoes she wore (300 pairs of red, white and black beautiful clogs from the 70’s) in the basement of an old clog factory in the neighboring village and brought them to Stockholm. So for all these people that shared our love for Anita’s wooden shoes and for ourselves we started Swedish Hasbeens."

What could be better than these simple, yet adorable, wooden-heeled remakes? Well, besides finding those 300 pairs of vintage clogs...

If you want to make this lady's new shoes dream come true, my favorites are the 'Super High Peep Toe' in Cognac. I will be needing those in a size 10.

Moon Bag

Meet my new prized bag- a vintage Patricia Smith Moon Bag.

Patricia Smith, of Milwaukee Wisconsin, made handbags from the late '70s to late '90s. Smith combined lacquered panels, which she designed herself, with either leather or needlework to create these amazingly unique bags. Intended to be interchangeable, the panels are held on by velcro. More examples can be found here.

Although not in mint condition, this Moon Bag will surely end up a staple of my wardrobe. The so soft it is buttery leather and sparkly rose printed rigid panel create a perfectly unexpected juxtaposition of texture.

Steal, I Mean, Deal

An important lesson learned from my mother- when you see a yard sale sign, go for it!

Browsing others no longer desired belongings spread out on their lawn or on card tables in the garage was my mother's choice way to kill a Saturday morning during the summers months. Unlike her, I rarely go out with the plan to spend a day going to yard sales, but once I hazardously make that last-minute turn towards the first one, it is pretty much guaranteed my next several hours will be spent following neon poster-board signs from one sale to another.

Although the encounter with the item's former owner is brief, I find an odd satisfaction in knowing exactly where my purchase came from. Plus, you never know what you may find.

Today I could have purchased live chickens at $6 each. "Now there is a lady who would love a couple chickens!" the elderly gentleman trying to make the sale shouted out at me as I browsed his merchandise. Knowing our neighbors would not be thrilled to have city chickens next door, I restrained myself, but he sure had me pegged.

What I did buy- a few records for my husband and a dress form, which I have been wanting for awhile now. Today, I paid a whopping $5 for one, and the woman threw a vintage purse that she caught me eyeing into the steal, I mean, deal.

Lose and Ye Shall Recieve

Today's score was not one, but two, great pairs of vintage sunglasses to replace the pair I lost in NYC.

If only I could score some sunny days...