Vintage, Ebay, and Kitties, Oh My!

It's been awhile!  I've been super busy with other things in life, and I just have not had the time to photograph some of my newest vintage goodies.  Sorry!  So, this evening I went outside and started photographing away.  I wasn't feeling it though, the light wasn't cooperating! 

But first things first:

Vintage 70's sweater around $5

Ebay became an obsession for a few weeks after my introduction; it was bad.  Way too easy of access to cool things, and bidding incited some serious frenzy!  In total, I won five different vintage auctions.  This sweater was part of a lot that included two other sweaters in different color-ways as well as a really cute 70s printed tank top.  Pictures soon, I promise.  I've already worn two of the sweaters, and they're perfect to wear with skirts!  I wore one of them, the brown and cream version, with my new American Eagle pink skinny jeans, and while it looked cute, it was a bit too short! Either way I really love them, so I'm super happy with that purchase!

Next item:

Barlow scrimshaw bolo tie around $10

Looking at the auction, I thought this was a really cool piece, and I still really like it, but I don't think it is very old at all, and clearly not "vintage" as advertised.  Especially considering, they're still selling versions of these on the internet.  But anyways, it's got a deer on it and it makes a nifty necklace.  

A few weeks ago, before the Ebay craze started though, I wandered into my favorite little Hospice thrift store.  They had their coats on sale, I think they were 50% off if I remember correctly.  I have the hardest time finding vintage coats, all off the ones I find end up being too large on me!  Anyways, then I came across this one:

60s/70s vintage Holly Plush for Alorna coat $4.75

As soon as I tried it on, I was in love...except for that fur collar.  I could get used to I suppose, but it just really isn't me.  I have nothing against vintage fur, and I would rather people buy vintage fur rather than new fur.  But anyways, I started checking it out, and I realized the fur collar had been added by the previous owner... Happy days! So, I snipped off some of the thread knots, and slowly pulled out the threads releasing the furry creature from the collar.

This was the eagerly anticipated collar I was rewarded with: 

kitty in the background :P

Isn't it gorgeous?!  I'm totally dissapointed winter is over now, but I seriously love this coat.  The pockets are really unique looking and the collar is swoon-worthy.  And the seaming, can I just say how lovely it shapes the coat?  So excited for next winter now.

And the reason I ended up ending my documentation session was because Dixie, our little stray kitty, and Sasha, one of our house cats, would not leave me alone.  So, they got pictures of them taken instead:

Dixie

Sasha

This weekend I am super excited to go to the Sherry's Yesterdaze Big Blowout sale, and I'm crossing my fingers I'll come it with some cool finds!


Until next time!


Love,
Ashley

Of Florals, Lions, Fur and Nightgowns

This was a big one.  Last Saturday, we (my grandma, little cousin Jay, and I) went to a community yard sale (which was not too great) and two of my more favorite thrift stores: tiny St. Martins and BIG Hospice.  I also have a small Hospice thrift store I frequent, but that's for another time ;)


So, first off was the community yard sale.  Talk about disappointing, I didn't really see anything too old at any of the houses.  However, one of them was filled with costume jewelry.  Obviously, that's the one that called my name.  I got four items for $10, more than I wanted to pay, but I thought the pieces were fairly unique and these were actually marked down prices as-is. Expensive garage sale.  

pin-loved the flowers and colors in this one.  It feels so joyful!

Reverse carved lucite pendant, I have a pink and purple orchid one that I love,
so I was super excited to find this one!

a wire-wrapped rock necklace, this is just so me.  I love rocks and such, and this is a really pretty
lavender color!

This is possibly the most bizarre piece.  It's a necklace with a pendant made of driftwood with a stone attached.  I couldn't just leave something like that there.




Next place, we went to was the St. Martin's thrift store, and we learned they were closing down and changing to a once a month yard sale at their church, so sad :(  It was a really good day there, although I did pass on a 1960's Betty Rose coat, because it was just too big (I have the worst of luck when it comes to finding vintage coats in my size). 

So, first off was this adorable Henson nightgown and robe set.  It's in an almost highlighter pink color with little embroidered rosebuds sewn onto it. I was thinking 70s because of the color, but possibly earlier.  $5 for the set

And here's the robe that matched adorably. 

The collar is possibly the cutest thing ever! 

the little pockets and lacy sleeves on the robe are so cute!

And the Henson Kickernick label (that is an awesome last name!) 

A sheer turquoise CHAUS blouse, I loved the color and the sleeves! This 80s or 90s, but for $1 I'm not complaining. 

 details!

 And Made in Japan and not China! Score!

Lavender colored belt with gold buckle $1 

I really needed some belts that would go up on my natural waist, and this is the perfect size!

Brown cord handbag, doing a little research this looks to be a 40s handbag, sweet!  I knew it looked old, but in practically immaculate condition.  These bags were styled after the popular and high-end Corde' handbag brand. $4

And probably my favorite find of the whole day was this Accessocraft stretch lion's head belt.  Gorgeous detail and in perfect condition, I can't find much about dating this one, but it's probably only 80s.  Another natural waist belt, and I've already even worn it out!  $3




And the last stop was the BIG Hospice thrift store.  This place is huge and I usually go through the racks in my favorite sections: dresses, coats, and lingerie, then just skim through the rest of it. I got a really odd conglomeration of things this time!

 I have no idea of this age of this one, it has a more old-fashioned styling to it, but I'm thinking 80s.  It's rather pretty though, and it should look great in a photoshoot. It's by "Jeri New York," a label I could find practically nothing on. $4.25

 Scarf with rounded edges and "modern" circle print.  Such a pretty pattern with great colors $1

No label on this one, but this view shows off the rounded edges which are kind of unusual.  


 This one is a bit of a mystery, check out all of these tags: 

a total I don't know and  a remove by consumer tag, kind of like a mattress, I guess...?

A Borg company label and a Canadian hatter's Union tag

3 tags full of information, and yet trying to find any info or similar hats is turning to be fruitless.  So, Borg "deep pile fabric, A subsidiary of the Bunker Ramo corporation" is what I have to go on. and there just seems to be nothing.

But anyways, it's a faux fur trapped hat.  And this is how it was presented to me when my 3-year old cousin found it while crawling underneath the rack of shirts. Tied up like a nice little package. It's a good thing he was being a little crazy or this wouldn't have found it's way to me.  $2 

 Trying to  display this while not on my head was kind of ridiculous.  The trailer made a good display of it though.  I have always wanted one of these, don't ask me why.  The last one I saw that I wanted was $40, so $2 made me much more happy.

 Bed jacket!  This thing is so soft it's ridiculous $3

Pretty quilted details!  

 I was kind of gutted to see somebody had cut out the label.  So, now I'm not sure whether this is an original 40s/50s/60s one or just one made a few years ago.  It seems older, but that doesn't mean much, I suppose.

 And my other favorite find of the day, this gorgeous 50s/60s nightgown, it really is quite a heavenly piece, and I've already got photoshoot plans for it. $3

pretty lacy details! 

Kayser label, Made in USA (woohoo!)

And my pile of clothes I was shooting.  They make quite a pretty set, am I right? 

Told you it was a lot of things ;)  I hope you enjoyed living vicariously through my thrifting adventure!  I can't wait to put these goodies to use!

St. Patrick's Day Vintage Finds

On St. Patrick's day, my mom and I went on a mini yard sale expedition.  There was an estate sale nearby that had been advertised as starting on Friday, which we had not been able to go to, so we decided to go on Saturday instead.  They had some great pictures advertising the sale, including several pairs of vintage Salvatore Ferragamo Vara shoes, which I have always wanted a pair of!  Well, in any case, they were gone on Saturday.  But that doesn't mean it was a total bust!

These were our goodies we brought home:

Metal box- $2.50

Hippos $20 for the pair

Glove Envelope $1

What it looks like when it's opened!

 So, at the estate sale, we picked up the metal box (that I can now not get open!), the pair of clay hippos, and the glove envelope. The hippos were my mom's purchase, they are now quite happy to be in the wild of our backyard!  I know absolutely nothing about them, but they are just so cheerful looking and begged to be taken home.  I also have a large collection of 50s short gloves, so this little felt glove envelope seemed like the perfect buy!


Then, when we were driving back home, we saw a yard sale sign, and since we weren't needed elsewhere and the mounds of things were intriguing, we decided to stop in!  This was a true junk sale of treasures.  I resisted several BIG things:  a big blue rusted fan unit, several big suitcases, chairs, and some large mirrors.    


However, the three things I did purchase made me very happy indeed and for a whole $3.50, I felt like I had quite a deal!  

UCAGCO Japanese tea cup and saucer $.50

Such pretty poppies! <3

This shot really show off the lustrous color of them both!  The white has a very iridescent finish.

And here's the pattern name: August Poppy!  

 It was difficult to find information on this little teacup and saucer set, but I finally located that they were by UCAGCO and that this was a flower of the month sort of thing.  August's flower being the poppy, of course! I can not get over how pretty the iridescent finish is on these, very pretty!  I am already imagining a photo-shoot in my head!

A Bright blue double-breasted sweater- $1

Adorable buttons!

Label!

I'm having a difficult time dating this one.  Sears and Roebucks items are apparently notoriously difficult to date  because they used SO many different labels.  Apparently, it's one of those, look at it and decide sorts of things.  I know nothing about vintage sweaters, so I'm not going to label this one quite yet.  But it even still has the extra button sewn into the inside of it! I always thought a size like "38" meant it was a men's item, but those flower buttons make me wonder! In any case, it fits nicely and I love it!

Homemade multi-colored blanket $2

Although the color combos seem a bit weird in some places, I really just loved how joyful this knit blanket looked!  This will be great to take photos with;  I can just imagine kids spreading across it for portraits!

So,that was the end of my little St. Patrick's Day Excursion, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!  If you have any extra info on any of the items, I'm always interested!

So, what have you found recently? :)