Goodwill Finds

Oh, did I tell you I found a Kate Spade bag at Goodwill?  It was in a case at the register.  As I was checking out, the design on the exterior caught my eye.  I asked to see it and noticing the brand said, “Oh, it’s Kate Spade!”  The person ringing me up looked up and said, “Well maybe…”  As I was examining the interior and the detail, I thought, This is either a genuine Kate Spade or an impeccable fake.  It had great craftsmanship.  I bought it along with this great skirt from the same location.

 

I was actually looking for an out of season white dress when I came across the little darling of a skirt.  When I didn’t find any dresses to suit, I started meandering through the skirts.  This 1940s era tweed find was literally peeping out at me from among the tan skirt section.  Because skirts and dresses of that era were closely cinched at the waist, I believe someone tried it on, discovered they couldn’t fit it, and just tossed it back on the rack out of frustration.  Fortunately for me, no one had the idea to have the waist let out.  Well… I bought the skirt without trying it on first because the inside of the belt said it was a 14 so I just knew it would fit me. (I’m smaller than that.)  When I got home, it was too small.

 

The buy was a wonderful accident.  A friend of my mom is a great seamstress and used to make the majorette uniforms for my high school band.  I trusted the task of letting out the waist and covering up stains along the bottom edge and down the sides of the skirt to her.  Valerie, the owner of Destiné Fashion and Alterations in Nashville, assisted with my vision for the skirt and turned it into the photo on the left.  The first time I brought her the skirt, she remarked that the label was from a store her grandmother shopped in Downtown Nashville when she was a little girl.  This skirt is older than me! The extender fabric came from a ½ yard of suede cloth.  The black stripes down the sides are wool from Textile Fabrics on Franklin Rd.  I had a wonderful time shopping there but they are not cheap.  They have everything you could ever imagine for sewing and I am determined to go back after Valerie teaches me.  She offers sewing classes.

 

The lace at the bottom and a pin I bought to cover the stain on the pocket came from JoAnn’s where a nice lady in line directed me to their mobile coupon site.  The new belt came from Banana Republic Factory Store at 60% off during the Christmas holiday.  I picked up the off-white turtleneck at the same store at 50% off and bought some black and gold bangles from there as well.  (Discount!)  The necklace I’m wearing in the photo was a late-in-the-day Black Friday deal at NY&CO and the shoes are from my closet which were bought several years ago.  I decided to pair my thrift store find with a splurge from Cole Haan Outlet that was actually 60% off.

 

I originally paid four dollars and change for that skirt which wasn’t taxed by the Goodwill.  The fabric and alterations were considerably more than four dollars but my skirt is now couture.  By the way, my right hip is bigger than my left hip which is apparently normal for most people.  My new skirt was done in two fittings and looks pretty good for my first crack at vintage shopping, if I do say so myself.  I learned that vintage shopping is an all day process and can be very daunting.  I recommend getting stores’ schedules for discount and specials days.  Valerie told me of a dress she reconfigured for a coronation that only cost the campus org queen $0.99.  Also, take your time.  I was so eager beaver that I spent more than I should have on some of the fabric.  I bought a whole yard of the wool when I could have cut costs by only getting a half.  I could have also caught better sales if I’d just waited for some of my desired items to be marked down.  All in all, I’ve been bitten by the bug.  I am now officially a vintage shopper and will spend some of my weekends looking for great deals and thinking of alterations.  And I think I’ll try to find a fascinator to go with this look…