Be sure that thrifting is often not for the 'faint of heart'. On Saturday my long-suffering husband came with me to a few vintage clothing stores in Chicago. The first called Shangri-La Vintage is a tiny, well-organized fun shop with GREAT prices and a wonderful selection of vintage clothing and accessories. Let me clarify that in THIS shop, there was nothing but pleasantness and I snagged this fantastic black, patent purse for just $10.00. There's just something about the "snap" those old 'pocketbooks' make!
This blouse is a yummy, pale green DACRON (do they even still use that for clothing??) fabric that is light, billowy and has a beautiful sheen to it -- also $10.00. Now I'm not sure what this says about sizing in the 50's but I wear a size Medium blouse and this "16" barely fits me. I prefer to think that the 50's size charts were WAY off.
The second shop presented our first 'encounter' as we browsed the endless displays of books, clothing and housewares. There, perched on a stack of folded shirts . . . a nice, healthy-looking cockroach. I spied him first and then asked my husband quietly, "So should I tell the girl at the counter there is a roach over there, or do we just ignore it?" We both agreed, ignore it. I didn't find anything I wanted but if I had, I admit, I would have bought it . . . just would have shook it out well before putting it in the car.
Thrifting is great fun . . . but you have to be able to overlook a few things sometimes! What have you encountered in your thrift shopping?
Well, you can look at it as "Going on Safari"!(only smaller)
ReplyDeleteDid you EVER WONDER where the name "FLEA"market came from? Hmmmmm!
I was rummaging through an indoor flea market once with a dear dear friend... WHEN ALL OF SUDDEN she stopped what she was rummaging through and said "It's TIME TO LEAVE"!!! I asked her what was wrong and she said...It was bad enough when she came across a TOOTH, then a few more TEETH, "THEN she said there was a BAG FULL of them! SHE NEEDED TO LEAVE! I told her MAYBE the pile belonged to the "TOOTH FAIRY"! She said she was too afraid there would BE a SKULL pop up soon...
Hugs to you Lauren,
Donna
Oh that's hilarious, I like mice much more than cockroaches.....eeeeuuww... and yes a thought, are we all just bigger than our own mother's were? thanks for coming by to visit! xo
ReplyDeleteI suppose better mouse than a rat but YUCK! I love searching through Op Shops, 2nd hand etc and it can be a bit grimy at times as you described. I think my worst encounter at a thrift shop was fleas. I felt something itching me and looked down and my legs had numerous fleas!!!! Gross out!
ReplyDeleteOk. I love your purse and blouse find Lauren, but now I am feeling a little itchy! Lol! I love thrifting too, but sometimes those places give me the creepy-crawlies! Angie xo
ReplyDeleteThe weird stuff I encounter involve people! I've witnessed a few very loud arguments over items...or people off in their own little world singing at the top of their lungs...it's always interesting! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I am your newest~ #400!~ follower!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, thrifting is not for the faint of heart! :-) Sounds like you had a good time and found some great items.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Mary Alice
Oh my gosh, Lauren! I haven't encountered anything yet, thank God! Most of the stuff I get is not fabric related, but even so, once I get home everything gets a wash ~ right away, too.
ReplyDeletegiveaways up every saturday. come and see
ReplyDeleteI was wonderign if you wanted to be featured on my blog this motnh and do a giveaway? let me know by saturday
Brave woman!!! If I saw a roach or a rat I would have screamed my head off!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLove that purse and shirt!
xxDaniella
I have to admit..i was curious about your post. I live in the south and I hate hate those things. I saw the picture and ignored it because I didn't want to touch it with my pointer on the mouse.Oh funny mouse LOL. I am glad I did, because I found you and an interesting post. I am now following you.
ReplyDelete~Clara
I read on someone's blog that they got bedbugs in their house from buying a throw and just laying it on the end of the bed without washing. It cost them thousands to get the whole house rid of the things. That scared me to death!
ReplyDeleteWow..don't you just hate that...I bought an end table and there was a dead roach inside...at least it was dead...I am a new follower of yours and I too love thrifting...come for a visit...phyllis
ReplyDeleteHaha, I think I would be super thankful I didn't bring either of those friends home with me.
ReplyDeleteShiloh
everydaygameplan.net
Thankfully I haven't run into any creatures while thrifting. There's been a lot of mention about bedbugs lately which really scares me.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness! I haven't had anything like that in my encounters. Anything I ever buy made of cloth I bring home and toss in the dryer on high for 20 minutes. My mother says this is the recommendation to bed bug proof it. I have never had a problem but, I don't want to bring anything into my home! Thanks for joining me at Home Sweet Home.
ReplyDeleteSherry
It's funny you should post about hazards of thrifting because I once encountered a china cabinet infested with roaches! Needless to say, I have not been back to that one. Enjoy your day, Gail
ReplyDeleteOh my,I haven't encountered anything like this... you are right, thrifting not for the faint of heart,lol! Just looking at the picture of the roach makes me nervous:)The black purse, however looks lovely!Thanks for your sweet note! I appreciate you stopping by:)Hugs,Poppy
ReplyDeleteLOL...I got so tickled reading your fun post on thrifting hazards because I have been there...done that sooooo many times. Last week I went to one of my fave places but it's an old old building on the river and it's dark and crowded, so when I get towards the back of the place I start stomping so any critters will scurry back into their hiding places. I hope you and yours have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteHa... and now with all the talk of bedbugs...that's really got me thinking twice about what I drag in the house. I'm now following you on LF...hope you'll come visit me too!, (but leave the roaches and mice at home please:)) Little Bit
ReplyDeleteHow funny, Lauren! You have a great attitude about it all! I'm surprised there weren't some shreeks at either store from someone! You are right, thrifting is not for the faint of heart!
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed Easter weekend.
Holly
Your stories made me laugh - and reminded me why I've been hesitant to do serious thrifting! I took my first trip to a ReStore the other day, and the trip was thankfully critter-free. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the purse you found, though, and I agree. The snap sound just makes them so much better!