Special Trip: The U.P. Edition—Ironwood, MI Part II

Even though we have been extolling the joys of spring (and summer) dressing for the past few weeks, it is time to face facts. It is still very, very cold outside. There is still snow on the ground. Most of my thrifted fashions continue to be the winter ones. For all of these reasons, I present you with the final installment of the U.P. edition Special Trip!

As you may remember from my first post about this Special Trip, my family went skiing in Northern WI during the first week of January, which gave me the opportunity to hit up some of my favorite U.P. thrift shops in Ironwood, MI. The most exciting part of the whole deal is that we were finally able to check out the St. Vincent dePaul that had been evading me for a year. Since my mother, Molly and I spent so much time at the Gogebic Area Thrift shop the day before, we were thisclose to missing out on it for a second year. In major part because of Molly's insistence, however, instead of heading right back to MPLS, my brothers, my fiance, Molly and I decided to tool around Ironwood for the afternoon—which included some lite thrifting at the St. Vinnies.

And the wait was worth it—not only were there major deals (all sweaters and coats were 50% off, with winter hats and accessories Buy 1 Get 1 Free), but everyone had success in finding
unbelievable pieces.



My brother, Scott, right after arriving at the shop and jumping for joy.

Even though the place didn't look that large from the outside (as is often the case that thrift shops in small towns are rather tiny), it turned out to be huge. It consisted of three large rooms, one for clothing and shoes, one for furniture and housewares, and another designated, curiously, for "crafts," which included this creepy basket of doll heads.



(Question: is blue hair for homemade dolls 'in,' or am I just missing something?)



Also creepy—a cassette tape entitled "Contraception—Why not?" (still unclear as to if the title is meant to be negative or affirmative). Chris walked away with a more desirable set of tapes, my personal favorite being MTV Party To Go Vol. 2.

As you may guess, the real finds of the day came from the 50% deals. Even though one would think that the winter clothing would be picked over by this time, we found some major treasures.




A perfect example of why one should always being on the look out until the last moment you are in the store, Chris grabbed this "Shit Happens" sweatshirt on his way out and tossed it on top of my pile as I was waiting in line to pay. I mean, really.




Yellow sweater, another find by Chris.




This vintage "Ironwood Red Devils" sweater is one piece that I was initially ho-hum about but later realized it was a great find. I purchased it for the fit and the vintage-ness, but it wasn't until I wore it to work the other day that I realized the true beauty of its super soft inside—even though the piece is clearly old, the inner fabric is so soft it feels like brand new fleece. How the fabric maintained its softness and did not pill after years of wear and washing, I have no idea, but I am pleased that it did!





Nothing like a bunch of teal stocking caps and strange 90's headbands to beat the winter blues.




I usually refuse to give in to the temptation to buy poly pieces, but this dress with its amazing floral pattern was unstoppable. Between the cut and the print, it may just be my new favorite dress. What is even better is that even though it is made of a thin fabric, the dark colors are such that it doesn't look weird layering it with other pieces, like a slip and leggings, so I don't even have to wait for warm weather to bust it out!

The best news? I am now all out of Special Trips to share on Operation Sparkle, so that means I get to go on some more! Stay tuned!

Partying at Mancini's: Thrift Fashions for the Swanky Supper Club Set

So while Laurie was bouncing all over the world wide web and New York trying to right her thrifting wrong, I had the pleasure of reveling in one of the best things about thrifting: having a wardrobe filled with outrageous pieces that can create the perfect look for a situation you wouldn't normally encounter.

Yesterday was an amazing day for many reasons, least of which was that it was 37 degrees and I was able to take a bike ride for the first time in several weeks (I should also share with you that some possibly homeless, clearly not right in the head, man started screaming at me that he "loved" my outfit, which consisted of this long furry jacket, my huge Sorels, huge navy chopper mittens and my pink thrifted bicycle helmet. All very sexy). It was also an amazing day because it was the day before my dear friend Mary W. (otherwise known on blogger as "Momar")'s birthday. Which means that we get to go to Mancini's.

Now, for those of you not familiar with the Twin Cities, Mancini's is a bit of a St. Paul staple, or, as they state on their website, "a St. Paul tradition." It's this amazing swanky supper club that serves steaks, is covered in mirrors and shiny railings (but in a old supper club way, not a strip club way), has a whole wall of photos of "F-list" celebrities like Ashlee Simpson(-Wentz), all with music from the Midas Touch, a middle aged rock band that does covers of things like Bruce Springsteen and pretty much anything from before 1990. Needless to say, this sort of atmosphere invites all types, the most common of which are elderly drunk veterans and their middle-aged, trashy girlfriends/wives/mistresses.

What does one wear to such a soiree? Well, I decided to take a cue from Patsy on Absolutely Fabulous and rock a 90's drunk, rich, trashy woman vibe. Despite what you may think of me, I don't normally dress like this, but with a closet of thrifted treasures like I have, you bet your sweet bippy I could come up with such an outfit!



So for the first item of business, I had to start with my head. This is the only place that I feel could have been more Mancini's-appropriate, as it was clear that the hairdo of choice is a dried out, feathered, bleached blond look. As I had worn a headband that everyone said resembled a pair of underpants on my head last year, I thought it only fitting to wear another headband—this time one fashioned from a thrifted jumpsuit that I cut the legs off of and a large bead from a bracelet that was included in a thrifted "grab bag" my friend Mary D. gave me for my birthday one year.




Next, I was ecstatic when I realized that I finally had the perfect place to wear the drunk, trophy wife, bejeweled sweater that I picked up this fall—Mancini's of course!



Outside, I wore this fake fur coat, from the same fall trip I found the sweater at (a close runner up was my reversible leopard cape, but I deemed it as too cold, despite the more balmy temps).



I finished off the outfit with a high-waisted black pencil miniskirt from work (courtesy of H&M), my fold-over black leather clutch (which, as it turns out, can fit an unexpected amount of junk) and these electric blue suede pumps.

Total success! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY!!!!!!!!!!

More New Years Thrifted Looks

Wait. What? Did that just happen? How is it already the third day of the new year? Does anyone else feel like they entered into a booze/visitors/traveling/cheese-induced k-hole for the past two weeks or is it just me? All I know is that I somehow lost the past two weeks of my life (and will continue to do so as my whole family is going skiing for four days starting tomorrow), as well as plentiful blogging opportunities!

Have no fear, because even when we aren't blogging, we are living the thrifting lifestyle. As Laurie was able to discuss in a timely fashion (i.e. not three days after the fact), the holidays are an excellent time to take advantage of all the crazy, fancy thrifted fashions that you have been hoarding for months (or found that afternoon), anticipating the perfect holiday party to wear your velvet overalls to (I am not kidding, just you wait!).

My 2011 New Years outfit was no exception—a mix of old and new thrifted pieces, and a key vintage resale piece, I threw this outfit together after nixing about five other ones. While I can say it was a success, I also think I will never wear heels again. My feet still hurt and there is absolutely nothing sexy about stumbling around like a drunk after you have been in public for two hours.





This vintage, bejeweled, silk headpiece was clearly the pièce de résistance of my New Years outfit. I found this gem during my last minute thrift trip to Fox Valley Thrift with my brother. Determined that Laurie's assumption that between Thanksgiving and Christmas little changes at our favorite Green Bay shops may be proven wrong, we stopped by on a whim and found some of the best items I have found thrifting. While this piece was pricey by thrifting standards (originally priced at $30), it was pink tag, that week's "half-off" color. If you ask me, $15 is totally worth it for an amazing, in perfect condition, vintage headpiece like this, especially when it tops off your New Years outfit.





For my New Years top, I chose this most amazing silk, button-up back piece that I have utilized on more than one holiday occasion. I think I paid about two bucks for it a few years ago at the St. Vinnies in Green Bay.



My bottoms were from Everyday People (cheating! I know, but they are so great, I have to show them off)—vintage ruffled booty shorts. Say what?!



Finally, the very sexy, very painful BCBG Generation pumps I picked up at the Stillwater Goodwill a few weeks back. Also $15, but brand new and in perfect condition. Now they are bit scuffed and the bottoms are littered with shards of glass—all proof that it was a great night.

Happy New Year everyone!!!!! Stay tuned for some great New Years plans/resolutions from Operation Sparkle!