The Shared Philosophies of the Green Bay Packers and Thrifting, and a Lesson in Recycling Thrift

Besides being home to some of the greatest thrifting that the world has ever seen, our beloved hometown of Green Bay, WI is also home to the greatest football team in the world, the Green Bay Packers. I realize that we probably do not have a very sports-centric readership, so I will clarify that the Packers are playing in the Super Bowl today. This is very exciting for very many reasons, which I will spare enumerating for you here.

What I would like to illustrate, however, are the unlikely parallels in ideology between thrifting and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are the only professional sports team in the country that are not privately owned. They are, in fact, a non-profit, community-owned organization. This means that a corporation can never put their name on the stadium, that the team can never be bought or sold, and that any resident of the county has priority opportunity to buy tickets before the rest of the general public. As far as pro sports go, that is some serious anti-establishment ethos. Not only that, but the Packers are the last of the "small town teams" that were common in the NFL during the 1920's and 30's,* so they are actually legitimately vintage.

So there you go. They Packers are non-profit and vintage, just like thrifting, and is therefore beating the system.

I definitely spent most of my angsty teenage and early college years rejecting my football lineage. I was much more in to fashion and art and of course, when you are 20 years old, football and those things are mutually exclusive. But after six years in NYC, I relish all things Wisconsin, and I have come back to my roots. It turns out that football is really fun to watch, and I know a ton about it, due to an entire childhood of environmental osmosis and a dad and two brothers who are clinically obsessed.

I was still in anti football mode when I took off from Milwaukee to go to fashion school in NYC. Just before leaving Milwaukee for the big city, my dear friend Cortney presented me with a gift; this recycled, redesigned Packers T-shirt.


I was very eye-rolly when she gave this to me, like I was going to run around New York wearing this or something. But I very much appreciated the sentiment, nonetheless. She had lovingly thrifted me a XXXL Packers T-shirt, cut it up, and refashioned it in to a fitted, off the shoulder, almost sexy Packers tee, with the hopes of coercing me in to wearing it through proper fit. Obviously, that amount of resourcefulness is something I can appreciate. Regardless, I stuck it in a bin under my bed for about four years, but couldn't bring myself to part with it. About a year or so ago, I dug it out, but never wore it. This year, it is getting a lot of play, and I do, in fact, run around New York wearing it.**

The other fantastic design elements of this T-shirt are the bleach spots, the somewhat nasty washed-out green color, the way the "Packers" text stretches fully seam to seam, and the fact that it says "Made in Green Bay" on it. All of these things were of course very carefully considered by Cortney in her redesign of the shirt, as she is a pro at this, and made a million dollars, fifteen dollars at a time, selling these in college. Her T-shirt is also a perfect example of the potential in just about anything you find at a thrift store (as illustrated in or Thrifting Tips), if you are willing to put the work in to altering it.

Most importantly, GO PACK!!!

*this is all lifted from the Packers Wikipedia page. I highly recommend it, it a very fascinating read.

**I even wore it work on Friday. I drew one conclusion. Fashion simply does not know what to make of demonstrations of pro sports enthusiasm.

Special Trip: Post-Christmas Fox Valley Thrifting!

In celebration of our hometown team* making the Superbowl, I am presenting you with our very special Fox Valley post-Christmas thrifting trip! As my best post-xmas finds were unearthed after the special trip (including my jungle cat dress and vintage jeweled headpiece), I was rather underwhelmed by our Fox Valley trip, though it is hard to tell if my head just wasn't in the game (I was feeling rather anxious about spending money and was experiencing one of those rare moments of extreme guilt for having way too many clothes and too small of a closet) or if the deals just weren't there. While the highlight of the trip for me was finally finding a Mexican restaurant with $2 margaritas, Laurie fared much better than I did, coming away with some pretty stellar finds.

Per usual, we got off to a late start as it took much longer than anticipated for my mother to tour our friend, fellow thrifter and chauffeur, Sarah's new house (which is amazing). We hit the road over an hour later than planned, but were still able to fit in a suitable lunch (with cocktails) and hit all three shops.

First stop was Bethesda Thrift Mart in Neenah. While it was in no way as amazing as the Green Bay Bethesda was (R.I.P.), the shop had a large selection and was easy to navigate, due mostly to its large aisles. It was, however, freezing.



This vintage leather purse is a perfect example of how I have too many clothes (well, in this case, accessories) as I totally forgot about this find until I was browsing through pictures for this post. What is even more ridiculous is the fact that I just recently started coveting a chain strap purse. Which means I was coveting something I already owned. I think the universe just exploded.



While Laurie found some truly amazing jewels on this trip, I have to say that some of my favorites were also jewelry, like this little gold wishbone necklace.




While my clothing finds were minimal, Laurie found some great pieces like this fitted vintage riding jacket.



80's dresses cut like this one are pretty common at thrift shops, but this black and white one Laurie found wins points for its simple linework.



Our rejects at Bethesda. Notice the real rabbit fur coat that none of us could convince ourselves to buy, even though it was only $12.

From there, we traveled to the St. Vinnies in Neenah. I'd have to say the highlight was the shoe basement, even if I didn't come away with any shoes. I have a slight fear that this is what my house will look like some day if I don't control my shopping impulses.



I found some more great accessories here, including two $1 winter hats (I love putting bright things on my head in the winter).




I also found two simple pieces that have now become major staples in my jewelry collection:



My new favorite necklace—it is super light, which makes me think it is cheap, but the wood pendant is like nothing I have have seen. I love its shape and the color variance.



What is better than one pair of cute colored studded earrings? Why FIVE pairs of cute colored studded earrings! I love simple studded earrings and the colors of these are amazing.



Laurie also found a deal in the winter accessories department with this Navajo stripped scarf...



...which I think she should wear with this geo jacquard strip wrap skirt, just for good measure.

At this point, everyone was starting to get the shakes from hunger so we decided to get some lunch. Unfamiliar with the area, but determined that there would be plentiful Mexican restaurants in strip malls, we drove around aimlessly for what felt like an hour until we found one. I have never enjoyed a lunch combo plate of enchiladas more.

Finally, we swung by the Bargain Garden, which, as it turns out, was right down the street from our Mexican restaurant in Appleton. Unfortunately, though the name sounded promising, there were few bargains to be found, and this place was hardly a garden. The prices weren't that wonderful, and even more than that, the selection was minimal. I walked away with nothing (which rarely happens).

As I previously mentioned, I had much better luck in Green Bay after this trip, so that just goes to show you that sometimes it pays to stick with what you know.

*For the record, I hate organized sports, especially football, but Laurie is totally a Packer's fan. She even went to the game and spent the entire day outside in 20 degree weather the day before this trip. Also, the last time the Packers were in the Superbowl, our high school had a Superbowl-themed dance called "Gold and Green in New Orleans," which sort of rhymes but not really.