Battling Long Sleeve Gag Reflex: A Winter Wardrobe Shot in the Arm

Lately, when I go thrifting, I find it increasingly difficult to even look at the racks of sweaters, long sleeved blouses, and outerwear. I find myself passing up sweet finds (like yesterday, a velvet blazer with beaded lapels, which I may or may not be regretting, it's not official yet) because I am just OVER it; over the self-same things that had me losing my shit back in September.

This proves problematic, as it is still winter, and most stores are being very sluggish in their transition to warm weather fair. Unlike conventional stores, which operate on the assumption that everyone goes on a cruise immediately following the Holidays, and so stock their stores with everything that you will need to be seasonally outfitted for the Sandals destination of your choice in January, thrift stores operate under the assumption that you have very little money to spend and are shopping mainly out of immediate need. So unless a store has an excess of free space (i.e. the epic St. Vinnies in Green Bay), the racks reflect the weather outside.

Long sleeve gag reflex aside, there are still weeks of winter ahead, and we owe it to ourselves to keep our heads in the game, be reasonable, and keep our winter wardrobes fresh. No wardrobe-boredom tantrums here (nervous laughter). Here are some new pieces that I have acquired to give my winter wardrobe a much needed kick in the pants.

Firstly, is this indisputably rad and completely perfect cheetah printed dolman sleeve turtleneck dress:


I picked this up thrifting this past weekend with my friend Julie in New Rochelle, NY. This particular store had an abundance of cheetah printed goodies. I passed up (once again, may or may not be regretting) a cheetah printed Norma Kamali jumpsuit, that Holly probably would have peed her pants over. This cheetah printed number won out for it's higher wearability factor.


Next up, are these gold floral printed pants:



I have been on the lookout for the "right" pair of printed pants for ages now--as they are all the rage these days--and these are the ones. The fit is great, they are actually flattering, and the print is fantastic. While trying on these pants, they caught the attention of a super enthusiastic 16 year old fellow shopper from across the store, who ran over to tell me that these pants were "totally awesome!!!", and that when she goes thrifting, she listens to The Smiths and pretends that she is in Brooklyn.* Having apparently lived in New York for too long, I thought that she was trying to steal my wallet.



And last but not least, is this picture perfect long sleeve black cotton crew neck knit tube dress:



It may not look like much, but this is one of those perfect basic pieces that is the bedrock of any functional wardrobe. The second I found it (or Julie found it, and gave it to me) I wondered how I had possibly lived without it all winter. Miraculously, it is also somehow not mini length, so it is work appropriate. As much as Operation Sparkle brings you the best and the brightest of the crazy and outlandish that thrift stores offer, one the best things about thrifting is finding great basics. Truly, I could coast on this piece alone through the rest of winter.

*We were in Queens, a 20 minute subway ride from Williamsburg, which is what I assumed she meant by "Brooklyn" (which is distressing). This must be one of those peculiarities of growing up in New York City that I simply do not understand.

In the Dead of Winter: THE BEST COAT EVER!

If I got a dollar every time I complained about how crappy Minnesota's winters are, I would be so rich that I wouldn't have to worry about things like not having health insurance! As that is not the case, the best way to get over the winter blues, I have found, is through, of course, FASHION!*

Thankfully, thrifting provides a myriad of opportunities to spice up your boring winter wardrobe, as well as allowing for the purchase of quality, necessary items to make it through the season, like Sorel boots and huge down chopper mittens (both of which I have found thrifting for approximately 10% of what they would cost new). On the more fashionable scale, I have curated quite a collection of coats throughout my years of thrifting, all of which allow for the occasional "coat mix-up" that is so very necessary in the dead of winter. While the Onion joked last week that it was "cold enough for the ugly coat," I've been forcing myself to wear different coats, especially the new Icelandic wool coat I found at Savers a couple weeks ago.**

My collection, however, doesn't stop there: I have faux fur coats (which you have seen here, here and here), classy trench style coats (stay tuned for some of these in springtime fashions), smaller fall/spring coats, vintage coats, capes and sweater coats. The ultimate coat, however, cannot be confined to any of these categories, and to this day, may just be the best thing I have ever found thrifting. Ever.





The oversized hood wool Navajo(ish) print tie coat!

Every time I look at this coat I get jealous of myself. The only downfalls are the fact that it is best to utilize a hat pin to keep the top from flapping open too much (a must for the super chilly days) and that the shoulder pads embedded in the lining are a bit extreme. But then again, when you have a coat like this, I say go extreme or go home!

The beauty of it is that, like my accidental stumble into the first day of the Halloween Bootique at Value Village this fall, I found this baby on the first day Value Village put out their winter wares last year. It was a major thrifting freak out moment—not only was the coat in excellent condition with an amazing print/color combination, I had never seen anything like it and it was ONLY $15!!!!!!!!! This coat exemplifies two of the greatest things about thrifting—affordability and uniqueness.

Needless to say, it is pieces like this that make it all worth it!

*See also: drinking adult beverages, watching Twin Peaks, big fluffy snowflakes, walking to bars in snowstorms, fires (intentional and inside), cheese curds, being excited for spring and snowshoeing.
** Another "best thing about thrifting?" When you buy a piece that unexpectedly ends up being a constant "go-to."

Check out our THRIFTING TIPS!

Well, my week has even got better because I just figured out how to successfully post pages on Operation Sparkle! With customized badges! That I made myself!

The page that we are most excited about here at Operation Sparkle is our new Thrifting Tips page! Laurie and I have been compiling an ongoing list of all the tips we come up with during our thrifting trips and finally have them set to share with you, the readers of Operation Sparkle. So even though the tips will always be readily accessible on the sidebar under, naturally, "Thrifting Tips," in celebration of this glorious accomplishment, we are sharing them here as well!

Enjoy!

Preparation

1. WISHLISTS. One of the best things about thrifting (and there are so many best things about thrifting) is that if you can find almost anything and everything you could ever want and/or need. That said, if there is something you need or covet, put it on your list and keep an eye out for it as you thrift. Your wishlist items can also be a guide for how you navigate each shop you go to. Just be sure that your obsession with fulfilling your list does not cloud your vision to the point where you overlook items that are just as cool (or cooler!) than what you dreamt up in your mind.

2. With that in mind, BE PATIENT, and don't settle for less. If you are looking for a specific item, don't leap for something that half-ass fulfills your dreams. Eventually, if you persevere, you will find exactly what you are looking for, and maybe something even better.

3. Figure out when the SUPER DEALS are. Many thrift stores have special discount days, bag sales, or specific tag colors for 50% off. These kind of deals, on top of thrifting in general, are THE BEST kind of deal.

4. Have a GAME PLAN. Plan out what shops you are going to hit, know where they are, how long it takes to travel to them, what time they close, and budget your time accordingly. Thrift stores, because they are often tied to religious/nonprofit organizations, have notoriously weird hours. Tons of places are closed on Mondays, lots of places close at 4:00 or earlier, some have totally nonsensical hours. Nothing is more heart breaking than arriving at next possible goldmine to find it has closed twenty minutes prior. This situation totally sucks.

5. BRING CASH. Lots of thrift shops refuse to bow down to the corporate evil credit card companies and will only accept your benjamins (or abes or washingtons or jacksons or hamiltons). This also helps avoid embarrassing confrontations with very annoyed old ladies who do not approve of your inability function for five minutes without plastic, resulting in you shamefully trying to find the nearest ATM.

6. KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME. Don't be hungover. If you are hungover, drink some coke and eat some fried food. Be sure to carry tums with you. Or just get drunk again, because drunk shopping is, like, the best.

In the store

7. SHOES FIRST. Great shoes are thrifting gold and this section is usually the easiest to breeze through, due to how it is laid out.

8. DO NOT DISCOUNT categories/departments that don't "fit" you. If you are negative sized, plus sizes can be great oversized pieces. Menswear can be excellent for the ladies. Petites can produce perfect high-waters. Be open to nay.

9. DON'T SKIM. The only thing that skimming leads to is missing out on fabulous finds. There is very little you can truly tell about the contents of the dingiest looking rack without actually looking through it, piece by piece.

10. UNIQUE DETAILS rocket a piece from a good find to a great find. Highly consider anything that you simply have never seen before.

11. QUALITY is CRUCIAL. Pay attention to fiber content/materials. Thrift stores are filled with fantastic looking clothes that are made of terrible, nearly unwearable (in my opinion) fabrics. Curse that polyester was ever invented, because there are entire decades worth of amazing, but totally unwearable clothes in thrift stores. Anything 100% REAL--cotton, silk, wool, leather, etc--will make you much happier to wear and survive wear and tear much longer. They also tend to look much less like they came from a thrift store, and there is nothing more satisfying than receiving a compliment on your awesome cashmere sweater, and revealing that it is thrifted.

12. Pay attention to FIT, try EVERYTHING on, and EDIT. Something that looks rad on a hanger can look terrible on you. Not because you are not fabulous, but because there have been some seriously weird silhouettes in style in the last fifty years, and you just never really know until it's on your body. This also saves you a lot of money in the long run that is otherwise blown on stuff you hate as soon as you get home. Dedicating time to trying on can edit down your purchases by more than half, and more importantly, you don't want to end up looking like Gillian Anderson in an early episode of The X-files.

13. Be REALISTIC about how much work you are willing and able to do to fix or alter a piece. Would that dress be cuter if it was just taken in a bit? Do you own a sewing machine/ haven't turned it on in two years? If so, leave it behind. If you have a few skills and sew on a regular basis, your thrifting options are blown wide open when you are willing to alter clothes.

14. On the flip side, be willing to EXPERIMENT and TAKE CHANCES! This is one of the greatest aspects of thrifting! Stuff is cheap so you have freedom. If you try something on, and your friend thinks it's weird and you are not quite sure but there is something about it that is just nagging at you, buy it! In this case, blowing $4 is much better than losing sleep over something that you leave behind that could have changed your life. The things you are not quite sure about often end up being the things you can't imagine ever having lived without.

15. Be aware of your personal "DEAL BREAKERS" and thrift by them—this is closely related to #10 as you should have an understanding of things that, for you, mean no go. i.e. stains, holes, fur, polyester, colors that you never ever wear, high waists, etc. Of course, you can always make exceptions, but having an idea of what your deal breakers are can cut way back on the amount of items you thrift that end up sitting in your closet for months, because they make your ass look the size of China, or whatever.

16. If you are running low on time, look for STANDOUT FABRICS/PATTERNS. This is the one feature that can possibly be communicated to you when skimming, and will increase your chances of finding standout pieces with little time to dedicate to digging.

17. Be aware of THRIFTING BLINDNESS, where you have simply looked at so many clothes for so long that you are no longer able to discern between the good, the bad, and the good ugly/bad ugly.

After you have found amazing finds

18. If at all possible, WASH your new finds asap. Hand wash delicates, silks, wool and other items that radiate a need for a softer touch (Word to the wise: rayon is iffy. Sometimes washing is fine, sometimes it isn't. Whenever I wash something that is rayon, it gets stiff and crumbly and often shrinks. Sometimes this works with the garment and other times not so much, so proceed with caution!). If this isn't possible, and you are a money bags, then get the treasures dry cleaned. If you are not money bags, my new favorite is just throwing non-washable pieces in the dryer on high for ten minutes. I read somewhere this kills bed bugs, but don't quote me on that (so far, so good). If you use the dryer method, however, be sure to keep items separated by color—drying a fuzzy white sweater with a black one only results in a disaster.

19. It is BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY when choosing a cleaning method—few things are more heartbreaking than destroying a one of a kind treasure before you have even had a chance to wear it.

20. Have the TOOLS to take care of your goods! Leather/suede cleaner and sealant go a long way, especially if you live anywhere that receives precipitation. A hot glue gun and pliers can fix broken jewels, and even the occasional ripped leather strap (they can also help you adorn your finds with even more exciting details, like feathers or gemstones). A lint roller and fabric shaver can remove unsightly fuzzies and pills, making what is new to you look even newer!

21. SHARE your finds! Spread the word about how great the thrifting lifestyle is—tell your friends and share with us at Operation Sparkle!

Thrifting Saves the Week: The T.G.I.F. Accidental Outfit

I know I often go off on how thrifting is the best thing in the world, how it makes me feel like a complete person, and how it has the potential to unite the world and dissipate all of its problems, but this week I had not one, but TWO instances where thrifting totally prevented what was a rather shitty week from turning into the worse week of my life.

What a week it was—we had negative temps all week; on Sunday, my phone was ran over by a car; on Wednesday, I almost had to get my car towed when I got it stuck in a stranger's driveway, only to have my car die the next day; that same day, I failed to gain an excellent career opportunity and lost my peace pin that the nice old man at Northern Sun gave me; and on Friday, I misread the schedule for the library and wasn't able to pick up my holds or return my books. All major bummers.

Despite all of these silly misfortunes, life continues on, in large part because of thrifting. I was able to get my car out of the driveway through the help of my wonderful friend Lisa, two strangers and a thrifted Ouija board from the Dig'n'Save in Madison that had been sitting in my trunk for two years (R.I.P. Ouija board). And then, right after realizing that the library was closed, I put on a great thrifted outfit that I wouldn't have done on purpose. It wasn't until I looked in the mirror that I realized that somehow, mauve, navy, teal, magenta, yellow green and off white TOTALLY go together!



I say this outfit was accidental because it was—instead of staring blankly at my closet for twenty minutes before grabbing the same hoodie and pair of warm pants as I normally do this time of year, I threw on the sweater (purchased at the Halloween Bootique, previously featured here) as I was rushing out the door for a vet appointment we were late for. Later, I grabbed the leggings (from the Target basement at the Salvation Army) to wear under my sweatpants to walk the dogs. I always put on a second layer to walk them during the cold months, but I usually stick to other leggings, all of which were in the wash. As I was in the middle of doing laundry, I could only find the matches for a pair of short ankle socks—hardly the sort of sockwear you don during negative temps. To bridge the gap between the sock and the leggings, I threw on the legwarmers, which I thrifted somewhere in Green Bay. And VOILA!—an amazing, accidental outfit!

Because it made me feel so good to have stumbled upon this great color combination, so much so that it brought a glimmer of hope to my otherwise totally crap week, I wanted to share it with you. Because as they say, if you look good, you feel good!

Operation Sparkle in 2011!

Very exciting things are happening here at Operation Sparkle! Now that we have wrapped up our 25 days of BLACK FRIDAY THRIFTING (and, hopefully, shown the world how amazing thrifting, on such a typically shallow day of consumption, can be), paid proper homage to the baby Jesus and have rung in the New Year (one more until 2012 folks!), we have some big, big plans for Operation Sparkle!

Starting this year, we will be including three new features to accompany our normal posts about spectacular thrifted finds: guest bloggers, "Thrift Offs" and trips.

1. Guest Bloggers
Maybe it is because we are special, but Laurie and I have a whole bunch of people in our lives who are just as talented at the skill of thrifting as we are. While they aren't as psycho and haven't created an entire blog about it, we have roped in some of them to share their great thrifting experiences and finds, in hopes that it will further encourage others to thrift as well. We are also taking submission for guest posts, so if you are interested, email your post and pictures to operationsparkle@gmail.com.

2. "Thrift Offs"
For those of you who are unfamiliar with "offs," "offs" are mini-competitions/group decision-making method in which two or more people present an item (say, a movie to watch amongst friends) and the crowd votes on what item they think is best. Offs can be as little as one round in duration, or as many rounds as necessary for a final decision to be reached.

For the purposes of Operation Sparkle, we will be hosting Thrift Offs where two people (either Laurie and me, or a special guest competitor (or two)) will present their best thrifted item of a certain type, say "best tankini" or "best use of velvet." The two times will be displayed on the blog, with readers having the ability to vote on who has the best item of the two. The item with the most votes wins the off and the person who presented the winning item gets the satisfaction of their peers acknowledging their superior taste.

Depending on how this goes, we might develop a more bracketed, intricate system of offs, as often happens when you have offs out in the real world. We might even create some sort of thrifting Olympics, mostly because I love crying during the Olympics.

This all depends on the level of participation we receive, so please, participate! If you have a thrifted piece that you feel cannot be beat, let this be the place where that is decided once and for all!

3. Special Trips
With trips, we are embarking on a whole new level of thrift documentation with Operation Sparkle. Every month, we will feature a shop or region with several shops that one of us has stumbled upon outside of our normal range of thrift shops. Not only will we be showing our finds from these trips and a bit about our experiences going on them, we will also be providing an in-depth analysis and discussion of the quality of said shops on several levels including (but not limited to): pricing (including schemes), ambiance, friendliness of the staff, and overall experience.

As previously stated, we will continue our normal posts about great thrifted finds, and can be followed on twitter @opsparkle for more up-to-date "news." Any questions, comments or submissions for guest blogging posts can be sent to operationsparkle@gmail.com.

Get ready for some fun times!!!!!!

Day 3: HOLY CATS! #1 Find Vintage Faux Fur Coat

There seems to be some sort of connection that Operation Sparkle has with the rest of the universe, because as luck would have it, we are in the third day of the countdown, and it is the third, glorious day of old man winter. Synchronicity in numbering aside, yesterday I made a pact to stop the dangerous winter fashion slope I had been heading down—resorting to wearing only jeans, hoodies, sweatpants (I do not practice Nina Garcia's "rules of fashion" and thereby leave the house wearing whatever I want. I have no illusions about the possibility of someone taking a picture of me and putting it on the internet.), my down parka and Sorels.* I am not taking winter laying down! Instead, I am going to take advantage of my vast thrifted wardrobe to keep the magic alive all winter long.

Which brings me to my #1 pick, one which thanks to Laurie's post on wanting to punch me in the face, I am sure you were all anticipating eagerly: the vintage, faux fur coat. I can't wait to wear this tonight on public transport to pick up my littlest brother from the airport this evening—talk about classy!







While I found a great faux fur coat earlier this fall, it does not compare to the beauty that is my #1 pick.** The silky, black, faux fur is so thick and sensuous that my boss was almost duped by its (non)authenticity. She also told me that the coat's brand, I.Magnin, was some sort of big deal back in the day (a little bit of wikipedia research taught me that I.Magnin used to be a fancy department store and was later bought by Macy's. I've also learned that a I.Magnin real fur jacket can sell for over a grand. Yowzah!).

Beyond its pedigree, my #1 pick wins extra points for the amazing gold details (adorable black double breasted buttons trimmed in gold, and the forgettaboutit chain that links across the waist to finish the belt, which is made up of the faux fur on the backside), a huge furry collar that I can pop up, and a perfect***satiny, floral print lining.

I can clearly understand why Laurie wanted to punch me in the face.

*When people complain about how Midwesterners have no style, I would like them to try being stylish and living in the coldest metropolitan area in the continental United States.
**Another great thing about thrifting? There is no limit to the number of fabulous vintage fur coats you can have!
***While the coat fits me very nicely, it is a bit tight in the armpits and apparently was made for someone who was not expected to have to grab things from their backseat, scrap ice off windshields or do movement of any kind.

More on Beating the System

The most ridonkulous thing I have seen lately is this link from my great friend Molly. If you don't feel like clicking on it, have no fear, I will explain it. It is a "vintage" item from an online shop called cutely "NASTY GAL." The item just happens to be the very same Wilson's leather dress that I blogged about a few posts ago:



-or-



Now while I admittedly spent more on this dress than I normally would thrifting ($12.99), the price was nowhere close to what NASTY GAL is asking: a whopping $198 (S&H is free on orders over $150). That's almost as much as my meds cost!

While I am all for the apparent increase in the love for "vintage" or "used" clothing in our society, things like this also highlight how ridiculously unstable the economics of it is. I suppose you could get all into things like supply and demand and all that shit, but truthfully, I slept through most of my economics classes. What I CAN tell you, however, is that $12.99 is not $198. I can also tell you that this is PROOF that thrifting is a million times better (more exciting and easier on your checking account (unless you are me)) than shopping for "vintage" clothing online.

Don't be duped! I pity the fool who buys this dress!

In the Defense of Thrifting...

Today I was reminded of the awesomeness of thrifting beyond the thrill of feeding my addiction to hoarding crazy clothing—namely that it is an excellent way to, as Laurie says, "beat the system."

I thought I'd throw this experience out there, even though it has nothing to do with stylish clothing, mostly because it made the fact that I overdrew my checking account on Monday due to an unexpected, uncontrollable thrifting session (Carrie Bradshaw's voice squealing "But I have an addiction, SIR!" kept running through my head) totally a thing of the past.

Today I traveled to a thrift store (the Salvation Army on Nicollet and 37th) that I had never been to before (proof that one should always be up to trying new things). My goal was simple—to get furniture, namely a work table, for my basement studio. I walked away not only with a sturdy work table, but also two wooden dining room chairs and a yarn basket for a mere $7.40! UNBELIEVABLE! The table was only $2.50, which blew my mind (thanks to a markdown from $20 to $5, plus "half off" green tags), with the chairs setting me back $1.99 and 99¢, respectively, with the yarn basket (also half off) ending up at $1.50. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I can't!

There is no reason to buy things new, there really isn't (unless we are talking underpants, then I am in full support of purchasing unused items).

Here is a shot of one of the dining room chairs—check out the awesome embroidered seat. This thing is ancient and gorgeous.