weekend thrift recap (q & a)

What pieces are you hunting for?

I went thrifting at Savers this weekend and saw some pieces in the men’s section that were semi-interesting but I didn’t feel compelled to buy.

There was a green and white striped rugby shirt. The color caught my eye as I flicked through the clear plastic racks. It was ok. Let’s be real, nothing looks great under fluorescent lighting. The giant “Ireland” logo on the right chest ruined it for me. It looked like a Harry Potter costume.

In the moment I thought to myself, I wish the green was more faded…the fabric could be thicker…I don’t like these seams on the stripes…I want the sleeve cuffs to be ribbed.

So then I go home and search on Poshmark/eBay for “vintage green stripe rugby polo” and mentally make note of the aforementioned details I’m looking for. Sometimes the goal of thrifting is not to find things in the store, but to get inspired for pieces I’ll search for online. Other things I’m hoping to find:

• vintage crewneck sweatshirt that has a cool graphic design on the front, maybe with the logo of a defunct airline company or swim and dive team from a town no one has heard of

• prada sport mary janes

• cardigan with a thom browne/jw anderson sensibility (the cardigan from the uniqlo collab is a little too on the nose for me and I prefer to buy secondhand)

Things I did end up buying:

• 80s style vase that looks like a fan

• FILA womens tee, white with baby blue trim

• Old Ann Taylor silk dress in a robin egg’s blue with little embroidered flowers

• Old J Crew men’s cotton sweater

Where is the little naked doll from?

They are Sonny Angel figurines :)

Ethaney introduced me to them, she told me they’re supposed to bring good luck. They are mystery toys so when you buy one you don’t know which one you’re going to get. I have purchased a handful praying that I would get the red toy poodle sonny angel for obvious reasons, but disappointment followed each time I unwrapped them. I mean, they’re all cute but I was dying for the toy poodle angel. Ultimately, I got mine for $13 on Mercari because the lottery approach was not working out. With the dolls I think it’s an “if you get it you get it” thing, and some people are VERY avid sonny angel collectors. My endgame was the toy poodle so I’m happy with my current angel lineup.

Do you listen to a lot of genres of music or are you quite specific?

I listen to a lot of genres. It’s easy for me to like sad girl indie (ex: lana del rey, beabadobee, mitski, weyes blood), but I actually don’t think I know very much about music. My sister is like a personal spotify release radar bc sends me a lot of song recs and knows my taste. Last month I was into bossa nova and french spy music….this month I’m finding a lot of serenity in classical music.

Yo-Yo Ma’s Carnival of the Animals is first on the queue for my car playlist.

Tips for finding designer pieces secondhand?

Utilize online platforms like eBay, Poshmark, Depop, and Gem App.

Save searches and get those notifications sent to your email.

Know your budget for things—important for bidding on eBay auctions.

Stay curious and learn about fashion history and vintage clothing because searching gets easier when you know what you are searching for.

What is your dream birthday cake?

Hmmmmm. I like strawberry shortcake a lot. How it tastes and also how it looks with the pinks, reds, and cream colors. As long as it’s light and fluffy inside with fresh whipped cream/frosting and pretty slices of fruit, I am happy with any cake. My favorite cake in the East Bay is by Mary Kate of Sesame Tiny Bakery.

Favorite color palette(rn)?

Light blue shirting stripes with cherry red. I’m also drawn to Klein blue for accessories (tote bag, baseball cap).

What keeps you motivated to write?

Connection with you: Q & As like this format help a lot with writer’s block because it feels more like a natural conversation. It makes my day when someone says something nice about a piece I wrote. It means 100000000x more to be complimented on something I wrote than something about my appearance in a photo I posted.

Connection with me: I feel proud of myself when I read my own archive of posts. It’s hard to put yourself out there and publish it on the internet for everyone and anybody to see. I like having things to look back on.