Thrift Haul.

This installment of "Thrift Haul" actually qualifies as a bona fide haul:

 

Black cotton 8 gore skirt.

This skirt reaches my knees and is a perfect weight for the summer. Apologies for the crappy picture and the lack of pressing.

Full skirt with yoke.

This mid-calf length skirt has great movement and is perfect to wear right now. You'll see it in action tomorrow.

Green A-line skirt.

 

 

Pocket detail.

I love the sort of seventies vibe of the A-line paired with the cut-away pockets.

Red, white and black knit top.

I'm still a bit conflicted about this top. My mom picked it up and I only tried it on to humor her, but then I thought that it actually looked pretty good- in spite of all the things which would seem to work against it:
1. It's a very busy, very colorful print. I usually avoid printed tops. I do not have a logical reason for this.
2. The fabric is a terrible slinky synthetic knit.
3. It's originally from Dress Barn. I don't mean to offend any Dress Barn shoppers, and maybe I'm completely wrong because I don't think I've ever actually been inside a Dress Barn but, I have the impression that Dress Barn is a sad, strip mall discount store stocked with sack dresses for ladies who toil in cubicles for inadequate compensation. I might have to revise my previous impression of Dress Barn because when I put this top on it does everything I would hope a shirt would do for me but few ever do. It fits, it flatters, it makes my chest look nice, even normal. I have a very difficult time finding tops that fit me well- even sweaters often end up being too short in the front and too long in the back. This shirt just seems made for me. I hope I can get over my prejudices.

Sky blue V-neck T-shirt.

Nothing particularly special but a pretty color.

Denim jacket with snap closures and 3/4 length sleeves.

Belt detail at back.

Simple, with cute back detailing.

Stretchy, cropped, uncut corduroy jacket.

I couldn't resist the color.

Navy and white polka-dot robe.

This looks terrible here because I washed it but still haven't pressed it, but once pressed it should be perfect for lounging on the sofa sipping mimosas. (I actually do this more often than you might think, so special mimosa sipping outfits aren't completely impractical.)

Two wooden bracelets.

I'm trying to collect two armfuls of wooden bracelets to wear over the sleeves of a slim black scoop-neck with cropped black pants and brown shoes and accessories. Who knows if I'll ever manage to bring this outfit into reality? Thus far, I've acquired just three wooden bracelets- it may take a while!

Vintage shoes.

These were purely a decorative purchase. They are possibly the tiniest shoes ever. But oh so pretty. They say they are from Salon Shoes, Marshall Field & Company. I used to work at The Art Institute of Chicago, right up the street from Marshall Field (when it was still Marshall Field; not Macy's) and I thought the store was just about the pinnacle of old retail sophistication. They are sparkling away in their new home on top of the dresser in my work room.

Since none of this stuff is going to undergo any alteration or creative transformation I did have to get rid of a whopping 55 items to stick with my minimizing plan. Eliminating my small (and not valuable) twenty year old comic book collection offset these purchases. I was feeling so good about purging stuff that I no longer want or need, and frankly, don't know why I was still keeping, that I even willingly eliminated five more items to allow for the purchase of a set of red wine glasses. These were a shared purchase between Chris and me, and something we both agreed we needed, so technically I did not have to get rid of anything but I did anyway. I have to remember that it is only the end of February. If I get too gung-ho now I'm going to be hurting come September!