Thrift Shop Commando: 2014

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Hipster Hat Attack and Top 5 posts for 2014

Starting off the New Year with Judith at The Style Crone for her monthly Hat Attack. This gem of a man's Goorin hipster hat was a recent thrift shop find ($1.50). Updated to link with Ms. Papelicos Share-in-Style masculine look.

I also utilized it as my coat tree Christmas tree at work by adding some lights, garland and a glitter flower to the hat "tree top."

It is that time of year to look back at the posts that generated the most page views.

The most unlikely post of the past year is Visible-monday-pants-edition, I was surprised by this one, it went not-quite-viral.

Coming in at popular post no. 2 was A-few-of-my-favorite-things a prompt gleaned from Share In Style and includes a fav selfie.

Post 3 was my initial post for the April AtoZ Challenge Helloo-all-to-day-and-hat-attack. I made the mistake of identifying myself as a fashion blogger, I won't do that again. I'm not sure if my fashion label hurt my page views or if it was just the sheer number of participants. The key to that challenge is signing up early so your blog appears in the first 100 or so. Over 2,000 bloggers participated in the 2014 event.

Rolling in at popular post number 4 was Roses-are-sometimes-red. I had a heck of a time figuring out how to pose with roses. The concept was to have roses and rose petals strewn about but in most of the images it looked like I had passed into the after life.

Rounding out the Top 5 is a personal favorite 5-things-only-thrift-shoppers-understand.

And on to upcoming events ~ I am hoping you will join me for one or all of the linkups.

Finally, thank you to those readers that have followed me all of these years and thanks to those who have recently joined me in my lark through life. Good things are in store for 2015!

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Visible Monday - The Pants Edition

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Linking up with Patti at notdeadyetstyle for Visible Monday and for me it is The Pants Edition. While I am not a huge fan of pants, I have been buying more of them. Personal heaters are not allowed at work (unless you have a doctor's note), so I opt for pants.

Kenneth Cole Reaction sunglasses

Italian scarf

Ally B knit top

Ivy stretch pants

Noat oxfords

(all thrifted with the exception of the shoes)

Pattern of the Day from 1969 - also The Pants Edition.

Body positive thought for the day - Don't be afraid to wear floral prints. They are happy prints that deserve to be seen!

I ran across this article on treehugger.com on how to use a minimalist wardrobe to simplify your life. The author claims choosing a daily wardrobe is stressful and that some successful people wear the same thing every day.

“This is a real psychological condition in which a person’s productivity suffers as a result of becoming mentally exhausted from making so many irrelevant decisions. Simply put, by stressing over things like what to eat or wear every day, people become less efficient at work.”
elitedaily.com

I can't image wearing the same outfit every day. I think my brain would explode. I look forward to putting together an ensemble. Some days are better than others. There are days when I get to work, look at myself under the fluorescent lighting and wonder what was I thinking? But when the planets align and I am wearing a cute outfit, I am unstoppable!

Do you find dressing up to be stressful? Do you believe it makes you less efficient? Biggest sacrilege of them all - are fashion choices irrelevant decisions?

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

This concludes the 2014 Countdown to Kitschmas

May you and yours have a Christmas filled with joy and love.

What I'm Listening to - Annie Lennox, A Christmas Cornucopia.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Monsters and Dinos

image via kitschyliving

via etsy

Each year we have a Christmas Tyrano that terrorizes my decorations.

via thechelseascrolls.com

via dinovember

What I'm Listening to - Christmas with Pavarotti.

Monday, December 22, 2014

I dearly love Maxfield Parrish and by golly it's Deer Day

Never would I have thought I could afford a Maxfield Parrish print. That item was on my "bucket list" of things I have always wanted.

Mr. VZ was pheasant hunting so I was let loose on the thrift shops. When I inquired about the print the volunteer said it was $200. I said that was too much for me to pay. She said, "How about $50?" I asked, "Will you sell it for $40?" I am now its proud owner. Most of these prints don't have the depth of color that this one has retained. I thanked her and said the print was going to a home where it would be much loved.

The balance of my thrift shop acquisitions totaled less than $20.00 with Christmas items being half off and priced to move.

I lucked out finding next year's Countdown reference book from 1969 of The Family Christmas Book by Barbara Rinkoff. I also purchased the AVON green Christmas tree I had highlighted in my AVON post.

The brown skirt with pink beaded border was a steal at $1.50. Both the NWT lovely colored throw and the Neutrogena travel bag complete with all of its travel accessories (shampoo, soap, etc.) appeared to be pre-Christmas discards.

The August silk long sleeved shirt is actually black (even though it appears blue in the picture). Angel is a little chipped up but I don't care, she fits in perfectly with my other chalkware angel. The yellow plastic orb necklace seems like it was made to go with the purple tree pin.

Moving on to Deer Day on the Countdown.