femme{in}nest

• 2012-10-23

  steezncrackers asked: Do you just thrift stuff that fits pretty well or do you go to a tailor?

  fancy you should ask this. i was just thinking about this this weekend. i think i sort of have “adapted” my style to blend more seamlessly with the nature of pieces i find in a thrift store (am able to thrift). i’ve never been a very “tailored” sort of dresser, always leaning towards a more comfortable, worn in look. however, since i started thrifting, and since i have become well, older, and more comfortable with my own look and my own style, i find myself attracted to clothes that are a bit oversized, especially button ups, as well as sweaters/cardigans. i’ve stopped trying to dress “girlie” or “feminine” and have no interest in low cut anything or curve forming dresses, etc. i prefer men’s clothes and oxfords to frilly tanks or stilettos. that said, if i do have a certain look i’d like to achieve, i’ll search long and hard for a good fit (blazers, cropped pants) and i’ll bypass a lot of the cheap crap that is in the thrift world. if i found a piece i couldn’t live without, but it didn’t fit right, i would definitely try a tailor. when it comes to thrift, i have learned that patience is your best asset, but maybe a tailor is your second best. :)

• 2012-08-22

  Anonymous asked: Could you recommend some bags? I fell in love with the Everlane dark grey snap bag but wasn't quick enough to snag one. I love buckles, snaps, textures and functionality. I'm just having a hard time finding one that catches my fancy like the Everlane one. Thank you!

  first, i would suggest you try to thrift a bag… like this one! bags at thrift stores are super cheap, and you can create quite a collection for a little amount of money, and swap them with your daily and ever changing look/mood.

  i thrifted these three great bags: 1, 2, 3, for $4 -$10 at goodwill. all selling on e-bay for like five - ten times more. :)

  as for style, based on my archives, i would recommend:

  this, this, this, this, this, this, this, or a tote with boats.

• 2012-06-20

  

  heck yeah i thrift shoes! :) i got these vans brand new at value village for $10 a few springs ago. i wash canvas shoes in the washing machine, and spray/scrub leather shoes before wearing them. however, many of the shoes i find, like both pairs of my sperrys, i thrifted new and never worn. check out my other thrifting advice here.

• 2012-06-01

  You guys, I need advice. What do tomboy girls wear to da club? I’m going to a concert and dancing tonight, but I can’t figure out what to wear. I don’t much care for heels, or dresses, or skirts. This leaves me with jeans, tanks, and umm… ? What details am I missing? What would you wear out or want your lady to wear out if you want to/her to look casual, yet hot?

• 2012-04-24

  benjaminspanklin asked: I feel you should know that I get more style pointers and inspiration from you than any of the menswear bloggers I follow... and I have absolutely no issue with that. :) I was also wondering how much of your wardrobe comes from thrifting? I tend to go on a hunt every couple of months, but only get maybe one or two pieces that I really like if any at all. Any standard pointers?

  why, thank you for the lofty compliment. :) it’s funny because i only recently started posting men on my blog, and most of it is women, but, i suppose the point is that i feel womens/menswear is really interchangeable and reciprocal. 

  anyway… on a thrifted note, i would say 95% of my wardrobe/home is thrifted. i RARELY buy anything new because 1) i don’t go to retail stores that are not thrift stores, 2) i don’t really online shop, as i like the tactile hunt of shopping/thrifting, 3) it is a more sustainable way to express myself while limiting the use of virgin resources, and 4) when i spend my money locally, it mostly stays here and goes to resources i support. things i tend to buy new are items that get worn out pretty quickly with washings, like t shirts. items i also thrift that i don’t post are all my gym clothes (except for shoes), jewelry, furniture, art, kitchenware, craft stuff, books, records, most linens, etc.

  here is a link to most of the thrifting advice i have given in the past…. and i will make an advice page now. 

  thanks for the compliment/question! :)

• 2012-04-05

  Anonymous asked: Where do you thrift??

  well, i live in portland, oregon. if you live here, check out the goodwill on west burnside and 21st for athletic stuff, levis and urban overstock/returns (since it’s right by the stores). the best shoes are at the ne broadway/15th goodwill and the se goodwill superstore. i get most of my pants/shirts from the se goodwill superstore and the value village out on 82nd/foster. you can find wallets, ties, belts, hats, jackets, jewelry at any of the aforementioned places. i find a lot of home/art stuff at the se goodwill superstore as well. and, if you feel like thrifting in the fiery cornucopia arena of thrift, head out to the bins on se milwaukee.

  if you live somewhere else, idk. sorryyyyy.

• 2012-03-27

  [W]e all might benefit from incorporating more of the things we love into our daily routines instead of saving them for the weekend or our next vacation.

  — Kinfolk Magazine

• 2012-03-14

  

  thatkindofwoman:

  M, 

  Women’s fashion is a wacky world of sizing. I may walk into one place and buy a size 10 jean but at another place be a 14. Dresses at one store I can again have a 10, and then I try on a 12 and the bust is too small, it’s almost comedic. Amost. But, it’s actually more like this.

  I am, in fact used to ignoring the label and going by what feels right. Or when in doubt, learn how to sew and make everything fit to your body (which I am in the process of doing).

  exactly.

  Source: thatkindofwoman

• 2012-03-13

  

  afistfulofstyle:

  Thrifting Basics.

  Always remember when thrifting that you’re shopping for what you want in general not what you want right now.  These are all pretty hearty wool ties I picked up this week, way way way too warm to wear right now.

  But that navy will be pretty killer with a gray flannel sportcoat.  And that plaid I’m seeing with a chambray shirt and a navy sweater or maybe with a university stripe shirt and a denim jacket/peacoat come wintertime.

  Think long term and you’ll almost always find something.

  
  

  CHECK OUT THIS GUY’S THRIFTED WARDROBE AND ADVICE.

  Source: afistfulofstyle

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  How To Get the Musty Smell Out of Your Thrifted Treasures

• 2012-03-05

  

  Advice:

  If you find something of utmost awesomeness, but it has a hole, just bloody get out your sewing kit and sew up the hole and don’t be lazy.

  Then you can add an awesome, brand new Topman sweatshirt to your wardrobe for $7 as opposed to $55.00!

  Will wear in April… when it’s not 30X30.

• →

  Effing Dykes takes on thrifting

  “Everyone relaxes in different ways. Some people bake cookies. Some go for a run. Others take a bubble bath.

  I go thrifting.”
  
  

  Krista from Effing Dykes wrote this AMAZING piece “Thrifting: the Master Class”.

  In it, she addresses: what a thrift store is and is not, where thrift stores are, and tips for tackling thrift stores.

  Like. Seriously. Simply brilliant (and hilarious).

  Thanks to Emily for the heads up! :) luh you.

  Source: rookiemag.com

• 2012-03-02

  More Thrift Tips

  In today’s tough economy, you might think that looking fashionable is out of your budget. Not so, according to Project Runway’s Kevin Christiana, who suggests you hit thrift stores like Goodwill and the Salvation Army, where stylish outfits can be found without breaking the bank. But you’ve got to go about it strategically, so Kevin is sharing his thrift store shopping tips:

  • Don’t go shopping on a Monday because much of the inventory gets wiped out over the weekend. It’s better to go on a Thursday.

  • Don’t pay too much attention to the size on the tag. Because the clothes are second-hand, there may have been shrinkage over the years, or designers may have changed their sizings so your frame of reference could be off.

  • For a quick check if jeans will fit you, you should be able to wrap the waist around your neck and the ends should touch. Also, if you can’t fit the length of your fist to your elbow inside the waistband, the jeans are too small.

  • When you find a gown at a thrift shop, chances are you won’t show up at a party and find anyone else wearing the same dress. It is also likely that it was worn only once before it was given to the thrift shop.

  • Become friends with the people who work at your favorite thrift shop and let them know what you want, because then when the inventory comes in they’ll keep your tastes in mind and give you a heads up.

  • Stay away from anything with rips or tears, stained items, and cracked leather, but remember that you can always replace zippers or buttons.

  Source: rachaelrayshow.com

• 2012-02-29

  If a man you do find to be of good quality then force those qualities to the forefront of his character. I would be amiss to take credit en full for the person I am today. The woman in my life has made me want to be a better person. Manners while inherent in their kindness are not coded into our DNA and therefore whether due to too much dubstep, not enough tea, or a simple lack of trying most men will fall by the wayside whilst beautiful ladies like yourself pine for men of stronger stuff. So to you I say as I have, find a man who is of good spirit and bring out those good qualities that are in him so he may not only enhance but refine them. Ask him, kindly, to pull out your chair, open the door, offer you his umbrella, compliment you on your grace. Lastly but of course not least if you search for a measurement by which to eye perspective men then fall to the mother. How a man treats his mother is how he shall treat his wife. And that is all I have. Never settle for a man who does not respect you, as long as you have respect for yourself.

  — timetravelingscamp.tumblr.com

• →

  What are some good thrift stores to shop for guy clothes?

  1. What are some good thrift stores to shop for fashionable guy clothes? What kind of things should I be looking for?
  2. the god of thrift for men says (brokeandbespoke.tumblr.com):
  3. There’s a ton of excellent information out there on thrifting, but I’ll share some of the most basic approaches I take that often yield substantially rewarding outcomes…
  4. 1) Go thrifting often. Do not be discouraged if you have an outing and find only crap—that’s going to be the case 90% of the time, especially if you’re on a quest for high-end menswear.
  5. 2) Be thorough when you go through racks and stacks. For example, there’s been a lot of talk of late about Anna Matuozzo’s Neapolitan custom shirting—one of my greatest thrift finds ever was two Anna Matuozzo shirts mixed in with the usual stuff by Gap, Van Heusen, Geoffrey Beene, etc. This was at a Goodwill. They weren’t my size, and at that time I’d never heard of the brand (around 8 months ago, when this happened, a Google search for Anna Matuozzo yielded few results), but I could discern their quality by all the handwork. I flipped them at a substantial profit. While a cursory glance at the shirt carousel might have suggested that everything was blah, a thorough flip-through netted me ~$200 in profit…This brings me to my next tip…
  6. 3) Sure, search for labels you know to be good, but be on the lookout for quality too. This can be determined by the feel, or hand, of the fabric on jackets, or by the stitchwork and buttons (i.e., real mother of pearl) on a shirt. But don’t hesitate to buy something you like, especially if it fits well, because it’s by a maker you’ve never heard of—it might end up being the next label to be drooled over by #menswear.
  7. 4) Contrarily, don’t hesitate to buy something that you like and fits well because it is from a brand or of a type of construction that gets pooh-poohed in the blogosphere. Sometimes the things that make a garment of particularly high quality and price point are things that only matter if you want to keep the garment for a lifetime. Sure, fused jackets bubble in the chest if you dry clean them enough times, but if you find a jacket for $10 that’s fused, and it fits you like a glove, and it’s in a fabric you like, buy it and dispose of it if and when it does begin to come apart in the chest. I’m guessing you’ll have moved on in your own personal stylistic evolution long before that happens.
  8. 5) Examine items closely. 90% of the stuff is there because something is wrong with it—it’s stained, it has a hole in it, it’s threadbare. I’ve definitely come home with a haul that I thought was flawless, only to find a stain, discoloration, rip, or run on a shirt and/or tie. It’s going to happen, but try as best as you can to examine items in good light—near a window or other reliable source of illumination. 10% of stuff is there because someone died and it was donated by a relative, or because someone outgrew something—either by gaining or losing substantial weight, or by changing their sartorial sensibilities. This is the stuff that is gold.
  9. 5) Don’t buy stuff that gives you any reservations—that Zegna tie that looks super early-90s, that Brioni shirt that has sort of disgusting ring around the collar, that pair of longwings that’s a little too narrow. If you’re buying for yourself—that is if you’re not planning on flipping it for a profit—then leave things behind that do not meet your exacting specifications. You will, if you thrift often, come across something that fills that same gap in your wardrobe/soul sooner or later.
  10. 6) This isn’t always true, as there are varied logics behind how donated things get distributed, but it is generally true that the things in thrift shops located in affluent areas are nicer than those in less affluent ones. If you live 30 minutes away from a well-heeled suburban area where many professionals who wear expensive clothes reside, drive (or take public transportation) there and scour their thrift shops. And this brings me to my final piece of advice…
  11. 7) Go to yard, garage, and estate sales in fancy neighborhoods. The people who are having them are well-to-do, they probably buy and wear nice stuff, and they’re clearly trying to get rid of it. It’s a win win situation.
  12. I could go on, but this ought to help get you started. Good luck!

  Source: http