thrifting

"I have a path of vintage shops in the East Village that I walk around to. The dress is from one them — Atomic Passion, I think. It was really long, like most Edwardian and Victorian dresses, and I cut off one of the tiers. The cardigan is part of my fall collection for Opening Ceremony. It has wool elbow patches and nice, big pockets to shove your hands into when you’re feeling awkward or insecure. My Chanel purse was a Christmas present to myself. It’s like playing Tetris trying to fit all my stuff in it. The boots are an old pair of Prada’s, and the tights are from the Sock Man. I love that place, but the guy’s the grumpiest man on earth. He’s like the Soup Nazi, but he sells socks."

Saw this photo and Chloe's interview about she's wearing in today's New York Times and it reminded me that 1) sometimes this girl can create the most perfect ensembles, and 2) I need to start hitting up thrift stores again. I used to be a thrift store regular and while I was, I took a lot of fashion risks and really embraced my own style. Since moving to Ottawa and taking on a job that requires office/ professional attire, my style has gotten really conservative (I said my style, not my political leanings!). I love how Chloe chopped her vintage dress up to turn it into a short, pixie-ish look. That's the great thing about thrift store shopping (or having TONS of money - her idea of vintage is probably way different than my idea of vintage :) - you can chop and adjust and manipulate to your heart's content because your clothes didn't cost half a paycheque. Thrift store shopping inspires creativity and demands vision. So, another one of my 'living lightly and saving money' practices this year will be thrift stores over glitz stores. I just wish that Ottawa had more in the downtown area - a bit tough to get around to them when you're car-less and there's a bus strike. Oh yeah...what was that I said about winter biking? Right.