Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Two Blue (Dresses)



I've been forcing myself out of the house each day whether I feel like going or not, as Summer is far too short to waste it at home. Come January, when we're snowed-in days at a time I'll be glad I took full advantage of July. The thrift stores have been positively filled to bursting with the sort of clothes I like-and at bargain prices too. Goodwill has been running a .49 cent and .99 cent tag sale and I've been very lucky of late. Yesterday, I came home with three Jaeger blazers that appear to be unworn (the pockets were still stitched together). At .49 cents and .99 cents it would have been madness to leave them even if the last thing I need is yet another brown blazer. Last week, I found the 80's-does-40's dress I'm wearing here for .49 cents. The previous owner snipped out the shoulder-pads (understandable) but I think I have some that will work at returning this dress to full 80's/40's glory. 























This Ceil Chapman brooch needs a few stones replaced, but the setting is in excellent condition and I nearly screamed when I found it for pocket change at a garage sale.

Outfit Particulars:
80's does 40's rayon dress-Goodwill
Belt-came with a dress
Old Navy shoes-Goodwill
Ceil Chapman brooch-Garage sale
Carved bone necklace-Antique mall
Vintage clip earrings-New Life Thrift
Bracelets-both Hand-me-Ups
Ring-Goodwill
Vintage straw and seashell handbag-Antique mall
Fragrance-Lucien Lelong, Balalaika


Saturday, I stopped in at a Goodwill I rarely visit on the other side of Omaha. There were four reproduction vintage dresses by Heartbreaker, all in the same size. My guess is they were all the same owner, and they didn't enjoy ironing! I don't either, if I'm honest.

I'm not sure how I feel about this dress. The sleeves aren't as well-made as they could be, and won't lie flat even after extensive pressing. I can remedy this with some fuseable interfacing, but were I buying this dress retail, I might find that irritating. The belt is goofy on any waist larger than 24 inches, and won't stay closed without a pin. Not a huge deal on a .99 cent dress, but were I purchasing new repro-I'd find that a problem. Those issues aside (and the fact that it requires some serious ironing) the dress is pretty, and I did receive compliments on it, including one from the teenaged boy sacking the groceries at Bakers. Who am I to argue with stylish youngsters? 




Outfit Particulars:
Reproduction 50's dress by Heartbreaker-Goodwill
Gardenia brooch-Tiff and Tam
Vintage beads-Goodwill
Vintage clip earrings-Hand-Me-Ups
Vintage handbag-Antique mall
White sling-back shoes-K mart
Fragrance-Vintage formulation White Shoulders

We had a bit of excitement this evening when the gasket on the toilet pipe gave way (it was old and decided tonight was going to be it). Fortunately, I was standing in the next room and heard the pipe blow quickly enough to grab towels while Mr. ETB turned the water off. The problem took all of five minutes to fix, but I shudder to think what would have happened if we'd been out, or asleep upstairs. Anyway, after all that excitement I couldn't get too worked up when the weather radio alarm went off warning of severe weather tonight. I'll deal with it if it happens, but I'm not going to sit and worry about it. 80 mph straight line winds are bad but if it ain't rotating, I'm not panicking. Hopefully, it will miss us. I guess it makes sense to go downstairs to the cellar to wait it out, just in case. 

I'll leave you with a photo from last evening's holiday celebration. That's my attempt at, "Casual" attire. And yes, I'm twirling Glow-Sticks like a majorette. That's me-always ready for a parade...or a burst pipe, or severe weather. As the kids say, whatever. 











8 comments:

Vix said...

I'm hoping you survived the extreme weather, Goody. Here the sun is shining and the skies are blue, long may it continue.
Lucky escape over the gasket.
Loving the polka dot peplums and you swirling our batons for 4th July.
The colour of that repro dress is really pretty on you. I come across lots of them on my chazzing travels and invariably am shocked by their poor construction yet people seem devoted to them.
Jaeger stuff seems indestructible, doesn't it? So well made and great quality. xxx

Mim said...

Hot mama! Look at you, getting compliments from young men.

It's interesting to hear about the fit/construction issues on the Heartbreaker dress; I've really admired their photos in the past and was considering taking customs charges on the chin and ordering from them... perhaps I won't now.

Those Jaeger jackets were a really good find. If you don't want them, they're the sort of thing that should be fairly easy to rehome.

I hope the winds passed you by, and the toilet is fixed!

ThriftyParka said...

hello! My goodness you are a bombshell babe in those dresses!

I must say that I'm seriously envious of your finds. I've only found one Jaegar blazer in my life, and I loooove it (even if it's too snug to wear at the moment).

Gah! 49 and 99 cent sales sound amazing!! Almost worth the cost of a road trip from Thunder Bay!!

Hope the severe weather detours around you....and happy thrifting ;)

Polyester Princess said...

I'm loving both outfits but my favourite is the first one, as I love a peplum dress and polka dots, which I can never resist. Great finds at amazing prices! xxx

Beth Waltz said...

Three Jaeger jackets more than makes up for poorly made repro's! And a Ceil Chapman brooch is well worth a huzzah! That's why we thrifters hoard loose rhinestones in a box with tweezers and a tube of glue. It seems you're honing your summer wear searches to the blues section and with excellent results! (Whatever Vix can charge for treasures she unearths in piles at jumble sales is fair. I can remember when shirts at Goodwill were hung on wire hangars, unsorted by sex or size.)

What with weather booming, fireworks booming, toilets booming, and the budgie...when do you sleep?

Vronni's Style Meanderings said...

I do hope you've been able to ride out your bad weather. It's been gorgeous here for the past two days!

I love that polka dot dress and you look so elegant - as if you're just off to take tea with someone very important. I love the white accessories and what bargains you've been finding!

Love the 50s style dress and it looks lovely on you and those white beads are gorgeous - are they carved? Also, teen boys giving you compliments? Go, Goody,go!!

Veronica
vronni60s.blogspot.com

Connie said...

Goody!!! You are so chic. I am so happy that you decided to step outside because these outfit deserve to be seen!!!! The navy dress is so elegant and the baby blue is very flattering and summery. And you have such pretty skin. What is your secret? Mist from the broken pipes perhaps? Gosh. I'm coming shopping in Omaha. Those prices! Such a deal.

Goody said...

@Vix
We survived-and have another warning for tonight. Ah well, if we didn't have weather to complain about it would be boring living here.

@Mim
I don't think he fancied me or anything-he did seem to sincerely like the dress.

@Thrifty Parka
Seriously-come visit! I'll put you up.

@Ann
I find it hard to pass on a peplum.

@Mim
Are you kidding-I haven't had more than two hours sleep at a time since menopause started!

Have you been to any of the Goodwill, "Last chance" stores where everything is dumped in bins? I've heard it is interesting if you're not too squeamish and your tetanus shots are up-to-date.

@Veronica
Believe it or not the beads are plastic-they have a bit of texture moulded into them, but they were inexpensive beads by the Monet brand.

@Connie
"Mist from the broken pipes"-as the kids say, LOL!
I don't have nice skin at all (Thanks, lupus!) but I'm devoted to Dermablend for disguising it. Thank you for the compliment.

Okay, you and Thrifty Parka can come to Omaha and we'll go shopping. Wouldn't that be great fun? I never get to do blogger-meet ups because, well...Nebraska. Sigh.