Blue silk dress for holiday tea, $9.99

I rarely thrift shop when I'm feeling down. It usually means I'm in search of something to make me feel better, and truth be told it more often than not results in a horrible experience. If your Karma is off, thrift shop Karma just doesn't, well engage.

So yesterday, a very grey icky day, with a seasonal flu and a dash of seasonal stress thrown in, I headed to Value Village on the way home. I hadn't done a VV dig in a long time. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Danforth and Woodbine location (and all other VVs in the city) had had a little refresh - new paint, new signs, new changeroom doors.

Lo and behold, my thrifting Karma kicked in in spite of my blue mood: the very first thing I picked out was a 100 percent silk blue dress by Lauren Moffatt http://www.laurenmoffatt.net/ ... for $9.99!

Moffatt is known for her vintage inspired looks, and this boho chic frock really revved me up ... and fit me perfectly. Mint condition! I was wondering what I would wear to tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel with my beau -- now I have my dress!





















By the way, Value Village was uncharacteristically deadsville last night. I was told biz dies after Halloween and doesn't pick up for the new year - a great opportunity for us deal divas! Speaking of deals I was surpised this dress was $9.99, as 'good' dresses at this VV location tend to be $14.99. I saw a gorgeous wrap dress by Toronto designer Marc Foreman of the 'Bionic' label - it was $9.99 as well, where the Bionic dress I bought several years ago at the same location was $14.99.

Just goes to show the pricing gods aren't consistent even at good 'ole VV. This experience has made me want to shop VV more than I have been in the last 6 mos.

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Retro bling x 3 for under 2 bucks!

I woke up the other morning with this phrase in my head: wonderful pillows are to couches as great jewellery is to an outfit.

In other words, I can't afford a new couch or a new outfit, but I sure can jazz things up with a new pillow (ok, used, see post from two days ago) and new (used) bling.

So, after unloading a bunch of necklaces at my Grunge Queen Stuff Sale a few weeks ago, I stocked up on retro costume jewellery the other day at my no. 1 neighborhood thrift store, Stretch Thrift (see Top 10 Toronto Thrift Stores posts from last week).

How could I leave this retro silver tone choker necklace by Coro that Mary in the shop let me have ... for .50 cents??

Or this gold-tone retro choker by Monet, again for .50 cents?

The segments look like little fishies, don't they?

I love the weight of this piece - a trait I always look for when buying retro bling. The more substantial, the older, I find, and more expensive looking.

Mary upped the ante when she told me she wanted .69 cents for this three-tier gold tone strand necklace by D'Orlan.

But I took a deep breath and decided to go for it.

Three fab pieces to make countless outfits even better, all for $1.69!

Maybe one or two will be holiday gifts ....

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Top 10 Toronto Thrift Shops, part 3

Sorry I missed yesterday; here's part 3 of my Top 10 Toronto Thrift Shops, starting with number 5 ....

East/Central:

5). Value Village
2119 Danforth Avenue
416-698-0621
www.valuevillage.ca

It’s more expensive than Stretch Thrift or Sally Ann, but the selection is there and let’s put it this way: VV is a for-profit enterprise and it’s its job to get you good stuff. Still, I'd shop carefully ... Bongo Jeans can be close to $20 here where I’ve found them for $5.99 at other places.

Best deals: I always raid the jewellery cases as I’ve found some gorgeous retro and even vintage pins for a couple bucks – these tend to be underpriced compared to the sterling stuff (though the pin pictured above IS sterling and was bagged for a few bucks at VV). Often – and like many other thrift shops – the pricing gods at VV will underprice a well-made designer piece as they don’t know its value – meanwhile the mass market stuff is overpriced.

Best finds: 1970s boho velvet & paisley blazer, $7.99; scads of fab, mostly retro costume jewellery for $5-10 each; two Oriental style lamps for $24.99 each; Nine West booties in mint condition for about $14.99. Bonus: donate a substantial bag of stuff and you get 20 percent off.

6).Neat Things
1126 Queen St. East,
416-778-9453

This shop is jammed packed with furniture, decorative accessories, art, and other baubles. Leave the kids at home as there's too much bric-a-brac precariously balanced, and make sure you call first as owner Ellen's hours aren't always stringent. I love this place, though, and have spent good quality time rooting through everything. The prices are really reasonable, and there's no telling what you could find. My best finds: Liberty of London scarf - beautiful - for a couple bucks; retro Italian suede bag with red leather interior, for about a fiver if memory serves. P.S. There's a string of antique shops along this block with heaps of furniture and decorative accessories...

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Top 10 Toronto Thrift Shops, part 2

Yesterday I started my Top 10 Toronto Thrift Shops; here are my second and thrift picks:



East/Central:



2). Pegasus Thrift Store

931 Kingston Rd., 416-422-0999

www.pegasusproject.ca



This shop is part of the Pegasus Community Project, a registered charity that helps developmentally challenged adults by giving them community-based day care opportunities and employment.



The hours are a bit wacky (call before you go), but I love this thrift shop, especially since it's moved into its new home. It has more of a boutique vibe and there are tons of treasures to be found, mostly in the accessories, book, and knick-knac categories.



I found this suede made in Canada purse with saucy buckle for $9.99. The blue lamp from a few posts ago was also found here.





3). Goodwill

60 Overlea Blvd., 416-422-0998

www.goodwill.on.ca



This is the best Goodwill in Toronto in my opinion. It's a huge store and always packed with heaps of clothing, shoes, furniture, books, art and fab bric-a-brac. Whether I go for a full-on dig or pop in for a few minutes I always leave with a steal. Prices not marked unless they're higher end; there are price caps on end of racks with general price range (blazers, $7.99 and up, etc), which I sometimes find frustrating: how am I to know if it's "and up"? The pricing seems to be at the whim of the cashier - still, deals are too good to complain about and Goodwill helps people in your community find and train for jobs.



Some fab finds recently: jackets galore! A DKNY blue silk jacket for $9.99; a 1980s cropped boil wool blazer made in Toronto by Miranda Lumley ($3.99 as it was 50 percent off day!); a TeenFlo little black dress for $6.99.

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Olive Oil boho skirt

When I was in grade 9 I had an outfit I loved: a long thin straight plaid skirt; a white blouse with a yoked neck and a brooch at the neck; and oversize navy cardi; and black granny boots.

My Mom called it my Olive Oil look, in honour of Popeye's stick-thin straight-skirt toting chick. She still talks about that outfit.

That was 20 years ago but I've updated the look to make it more boho. While searching for the cocktail dress I never found, I dug up this fab long black wool skirt - with buttons down the front and pink detailing - after trying on practically every dress at I Miss You Vintage in Toronto. It was under $30.

I paired it here with my Anthropologie scarf; a wool JCrew thrifted blazer (under $10); a cashmere sweater bought for $40 at an end-of-the-line sale, and my new shoe booties.
.
Olive Oil, I have definitely missed you

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She scored blue velvet

Do I need another velvet piece of furniture?

You know the answer to that one.

I found this bootiful chair in Leslieville and though it was more than I'd usually pay (ie: not free) I scooped it up.

The velvet is soo rich and in good condition, and the bones are really good - which means that after my cat Dag tears it to shreds I can reupholster it in some hearty fabric.

I'll write more on the shops in Toronto that surround the place where I picked this up - I'm writing the column today and will link to it here once it's published so you'll know where to go for antique/second hand furniture if you live in the big smoke!

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My latest thrifty haul

Ever slept with a new thrift find by your bed?

Ok, kinda sad but I just felt like a kid when I found this retro placticized fabric clutch at the Common Sort 50 percent of sale yesterday.

I love the hardware, and inside the silky lining is in perfect condition - no stinky moth ball smell! - and there's even a mirror with the maker's name (Madison Creation) inside a tiny side pouch. So ladylike!

It was $10.50 with the discount, and yes, I slept with it on the floor by my bed last night.

I had to restrain myself from buying too many summer ditties since I try to look forward to the next season when I thrift shop - I have too many summer dresses in my closet, let's put it that way - so this super sassy rocker elasticized belt will be just perfect with anything from jeans to a suit. It was $9 with the discount.

This past year I've really gone to town on belts. I have a small waist and I figure I may as well accentuate the positive.

This vintage velvet elasticized belt with funky gold-tone hardware was a real find. I have one that's somewhat similar (see my tan post below - it's the one I wore higher up on my body with my $4.99 dress), but that one was $30 at the Toronto Film Studios fall sale, pricey for me but these belts are relatively hard to find.

This one was only $8 with the discount.

Nicole Babin owns Common Sort and has these sales a few times a year to clear out her stock. She also buys, sells or trades items that she sells in store, so she may take your castoffs if they suit her style ethic.

And once you're a customer you'll go on her email list and be notified of the 50 percent off sales! Last year I found a vintage Bergdorf Goodman quilted jacket at the sale. It's brilliant.

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More mirrors, no smoke

I'm still on my mirror theme today. They add glitz and glam and light to any space and, well, they're shiny and I'm attracted to them like a kid to a lollipop.

This uber heavy gilt mirror suits my rough-and-tumble chic look. It has an old flaky gold leaf look to it that speaks of age and a certain amount of decrepitude.

It was sitting in the basement of a dingy second-hand store in the west end of Toronto (that didn't stay open for long, alas) for $3.99. Natch I snapped it up.

I love the way it pops against the deep blue.

I've already shown you my little beauty nook in a tiny hallway, where a heavy second-hand mirror (about $30, pricey for the Grunge Queen) hangs over a gilt shelf ($2 at a garage sale in Ottawa when I went on vacation last year!).

I recently jazzed up the hallway by hanging a print under the gilt shelf. It extends the space and makes the ensemble look like an entire unit.

If you look behind it to the left you'll see a smaller version of the lacquer mirror I showed you yesterday, hanging over an empty frame I found at a garage sale (3 of them for $2).

This is the smallest decor mirror I've ever bought. It was about $6.99 at my local east-end Toronto thrift store, Stretch Thrift.

I use it to check my butt out in my oblong mirror when I'm getting dressed in the morning.

I love the rustic, semi scraggy look. It provides an interesting contrast to all my pretty shiny perfume bottles.

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Movie star looks a la thrift

Dah-ling.

Ever since finding my $3 retro purple sunglasses
I've been slightly obsessed with ... you guessd it, large purple retro shades!

These purply pink retro shades called "Comet by Newtrend" were only 99 cents at my local thrift shop.

The person who wore them had a small head as the arms have been bent super short. But my optician can heat them and adjust them to fit me - remember that when you're scouting for retro shades!

I found another goodie yesterday while doing a shopping column in North Toronto. In one of my fave consignment shops, Around the Block I found this wonderful piece of costume jewellery for $10.

As you'll see with my other thrift jewellery posts, costume necklaces with multi-tiers are a particular obsession of mine. Pearls and chains are classy yet can be funked up, and they can solve various style woes.

I'm wearing them here with a jersey wrap-inspired dress by Bionic Woman by Toronto designer Mark Foreman, which has a long V-neck that shows my scar and makes me look even more flat-chested than I am.

A tangle of pearls and chains like this remedies those problems and makes me look like a rich beetch to boot.

Tip: always look for costume jewellery with some weight. It tends to look more classy and substantial. I can always tell it's retro by looking at the clasp, which always has cool and very ancient looking hardware.

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Jewellery junkie gets her fix

You know by now my penchant for retro bling.

On my way to do a shopping column yesterday I popped into my friendly neighborhood thrift shop - an absolute must if you want to bag the good stuff.

TIP: GO OFTEN.

Just as I was about to leave one of the employees who's sold me many baubles for a couple bucks or less mentioned a whack of jewellery had jusy come in.

REMEMBER: EMPLOYEES AND OWNERS OF STORES WILL REMEMBER YOU IF YOU GO AND BUY OFTEN - THEN AS THEY GET TO KNOW YOUR TASTES THEY'LL HAUL OUT OR PUT ASIDE STUFF FOR YOU IF THEY'RE REALLY NICE....

My spidy senses tingled.

Out came a plastic bag. I restrained, as she went through the bag.

TIP: DON"T BE GRABBY. WAIT FOR THEM TO PRESENT ITEMS TO YOU.

I ended up walking away with a three-tier a vintage glass bead necklace for $3 (TIP: DON'T ARGUE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU THINK YOU SHOULD PAY MORE)!!

And this totally tubular necklace, a cross between a Tribal and Industrial worm, was also $3. Though it's contemporary I thought it was pretty funky.

I also bagged a huge sterling cocktail ring with a pink stone for $2.

Thrift shops can be havens for both contemporary, retro and vintage jewellery - you just have to know what you like!

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Auction tonight!

Fellow Torontonians, if you're wondering what that contraption is on the floor under the painting in the pic shown here, and if the bargain hunter is looking for a fun experience, check out Mark Taaffe's new shop in the Junction, World Headquarters (2885 Dundas St. West, 416-333-8078).

Tonight the long-time auctioneer is having his first auction in his new space, starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday June 8.

Bring cash. You're guaranteed to find some really neat stuff.

Check out my recent article below....



Salvaging Good Style

Kelly Gadzala
Town Crier Bloor West

You should know by now my penchant for anything used, worn and slightly junky in the home décor department. The majority of my apartment furniture is a collection of forgotten curbside relics.

The Dundas West strip in the Junction is therefore happy land for me, a place strewn with salvage shops and even a few new furniture stores.

To read more click Here

And I will tell you what that contraption is: it's a manmade bee's nest used to contain wild bees. It even smells of honey inside! Just an example of some of the truly cool stuff you can find at Mark's shop.

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Chair from the trash

Remember my garage sale booty (two posts below and I still have more to show you!)? On my way home that day I found this fab faux bamboo chair in the trash - fully functional!

I believe in trashing Karma: if you want something in home decor, it will eventually come to you in the form of garbage.

It's a big chair, maybe a dining room one, that I would have used at my desk if it weren't so large. For now it's tucked in a cozy corner by my dining room table.




I plopped a cusion on it I found at Value Vilage for $1.99 - it has an old tag on it that says "The General Store on Mount Pleasant Ltd Toronto" - a shop that I can't find a reference to so it must be long gone ....

I bought the coverlet that's on the seat that day too. After the garage sale I strolled around an area in Toronto called The Junction and previewed some of the photography exhibits for the Contact photography show premiering that night.







The Junction is a haven for semi-junky and architectural salvage shops. Mark Taaffe's relatively new store, on Dundas St. West near Keele, houses all kinds of quirky items this deal diva could just eat up.

I walked away with this shawl, something Mark called a great example of Victorian Industrial prowess, if memory serves. He told me it came in a box marked "great-grandmother's shawl" and was apparently bought in a London market in the early 1900s.

I love it, eventhough it's worn and is stitched up in places ... but that adds to the charm for me. It's wool and large enough to function as a table cloth, duvet coverlet or even a wall hanging. Mark let me have it for a song.

More on Junction shops soon.

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Thrift Shopping Faves, West Toronto

I've been promising to share some of my thrift shopping faves for a while now and will make an effort to post thrift shop reviews once weekly.

As I've said in a previous post, integrating thrift shopping into your daily life is a good strategy is it helps you keep on top of constantly rotating stock in the thrift stores AND has the added bonus of honing your thrift shopping eye!

I have a fave suite of shops I try my best to check out regularly on my way home from work, all on Bloor St. West in Toronto in between the Dufferin and Landsdowne subway stations.

FLORAL MAXI DRESS FOR $7.50 AT 69 VINTAGE BY-THE-POUND

Needless to say, the Salvation Army Thrift Store (1219 Bloor St. West, 416 533-9553 www.tstores.ca) is a regular stop and a hidden gem in Toronto - pretty much anything you see on this website that's tagged Salvation Army is from this location. Dresses for $3.99, rings for the same price, capris for $5.99 and tees for a few bucks - you can find it all here. There's a housewares and furniture section as well, and some electronics and more valued items under glass (though I only look at the jewellery under glass). For some reason there's hardly been any jewellery of late but I always keep my eyes peeled. The goods at this location aren't as junky as other locations.

BLACK COTTON 'MARILYN MONROE' DRESS DESIGNED IN FRANCE, $3.99 AT SALVATION ARMY (worn with 99 cent thrift store belt by Simon Chang and chunky gold choker for $1.99 found at same Sally Ann).

MADE IN ENGLAND BY PERSAUD OF LONDON RETRO PURSE, AROUND $10 AT 69 VINTAGE-BY-THE-POUND

I try to do my best to regularly visit 69 Vintage by-the-Pound across the street, though it closes at 6 p.m. and I'm often still at work (1234 Bloor St. West, 416-516-1234 69vintage.com and 69vintage.blogspot.com ). This is the sister store of 69 Vintage on Queen St. West place and it sells its (mostly ladieswear) castoffs by the pound, mainly 1960s-80s polyester ensembles more suitable for hip 20-somethings than 'lil 'ole 30-something me. Still I've found a few great purses, and this fab polyester maxi dress with collar ruffle for $7.50 that fits me like a glove and garners compliments wherever I go. Shoes, boots and jewellery have set prices instead of by the pound. If you're a DIYer you'll love this place, and if you want to become one the shop has recently started sewing classes.

Further west on Bloor St. there's Vintage Depot (1271 Bloor. St. West), sister store to the Kensington Ave. shop that's chock-a-bloc full of men's and ladies' fashions and accessories. Everything here is sorted by type and there appears to be some new stuff like shoes and hats. I don't go here as often but the deal breakers on a quick glance appear to be the sweaters (current and fab fluffy 1980s ones), leather jackets and (seasonal) fur coats. I picked up a classic retro mink coat here for under $60, part of its 30 percent off fur sale in February.

Further west still there's a humungous Value Village (1319 Bloor St. West, (416) 539-0585

MOOD RING BRACELET, $5.99 AT VALUE VILLAGE

www.valuevillage.com I haven't fully infiltrated, it's so big. More to come on this, but I did fine a wholly original mood ring bracelet there for $5.99 (a bit over-priced, I thought, but it was different enough to warrant paying more).

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