Fashion Blogs

This has been another amazing week for The Thrifters blog, not only did I salvage several luxury pieces but the blog turned 3 years old…  I can’t tell you where I get my energy from because to do what I do requires an endless amount of passion not to mention TIME…  I don’t think I want to know the amount of time I’ve spent looking for luxury clothes, furniture, housewares, artwork or lighting… I’m sure that figure is as high as Charlie Sheen…  This is what I scored :  Dismero top, RED Valentino 

East meets West is the statement this brown knit Dismero top screams.  Here is Dismero’s company slogan: “Chic Casual for people who love strong emotions in long distance travels fro people who love to be comfortable at any time”.  This mantra has guided Andy D’Auria’s work as a STYLIST since the beginning of the 1987 collection.  Dismero creates a STYLE which blends the most up to date elements of comfort mixed with designs that are practical to wear.  The Dismero woman demands high standards f

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE finding Byblos in a thrift store.  Its like having a horned angel come down from the heavens to kiss me because Manuel Facchini who is the creative director for Byblos is very devilish in that most incredible way.  Byblos is a RTW brand that embraces both the past and future in a young & contemporary spirit.  It was created in 1973 and brought to life initially by the creative genius of Gianni Versace, succeeded by Guy Paulin and then by the English designers Keith Va

Every so often I get extremely lucky and find something from Bally and each time I do I swear on a stack of vintage Vogue magazines (my bible) that the GODS are good….  I almost flipped when I saw the Bally label inside this white exquisite blouse.  It’s from Bally people how much blessed can I get?  You would just have to be living under a rock or a cave not to have seen the huge billboards or magazine spreads of Bally’s spring 2012 ad campaigns.  The images are light, refreshing and they captu

FREE is always good , I love getting something for FREE like most of us, so when I saw this Max Pearson for Knoll arm chair on the side of the street I considered myself lucky…  Yes on the side of the curb waiting for the trash man to come collect it and take it to a landfill so that’s when I swooped in and salvaged this office chair.  Max Pearson designed this swivel arm chair for Knoll in the 60′s and then went on to design other Knoll products until he left in 1970.  I consider finding this M

Pink Tartan is a brand that makes beautiful & practical clothes that can take women from day to dinner in a blink of an eyelash.  The concept was born in 2002, one year after Kimberley Newport-Mimran’s daughter was born and this brand is a reflection of Kim’s personal STYLE: pretty, polished & elegant.  Those adjectives should be every woman’s mantra don’t you think?  I love this simple Pink Tartan dress and the retro pattern.  I would love to see this vintage orange Courreges handbag with this

With a brand new silk top by Tracy Reese and a Valentino Miss V skirt this blog posting just can’t get any better.  When I scored this gorgeous Tracy Reese top that still has the tag on it I was mortified because this is Tracy Reese.  Reese’s style is unabashedly girly, but made to fit the lifestyles (and bodies) of real women. With a namesake label and bridge lines and offshoots—ranging from home and shoes to nail polish and hosiery—the brand has captured great commercial success and recognitio

Today 3 years ago I started my daily blog not having any idea where it would take me or where I would go with it.  I’ve meet countless people that all share the same common interest and that is recycling.  Being STYLISH today means you can be ‘green’ and conscience of the textile toxic waste that ends up in our landfills and water sources.  Everyday I go out and hunt for luxury vintage designer pieces that have been discarded for varies reasons and salvage them.  I’ve gotten lots of people think

I think I was dreaming when I spotted this vintage 80′s Issey Miyake blouse in the thrift store.  This is is my second find from Issey Miyake and the first one was a man’s thin gray sweater which I love and adore.  Finding Issey Miyake in a thrift store is like ordering your favorite dessert and it comes with your favorite flavor of ice cream and you’re drinking your favorite coffee beverage… see that’s living right..  Issey Miyake left Toyko in 1964 and headed to Paris and a career in fashion. 

I just have to tell you this short story.  A lady came into Doubletake Recycled Luxury Boutique, my store, and saw these Ferragamo sea life pattern slacks and said “oh this pattern is so hot this Summer”….  you know I wanted to puke.   I simply said to her “sea life is always in STYLE…”  I can’t stand it when I hear people say crap like that because they are simply following someone else’s definition of STYLE…. All editors work for corporations, yes even Anna Wintour works for a big big corporat

Poofs, ruffles and giant bows scream Christian Lacroix and nothing said flamboyant 1980′s fashion better than the designs of Christian Lacroix.  He ruled the 80′s fashion scene and so finding this top is a treat.  I have to say I don’t find a lot of Christian Lacroix out thrifting because I think people are holding on this label as they should.  Before launching his own line, he was an assistant at Hermes and then joined the House of Patou in 1981.  5 years later, he launched his own couture lab

I know you have to get past the fact that this Dior blouse just needs to be pressed but it really is just that simple.  I am loving this color of the Dior blouse and I can’t tell you how happy I get when I salvage a vintage Dior piece from the thrift stores.  Happy as a lark.  Raf Simons just gave the world his first triumphant collection for Dior and don’t you just wished you could have been there?  I know I sure did…  I found this royal purple pleated Ali Ro silk skirt that even with the ribbo

There is something quite sexy about an off the shoulder dress to begin with but you can double that since it was designed by Flores & Flores.  The black & white checked pattern on top is what really made me grab it and run.  All this ensemble needs is a pair of silver meshElsa Peretti earrings and a fabulous pair of Stella McCartney heels and off to Ascot you go…  I’ve always thought wouldn’t it be a hoot to actually STYLE someone that was going to Ascot all in recycled vintage luxury….  Those B

When you see Diane von Furstenberg vintage sweater in the thrift store for $2.00 in Summer do you pass it up?  Hell no you don’t pass it up, it’s vintage Diane von Furstenberg and plus Winter will be around the corner before you blink.  When you see luxury items in the thrift store especially vintage pieces and its out of season buy them, this is how you build your collection.  I found theses Giorgio Armani slacks and paid $5.00 for them so between the 2 items you’re looking at $7.00 for this en

I almost fell out when I saw this vintage 80′s Diane von Furstenberg label on this pink robe.  First of all who doesn’t need a bath robe and secondly who doesn’t need a vintage pink  bath robe by DVF?  The first person I thought of when I salvaged this piece was Joan Collins asAlexis Carrington from Dynasty.  Can’t you see her wearing this DVF robe smoking a cigarette wearing tons of pearls and diamonds?  I can.  Certain things in life are just classic, old re-runs of Dynasty and of course anyth

When I spotted this Diane von Furstenberg dress the second thing I noticed, the first being the label, was a stain on it.  Do you think a little old stain was going to stop me from grabbing this DVF dress and running????  Absolutely not.  Stains are like men on Broadway they can come out….  I’m just kidding….  I’ve gotten just about every stain known to mankind and then some out so I figured I would attempt to get the stain out myself and if all fails then off to the dry cleaners where they can

When I think about the countless generations of Americans that have fought hard for change and fought to protect this diverse country it’s overwhelming to me.  People have always protected our land for one reason or another and to me what better way to protect this country than to start protecting its natural resources.  Did you know that in 2010 the USA produced more than 13 million TONS of textile waste according to the EPA.  13 million TONS of toxic waste such as bleach, dyes and other harsh

When I got the Pinterest email saying that Kay Unger was following me the first person I called was Umie because I knew she would as thrill as I was.  She was….  Umie and I started a conversation about how designers, artist & actors are all engaging in social media today which gives it a more personal touch.  I told Umie “today you can Tweet Trina Turk, Kay Unger or Robert Rodrigues and they will Tweet you back and you can also follow them on Pinterest and they will reply back.”  To me it’s real