Fashion Blogs

Building a wardrobe from thrift store finds can work for men or women. If you can start with simple basics, you will quickly be able to make exponential expansions to your wardrobe. If you would like to build crafting skills, thrift shop finds can be easily rehabbed into new pieces.

Choose a Base Bottom Color

A base bottom color is a great start. Black pants, skirts, shorts and capris can be mixed and matched with any top that goes well with another black base. You can also start making some chang

Many times, it's the accessories that really make an outfit. From shoes to purses to scarves to jewelry, the details really do make a difference. You want something that enhances the entire look all together while expressing your personal style. Since accessories often make the difference, you need to find the perfect pieces to match your style. Here are some tips on how to find accessories that complement your unique style.

Clarify Your Style

Sometimes it's easier to stay on track if you can put

I just eat it up when I land myself a vintage Stephen Burrows piece..  I just eat this label up.  LOVE isn’t even the correct word to use here.  Stephen Burrows, one of the most influential black designers in U.S. history, and the FIRST African American designer to become a household name…  He launched his company, landed a spread in VOGUE magazine and began selling his designs at the legendary New York boutique Henri Bendel.  Burrows dressed celebrities from Diana Ross, Bette Midler, Grace Jone

Several weeks ago a consignor dropped off Bill Blass An American Designer book for me to look at and between you and me I want to keep the book!!!  Everyone that has come intoDOUBLETAKE has enjoyed flipping through the book and looking at old photos of his brilliant designs.  This sexy red vintage 80s dress is so NOW it isn’t funny but then again it’s Bill Blass.  The Bill Blass label has always represented gracious  and sumptuous clothing: American chic, characterized by casual sophistication a

Everything about this Guy Laroche piece is magic and would you believe it came out of a flea market?  Yes a flea market where the world opens up to a new adventure to anyone that is curious…  This vintage Guy Laroche jumpsuit is so NOW so current it isn’t funny and to think it came from a  place that is all about recycling.  Flea markets, thrift stores, consignment boutiques, yard sales, estate sales etc etc all supply the consumer with an option to buy “green”, to buy something that is recycled

I just don’t know really where to begin here with this Stephen Burrows piece.  Actually I’m not sure how he showed this dress when he created it back in the day…  Did he show it as a “bat cape” where the panels are in the back of the dress or did he show this piece with the panels in front of the dress?  Either way you slice this, it’s gorgeous beyond words.  I’m actually loving showing it with the “bat cape” in back of the dress….  It really doesn’t matter because what does matter is the fact t

I love anything vintage Halston IV but when it comes from Bonwit Teller you know I love it even more.. I love this 70s vintage Halston dress for 103 reasons but I’m to busy to list them all for you, you will just have to take my word for it… Bonwit Teller was a very high end department store that was founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 in NYC. Sadly it is no longer with us… They carried only the very best brands like Beene, Courreges, Missoni, Pierre Cardin, Kenzo, Hermes, Ungaro and of course Halsto

Scott Barrie is just one of my favorite designers that was gone way before his time….  Scott Barrie was an American fashion designer known for his sexy matte jersey dresses in the 60′s & 70′s and sadly died in 1993 at the age of 52.  Way to young!  He died of brain cancer which is tragic beyond words.  Scott Barrie, whose real name was Nelson Clyde Barr, was born in Apalachicola, FL of all places one of my favorite spots to go chill…  At the age of 10 he whipped up clothes from his grandmother’s

This is my first piece of Koos Van Den Akker and yes that was the sound of a cherry popping!  I almost flipped when I saw this piece while I was strolling through a festival, yes a festival.  That’s just it you have no idea what you’ll find wherever you may be but I guarantee you’ll find it if you know what you are looking for…    Koos was born in The Hague, Netherlands and at a very early age taught himself how to sew.   His impressive portfolio allowed him to enroll at the age of 15 to the Roy

Here I go again with another fabulous vintage piece by one of America’s finest fashion designers that ever lived, Geoffrey Beene. This navy Beene Bazaar 60′s vintage dress with pockets and pleats on the back is just off the chart HOT. It’s timeless, it really is. This is just a true piece of fabulous deliciousness. I love polkadots and I love it when Geoffrey Beene did them ! This man in the 60′s 70′s 80′s dressed all the best dressed ladies in NYC & Hollywood not to mention all over the world.

This vintage red silk dress with a black border trim by Yeohlee is a piece of artwork.  Really just look at the collar…  Yeohlee Teng design is universal.  She believes that design comes from serving a function and is refined through time and process.  Yeohlee Teng moved to NYC from Malaysia to study at Parsons School of Design.  She launched YEOHLEE in 1981.  She is a master of design management and believes in the efficiency of year round seasonless clothes.  Yeohlee’s designs have earned a pe

The USA has made great strides on clean technology recently but it might surprise you to find that so has Bhutan, Iran, Norway, Nigeria & India. Bhutan is a tiny Himalyan nation that has pledged to become the first 100% ORGANIC NATION on Earth!!! Bhutan promotes a weekly “pedestrian day” in a effort to curb vehicle emissions. This tiny country has partnered with Nissan to slash fossil fuel imports and embrace electric cars. Iran by 2018 is targeting 5,000 megawatts of new wind & solar power. As

Last month, the Niels Bugge Cartoon Award asked illustrators and cartoonists from around the world to submit drawings based on a basis theme: climate.    I read this article in the green section of the Huffington Post and my jaw dropped because, these brilliant and talented artists hit it on the head….  Nailed it.   I LOVE this quote from the website: “Human beings, as all life on Earth, came from the stars and landed through the ocean,” the contest solicitation read.  ”Ocean is our very first f

I don’t have to tell anyone just how much I love vintage Bill Blass because anyone that just spent 10 seconds on The Thrifters site you would know that…  He was a legend.  This black silk vintage Bill Blass long blouse / tunic is so off the chain hot it’s not funny.  Bill Blass was a master of making the American woman look & feel glamorous, chic, sexy & empowered.  I will never pass up the chance to add another piece of vintage Bill Blass to DOUBLETAKE Recycled Luxury collection…   NEVER…  I’m

The label Suzy Perette is a very collectible one and the funny thing about the name is that there wasn’t an actual Suzy Perette.  It was just a made up name from a dress manufacturing company that wanted to make affordable versions of Parisian designs in the 50′s and the Suzy Perette silhouette was reminiscent of Dior and the famous “New Look.”  The continued making dresses up until the 70′s and you can still find Suzy Perette by Victor Costa from the 70′s.  When you see this label grab it….  I

Loris Azzaro was working as a professor and in the mid 1960′s he had decided to start up his own fashion line in Paris.  He made form fitting and slinky evening wear that actresses at the time such as Raquel Welch and Sophia Loren couldn’t  live without.  In Dec 1968 ELLE magazine put Azzaro dress on the cover and the brand became legendary.  Brigitte Bardot loved his designs.  He once claimed that he wanted to design dresses that women love wearing and men like tearing them off !”  Loris Azzaro

This Dior vintage gown looks like something Karen Carpenter would have worn.  The cropped lace trim bolero jacket with a halter floral pattern gown…  I’m not sure if this is late 70′s or early 80′s but it’s in between that’s for sure.  I absolutely love the jacket part of this gown… LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT…  This 2 piece gown knocked me out of my sockets and left me stranded on the floor for quite some time…  You just don’t run across these types of gowns just every month or every year!  Floral

You can’t look at this vintage 70′s Guy Laroche silk paisley print blouse without thinking the word “CHIC”…  I know you can’t… it’s impossible.  When Guy Laroche launched his eponymous couture label in 1957, he had a clear aim in mind: liberating women’s bodies away from the New Look, towards a comfortable, understated elegance both “refined and discreet”.    His designs marked decades: creations such as the coat dress and the shirt dress continue to be a staple in women’s wardrobe today.  He pa

Before I get on my soap box let me say that we all can change this abuse by the textile industry and that is by buying items that are second hand, recycled, reused, repurposed, thrifted etc etc . Industrialization of the textile industry and use of a large variety of chemical treatments and dyes has resulted in a public health threat created by pollution. 17-20% of industrial freshwater pollution is caused by textile dyeing and treatment. Estimations state that 10-15% of totals dyestuffs used du

A native Parisian, Isabel Marant blends ethnic bohemia and tomboy street chic effortlessly, and her name has long been on the lips of fashion insiders: editors, models, and sexy actresses like Sienna Miller, Rachel Weisz, Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Connelly, Kate Moss & Alexa Chung.  She spent her childhood on trips to Africa, Asia, India and the Caribbean and that influenced her style and design.  She collaborated on projects for Yohji Yamamoto, Martine Sitbon & Chloe.  She designed jewelry for