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It’s been quite awhile since I shared a thrift haul–a habit I think I’m going to get into again. I’m not able to go thrifting as often as I used to, but early last month I had a great morning, health-wise, and I wanted to do a quick pop-in at my favorite thrift joint to see what they had for Halloween. I still had grand plans for my own costume, and even though the kids were set I like to keep my eye out for stuff that might make a fun accessory for them, or even to find something for the thrifted dress-up chest. It happened to be a half-off day at the Catholic thrift store, which is a double-edged sword. Yay, for savings, but the line I had to wait in was so long and moved so slowly that it made me question the wisdom of stopping by in the first place. All told I waited twenty two minutes in that line, Elias dangling restlessly from the ergo the whole time. I thought I was going to die in that line. At least I could say I died doing what I loved: waiting in line–er, I mean, thrifting.

Elias was a champ, though. We went through every baby game I knew, twice, and he didn’t fuss once. While there we also came across an unidentifiable cookie-cutter shape. With the help of the internet, I think we decided it was supposed to be Michigan, with the thumb part of the state having been bent out of shape. I’m willing to entertain other guesses, though.

As you can see from the photo at the top it was a nice little haul that day. One of the things I found for myself was a vintage polyester shirt in a lovely subtle floral pattern. I was already imagining the layers I would wear it with when I noticed the brand name on the tag said “BEND OVER.” Like, that is an actual brand. That existed. In America. And someone–no, multiple people–thought this was a good name. I was dumbfounded and of course I had to buy it. It’s a little big and could use some alterations, and I will definitely be removing the matching-fabric shoulder pads sewn inside. This marked the shirt as coming from the 80s, and when I showed my mom she was totally unsurprised. “Oh yes, I had clothes from this a brand,” she said, nonchalantly, as if the brand wasn’t weirdly sexually suggestive. “They sold it at Mervyn’s.” (Back in the day, Mervyn’s was a chain store in California, similar to JCPenny’s, that was one of the only family clothing stores in Turlock for awhile. Both Anthony and I worked seasonal shifts there out of high school). I guess the idea behind the clothing line was that it was polyester and it was smooth, meaning no lines, but, according to my mom, unless you went commando, everyone could see your panty lines anyway. Wow. Good to know. Thanks, mom.

Although the Halloween aisle was largely a bust, I did find these lovely brand new, in-package set of pink fairy wings for Isobel. When you are a the parent of a child who loves to wear costumes and wings, you learn that a pair of wings has a limited life span of  maybe six months, more or less, until they are worn to death and have to be replaced. I snatched these up for backup. I also found this lovely rainbow star scarf, which came from Gap, for about fifty cents, for her. She loves it, but I’m hoping she’ll wear it, as sometimes she’s indifferent to scarves. I’m also hoping it eventually gets cold enough to necessitate a scarf. Lastly, I bought her this beautiful vintage gold vinyl jewelry box. She’s been asking me for one of these for awhile. I have some similar ones that came from my grandma that I keep my jewelry in, and she’s been bugging me for one. This one has some green ink splotches on the bottom tray, but she doesn’t care, and you can’t see them as it’s full of her treasures. This was her favorite thing by far.

For Anthony, I found that 1970s striped shirt in perfectly soft, yet decently thick, cotton. He looks great in it. I grabbed the durable plastic magnifying glass for Elias, and this gorgeous poppy painting, done in 1975 by Betty, who was really good. It just needs a frame.

Been thrifting lately? Going thrifting soon? Happy hunting!

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