Thriftanista in the City

How excited am I to present my Thriftanista Social Club friend and vintage seller extraordinaire Bettie! She is the etsypreneur behind 14th Street Vintage. She's also listed on Krrb / Apartment Therapy's Top 100 vintage sellers in the Chicagoland area.  After meeting her, I knew that I wanted to pursue my own entrepreneurial goals in online resale. Bettie is my inspiration. 

Last week, I attended the Chicago Toy and Game Fair's playCHIC fashion show. I wanted to wear something fun and trendy to match the playful fashion mood of the event. Obviously, I decided on a leopard print. My thrift buddy  Priya and I were having an unsuccessful thrift adventure and she suggested we check out Discovery -- a cheap and trendy clothing store here in Chicago. Pretty sure I was the oldest person in the store.   My eyes immediately landed on this $10 pencil skirt. Not just any leopard print either. This one has a face, yall! 

Thanks to  Mariano's  and Collective Bias for this sponsored post allowing me to prepare a delicious gift from my kitchen in time for the holidays. Last year, I started making holiday gifts and I will be continuing that tradition this year by making gifts from my kitchen. One of my most popular gifts was the Kenyan chai tea mix I made for my husband. He is a 2 cups (or more) a day hardcore tea drinker and he likes it prepared in the style of his home country Kenya -- black tea mixed with spices and lots of milk! It's very similar to the chai tea lattes we have here and chai is actually the swahili word for tea.

Have you ever wanted to go back in time? I admit it. I do. Every time I visit an estate sale, I'm curious about the many treasures that each house holds and how the owner came to curate some a great collection of odds and ends. Since Chicago is such a melting pot there are always unique pieces from other countries and cultures too.  Recently, my time travel dreams came true when I visited the Opening the Vaults exhibit at  The Field Museum . The exhibit takes you to the 1893 World's Fair -- one of the greatest events in the history of Chicago and the U.S. The Museum was founded to commemorate the Fair and the museum's original collections was formed by objects displayed at the Fair.

Size labels are not created equal. That's why ignoring size labels is one of my top thrifting rules . Experimentation is important to the whole experience. Labels can vary from brand to brand and decade to decade. Also, depending on the time of the month, my brain tells me everything is too small! Funny how that happens. I toss what I like in a cart even if it's not my size. Once I have my haul, I try everything on and make decisions based on what I see in the mirror. For example:

Thanks to Collective Bias and Sears for this sponsored post that allows me to DIY elbow patches to my recent fashion find and allowing me to achieve the look for less! Elbow Patches Trend I'm a big fan of elbow patches and glad to see them pop up in fall fashion 2013 trends. They're not just for tweed jackets and thick, wooly knits anymore. The latest crop can be seen on shirts and thin knits in a variety of colors and shapes. Some have sequins, some have glitter, and some even have spikes!

It's been a while since I've worn a tunic. It used to be my favorite kind of top. It's perfect for the SAHM casual closet. It's a great alternative to wearing a dress. I love wearing dresses because they are super easy being one piece and all but when the temps dip, they're not my first choice for style and warmth. Jeans are much more appealing but they can be a bore for everyday.

I feel hardcore out here without a coat but I'm pretty comfy and cozy in my grandpa sweater and long scarf. It's the perfect attire for a leisurely brunch on a sunny (but cold) day with the family. As usual, I like to add my own little touches of flare. I wore the Jill Stuart clogs that I'm learning to love; a promotional tee found in my car yesterday; and a futuristic looking faux leather silver skirt. I happen to love this cardigan. I love it like I went to Talbots.com looking for more but abandoned mission when I saw the price . I wear it with everything. It's the winter version of my  denim shirt .

It's easy to go hog wild in a thrift store and lose track of your budget. Been there. Done that over and over again. Since I frequent thrift stores a lot more looking for additions to The Thriftanista Closet , I find myself picking up random crap  treasures for myself too. That sort of defeats the purpose of making money. Even if the price is right, it adds up so make sure you ask yourself 3 questions first:

Warning! I'm in cheetah leggings. Once you look, it cannot be unlooked. I have gone back and forth over the wearing of leggings as pants. Admittedly, they are super comfy and so easy to throw on with the elastic waist I love so much. It's perfect SAHM attire. However, with the absence of pockets or a fly aren't they just tights?

Even though I've unpacked my cold weather wardrobe, I'm still in a transitional phase. I cleaned my closet and donated at least half of my clothes especially the winter garments. I did hold onto a couple of my favorites -- the thrifted  military jacket and the neon skater skirt . Who knew they would look so good together?