Blue Blazer

I can't be sure where many of the bloggers live, but what I do know if that so many of them often talk about their great finds in "thirft stores". Short of the goodwill, we are lacking in the thrift/vintage stores here in my town. As a result, the one's we do have often contain prices that are often as much or more than if you were to buy a new piece of wardrobe. Every summer I can get some great deals at various garage sales, especially in terms of antiques. Even still, I can't help but to make the occasional stop at my local goodwill and see what I can find. For the most part, it's a whole lot of nothing. I envy the bloggers who post getting 5 blazers in a trip, while I spend hours shiftting through old, poorely cared for, often overly stretched, dingy and unattractive pieces of clothing. Sometimes though, you can find that gem and that's why I continue to look. Secretly I love the challenge. I often shop smart when it comes to stopping into a thrift store of any kind. I will never pay as much for an item, as I would if it was full price. Bottom line. Especially with the types of things you find up here. They are often in need of a lot of washing and sewing before they can be deemed wearable. For that reason I almost never spend over $10 on any piece if they come off of a Goodwill, Vintage, or thrift store. When I walked through the store yesterday I was on a mission. Cardigans, Blazers or a small well fitted men's checked shirt. The blazers were what I would consider overpriced. At almost $15-$20 a piece, and most containing shoulder pads and being from the late 90's I was nothing short of dissapointed. I know that I could find a new fitted blazer at any great sale for that price. Same dissapointment with the men's shirts. Almost all of them were large sizes, and the smaller sizes were ill fitting, very baggy in the back. Clearly all owned by some beer belly carrying men. As I rounded the last rack in the men's section I came across the perfect find. It was placed haphazardly on the end of a rack. A blue blazer. There were immediately a few things to consider. First of all, this is anything but a women's blazer. In fact it is a large boys suit jacket from Lord and Taylor. I fell in love immediately. The advantage to being a smaller girl on top, with long arms means that a large boys size suddenly becomes a 3/4 length sleeve short blazer. With a price tag of $6 I couldn't say no. Especially after I put it on and it fit perfectly. I can't close it, but see no need to. The details on each of the buttons was just so intrigate. I loved the nautical feel of the jacket and excitedly held onto the jacket with both hands on my way to the register so that no passing mothers would see this as the perfect end for their son's easter outfits.

To make my find even more complete, I recieved my pursese from Ebay yesterday afternoon. The clutch is an even darker shade of red that I absolutely adore. It is smaller than I had expected but I can already see so many uses for it. When opened it has lots of pockets perfect for money and id, the ideal bar hoping accessory. The purse was even more than I had hoped for. Physically it is a bit small, but frankly I have no reason to carry as much in my bag as I do. It is a much brighter brown than it looks in the pictures and the material is just so soft. The downside to the entire purchase, besides that it took a full month for delivery is that the purse has a bit of an odor. It's a cross between varnish and nail polish remover. I'm confident the scent comes from being made and immediately stuffed and sealed into a bag made of cheap plastic before being shoved in a box for a month or so. It just needs to breathe. The scent was so strong however after I filled it with my daily treasures that I had to put it on the other side of my bedroom so it wouldn't disrupt my sleep. It's much better today and I know by tommorrow it will be gone. The inside pattern of the purse was the biggest suprise. A great light beige and green chinese pattern, appropriate since that's where it was shipped from. I love the contrast between the masculine brown leather and the airy light material on the inside.

I wore the blazer with pride to work today. I have already thought of a few different pieces I want to pair it with but for today, a yellow tshirt and marron scarf over some navy pants is the perfect combination. The downside however to buying boy's sizes, it the sleeves can often be too small. In this case the sleeves themselves fit just fine, it's the shoulders where I could spare a bit more room. Honestly I can't lift my arms in the air without a tight feeling on my shoulders, but how often does one really need to lift their arms? Well that's the thinking that convinced me to buy the jacket. Well the answer to that question is often. For instance when driving, and turning sharp corners, and re-doing the bulletin board at work, and carrying balloons, and reaching for the phone from the other side of the desk. Basically alot today. I'm considering making a few cuts in the shoulder seams. Luckily the material is so thick and made so well because it is an actualy suit jacket I'm pretty sure a few snips here that will allow movement in the arms won't have a negative effect on the style of the jacket, and won't cause any tearing or ripping. A few modifications, a few dollars and a great result.