Black Market Vintage Haul

Okay, I freely admit that "haul" is a serious stretch. I'm about to let you in on one of my favourite places to nose around, Black Market Vintage. It's this awesome basement shop dealio on Queen West in Toronto, and it is fabulous. Nothing over $10. Which sounds amazing until you find a couple things you like and then your budget is shot for the rest of the month. Totally not speaking from experience here. Ahem. This is the kind of place that makes me wish I had a better paying job haha!

Whenever I stop in I try not to drool on their floors to limit myself to three items max, and I generally only wander in when I've set aside money specifically for a frivolous shopping trip. There are exceptions to this rule, however. If I need something specific, like a denim jacket or summer dress, I know it'll probably cost me more than ten bucks at my local Goodwill or Value Village (ridiculous!) so I'll head here first. When I dragged my friend Katrina in here late last year, she scored a great olive coloured suede jacket that fit her perfectly. Yes, for $10. And I've had some pretty awesome finds here too.

Granted, not everything they sell is vintage, but the prices, finds, and super laid back atmosphere make up for that. Just be prepared to sift through a lot of stuff to find your treasures, but if you're a seasoned thrifter, you're already used to that. Next time I head down to Black Market I'll see if I can sweet talk someone into letting me snap some pictures of the place itself since this is turning into more of a review of the store than a post on what I bought. Speaking of which, I picked up the following with my total ringing in at a whopping $25. Not too shabby (I'm side-eyeing you so hard right now VV).

**************

First up is two tank tops. It's still June, so no Christmas in July jokes, okay? Okay.

With all my stuff in storage (are you sick of hearing that yet?) I don't have any of my basic summer essentials, and let me tell you, it has finally heated up around here. I snagged these two at the marked down price of $5 each while my frugal voice yelled at me in my head. When I got to the cash however, said voice was silenced when they rang in at $2.50 each. I'll probably paint something on them before summer is through. The green one sits low on me, just how I like it if I throw on a pair of board shorts and head to the beach. The red one rides high on me, and would be great for high-waisted anything, or showing a tiny sliver of skin. 

 Then came this denim jacket. I've had my eye out for a lightweight, lightwash denim jacket for summer and this one fits the bill perfectly. It's big enough on me that I could wear a thin sweater under it come fall, but fitted enough that I'm not drowning in material, like every other thrifted denim jacket I've tried on in the past six months. The bonus? It's originally J.Crew (this one is similar) and for $10, it's a fraction of the original price.

pins by the Stay Home Club and Nerd Burger Jewellery

Finally, I found this sweet floral dress. It would look ten times less frumpy if I was taller and more waifish, but I absolutely adore it even if it's not exactly "figure flattering" or whatever they would tell me on What Not to Wear (remember that show? Gross.)

It's a little "out there" for me. But hey, if I feel fierce, I'll be fierce right? Exploring the über feminine side of myself has been interesting and really scary. I've worn some over-the-top outfits in the past, but they've all been on the goth to punk side of things, and as much as I love them, I'm still a tad out of my element in florals and frou-frou dresses. If all else fails, fake it 'til you make it I guess.

 More on this baby on Wednesday!

I actually picked all these items up about two months ago, and never got around to sharing them until now. After writing this, I'm itching to head out to Black Market again. I once passed up an ankle length skirt there that was covered in apples, rulers, blackboards, pencils, and the alphabet. It would have done Ms. Frizzle proud, and it is still one of my biggest thrifting regrets. 300% serious here. I am eagerly awaiting my next paycheck now. Wish me luck!

currently listening to: "Mary Jane" by Illscarlett

Cat Lady Pride

So a little while ago I found this dress in a thrift store (for a whole dollar. I know right.) and immediately fell in love with it. Considering the price I didn't bother to try it on figuring if it didn't fit I could either put it up for sale in my shop or use it to construct a pattern for a dress that would fit me. Lo and behold, other than it being a little snug in my *ahem* chesticular area, it fit like it was made for me. Which is a small miracle since, from what I can tell, it is either a true vintage handmade item, or a handmade item constructed more recently from a vintage pattern. Have I mentioned I love it? One more time for good measure. I love it.

The only thing I didn't love were the buttons on it. Well... that's not strictly true. I love the buttons by themselves but they weren't working for me on this dress. So "off with their heads!" it was, landing these giant purple monsters in the teeny-tiny jar housing my first button collection. But don't worry, they are keeping the cat buttons that are waiting for the perfect cardigan, and the black and gold buttons awaiting the perfect white sleeveless blouse company. When I find a use for the new additions I will let you know. Onwards!

The Original buttons found on the dress

Of course I didn't just hack off the buttons without first getting replacements. After all I wasn't about to allow this dress to sit in my closet. The solution to my button dilemma came to me when I got the first batch of supplies for my sweater chains. There were these darling cat faces I just had to turn into sweater clips (along with cupcakes and various other charms), and one leapt out at me immediately. I really liked the colour with the dress. Back online I went to order in another three bundles of cats, and a couple days after I received them these babies were sewn on and ready to keep the girls safely hidden away under the front of what is probably my favourite dress. For now anyway, haha.

These guys are looking for a good home... probably on some more thrift store finds knowing me

The new buttons. I think they're super cute

I swear I have the taste of a 70 year old woman sometimes. Not that that's a bad thing!

So there you have it. I am officially sporting my cat lady pride on a dress I would like to remake in peach, and again in mint (...with cupcake buttons? oh lordy I'm ridiculously excited. I'm going to turn into a button fiend). I regret nothing. Now to find that perfect cardigan...

Stay Scary,
Berlyn