Vintage for Cheap. Yes, You Can! Right Place, Right Time!

I'm absolutely in love with the base thrift shop near me. I realize this is rather unfair because not everyone has access to it. But my love affair with that place has prompted this post.. Bear with me.

Something I get asked a lot:

Wearing dresses and all these shoes and hats...isn't that expensive?

It can be. But it doesn't have to be. If you're patient and open-minded--not afraid to shop thrift, second hand, you would be amazed at what you can find.

I'm going to quote fellow blogger Christina Lynn here. She has said to me that everything is washable, wipe-able, been worn or handled at some point. You like vintage and want the real deal? I guarantee it's been worn! Whether it was 40 or 60 or 20 years ago, someone or some folks wore it.

That's what laundry soap is for. And if you see some heels that match that Lindy Bop dress perfectly and they're in your size, that's what Lysol is for.

Even those online purchases of cheap dresses from China...someone has handled that and they may not be the cleanest person in China!

So moving on...here is a prime example of what you can find in a thrift shop at the right time.


I stopped today and immediately saw a wad of net and cream headband with a single tag: vintage hat: white and black, $3.

It was a wadded mess. This are the best pictures I could take before I got it home to unravel it and give it some TLC and see what I was dealing with. I thought it was two pieces.




I get home and discover I really got some bang for my buck. It's THREE hair pieces.

Black netting

Navy netting with bows

Cream headpiece with netting

Then I discovered that the cream piece had really damaged netting, to the point the netting was going to have to come off.

Not the best picture but you can see parts of it are unraveled and hanging there, right where people will see it.

But I wasn't discouraged.. Instead I got another idea. First I cut off the cream net, then I tried the black over the cream headpiece. It looked okay. But see the navy one has those adorable bows on it and the cream headpiece has adorable bows too...and this is what I came up with. *Note: I have a hairclip where I'm going to glue it. But problem solved!*

So now I just glue the navy to the cream band and I have a lovely vintage hairpiece that looks perfect and only set me back 3 bucks. Right time, right place.

Oh, actually I have two hairpieces. Forgot about the black. You can't see it well on my dark hair but I can do stuff with it.

Want a vintage wardrobe without breaking the bank? Shop thrift, wash, and don't be afraid to get creative or give things some TLC. Someone loved these hats 60 years ago. I like to think they'd be thrilled that they'll get worn now.