Thrift Shopping

Last week I made the rounds to the thrift and consignment shops in town - we have two thrift, two consignment, and one new charity in our smallish town. I found some goodies, but not all of the pictures turned out well. Since it's been so cold, I was glad to find this coat

It's almost full-length and lined. I barely feel the cold when I'm wearing it. The pockets are huge - plenty of room for mittens and car keys. I got some tops

and a dress

an embellished vest

and a cool pair of shoes

I really need to get to the shops more often. I've been volunteering at the charity shop once a week, but I may have to stop. I worked with a girl last week and she told me that anything I wouldn't wear goes in the box to ship to Africa. Well, honestly I wouldn't wear what she was wearing - I have too much respect for myself and the world around me to leave the house looking like crap in a tee that should be thrown out and old, worn-out pants. It's frustrating to be around people with small-minded attitudes about everything. Non-crafty people can't see beyond the finished item - a jacket isn't just a jacket, it's fabric and a long separating zipper and sometimes buttons or other embellishments. Clothes can be remade into other garments or completely different items. I get frustrated knowing that I will probably never find anything vintage here because of people like her, thinking that something old is essentially garbage and only good enough for shipping to another country. The Goodwill here seems to think it's a teen boutique and is full of mall brands in small sizes - I've not seen anything in my son's size range in years. Although I'm pleased with what I got last week I'm also discouraged by my town and will probably have to trek to Peoria once in a while to see what they have to offer. I guess it's one of the perils of small-town America.