Ginger Roots videofest, part 5: Hats

By far my favorite clip from my Ginger Roots video series. Enjoy, and be sure to visit them soon.



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Goodwill's Guest: Blogging about thrifty storage options

I'm a guest blogger for Goodwill of Greater Washington!  Check out my post about fun storage items and luggage that you can get on the cheap to spice up your digs--no Container Store splurge necessary.  You might see some familiar items....

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Field Trip: Mercedes Bien

Not to be confused with Jumbo Slice up the street

2423 18th St NW, 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 360-8481


Mercedes Bien had been on my "to-visit" list for a while, but its odd hours forced me to keep pushing back my visit.  I finally made the time to stop by on a Saturday just as Ally was putting a sandwich board out on the sidewalk.  If it hadn't been for that sandwich board, I probably would have walked right by the shop.  The first floor is closed up, so you have to look for signs of vintage (like the small sign on the second floor, or the sammy board, as we will now call it).


When you reach the second floor, it's like wandering into some awesome old person's attic.  But instead, it's a carefully hand-picked collection by Mercedes herself, who has been in the vintage business for as long as your girl blogger has been around.  Not every piece is true vintage, but that's become common in vintage shops: sometimes, a great vintage-inspired piece shows up and looks great.  It's not sacrilege to put it in your vintage collection.  It's a tribute.  Sometimes that tribute comes from Target.  Shrug.  No big deal.


Mercedes wasn't at the shop when we visited, but when she was called for a price check, we found ourselves on the phone with her.  Talk about approachable!  If she's that friendly on the phone, I can't wait to meet her in person. Clearly, she loves what she does and loves the great construction of past fashion.  There's no particular time span favored in the store, but trust that the dresses and other clothing from the '40s and '50s through the '80s is top-notch.


Two areas of the store stood out to me for the very cool and surprising selection: belts and glasses.  (I'm surprised too.)  Mercedies Bien has an entire folding screen covered in belts, including wide modern styles that are popular now.  I've found that decent belts are hard to find in thrift shops, so I seriously considered plunking down $30 for a quality belt here.  As for glasses, you may not see many when you first enter the store.  But ask for them, and you'll be shown drawer after drawer of beautiful frames in every style.  From elegant, to funky, to bifocal (a lot of the pairs still have their original lenses), there's something for every face.  


Also worth checking out: the menswear section in the back room.  Not a wide selection, but suits and suit separates are reasonably priced for quality secondhand.


We're not going to lie, the store hours—12-6 on Saturday and 12-5 on Sunday—are grossly inconvenient.  But, if you can't stand to wait, you might be able to score an appointment with Mercedes herself.  Otherwise, carve a little time into your weekend to take a trip down fashion memory lane at this fun shop.


A bajillion more photos after the jump.

Field Trip: Martha's Vineyard Boys and Girls Club Second Hand Store

10 North Summer Street

Edgartown, MA 02539

(508) 627-5683

www.mvbgclub.org

While vacationing on Martha's Vineyard last week, I had the chance to pop into a bunch of posh, nautical-themed shops. But a convenient turn down a side street led me to the Martha's Vineyard Boys and Girls Club Second Hand Store. The shop, which houses random goods on the first floor and clothing in the basement, is small. But it was bustling.

It's an honest-to-goodness old-school thrift store for a good cause, which I love. But it really means you have to keep your eyes open, or you'll miss the worthy gems among the rubble. MC was on a desperate hunt for some vintage barware, but what little we found here was not worth hauling back to DC with us. He did get a nice old set of ice tongs to add to his bar goods.

The clothing and accessories downstairs yielded little, as the items available were clearly from a certain set of island folks (hint: the older ones). However, the golf clubs stored down there turned out to be free that day. Guess they had a surplus.

I did, however, find for myself a lovely old train case. Perfect as my carry-on for my flight back to DC. Check out this beauty! Made in the US of A (I think)!

If you're in Edgartown (and you should be in Edgartown, it's lovely), check out this second hand shop and say hi to some friendly locals.

I felt like an old-timey movie star hauling this thing around the airports!

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The Find: Woman of Many Hats

The roommate and I had a yard sale this past holiday weekend, and as you might suspect, not everything flew off the lawn as we had hoped.  So we loaded up the trunk, drove over to Value Village, and dropped off a sizable donation of stuff.  It felt good to unload, knowing that what was random, totally-not-useful stuff to us could become useful to someone else for mere pennies.  (Okay, maybe quarters.)

But since we were there...we figured we might as well stop in for a look-see.  I had been hoping to find a box to keep on my desk for business cards and other things I picked up along the course of the work day and wanted to save.  (Green file box, $3.43, by the way.  Score.)  We checked out a bunch of shoes (no nude pumps...someone keeps getting to them before me!) and found ourselves in the hat section.

And there was this veil, you see.

And it was gorgeous.

And I was sweaty and hot and gross, and there was dirt all over my lovely new TBD shirt.  (Hey, I was trying to cross-promote at the yard sale.)  

But I had to try on that veil.

So I did.  And we giggled, and talked about how it was in great shape, and wondered aloud in the aisle about how old it might have been.  I considered spending the few bucks on it--something to put away for later, perhaps--but honestly, you've gotta get a dress before you pick out a hairpiece of any sort, right brides?

I reluctantly put it back on the rack but was quickly distracted by a hideous, pale yellow headband (lower left).  Now, I am a woman who cannot wear many hats because my head is so damn big.  We've gone over this before, I know you're aware.  But this headband slipped right on and wouldn't you know, it looked like I was wearing a pineapple on my head.  Its beauty was only enhanced by the price tag sticking off the top like some sort of birthday candle.

At this point we began attracting the attention of the others in the aisle.  I heard a voice behind me.  "No, no, don't get that.  This is the one for you."  I turned to see a woman approaching me with a white hat (lower right).  I enthusiastically took it to try on and thanked her.  It was an awesome looking hat, if only I had the right occasion for it.  As I tried to ram it onto my giant dome, she said to the back of my head, "When's the date?"

I realized that she had been there for the whole veil exchange and my face went red.  "Oh, there's no date," I admitted, biting my tongue before I added, "yet."  "I just like to find the bargains as they come."

But she was right—the hat would have been amazing for an elegant wedding.  If only I were actually getting married and had a smaller head.

While we terrorized the hat and accessories aisle, I also ran across a few wigs—one of them being a straight-up mullet wig.  I actually hollered, "Dude this is like a mullet wig!" before realizing it was probably part of a Halloween costume.

The hat fairy then bestowed upon us a good piece of advice: Never try on a wig in a thrift store.  She said that lice is very unlikely to live on hats and scarves, but could be alive and well in a wig.  We got the heebie jeebies and scampered out of there before you could say, "Git 'er done."

Bonus points: You may know that Value Village offers 25 percent off the entire store on Mondays.  This weekend, I learned that on Memorial Day, everything in the store was FIFTY PERCENT OFF.  It's worth yelling about.  I am pretty sure this discount was available because it was a Monday holiday, so they just doubled the discount.  Columbus Day, MLK Day, I'm looking at you.  I am onto your discount tricks.

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Thrift Tip: Patches

When visiting stores for the field trip feature, it's rare that I'll actually buy something. After all, I'm a vintage lover on a thrift-store budget. But this bag called my name when I visited Treasury last month. I haven't been able to find a lot of information about it, other than what I can tell visually: it's an older leather bag made by Swissair (before it became Swiss Air in the early '90s). Oh baby, look at that adjustable strap. I had been searching high and low for the perfect camera bag, and this one just spoke to me. And so we went home to live happily ever after.

One problem: old bags sometimes aren't the strongest, and I tend to overpack. A camera, extra lens, and all my usual day-bag things (wallet, planner, giant sunglasses) weighed down the bag and ripped the leather on both sides just below where the strap connects to the bag.

Sad times.

I wanted to use the bag as much as possible, but didn't want it to totally fall apart when I was out and about. I decided to take matters into my own hands and use what little sewing skills I have to patch up the tears. While most of the patch options at the fabric store were of the iron-on variety, that was clearly not an option here. I opted for a set of two cowhide patches that ran me about $7. I sprung for some new thread too, so I would have some heavy-duty support. Below you see one of the patches, already collecting cat hair and dust while it waits to be attached to the inside of the bag.

Here's a tip. If you're working on repairing an item, don't wait until bedtime to do it. You should not be taking on vintage repair projects in your bed at 11 at night. It's just not a productive atmosphere. But, I was in a rush. I did what I could.

My trusty thimble was essential in pushing the needle through the patch and leather. I did not do an A+ sewing job, but I blame it on the fact that I was working on a bag. Late-night bag fixing, woooo!

So here's the bag after one of the patches was firmly affixed. I ran into some trouble because the tears left little space for me to stitch up the space, since the tears were directly below the studs that attach the strap to the bag. There wasn't a whole lot of leather to work with. Intead, I focused on reinforcing the area by stitching up and around the edges of the strap.

Now you can see a finished side. Like I said, it's not the best work...but it does hold. I'm a little nervous about stuffing the bag when I go out, and I have a tendency to touch those sections of the bag to assure myself that they're indeed holding up as I traipse around the city.

Almost good as new and ready to go....and I promise, I am wearing shorts under there.

Although I provided a quick fix, I want this piece to last. So I'll probably be calling Kristen and the ladies at Treasury for some advice on how to repair the bag further so that the integrity of the leather is maintained and doesn't worsen because of my slap-dash sewing job. As much as I like to fix things up on my own, sometimes you have to call in the pros and do it right the first time.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

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Field Trip: Clothes Encounters (...Of a Second Kind)

202 7th Street, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
202-546-4004

Clothes Encounters is a shop that benefits from its location directly across the street from Eastern Market.  I had overlooked the shop for months as I must have been too preoccupied thinking about food and snacks to notice the shop next to Java City.  Bigger than it looks from the outside, Clothes Encounters has several rooms full of women's items.

It's hit or miss depending on what you're looking for.  If you need something for a costume party, you might find it here.  Some of the items are dreadfully outdated and are best suited for the dress-up trunk.  But, there are some great career pieces and casual items in the mix.

The presentation isn't all-around fabulous.  You'll have to dig in crates of shoes organized by size; the best ones are on the shelf, including some classic Ferragamo shoes for less than you'd expect.  It's worth taking a few moments to rustle around in the $2 bins, even just to see what designer labels have been tossed in there.

Two categories stood out as unadvertised specialties at Clothes Encounters.  The first is designer bags, from Kate Spade to vintage Coach (pre-emblazoned, repetitious logo).  There were a ton of cute bags, small and large, ranging from $15 to $50 and beyond.

The second specialty might make you laugh: leather pants.  I know, who wears leather pants anymore?  I always think of the episode of Friends during which Ross wears leather pants on a date and has a ....memorable night, but you never know who might be in the market for some leather.  Do you want leather pants for $10 or $20 bucks?  If you've got a craving, you can find the cure at Clothes Encounters.

If you're in the area, step out of the cold and into the warm store that plays some sleepy jazz.  If for no other reason than to take a moment away from life's hectic pace, Clothes Encounters offers the respite you might need.

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Thrift Tip: Have Yourself a Merry Little Bargain

Browsing through the Value Village racks one day, I was distracted by the cute clutches and small purses hanging at eye level. Every girl loves to get a new bag, right? I know I do. But it's just not reasonable for me to buy all the cute little bags for myself.

Aware that the holidays were quickly approaching and even more aware of how tight my budget is, I snagged a bunch of the bags to save for the season. This weekend I wrapped them and they went to the Christmas party. And voila, happy faces from clutch-loving women.

Bonus points if you check out some little bags on a discount day, as some of the bags I acquired cost less than $3. To boost the gift a little bit, a bag filled with candy or homemade cookies is sure to go over well.

If you can't break the bank this year, but want to have gifts for all your (girl) friends at the party, go my route and give everyone a little something to hold on to.

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Finding Louis

No matter what I'm really looking for in a thrift store, I always stroll past the purses and bags in case anything jumps out at me.

About a week ago, something really jumped. Could it be? An authentic Louis Vuitton wallet, just hanging there on the shelf for under $5? It was too good to be true.

But I didn't have time to think before someone else snatched it. I decided to sort out the details later.

Regardless of authenticity, this Louis V needed a scrub before it could be seen in public. So I got brave with a little Woolite and a nail brush and wasn't shy with the water. It paid off-much of the wear and tear washed away, leaving behind only a few work spots on the leather interior and trim. To speed the drying process, I put in some time with my trusty blow dryer.

Next it was time to figure out if this was the real deal. Here's my evidence of authenticity:
1. The pattern is even, with no "LV" logos cut off by edges of the wallet.
2. The interior leather is stamped, "Louis Vuitton, Paris, Made in France."
3. "Louis Vuitton" is stamped around the female side of each snap on the wallet.
4. Louis Vuitton is spelled right every time.
5. There's a code on the interior of the interior, where you would slip in your money. It's presumably a date stamp, which every authentic Louis V item has.

And the rebuttal:
I can't for the life of me match the aforementioned code with a Louis date stamp code.

In the end, I'm pretty excited about this piece, even though I can't prove its authenticity. Even if it's not real, the pattern is pretty recent and you can probably take this one out in public without anyone calling you out. You can take a look here if you're interested in snagging Louis for your own.

(But deep down inside, I hope this one is real.)

More photos after the jump.

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Get This: Headgear

I'm not good with hats. I was blessed with an abnormally large dome for a girl my size, and I can never get a hat to fit correctly. Luckily for me, this one has elastic in the back. It's cute enough for fall without overdoing it on the winter prep, and a hat can be just the thing you need to keep you from covered on a chilly morning. It can be yours for a limited time.

Label: Manhattan Cap Company
Look: Menswear
Likewise: Wear it with skinny jeans and a blazer for the menswear look, or just throw it on with a hoodie and sweats if you're hitting the pumpkin patch.

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