All posts tagged: thrift store fashion

“Man Repeller no. 451” outfit

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Dedicated to the real Man Repeller. Or “How to lose a guy(‘s boner) in one dress,” if this were a romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson and a flaccid Matthew McConaughey. I wore this tonight to Story Story Night‘s REALiTY BiTES: Stories of Eating It. Opening the show, I mentioned that guys can’t quite put a finger on it. And while they might play around with the idea that this dress resembles something a schizophrenic grandma would sew for her antique prairie doll collection, they know one thing for certain: They do not want to have sex with it. And to that I say, touché. But I shall wear it anyway. vintage Diane Fre’s purple print ruffle dress, $14.99 – Idaho Youth Ranch | Steve Madden black leather mules, $39 – Nordstrom’s Rack | White tassel earrings, birthday present This is my kiss off face. Quoth Amy Poehler, “I don’t care if you like it.” (I also included a cat and a doll collection in this post to up my man repellant street cred.) PS: So …

“Portal to Another Dimension” outfit

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“I would go as far as I could and hit a wall, my own imagined limitations. And then I met a fellow who gave me his secret, and it was pretty simple. When you hit a wall, just kick it in.” —Patti Smith I read Just Kids on the plane back home. The book is a wardrobe-esque passageway into the Chelsea Hotel and New York City of the ’60s and ’70s. As seen through the looking glass/lens of Patti Smith—and the snapshots of Robert Mapplethorpe—from the perspective of when they were both nobodies. Just some hungry, curious, passion-struck bodies—risking poverty and vertigo to plumb the depths of art, their voices, their setting, their souls. At the end of Rauschenberg’s reflecting pool, in front of his giant Studio, stands an off-kilter stone sculpture. “Hey, hey,” I would whisper conspiratorially to anyone around, those just dipping their toes in, “This is a portal to another dimension.” They blinked back at me, lizard-like, unsaying, “OK, weirdo.” But I went through it. This is what I found: Fear is a thin membrane. And …

“There’s Fire” outfit

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The weekend before this controversial Columbus Day one, I drove to McDermitt, Nevada to see my friends Ned Evett & Music Box play a show at the Say When Casino, which even the owners admit resembles a David Lynch movie set in the old west of the uncanny 1970s. On the drive back through fire-blighted rural desert Oregon, I followed a sign down a dirt road to this gravesite for Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the youngest member of the Lewis & Clark expedition, born to Sacagawea and a Metis French Canadian. He traveled the world and mountain manned the West; spoke several languages; suddenly caught ill and died here in 1866. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, his gravesite is now littered with modern-day sun-burnt offerings—mementos of hard desert living. A pink leopard print bra, folded in half and secured under a rock. A full mason jar of either sickly piss or potent moonshine. A sunbaked acid-eyed toy giraffe gnawing on the straw-capped head of a plastic boy doll who’s either playing a horn or smoking a very large pipe. Who can …

“Where There’s Smoke…” outfit

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Red alert. A fire in Grimes Creek is filling the Treasure Valley with smoke. When you wake, it smells of a campfire built at midnight right outside your window. Downtown turns into a hazy wilderness. As does your mind. It reminds me of the end of “Smoke,” a short story by the Boise-based writer Alan Heathcock, from his brilliant collection Volt. I went to see the film adaptation this weekend at the Death Rattle Writers Festival in Nampa, Idaho. The ending line of this story, as the film ended too, never fails to bring hot, stinging tears to my eyes, unbidden: “All that smoke was now just the air we breathe.” And then that Billy Joel song rolls through my ignited tumbleweed mind: “We didn’t start the fire / It was always burning / Since the world’s been turning / No we didn’t light it / But we tried to fight it.” Diane Freis bohemian beaded silk flower print dress (vintage 1980s) – $30, Acquired Again Antiques | Handmade Custom Leatherworks plaid wool & leather vest – $5, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | Frye boots – $200 | Geode gold necklace …

“Generic Landscape Hotel Art” outfit

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It speaks of bland escapes. Vacations hinged on chain hospitality. The birds of the beach and the brushstroke green of the backcountry as seen on the walls of a Motel 6 in the middle of nowhere. I can blend in anywhere. I’m a total wallflower. Who put a bird on it. Collective Concepts green & gray dress, $15 (LUX). Black Rainn sheer bird shirt, $14 (Serendipity Boutique). Kate Spade nude wedges, $70 (ROSS Dress for Less in Portland, originally $300). Gold & glass landscape necklace, $5, Idaho Youth Ranch. Gold bracelet combo, gifts from sisters. Album of the Day: “Inner Space” by Chick Corea Cheep!

“Light Adjustments” outfit

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I run (albeit slowly) in the foothills at sunset. (I know that sounds sketchy (mom), like the first line you’d hear on an episode of Dateline NBC.) I’ve been digging for fire. I’ve been seeking out the Golden Hour. Those bright, illuminated moments—somehow strikingly different with every waking (and winking) day—right before and after the rise and the fall. I always feel my timing is off. That I’m perpetually running behind the most brilliant moments. Just catching the glimpse of the aftershock, colors fading to muted desert greens and purples. But it still counts. The fading light captures me, instead. Hawaiian Moon sage green silk dress, gifted. Two overlapped “genuine” leather belts, one gray (Idaho Youth Ranch-$5.75), one leopard print (Restyle, $2). Kenneth Cole strappy platforms, $7 (Serendipity Boutique). 2 overlapped bracelets, both gifted to me by my sisters. Vinyl of the Day: Simon & Garfunkel Vol. 1 Cheep!

“PURGATORY” outfit

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I have this sick green neon sign in my bathroom that inspires serial killer queries from dates. It’s by Boise artist Wil Kirkman. I bought it at Visual Arts Collective a few years ago when in the suck, because it illuminated the darkness. It also gives off great mood lighting for pooping and showering (but not in that order, because ew). vintage Roper acid blue jean skirt, LUX, $18.99 vintage Liz Claiborne puke green tank, LUX, $7.99 Cindy Says green-gold hells, Piece Unique, $I can’t remember but they were half off 1920’s Afghanistani silver and glass necklace, Armor Bijoux, $$$ I wore this outfit to Story Story Late-Night‘s PURGATORY: Stories of Being Stuck in the Middle with You, the adults-only black sheep arm of the live storytelling show I co-created and artistic direct. Something about the high-waisted, acid-colored denim split skirt speaks to all the weird fashion trends I am stuck forever craving, to my ultimate detriment. The sickly, silky green top brings to mind my sign. In bleaker times, I read those three words as a concise summary of life itself. The …

“The Lone Wolf” outfit

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When I went to the Record Exchange to get “Who’s Next” by The Who on vinyl earlier this week, the guy who checked me out was wearing this “I’m Lonesome” shirt in blue-gray. “Hey, I have that shirt too! But in flesh-tone. I love it. It’s like a bandaid.” “For the wound that never heals,” he replied, smiling wryly. I found this profoundly hilarious. Because dark humor, like dark chocolate, is a pure, rich and bitter treat that can be the most deeply satisfying of them all. (That’s what she said.) The “I’m Lonesome” flesh-tone t-shirt is by the artist Erin Cunningham, who somehow lives in Boise even though she should be SoHo famous. Her talent is vast, and varied, and she issued these shirts last Christmas-time at a gallery shop (for $25, plus it came with a complimentary mixed-tape burned CD called “Lonesome Times”). As soon as I saw one, I found it hilarious. “Those are on the nose,” the sad clown would say. Erin also did the black-and-white cartoon-style piece featured above my record player. It’s titled …

“Purple Rain, Purple Rain Pants” outfit

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Some days you wake up after a night of crazy intense summer rain craving a Prince mohawk. Luckily, you have the pants to match. They’re not quite blue and not quite purple, but blurple (Liz Claiborne, Idaho Youth Ranch, $6), just as enigmatic as the artist-formerly-known-as. I paired these with a Maggie Lawrence Sport black button up top (circa 1980s) from ReStyle ($3) that I just noticed is size 22/24. Sometimes, too big tops can be sexy-ish, if you button them up halfway, and wind/movement shows off your figure in blasts, and they slip off your shoulders for generous side bra/boob. But sometimes, Jessica might need to clean out her closet. The jury is still out on this one. Cap that, or bottom it, with black patent leather Guess stilettos from ReStyle for $7. I must admit, I am anti-high heels for women’s equality, longterm bunions, and ability to run quickly reasons, but I must say, damnnnnnn, they make an outfit look so much hotter. When thrift store shopping for shoes, I look for the rarely-if-never …

“It’s Business Time at the Circus” outfit

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I hope you get that chorus from the Flight of the Conchords song stuck in your head when you see this get-up, because… it’s business, it’s business time (if you happen to work in a circus).  Yesterday’s outfit made me think of this weird art deco-ish dress I bought at Eyes of the World like 5 years ago for $35 and never wear because it’s very breast exposing, turning the ensemble into a XXX circus peep show (which sounds like a profitable business venture/reality TV concept, now that I think of it). Anyway, pair it with a pin-stripe vest and pearl/metal dangle earrings (both from the Idaho Youth Ranch for like $3 each), and look who’s now only slightly inappropriate in your corporate meetings. Then put on a pair of suede black-and-white DKNY platform wedges (purchased at the Idaho Youth Ranch for $20), hit the streets, and enjoy all the pratfalls and awkward stares of a stilt-walker. Vinyl of the Day: “Symphonie Fantastique” by Berlioz. Cheep!