Buying Thrift Shoes...

During a recent conversation with my sister Marie, I was telling her about my latest shoe find and how little they cost. She too loves shoes and loved the price but she was concerned that shoes could cause problems that clothing doesn't. With clothes you bring them home and either wash them or dry clean them and anything that might be on them, dirt or otherwise, is washed away. Laundering shoes is okay for sneakers and slippers but no one is going to put their leather pumps in the washer.

Here are some of my tips on buying shoes from the thrift store.

• first off, I only buy shoes from clean, dry, well organized stores I buy from a variety of stores some are cleaner and drier than others (I do live on the Wet Coast after all)
• next look at the inside for wear, if the name is worn off the inner sole these are well loved well worn shoes. As I peruse the shelf I only pick up the ones with little wear inside
• sometimes the previous owner used insoles protecting the inner sole from wear, so next flip the shoes over and check the treads for wear. I only buy shoes that have no wear on the bottom soles
• when you get them home wipe them down with a damp cloth with just a touch of antibacterial dish soap (not too much soap or too damp as it could damage the material or leather)
• last use anti fungal spray or powder inside the shoes and let them sit for a day or two before wearing them
• finally if you spot a pair, like I did on the Naturalizers (below on the right), that still have the store tag on them you can be pretty sure they haven't been worn previously

725 Camo for $5 and Naturalizers for $12

Note the treads on both are still intact and the Naturalizers have the store tag (Note the dirt on the Camo shoes is from me, forgot to take a picture while they were still clean)

London Fog!!!

I am so excited, I just came home with a London Fog trench today. These coats retail anywhere from $100 to $200. I picked mine up for $10 at the same thrift store I bought my $20 retro leather coat.

This coat is ankle length and fits perfectly with a sweater underneath so it will work well for me for the fall and well into winter, with the leather coat for the slightly cooler days.

London Fog Trench for $9.99

Harley is checking the bag with the denim skirt I also picked up. $2.99

Denim...

I think denim is my favourite fabric. I love how it gets softer with wear and washings (there is nothing more comfortable than a broken in pair of jeans). If it gets torn it or cut it frays in such away as to enhance the fabric. You can do many distresses on it because it is very strong.

You can wear it casual, dressed up or for working in the garden. Its always fashionable.

When I came across this fantastic find at Salvation Army in Courtenay last week I couldn't resist buying it. A portion of it is already slated for a suit made from a pair of jeans and some fabric.

Check it out 5.5 meters of 64" wide denim for $20. It is usually $15-$20 per meter at the fabric store.

Today's great finds...

Today was my errands day. I went to the thrift store, fabric store, Walmart, the hardware store, garden store and gas station. It was a busy trip but when you live 1/2 hour from town you tend to want to do all stops at one time.

t-shirts to make bags

I had the best thrift shopping though, I went for sweaters (still very hard to find, only found one) and t-shirts (for shopping and hand bags).

summer tops and a hoodie

Then I found these great tops for summer. I just love the crushed velvet with the cream cami under it. The hoodie looks like its never been worn and the green cotton tank is just my colour.

25 cent rack

Now for the topper.... both of these were on the 25 cent clearance rack. The French Dressing jeans are going to make a lovely hand bag and the blue tank is so summery and pretty.