Official Site of Secondhand Wardrobe Week, February 26 – March 3, 2012

This is Part 3 of Ugly Used Clothing that Cheryl Suggests You Stay Away From. The list could be endless but I’m sticking to just seven blog posts.

The tag indicates that “one size fits all”, which I guess could be true if if you have a size 10 waist and a size 22 torso. It’s too bad that you can’t feel the bumpiness of the classic puff paint that was used to create the design.

This is Part 2 of Ugly Used Clothing that Cheryl Suggests You Stay Away From. The list could be endless but I’m sticking to just seven blog posts.

This photo doesn’t do justice to the unique blend of metal and polyester that is sure to be cozy on those cold winter nights.

I’m trying something new today. I usually write about the terrific bargains I’ve found at thift stores, so for a change of pace, I’m starting a list of Ugly Used Clothing that Cheryl Suggests You Stay Away From. The list could be endless but I’m sticking to just seven blog posts.
Never buy clothes that are the color of a bodily fluid. Fashion industry experts tell us what color to wear each season, and sometimes the color of choice closely resembles vomit. Notice that no matter what is said to be fashionable, people who actually work in the industry continue to wear black.

I am one of the Style Experts who contributes to the website 365 Days of Style. They recently asked a question about how we organize our closets. I decided to write about my jewelry collection because it was so challenging to organize. So many bracelets, earrings, pins and necklaces, so little space! Of course, the majority of my collection is from secondhand stores and flea markets.

I wanted an efficient system that would keep all of it clean and would allow me a clear view of my choices. My earrings went into plastic bead boxes which are divided into uniform compartments. My bracelets, pins and necklaces went into tackle boxes. They are the same shape and size as the bead boxes, but come with tabs to customize the interior space, perfect for the bracelets, pins and necklaces. Since much of my jewelry is sterling, I bought tarnish inhibiting fabric and lined the boxes with it.

I then retrieved a desktop paper sorter that was destined for our next yard sale and stacked the bead and tackle boxes on it. It is the most efficient way I’ve found to store my avalanche of treasures.

On occasion, when my friend Bea and I are hanging out at our local thrift store, she grabs my hand and forces me to touch garments made out of fabrics that are a tactile nightmare. She thinks she’s funny. I’m left with the uncomfortable memory of stiff, itchy fabric.

The purpose of this website is to point out that there is good, sometimes even beautiful, used clothing available at secondhand stores. What I rarely mention is that part of the fun of shopping secondhand is seeing puzzlingly hideous clothing, ugly doo-dads, horrible paintings and pitiful, abandoned dollies. I’m constantly asking myself why anybody would design/make/buy/donate/or put this awful stuff on the shelf, even if the shelf is located in the cheapest-of-the-cheap charity thrift store.

While I’m content to sit and ask myself questions about all of this grotesque stuff, Jacob Williamson, creator of Thrifthorror: Things from Beyond the Bargain Bin, hunts it down, photographs it and then writes about it at length. If you have not yet fallen on the floor laughing today, I strongly suggest that you check out his wonderfully written blog.

As I compose this, I’m at home with a cold, so I’m missing my regular weekly thrift store trip with my pal, Bea. We go on Wednesdays because that’s the day when almost all of the clothing is 1/2 off. By the time I get there next week, at least some the great stuff that I would have found today will be gone, having been discovered by some other bargain hunter. At least I don’t have to worry about missing any of the ugly, hilarious things, though, because they will all still be there.