how to shop at d.i.--overheard

sorry for the blur, but this was the best shot of the coat.  this is one of my best thrifted items ever--a '70's era tomato red rain coat from the d.i. in downtown salt lake.  i bought it last summer, and today was the first time i've worn it.  in utah, we tend to go from cotton dresses to down parkas with not much in between.

at the hair salon the other day, i listened to a client and a stylist chatting about thrifting and house-flipping (apparently, one does a lot of thrifting when one is a house flipper.)

1) the d.i. (short for deseret industries, the thrift store owned by the mormon church, with a chain of locations) in american fork, utah still has old-school d.i. prices while the provo d.i. has jacked their prices way up.  in fact, you could easily buy new items at F21, h&m, or target for the same prices or less.  

(this doesn't account for the environmental or human rights costs of that cheap clothing--i'm not editorializing here, just reporting what i overheard at relik, the hair salon in american fork (a.f. to locals.))

2) check the dates on the price tags at d.i. if an item has been in the store for more than two weeks, the manager will discount the item for you.  if, that is, you are nervy enough to negotiate on prices, which i rarely am.

3) d.i. in sugarhouse, a neighborhood in salt lake city, reportedly has the best merchandise.

i've found some great things at second-hand stores, but i'm not one of those super-thrifters (unlike ALL of my four daughters).  but here's one of my favorite thrifting tips:  if the best thing about an item is the price, don't buy it.

if you're a super-thrifter, what's your favorite thrift tip?

p.s.--i requested julie to do a "what i wore" column on this blog.  since she has the raddest style of ANYONE i know, i'd love more details on what she wears and how she shops and puts her looks together, her inspirations, etc.  did you know she was once a fashion merchandising major, before she caught the writing bug?

80's dresses, weekly writing goals

thrifted 80's dress reminds me of grandma eva.

ingrid thrifted this dress for me two summers ago.  i wore it once, to emily's rehearsal dinner, and then never again.  i love it, but am conflicted about it.  you see (let me school you a little on the 80's), back then, this was the kind of dress that my grandma eva, who had mad style, wore to bridge club, ladies' luncheons, and church.

not that it's not totally rad, but back then i was a confused sartorial and musical mixture of punk, new wave, and mod.  as actualized by a classical violin-playing introvert.

as confused as any gal growing up in the barren cultural landscape of mesa, arizona in the eighties.  with a bunch of jocks and metal heads.  has a right to be.

after watching the amazing documentary, everyday sunshine, about fishbone, who i saw live in tempe, arizona in 1986, i got some clarity on the idea of outsider-ness.  i was able to heal a little bit and wear the dress to church on sunday, despite the fact that my largely imaginary '80's mod peers would not have approved.

with ankle boots, tights, and slouchy socks.  just like in the 80's, and still a little bit confused.

this week, my writing goals are tiny and specific:

1)  consider new titles for gentian
2) do another copy edit of gentian
3) fix acknowledgements page of gentian
4) begin revising non-fiction piece for 1/25 deadline

i really wonder what everyone else wore in the 80's, or what you would have worn had you been born yet. . . .

pink on pink on pink: a manuscript

dress thrifted from downtown s.l.c. deseret industries, tights from orem target, earrings h&m,  doc marten boots thrifted from provo deseret industries.

cold & dark.

hard to stay optimistic in january, no?

but things are good.  i have nothing whatsoever to be sad about right now.

still.

sometimes that dark thing just takes over.  that black dog chasing you.

but ingrid's party outfit made me happy for a minute or two tonight--pink earrings, dress, and tights.  & the fact that there's a fun party of young people living it up out there somewhere, even whilst i'm home on a saturday night in my flannel nightgown.

&

should be happy that--

i did fulfill my writing goals this week:

1) write X and Y poems for gentian manuscript--check
2) make copy edits in document--check
3) print out draft of mss. to bring to writer's group--check

additionally, i changed the font from times new roman to perpetua.  i think it's an improvement.

speaking of fonts, what's your favorite?

i think i'm a little font-challenged.  or at least i've been told as much--too many years of enforcing stupid MLA style in the classroom.

i have just a few more things to do on the gentian manuscript, including finding a new title for it, before it's ready to send out.

bravery, skirts, & you may contribute a verse

french connection skirt, thrifted in seattle last summer

i decided to try a little harder today and wear my french connection skirt, fuschia with a nearly 12 inch border of red mohair, thrifted from the lake city way value village in seattle, which is where all our best family thrifting is done.

the skirt is tight-ish and hard to style, and requires some effort to wear.  today was a day that required effort, so i decided to match it with a little more of a sartorial stretch.

1)  i taught my first locavore cooking class of the new term.  it's big and intense and we made asparagus with hollandaise, meyer lemon tarts, fettucine alfredo (what the kids ALWAYS want to make), and a sharp cheddar fondue with cubes of marble rye.

2)  one student is going through a difficult and dangerous transition.  he's very brave.  i won't reveal what he did today in order to protect his privacy, but it was big & bold,  and i admired his moxie.

3)  i was fasting, day three.  done now, but it required a little more effort to get through the day.

4)  taught my first poetry class of the new term.  i asked the students to bring in a poem that really spoke to them and one of my favorite student poets brought in this, from whitman:

Oh me!  Oh life!

by Walt Whitman
 

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,

Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,

Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

                                       Answer.

That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

these verses rocked me today.  thank you, o student, for bringing it before me again.

o walt!

i can think of nothing right now more affirmative than that last line, the idea that we have the privilege of contributing a verse in our endless city fill'd with the foolish, in our sordid crowd, our empty years and recurring questions.  

how hard, but how lucky!  to have a life & to have the opportunity of contributing a verse! 

legwear:  bare

inspiration: the bravery of one who goes against the dominant culture

looking forward: to seeing my sister tomorrow!