Family Dollar

My sister and my dad thrift. One of my dad's favorite things to talk about is how many shirts he can buy for five dollars, for example:"How much did that shirt cost you? Ten dollars! I can buy 10 shirts for five dollars!" And my sister has started thrifting as well. No more Hollister and A&F. All Something Old, Something New and The Village. Two skirts, two windbreakers, three shirts, and two sweaters all for fifteen dollars!

Bargain hunting. Must be genetic.

I danced tango in heels for 5 hours...

These heels, to be exact:

I went to seven stores in Buenos Aires before I found these at Flabella for $250 pesos. They're so comfortable that I was actually able to dance for hours and hours on end without being in pain. Well....I did get a bruise:

But it was NOT (contrary to popular belief) from a boy because it is the shape of a high heel.

80's Jacket

Jacket: $3 pesos

I have no idea where I will wear this jacket, because it's pretty ridiculous, but worn it must be. The spiral sleeves are my favorite parts.

My "Argentina shirt"

In San Antonio de Areco. This outfit is 100% from Argentina!

Shirt: adorhada guillermina $60 pesos= $18.50 USD
Skirt: Yagmour, bought at Tzedek $4 pesos= $1.25 USD
Shoes: Clona $69 pesos =$ 20 USD

I apparently look like a cartoon character in this get-up.

Shirt: adorhada guillermina $60 pesos= $18.50 USD
Sweater: Izaac Mizrahi for Target $10 USD (Sale!)
Pants: Guess Jeans $20 USD (Outlet store + sale)

What is an "Argentina shirt," exactly? Well, it's a shirt that is so crazy weird that it is obviously from Argentina.

Also, I would like to add that I think posing for pictures to show off your outfit is lame, and most people who do this come off as arrogant. I promise I'm not actually an asshole.

Cheap clothing in Buenos Aires- Thrift stores and feria americanas

There are two types of resale clothing shops in Buenos Aires- the Feria Americana and the thrift store. Feria Americanas sell used clothing, but in good condition. You can find them behind booths booths in the Parque Centenario or little stores in Palermo. The clothing in much cheaper than buying new, but still costs from $10-$60 pesos.

There are only a few thrift stores in Buenos Aires and the only two I have been to are called Tzedek and are run by a Jewish organization called Tzedaka. I do volunteer work sorting clothes with lots of awesome Jewish women, so I see most of the clothes before we hang them up. There is a lot of crap, most of which we re-donate or throw away, but sometimes you find a jewel...something spectacular. Like the 1950's Eva Peron dress that I bought, or the kindergarden teacher's skirt, or a Jazmin Chebar (designer) shirt. It is possible to find amazing things.

If you are in Buenos Aires, I highly recommend going. Here are the addresses of the two Tzedek locations:
Serrano 333
Lavalle 3333

Vintage purses

Tzedek Serrano
$1 peso= 30 cents!
I sort clothes at Tzedek and I found the purse...a few minutes later I found the chain.

Parque Centenario
$15 pesos for the purse +$15 pesos to get it fixed= more or less $8 USD

Tzedek Serrano
$1= .30 cents!
The purse is a bit plain, so I was thinking about spray painting some sort of design on the flap.
Something like this in yellow:

American Apparel: Owned by Suburban Turmoil

If you have ever had any doubts about the inherent ridiculousness that is American Apparel, read this post by Lindsay Ferrier on Suburban Turmoil. She makes fun of annoying hipster trends in a cute, mom-like way. And believe me, American Apparel NEEDS to be made fun of.

Tom's Shoes

So here's how I found out about Tom's Shoes:
I work at a Jewish center sorting clothes. During one of the meetings, a woman raised her hand out of the blue and said "I want to tell you all something really good about a company called Tom's Shoes..." and she went into the story of its foundation.

The inspiration, as told by the website:

"In 2006 an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created a company that would match every pair of shoes sold with a pair given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by caring TOMS customers."

The shoes are a bit expensive given what alpargatas cost in Argentina ($10) , but with $40 covering two pairs it's worth the cost. The company has hippie principles like giving, donation, helping the poor and whatnot, but the shoes are cute, not some horrible military green hemp creation like you might expect. I once met a horrible hipster girl recently arrived from the USA and she was wearing Tom's. Must be "in" nowadays?

Here are some of my favorites:

For sailors...or hipster sailor wannabees.

Clown shoes? Maybe, but I would still wear them.

Reminds me a bit of those flags that people use to communicate.

The name game

I wanted to go with a title that had something to do with fashion and thrift....and sounded a bit elegant. But maybe I just came off as an asshole?

Anyway:
Providence. Not being an English major, I had to look up synonyms for "thrift." Providence was one of them.

Armoire. Wardrobe. 'Nuff said.

Anyway...I think "thrifty closet" was taken.

Speaking of which....Paula Gray, eco designer

Paula Gray is a designer from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She uses organic cotton in a number of her designs.

I would totally wear this with a different belt.
It looks so soft and I love the color.

I don't completely understand the pointy pockets, but I'm a fan of princess sleeves.

Bows- like a present....for the environment!

Fast Fashion

Fast fashion is an interesting concept that I've just recently heard about. I am a huge fan of Forever 21, Old Navy, and H&M...any place where I can buy an entirely new wardrobe for $20. But how can $3 really encompass the cost of a shirt?

Transportation, the primary materials, and the salaries of workers and employees are factored in, but what about the external costs (the costs not included in the price) like environmental degradation? Bleaches, pesticides, industrial waste, and CO2 are all byproducts of the fast fashion industry, but their cost is not internalized in a $3 shirt. For the price to reflect the external costs, it would have to include the sum of the environmental damage. As far as I know, there are no clothing companies that have internalized environmental costa.

"The Tyranny of Trends" by Charty Durrant explains the marketing and effects of fast fashion. She writes quite a bit about the consumerism aspect, but also explores the ecological impact.

"FAST FASHION IS a relatively new phenomenon: it was not until the 1990s that we saw the rise of Primark, Zara and their ilk, with women’s magazines urging weekly wardrobe revisions, supported by just-in-time production and overnight global distribution. Fast fashion found its feet, and the industry congratulated itself on ‘democratising’ fashion, making it affordable for all."

...

"Modern fashion is made from many seemingly incompatible ingredients, but the cornerstones are built-in obsolescence, fear of humiliation, and sexual attraction. Warmth, comfort and personal style have for the most part taken a back seat. As the ‘trend frenzy’ deepens, we can see that fashion is no longer about style and self-expression: it is primarily about judgement – self-judgement and judgement of others. A toxic media reporting how women ought to look, and celebrity obsession further enforce this strange new paradigm."

....

"Fast fashion leaves a significant environmental and social footprint: each step of the clothing life cycle creates environmental and occupational hazards. Because of the insidious pressure of trends and built-in obsolescence, the average garment only has a three-month shelf life. UK clothing and textile consumption is high; Dorothy Maxwell’s recent Sustainable Clothing Road Map for Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) confirmed that over 2 million tonnes of clothing are purchased in the UK every year. Most shocking of all is that we throw away over a million tonnes of textiles every year, most of it ending up in landfill. Landfilled textiles, garment dyes and bleaches cause toxic chemical seepage into ground and watercourses, and the build-up of methane gas as materials decompose causes further health hazards."

After reading this article, I've come to understand how my impulses to consume are driven by many factors and have grave consequences. Understanding fast fashion won't make me stop buying clothes (can you imagine? I'd be wearing jean mini skirts at 90!) but it will make me a more conscientious consumer. Thrift stores, anyone?

Old men and craft fairs

Sunday artisan and antique fairs in Buenos Aires are dear to my heart. Knives, jewelry, rusty old keys, hippie dresses, and belts. You can find anything.

I only have one weakness when it comes to these fairs: little old men. They can sell me anything because they are JUST SO CUTE.


The little old man who sold me this purse wore glasses and had a beard. He sold me on this purse because of the details- all by hand! can be washed! takes him a day to make each purse! I just imagined the poor guy sitting in his house alone (maybe a widower) printing each design with utmost care. So I bought it.

Plaza Francia.

Price: $70 pesos; $20 dollars (more or less)

Another Sunday. Another old man. This one was a million times more adorable because he would throw in little phrases in English, like "mirror, yes?" or "bee-yew-ti-ful." He makes pins of leaves, cats, and owls. The cats and owls looked like they could have been made by a 10 year old. I wasn't sure if this childish design was due to his style or lack of skill. I assumed style and bought an owl pin.

Plaza Belgrano.

Price: $20 pesos; $6 USD more or less

I'm an Argentine skirt chaser

I'm in Argentina for the year and it's awesome. There are loads of hot men and sexy women, dulce de leche, and clothes! Although there are a lot of awesome finds here, pack mentality rules. Think: royal purple, harem pants, and camel toe shoes. Yep. Anyway, I've found some beautiful things- especially skirts.

Skirt, Las Pepas

Flashy, but 100% cotton and really light

Cost: $60 pesos, just a little under $20 USD

Skirt, La Coquette

Jesus not included.

Cost: $100 pesos, around $30 dollars

The skirts are pretty wild and I'm not too much of a risk taker, so I paired them with black leggings and a black top.