Casual Friday!

Happy Friday Secondhand Star friends! Noa and are so happy to have made it through another week of thrifted inspiration! I think we've gathered at least 10 new pieces, many of which we'll be popping up on our upcoming Etsy store soon.

This is one of my all-time favorite shirts. Remember this post here a few days back? Well, we showed you how to take a dress, hack it off, and make it into a cute crop top!

Noa's a genius with a sewing machine, but for gals like me, even the simplest hem can be a challenge. So I wanted to remind you that if you find a thrift or vintage dress, in a print you adore, with a loose shape - just cut it off! Letting it fray like my favorite shirt here, is part of the fun! Enjoy your weekend! Check back in next week where we go ALL OUT SUPER GLAM!

Shirt, jeans, belt and necklace - all thrifted vintage!

Love, 

Tanya D xx

What I Wore--Denim does it...

On a recent visit with Tanya, I commented that we share half of the same brain stem. Case in point? I had just bought a "new", thrifted pair of jeans, and the next morning she blogged about her new favorite denim style, and they looked surprisingly similar. (I guess great minds think alike). (See here).

Indeed, we can never have enough variety in our denim, can we ladies? Low waisted, high waisted, skinny, boot cut, flare, or sailor leg.There's a jean for every occasion!

I fell in love with these soft, baby blues and promptly nabbed them from the sale rack at Out of the Closet, Eagle Rock.

These Jenny Jen jeans feature a high, (but not too high) waist and wide legged, flare bottoms.

I paired them with sky high wedges as they were super long, but hey! The longer the hem, the longer the leg!

They hit just at the "true" high waist, but they're not 1940's high. I added my dollar, vintage, snakeskin pattern, nude belt and my black and white pearls, (an oh-so-fun birthday gift from a dear friend).

This tank was culled from a girl's clothing swap night we hosted at SHS, (See here), and, (see here).

Sometimes we just like to take note of the everyday things we wear, because occasionally, it's those jeans and t-shirt days that just feel the best!

Love,

Noa B and Tanya D

Jeans: Jenny: via thrift

Heels: Big Buddah

Purse: Donald J Pliner

Necjlace: Macy's

Tank: H&M via Clothing swap

Belt: vintage, $1.00

DIY: From overdressed to "love that vest!"

At SHS, we are lovers of all things vintage. But sometimes even the best vintage can look a bit... dated.

Tanya discovered this adorable, $1 linen blazer with the Mao collar on a recent thrifting jag. And we both agreed that the fit was great. But... it was yet another black jacket. And something about it just screamed, "make me over!"

So we set to work. First we thought about making it into a romper. But there wasn't enough fabric allowance to quite create a crotch., (though we did try)...

 Okay, not quite there yet... So after this first attempt, we looked at it with fresh eyes and thought--vest!

We started by removing the arms, (see what we did with them down the road). We then stitched the seams closed, tacked in shoulder pads, and left the hems frayed.

We cut off the bottom 7 inches of the jacket in a scoop shape, and hemmed it short.

Once we pressed the pleats, we were left with an adorable, new linen vest that could be layered, or left as a sexy, revealing top.

And here's how Tanya rocked it, frayed edges, heels and all!

Love, 

Noa B and Tanya D

From bag lady to vintage stunner: DIY

What do you get when you cross a vintage, XL size skirt with a little elastic and some basic sewing skills? Possibly, an awesome, 70's cocktail dress! And here's how you can do it!

I found this skirt for a dollar at a thrift store in Eagle Rock last month. It was a cool, zigzag, metallic patterned fabric, but it was also huge. I wish I saved the before picture because you would all just laugh. But I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it and get to work!

I laid out the skirt on my couch after trying it on to assess where my empire bust-line would fall. (See the above photo).

I found and marked the side seams, center front, and center back with pins. Then I attached 1" wide elastic to those center points and anchored it into place.

I put my machine on a wide, zigzag stitch and pulled the dress through while stretching the elastic to fall on top of the material. (If you stretch the elastic out across the fabric and sew it when it's pulled, it will snap back into a ruched pattern when you release it).

 Like so... Notice the gathers?

I tried it on as a strapless and loved it, but let's face it, straps are just easier to deal with and I hate tugging at my bust all the time. So I pulled out an old bra and removed the skinny straps from it. Then I tacked them on to the dress at the sides and back.

Resulting in this!

 A super cute, super 70's, lamé evening shift. And here it is on!!

 Since the dress pattern is fairly busy, I kept it basic and looped a ton of chains and necklaces over it.

 Simple hoops...

 And of course, black leather booties and a vintage, leather clutch.

And that's how we rock a big 'ol skirt into a trendy bit of night club wear.

Try it at home with a cheap skirt and see what you can do with a little elastic and imagination.

Love,

Noa B

Dress: Redesign vintage
Hoops: F21
Clutch: Vintage
Boots: Seven for all Mankind
Necklaces: Vintage, multiple

Red Maxi becomes Red Sexi

Hey Ladies, wanna create an easy, Mexi-inspired layering piece?

It's really simple! Go to your local thrift store or Goodwill and look for inexpensive, floral mumus. Like this:

The key is to find something that has patterning in a single area. Like the Mexi-mumu Tanya found that was big and boxy, but had great, floral embroidery on the front and netting on the back. Rather than take it in and create another summer frock, we chopped it right above the waistline, to create a cute crop top!

We then hemmed it and pressed it to make a cute, vibrant, layering piece.

And here's the result! Super cute style, made in ten, easy minutes!

You can keep a top like this boxy and not worry about taking in side seams if you're planning on wearing it over another shirt that's fitted.  Loose, light, and paired with a simple tank, this shirt can shine!

Add a little matching scarf and you're done!

Love, 

Noa B and Tanya D

Scarf: Vintage

Top: Redesigned thrift

Tank: F21

Jeans: Genetic Denim, via re-sale

Inspired by Pucci

I've always been a fan of Pucci-esque patterns. And when I saw this dress hanging on the vintage rack at Rag-O-Rama back in the spring, I knew it was coming home with me. 

I was waiting for the right opportunity to take this beauty out of the closet. When Tanya invited me to accompany her to the Angus Mitchell, Cut-A-Thon in Beverly Hills last week, I wanted to bring out something really special, so I set to work hemming an entirely different dress...

However, when Tanya arrived in her newly redesigned, 60's mini, we had an inspiration. (See last Friday's post below). Both the color as well as the cut were such a perfect complement with the orange-y, 60's finish of this dress that we decided it would be fun to dress as a combined "story" for our date!

And so we did! My dress was pretty busy, so I kept accessories to minimum with the exception of this bright, Italian, leather clutch whose colors were a spot-on match!

No necklaces or bangles for this one. Just my big, chandelier earrings, (which I just found after having lost them for a month--huzzah)!

And my favorite pair of spiked, black bootie-heels for some rock and roll edge.

Hair was twisted in loose, 1" barrel waves and then pulled into a mini-pomp.

And that's how we rolled out for our first, duo engagement as co owners of Secondhand Star!

To read more on the event, catch the fabulous Ms. Tanya's full interview with Angus Mitchell here.

Love,

Noa B and Tanya D

Dress: Vintage
Booties: NYLA, via Nordstrom
Clutch: Vintage
Chandelier earrings: Olvera Steet

1960's Vintage Dress & A Reason to Rock it!

I found this 1960's stunner several weeks ago. I died over the color and little floppy bow shoulders. It just screamed old school elegance with everything I look for in a modern dress at the same time.

It was just a tad too big. But seeing as though the dress only cost me around $6, I decided to splurge and have a tailor take it in. (Ms Noa B isn't always available at my every fashion whim. She does run a full time business as one of the top makeup artists in the industry...)

So I visited my other favorite seamstress, and about $20 later, we had a perfect fit.

I had every intention of wearing a big, woven vintage belt to go with my trusty Weitzman clogs and a favorite vintage tote...

But a quick stop at Out of the Closet, on my way to pick Noa up for a Red Cross Benefit we were attending (yes, I have a serious thrift addiction) had me swooping up my latest accessory obsessions - this koi fish belt and several vintage wooden bangles!

But back to the entire reason for rocking this dress... A Red Cross Relief for those devastated in the May tornadoes of Joplin, Missouri hosted by the Angus Mitchell Salon in Beverly Hills. 

And among the fabulously and perfectly coiffed masses that attended this fundraiser, Noa and I were delighted to be along side them.

Tanya Dempsey, Andrew E. Freedman, Noa Bolozky

For full story on this event and an interview with Angus Mitchell, head on over to November Grey, and check back in Monday morning for the full story on what Noa wore! 

Love, 

Tanya D