CHICAGO LOOKS

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Street View 099: Eunice

Check out my latest Bleader post here.

Follow Amelia on Instagram @ameliaswindow

See what else this cutie is wearing on my Bleader post here.

Isabelle was photographed during Tavi Gevinson and Jonah Ansell’s “Cadaver” talk and film screening at the MCA. She was featured in the Chicago Looks Newcity column - read her inteview here and get the latest issue all over downtown.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Eddie

Check out Sheyssa's cool styling here. In case you'd like to have some vintage apparel delivered right to your door contact her @vintage_messengers and see her selection here.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Caroline Thrifts + Styles #3

"A Guide to... THRIFT SHOPPING

Reasons Why Thrifting is RAD:

1. The stuff is cheap

2. Every time you go, there's always something new

3. You can find REALLY COOL clothes

I know these are general reasons. HEAR ME OUT! Thrifting is a fun way to find snazzy clothes for a great price! Whether you're looking to enhance your wardrobe, Halloween costume, or porcelain unicorn collection (?)... GO VISIT A THRIFT STORE ... NOW!"

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Greetings! I’d like to present to you some definitions, tips and tricks of THRIFT STORE SHOPPING! Hopefully you have all been/seen/smelled a thrift store and if not, what rock have you been living under? Of course I’m only joking! I only recently discovered the beauty of what is known as a thrift store, within the last year or so, so I’m still pretty new to this tasteful art form. But, I don’t think that means I can’t share some things I’ve learned already. Firstly, I’d like to start off with some definitions I’ve made. I’ve been hearing these words misused, and I admit, I used to misuse them too so hopefully these will help clarify some things:

1.Thrift store - a shop selling secondhand goods (clothes, shoes, books, furniture, toys, records, kitchenware, trinkets, etc.) that is often run by a charity. Thrift store items are very inexpensive and can be anywhere from a couple cents to a couple dollars. Some common thrift stores are Goodwill and The Salvation Army.

2. Consignment store - a store where people can donate secondhand items. Once the items are bought, a portion of the sales goes to the donor, and the rest to the store. A lot of times consignment shops don’t accept everything as most thrift stores do. They are looking for gently used items, and clothes that are particularly “on trend” (meaning you probably won’t find grandma’s ugly Christmas sweater there). A lot of consignment shops aren’t a chain, but rather small businesses, with the exception of Plato’s Closet.

3.Vintage store - a store that sells vintage items. But now the question is, what IS vintage? I honestly think something vintage needs to be at LEAST a decade old. Vintage shops usually carry items (clothes, shoes, furniture, magazines, accessories, awesome stuff) from the 40’s to the 70’s.Vintage shops are the most pricey, but don’t fret, you can still find some affordable items there. (I went to a vintage clothing and jewelry show and I bought the most ADORABLE party dress from the 50’s. It was $50, which is a great price, considering dresses from that era usually are at least $100, and it’s in great condition).

SO, those were the definitions, now here’s some tips and tricks. I honestly could write a book about thrift shopping, but here’s some bullet points instead:
• Don’t be intimidated, some thrift stores aren’t the nicest inside, meaning its not a like a store in the mall where everything is neat and tidy. Just dig a little deeper and you’ll find the buried treasure!
• The thrift store is the place where you can get rid of your singles. Don’t come with a $100 bill.
• Thrift stores can be big and have a LOT of stuff. Before you freak out and have a panic attack, focus on one section first. I personally like to start with shoes or accessories because it’s an easier “yes’ or “no” decision.
• It’s easy to get caught up in the “but it’s only a dollar” syndrome. Even if it’s cheap, think to yourself, am I going to use this? Because if not, you just wasted a dollar that could’ve been spent on that bubble blower in the target dollar isle instead

So that’s my little spiel on thrifting. This is a lot of words so scroll down and let’s look at
some outfits eh?

Here’s some of the stuff I bought recently. I know, not much variety here, but it was what I was looking for! The jean jacket, green velvet top, and “carpet” purse (looks like one right?) were all $2.50 each. The red velvet shirt and black velvet dress were $5 each. Lastly the vintage coach purse (which is real and in GREAT condition) was the most expensive item I’ve ever bought at a thrift store, and it was $15, which really isn’t expensive, but in the magical land of thrift stores it is. (It was funny I recently went to a vintage clothing show, and I saw the same purse, but in black and it was over $100). Blahblahblah let’s seeeee CLOTHES!

Hi : ) This is my 1st outfit. I love the jean jacket! I wear it really often because it’s a great essential and super cool. I love to adorn in with pins, and I was planning to paint it and completely decorate it, but this it’s too special. I’ll save that for a different jacket. I’m holding the one thing that I love the most…my camera. Just kidding! It’s actually my dog, her name’s Harley : ) But, my film camera is a close second.

Here’s a closer look at my shirt. It’s a lion. I’m almost as fierce as Beyoncé.

In this picture, I’m wearing the red velvet top. It looks black because the camera can’t pick up its awesomeness. If you look at it one way it looks red, and if you look at it another way it looks black. Pretty cool huh?

I’m wearing an eyeball ring, I don’t know if you can tell.

Ahh. This dress. It’s another favorite. Here I’m wearing it just plain old by itself, but this dress can be used with ANYTHING. Put shirts under or over, tie them like I did in a picture down below, the possibilities are endless. The beauty of buying something rather “plain” is that you can pair it up with things that aren’t so plain, to make it amazing. I never really understood the principle of buying ‘basics”, but slowly I’m understanding.

Here’s the photo I was talking about where I tied a shirt to make the dress a maxi skirt. This photo is different from the rest lighting wise, because I took it a few days ago. I just had to! I got a pair of creepers and I was so excited to share them. Creepers are amazing! I got them at the surplus Urban Outfitters in Lincoln Park for a lot less than the original price. Happy day!

I’m just jumping for joy.

Here’s the last look. I’m wearing a green velvet top on top of a black lace dress (hooray for layers) with my jean jacket and the coach purse. I also got these shoes for a good deal. Oh my I’ve been scoring lots of bargains lately.

Well, looks like that’s all for today folks. School’s out in only a few more weeks so that means a lot more posts and a lot less homework on how en embryo develops. See ya later : ) *Good news, I (or my family I should say) got a Mac. I haven’t played around with it much yet, but I’m excited to do some fancier stuff!

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Chicago Looks is proud to regularly present a collaboration with some of the city's most stylish inhabitants. Get more fab styling tips from Caroline here and here.

CAROLINE RULES!

Ting "Tifa" Zhou was presenting her work at SAIC's MFA 2013 exhibit - which is still happening and totally worth checking out at Sullivan Galleries. Entitled "My Voice Is Not Being Heard" (pictured above), she transformed words into visual symbols projected into a large screen. Learn more about it here and read her interview for my Newcity design column here.

Check out some of the most stylish attendees of SAIC's yearly fashion extravaganza on my Bleader post here.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Meagan

Latterstyle's Meagan Fredette was attending this year's The Walk, a fashion show presenting designs by the School of the Art Institute students. She wore a jacket by Rodarte, the 2013 Legend of Fashion honorees.

See some runway shots and other stylish attendees below - more in my Bleader.