Be frugal, look fabulous!

Welcome to my blog!
This experiment is to see whether I can find looks directly out of the Peruvian Connection catalog (my absolute favorite) by shopping at thrift stores and garages sales. My goal is to put together an elegant, interesting, and flattering wardrobe--but by only spending about 10% or less of the new clothes' cost.

But why Peruvian Connection?
Because every outfit in the catalog uses my favorite things: belts, boots, bags, jewelry, and pieces that you can mix and match. I'll be able to emulate their style by putting together items that I find along the way. Also, their style is timeless and almost vintage-looking. How could I go wrong with a company with the tagline of 'Artisan clothing for nomads and romantics'? I'm both at heart!

Why buy second-hand?
Buying second-hand clothing is sustainable and economical. My money goes to charity or directly to individuals, my purchases do not require the use of additional resources, and at this stage in my life I cannot afford to buy such quality clothes at retail prices. However, someday when I can afford to buy new clothes, I wish to be mindful of where my money is going. Higher end retailers such as Peruvian Connection may be more expensive, but their artisans earn a living wage and the materials are environmentally friendly. I want to get in the habit of buying responsibly.

The rules for this experiment:
I'm looking for quality garments made of materials that Peruvian Connection commonly uses: cotton (pima if possible), alpaca, merino wool, leather, and other furs such as angora, mohair, and cashmere. I aim to avoid acrylics and other man-made materials because they wear out quickly. The end result of this blog will be a wardrobe that will last for years and never go out of style.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Find #21: Old-fashioned fedora with detail

Peruvian Connection loves to pair their outfits with hats. While I have never particularly liked hats on myself, I have always wanted to pull them off. A good hat looks sophisticated, and I'm determined to find one that suits me.

Peruvian Connection offers several vintage-inspired fedoras, such as this example:


This hat is composed of 100% rabbit-felt and grosgrain ribbon detailing. I have looked for months for a decent wool fedora in the thrift stores, but the hats are often too vintage (yes, there is such a thing), worn out and moth-eaten, or just unattractive. I understand that nice hats are very expensive, so I'll be lucky to find rabbit-felt in my price range.

However, I did find this:


It's a 100% leather fedora, fully lined, by August (sold at Nordstrom). The flower detail is actually a homemade addition to the hat--one of the bonuses of buying second-hand. The style is somewhere between a fedora and a cloche: the back flap flips up, but the top of the hat is flat.

The original version costs $218. My find cost me $3.99, which means I saved about 98%. The leather is admittedly not as luxurious as rabbit-felt, but it'll do me just fine.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)