dec 7th: more gifts of thrift!

Since I am quickly running out of Make-Do Christmas gift ideas, and I still have 16 more days of idea-posts left to go, I’m stretching “thrift-store shopping” into two posts.   The first one was about finding cool, kitschy things at the goodwill, this one is about finding nice vintage things.  A heads up fellas, these are mostly for the ladies, but there’s a little section just for you too.

For the Womenfolk:

• Nice ladies’ gloves- leather or otherwise- are lovely gifts.
• As my friend the Bad Housekeeper mentioned recently, a vintage purse is usually a winner. Whether it’s an occasion bag from the 1940′s, or just an 80′s pleather clutch, most will go with jeans.
• Old mirrored compacts and cigarette cases are beautiful, and you can always get them engraved for that really special someone who warrants a spending cap of more than $10.00.
• A pair of antique hand-embroidered linens, especially pillowcases.  Delicate hankies are nice too, I like to throw one of these in with a not-very-personal gift sometimes.  But first I embroider the person’s initials in the corner.  Because I am awesome.
• A darling little 60′s suitcase or train-case, especially the ones in baby blues, oranges, and greens.  Even if your friend is not a frequent-flier, these are good for storing ugly things in a pretty way(i.e. stacks of old magazines in your bedroom).
• A cute vintage 50′s cardigan.  These are sort of hard-to-find(especially the ones with beaded or sequined floral designs), but if you do, grab it.
• Costume jewelry- that’s pretty self-explanatory.

For the Menfolk:

• A nice felt fedora or tweed strolling cap for the gentleman.  There are really a lot of great guys’ hats at the thrift stores around here.  I know, because I’ve bought most of them immediately, only to remember later that Matthew’s head + hair rejects normal people hat sizes.
• A cool old tie- you can find fancy name brands, rugby stripe classics, skinny 50′s ties, etc…
  
• A cool t-shirt, especially a vintage sports tee of a team they like.
• Antique cuff-links or a tie-pin.

Of course, there do exist some people who just don’t love old stuff the way you and I do, dear reader.   In which case, you should probably dump them as a friend anyway.  Gift problem- solved.

Make-Do "Goodwill" labeled cart. Pure genius.