Saturday, January 06, 2007

Library Bag: Alligators, Old Mink and New Money

I knew I'd be telling you about this fun book as soon as I read the first chapter title: Mothers and Daughters, Passing Down The Thrift Gene. It's the story of a former model turned vintage clothing maven. It's about mothers passing on the eye for quality, no matter what the source. It's a must for anyone who loves thrift shopping, has ever daydreamed about owning her own shop, or secretly wishes she could wear those darling old lady hats. I picked up the phone to call my own mom after reading that Harris tweed (one of her favorites) always sells well. Authors Alison and Melissa Houtte taught this seasoned shopper a few new tips and brands, too.

I'm not nearly stylish or thin enough to wear vintage, but I loved reading Alligators, Old Mink and New Money. What a great gift for your favorite thrifting friend!

11 comments:

Laura Talbert said...

Oh, the books sounds sooo interesting! Just today I was thrifting and came across some vintage clothes. Or were they? I'm not sure how to tell.:) Must look for the book.

Tubo Family said...

Sounds like a fun read. I always wonder who I got my thrift gene from as my mom hates to shop and often acts "pound wise, penny foolish." As a teenager I wished she wanted to go bargain hunting because I needed a ride, and as an adult I wish she wanted to because it'd be fun to have a shared interest (and maybe get some help baby wrangling at the same time!). Oh well, maybe I'll have a child who will inherit from me. :)

Allison said...

Very cool :) I love thrift stores, Good Will, etc...Thanks for sharing!!

Headmistress, zookeeper said...

The book sounds fun. I am not at all thin, and I do wear some vintage. My favorite is my great-grandmother's hats. I wear them to church from time to time, and occasionally out other places.
I have a plaid wool cape from the fifties that gets a lot of milage, too.

Carrie J said...

My 19 year old daughter is a thrift shop junkie and is lucky enough to be 5'10 and model thin. She puts together some of the coolest looking outfits there. All of her friends ask her to help them pick out outfits because they love her style. For her birthday I took her to her favorite thrift stores, told her my $ limit and turned her loose. We came home with 4 stuffed bags of clothes and a wallet that still had a little green left in it.
We also have a few things from my mom, including a Swing coat in a lovely cream colored wool that she enjoys weariing.
I think she would probably love this book. I'll have to see if I can find it in our local library.

Anonymous said...

my favorite vintage find (that only my daughter could wear, since I'm not vintage size either!) was this brand new Burberry skirt at Goodwill for 99 CENTS!

http://www.burberryusaonline.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2357089&cp=2119865.2126195.2067795&view=all&parentPage=family

Anonymous said...

It's such a great feeling when you find something that's worth quite a bit, vintage, or just plain neat at a thrift store. My Mom is not a thrift store kind of gal, but I am and I'm passing it on down to my daughters.

~Karen

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the book title, Meredith. I just reserved a copy from my library! (I love online reservation! With four kiddos it is very hard to go find the books myself, so it is extremely kind of the librarians to pull them for me!)

Bonnie (lurker come out!)

Meredith said...

Bonnie, thanks for de-lurking!
I would never have any books for myself were it not for online reservations, either : )

Mama Squirrel said...

My 14yodd seems to have a sixth sense about picking up vintage clothes. She bought an old sweater with a furry collar back awhile ago (for peanuts), just because she liked it and it was so "her"; what do you know, right after that the stores started filling up with sweaters just like that. But she has the real thing!

Anonymous said...

Another reader coming out of lurking: Thanks for suggesting this book. I just fininshed it. This book was a wonderful read, and I chuckle to myself everytime I think about "Clemmie Hootie".

Missy :)