Fabulous Finds – I Didn’t Buy (Dress Edition)

Has it really been since December that I published a Fabulous Finds for you all? I need to step up my thrifting game, it appears. For those of you who don’t know, Fabulous Finds – I Didn’t Buy consists of wonderful pieces that I found in my thrifting journeys that for one reason or another stayed at the thrift store. Instead of indulging and buying these items that aren’t quite perfect for me, I immortalize them forever in photos and share them with you! You can find my prints edition here, and my vintage edition here.

I need a disclaimer for this post, I try on far too many dresses at thrift stores. I get the most use out of separates, but dresses just call to me. So, I have far too many pictures of dresses. Many of them fall into the 80s-does category. If you didn’t know, the 80s had a way of hearkening back to the 50s and 40s, etc, etc, which turned into quality made dresses that are missing 30-40 years of age. Huge difference between true vintage 40s dress and 80s-does-40s dress, but you’re much less likely to ruin the 80s dress.

Disclaimer bit over, let’s go! First, a classic 80s-does-50s dress. Notched collar, button up front, this dress had many things going for it. I didn’t even hate the collar! This one stayed at the store because I had the hardest time getting it over my head. It fit okay when on, but dressing was a bit difficult.

Next, this . . . blue . . . thing. Not sure of era or style, it was just so intriguing. Little blue and white stripes all over, which is causing that weird wave effect. I could see the potential for this dress, but it was just giving me strange prairie vibes while wearing it, so I decided to leave it behind.

This cream one ticks so many 80s-does-50s boxes! Shawl collar, drop waist, dolman sleeves! I seriously considered buying this dress, as it fit pretty well. However, tragically, like many dresses in the 80s, it was made entirely of polyester, which I try to avoid, and was so static-y I couldn’t stand to move in it. It stayed there to tempt someone else.

This dress. I don’t know what to say. Look at that print! Almost like a pastoral scene! This was in a knit, obviously homemade by the construction. It would have been coming straight home with me except two things: The armholes were too tight, and the back zipper was completely broken, which made it sag strangely on my shoulders. I couldn’t even check the fit. I hope you went to a deserving soul, pretty print dress.

There’s a reason for the look on my face, I promise. This dress fit and was made of some unknown material. It was probably 80s-does-50s originally. But I swear, it made me feel like a Lolita or a little girl wearing it. Frequently people say that I look young, and dresses like these don’t help the matter. My face is like, yep, that happened. Glad I tried it on for the picture.

I came across this black dress on my first ever trip to Savers. I went to Savers and texted my husband that it was out of my league because it is a huge thrift store, if you’ve never been. The prices are no Value Village either.  This dress had a gorgeous gold soutache collar, which, believe me, was super tempting. It fit rather well too, but something about the sleeves and the longer hem made it feel quite matronly on me. The buttons were a pain too, as they snapped as well as buttoned? This dress was $11. I would probably need to hem it to feel comfortable in it, and $11 is a bit much to spend on a project dress? Perhaps if I go back and see it again, I’ll take another look.

This beauty of a dress also stayed at Savers. Ann Taylor modern. Navy blue linen. Beautiful collar. Side zip. Fit me perfectly. Sash included. Super tempting. As I said before, this was my first trip to Savers, and this dress was over $15. It was probably worth it, but I was saving my money at the time for a vintage show. Sometimes you have to let the beautiful things go. Maybe we’ll meet again beautiful dress.

And finally, the dress I did buy! This picture does this dress no justice. The details on this dress are fabulous and confusing. You can see in my other pictures in that fitting room that it buttons all the way down the back. It has a curved waist yoke, as well as clasps at the waist. It has pockets. It looks like it came with a belt once upon a time. Most of the seams are finished on the selvage, a sign of good quality craftmanship or vintage. It’s made of some sort of crepe, of unknown fiber. The only tag is hidden in the lining and is in Chinese. Yep, this pretty dress came home with me, as it was too interesting to pass up. I hope to feature it later on my blog in depth, because the details really are too good!

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Fabulous Finds – I Didn’t Buy!

Have you found anything good lately?

Have you left anything at the store you regret?