Eclectic woman

A quick peak into my oh so eclectic wardrobe. Dark grey pleated high-waisted split skirt trousers are still unworn by me (cant say that about someone else though :D) - moms most recent finding for me. The body in the upper right corner is my most recent finding - new from a second hand shop. Perfect for keeping warm and also for going to a surprise party - pulling off all the sweaters, it can be worn as a skin-tight sexy blouse. 

Hangers - just as eclectic as the wardrobe itself!

Being a woman is either hard or just fun. Or it can be both. Especially at moments standing in front of my closets and it suddenly strikes - Im a woman with mostly reuse wardrobe (over 90% of it for sure). 

And why is it such a striking little epiphany? Because shopping second hand means buying stripes, dots, lace, ruffles, ribbons, bold cuts, frills, latex, fake fur, glitter - and all of it in all colors. Its almost as if a card game - you never know what kind of a hand youll be dealt, but once dealt, youll need to kick ass with the cards youve got. Second hand shopping and dressing is really just like that. And Im hooked, its a wonderful thrill. But sometimes it is also just a hell of a hard thing to get a matching outfit out of this non-matching wardrobe. In my moments of absolute despair - I simply get dressed and decide that it matches. Well, I simply couldnt stay undressed - it would be as if not playing at all. 

Right to the point!

Naiseks olemine on kas keeruline või lihtsalt lõbus. Või hoopis mõlemat. Eriti hetkedel kui seisan kapi ees ja mind tabab järsku äratundmine - olen naine, kelle garderoob koosneb peamiselt taaskaskasutusesemetest (üle 90% kohe kindlasti).

Ja miks on see nõnda rabav väike ilmutus? Kuna second handi ostmine tähendab triipe, täppe, pitsi, volte, paelu, julgeid lõikeid, sitse-satse, lateksit, kunstkarusnahka, litreid - ja kõike seda kõikvõimalikes värvides. See on nagu kaardimäng - kunagi ei tea, millised kaardid võivad kätte sattuda, kord juba käes, tuleb nendega aga mängus rokkida. Second handi ostmine ja kandmine just nii toimibki. Olen sõltuvuses ja see on võrratult põnev. Kuid mõni kord on ikka paganama raske panna n.ö. mitte-sobivast garderoobist kokku omavahel sobiv riietus. Absoluutse meeleheite momentidel - panen lihtsalt riidesse ja otsustan, et see sobibki kõik kokku. Ei saaks ju lihtsalt riietumata jätta - see oleks justkui mängust veel enne algust välja astumine.

Wearing my fake fur last weekend. And the whole outfit is reuse, including earrings which were a great gift from dear friend Elise.

Ps. Going to the cinema today and will be wearing something-something from this first photo too! See you at PÖFF!

Kui eelmine blogipostitus rääkis sellest, et ka väikese rahasumma eest on võimalik leida hea kvaliteediga ja kauneid rõivaid, siis sellest tähtsam on vast teada, kuidas seda teha. Jagan hea meelega oma väikest know how listi, mis eksklusiivselt second handi kohta! ;)

• Esimese asjana tuleb avada silmad ja uurida, millised võimalused eksisteerivad  ehk otsida välja kasutatud kaupade kauplused ning mõista, mis on igaühe eripäraks ja eeliseks teiste ees. Enda jaoks olen jaganud kasutatud kaupade kauplused kolme peamisse kategooriasse:                     1. Kauplus,  kus on kõrgemad hinnad, kuid esemete sorteerimistöö ja valik kvaliteedi, ainulaadsuse põhjal juba ära tehtud.                                         2. Kauplus, kus on tohututes kogustes segamini nii väga räbalaid rõivaid kui tõelisi pärleid.               3. Kauplus, kus müüakse Lääne –Euroopast meile jõudnud masstoodangu lõppjääke (näiteks Inglismaalt).

Ja siis on veel loomulikult terve hulk kaupluseid, mis on justkui segu nendest kolmest kategooriast, nii hinna kui sortimendi poolest. (Humana, Paavli)

Minu vaieldamatuks lemmikuks on teise kategooriasse kuuluvad kauplused, sest nendest on pärit eriliste top 20, isegi 30 või 40. Kuid reegliks on see, et neid tuleb külastada täpselt õiges tujus – siis kui sukeldumine sobramisse, detailide uurimine, müüjatädidega nalja viskamine ja igasuguste kostüümide proovimine rõõmu pakub. Nimetan seda kollamistujuks. :)

Kolmanda kategooria kauplused on jällegi need, millesse oma jalga (enam) ei tõsta. Sest reegel on küll säästlik, kuid mitte mingil juhul kvaliteeditu!! Segatüüpi kauplustesse aeg-ajalt siiski satun.

• Mitte lasta end segada kategooriatel, nagu meeste, naiste, laste, XL, XS. Kaupluste müüjad paigutavad sortimendi kategooriatesse isiklike teadmiste, arvamuste põhjal ja need võivad vägagi erineda kliendi omadest. Kusjuures, tihti on neil kauba väljapanekuga ka väga kiire.                                                                               
• Otsida üles kõik kvaliteetne ja ilus, mis parajasti ühegi laialdasemalt praktiseeritava trendi järgi moes ei ole! Selliste esemete hulgast endale sobivate valikute tegemine nõuab kahtlemata alguses natukene harjutamist. Ilmselt ei jää tulemata ka täielikud möödapanekud, aga taevas hoidku, nende kohta võib küll öelda, et mida rohkem, seda uhkem! (Sest, kes kurat ikka ära otsustas, et mood tõsine asi on?) Kindlasti saab nii vähemalt igasugustest kompleksidest üle! :D Kuid, mis kõige parem - nii saab õppida tundma oma eripärasid, et luua päris ainulaadne, ainult iseendast lähtuv stiil. Ja see on stiil, mis jääb. Võib olla areneb, aga kindlasti jääb! Ja stiili on tänapäeva maailma kiirelt muutuvas moerägastikus orienteerumiseks väga vaja! :)  Kusjuures, kõik need esemed tulevad tänapäeva kiire moetempo juures ka õige kiiresti laialdasemalt moodi - siis on lihtsalt õnn olla sammuke ees!                          
  Tegelikult on iga second hand moe tarbija iseenda moelooja, seda teades või mitte. Sest kasutatud kaupade valikust leiab ainult haruharva kvaliteetseid hooaja trendiesemeid ja valida on kahe põhilise suuna vahel: otsida esemeid massimoodi sulandumiseks või hakata katsetama.                                                     

• Pidada sõbrannasid, sõpru meeles! Kui otsustan enda kapist midagi välja tõsta, kuna polnud ikkagi see päris minu asi, mõtlen esimese asjana, kes sõprusringkonnast võiks selle üle rõõmu tunda. Isegi kaltsukatest olen sõbrannadele ja sõpradele häid asju kaasa haaranud. Ja pean ütlema, et ka minuga on väga kauneid asju jagatud! :)

When previous blogpost was about that even with little money it is possible to purchase good quality and pretty clothes, then perhaps even more important is to know, how to do it. I`ll share gladly my little know how list, which is exclusively for second hand shopping! ;)

• For a start one needs to open their eyes and find out what kind of options exist - look for second hand shops and determine what are the advantages for each that set them apart from other others. For myself I have divided second hand shops into three main categories:               1. Shop, where prices are still quite high, but the items have already been sorted and preselected according to quality and uniqueness.                               2. Shop, where there are huge piles and one can find from there both rags and true pearls.                      3. Shop, where last-end of mass produced clothes, brought usually from Western Europe, are sold.

And then there are of course a whole bunch of shops, which are a kind of a mix from those three categories, both according to price and assortment. (Humana, Paavli)

My undisputed favorites are the second category shops, because from these originate my top 20, 30 or even 40 of special wardrobe items. But the rule is: One can visit them only in the right mood - ready to plunder, examine details, joke with the salesladies and try on all sorts of costumes.

To third category shops Im not stepping my foot into (not anymore). Because the rule is economical, but never ever qualityless.  

• Not to be disturbed by categories like mens, womens, childrens, XL, XS. Sales personnel divide the items according to their personal knowledge and opinions and they might differ a lot from the customers. Mostly they also need to do it hurriedly.                                                                              
• Look for everything with quality and beautiful, which is not currently in by any mass trend! Choosing from such assortment the right items for oneself takes at first a little practice. Total mess-ups are usually a part of that too, but for heavens sake, the more of those, the merrier! (Because who the hell ever decided that fashion is a serious thing?) And at least this is a sure way to conquer you insecurities! :D  But the best about it -  one learns to know their uniqueness so that it becomes possible to create a very personal style. And this is the style that lasts. Maybe develops, bus stays. And in order to orientate in todays fast changing fashion world, one needs to have style! Btw. All those items chosen will become trendy too very fast and then it is just a joy to be one step ahead!                         
  Every second hand fashion consumer is in fact their own fashionista, knowing it or not. Because from second hand shops one only rarely finds something currently trendy and then it becomes a choice between to directions: looking items similar enough for blending into the mass fashion or start experimenting.                                                     

• Remember your girlfriends and friends! When I decide to lift something out of my closet, because it was still not the right thing for me, I first think to whom of my friends could this bring joy. Even from second hand shops have grabbed some pretty things for friends. And I must say that they too have shared some pretty fab items with me! :)

                         

Poor girl, rich girl

There is one thing that money cant never ever buy and this is wits. But wits can get you a closet full of great clothes! Or actually, wits probably can buy anything and everything.

  

Black blouse - got at spring time from a local second hand shop, wore it also for the Embracing Black blogpost. Plan to actually wear it too some day soon!

Silver glitter blouse - came with a dress (all the way glitter too) and mom brought it at the time when the currency was still Eesti kroon and when glitter hadnt just yet become cool again.

Turquoise blouse - Used to be a second hand bought retro dress. Featured in the very first blogpost.

White lace blouse - Wore it on my B-day this year! Has been around for quite a some time now, but if you`d be not reading this blogpost and Id tell you that it was bought yesterday, youd believe me! ;)

And the total cost of all 4 blouses: 1 euro.

B-day! :)

PS. Union Golf hanger is second hand too. Pretty cool - like really cool, in a sense that it is really an old thing

 not a fancy expensive new thing pretending to be one. Not a big fan of those wannabes and always prefer to have the real thing! ;)

Rubriigist sõbrannade taaskasutusmaailm: Jaanika

Et taaskasutusperspektiiv siin blogis liiga üksluiseks ei läheks, on järgnevatel nädalatel jagamas sel teemal mõtteid veel mitu kaunist naishinge! Neljas neist Jaanika - Naine, kes toob päikese välja iga ilmaga ja igas seltskonnas, vot nii võrratu!! Ja kui vaja, siis ta kasvõi sikutaks selle päikese välja!

To spice up this blogs reuse perspective, several beautiful ladies have agreed to share their ideas on the topic during following weeks! Fourth of them Jaanika - woman who brings sunshine into every weather and company, just so amazing!! We`ll she`d even drag the sun out, if necessary! :D

1. Millisel määral kuulub Sinu elustiili taaskasutus? Olen agar second-hand poodides käia ning enamuse rõivaid ja kodutekstiili ostangi sealt. Samuti kodukeraamikat (klaasid, nõud, vaasid jms.). Samuti kasutan korduvalt kilekotte ja pakendamisel kasutatavaid karpe. Viin ka taara taaskasutusse.                                     
2. Kas taaskasutus on Sinu jaoks oluline? Kui ja, siis miks ja kui ei, siis ka miks? Taaskasutus on minu jaoks oluline, sest prügi on juba niigi nii palju ning iga uue eseme valmistamisega kasutatakse lisaks eseme jagu materjali ka ohtralt muid ressursse selle valmistamiseks.                                                      
3. Milliste taaskasutust puudutavate eelarvamustega oled kokku puutunud (a la odav = kole, kellegi teise vanade riiete selga panemine on häbiasi jms.)? Jah, peamiselt ongi, et on odav ja kole ning teine äärmus on, et mõttetult kallis nagu nt mööbel ja vintage-riided jne.                                                   
4. Kas Sul endal on või on olnud mingil perioodil mõni selline arvamus? Olen arvanud, et taaskasutus on vahepeal liiga kallis. Ja täiesti põhjendatult, sest mõndades poodides on teise ringi mööbel minu arvates küll ülehinnatud. OnjuJ                                                                             
5. Millal tutvusid esimest korda sellise mõistega nagu redisain ja mida see sinu jaoks tähendab? Ilmselt esimest korda kuulsin Reet Ausiga seoses, aga ei mäleta millal. Minu jaoks on redisain see kui toode on saanud uues kujunduse ja vb seekaudu ka leidnud uue kasutusotstarbe või lisaks varasemale otstarbele veel midagi lisaks.                                                                  
6. Mis on Su praegune lemmik taaskasutus, redisaini ese ja miks? Oi enamus mu riideid meeldivad mulleJ Rõivastest on mu praeguse hetke lemmik sametkleit, mis on eelmise omaniku poolt ümber tehtud Indiast toodud rõivaesemest. Ammune lemmik on minu vana ümmargune söögilaud.                                                       
7. Kuidas näed taaskasutusmoe tulevikku? Ma loodan, et tarbijate survel peavad tootjad rohkem hakkama pakkuma taaskasutusmoodi, kas redisainides või siis vanu riideid ümbertöödeldes. Samuti tundub, et järjest rohkem tahavad inimesed midagi oma kätega teha, kas oma rõivavaliku uuendamiseks või kodudisains.

1. To what extent is reuse a part of Your lifestyle? Im a very eager seccond-hand shopper and in fact buy most of my clothes and home textiles second-hand. Also home ceramics (glasses, dishes, vases etc.). But I also use repeatedly plastic bags and boxes, as well as recycle bottles by taking them to collecting bins.                                       
2. Is reusing important to You? If yes, then why and if no, then also why? Reuse is important to me because there is already too much trash anyway, and when there is a new product created then addition to its material a whole variety of other resources are used too.                                                           
3. What kind of reuse related prejudice have You encountered so far (for example cheap = ugly, its shameful to wear garments that used to belong to someone else etc.)? Yes, mostly that it is cheap and ugly and another extreme is that it is pointlessly expensive, for example furniture and vintage clothes etc.                                                                      
4. Do You personally hold or have held any such opinions? I have sometimes thought that it is too expensive. And Im absolutely right about that, because in some shops second hand furniture is totally over-rated in my opinion. Isnt it. :)                                                        
5. When did You first hear about redesign and what does it mean to You? Probably I heard it first time in connection to Reet Aus, but I dont remember when. For me redesign is when a product has gotten a new design or even a new purpose through that or just an extra function in addition to the original one.                           
6. What is Your current favorite reuse, redesign item and why? Oh, I like most of my clothes. :) From clothing items my current favorite is a velvet dress, redone by its previous owner from a garment brought from India. An old time favorite is my old, round dining table.                                                     
7. How do You see reuse-fashion in the future? I hope that the pressure coming from consumers will make manufactures provide more of reuse fashion, either through the venue of redesign or recycling materials. It also seems so that people like to do more things with their own hands, either for renewing their wardrobe or in home designing.

Sharing is caring, thank You Jaanika! :)

The year then was 2006 and we were still wearing toga`s. Perfectly fit for Macedonia! Kind of a reuse too.. sheets tied around us.. or perhaps even überuse!

Autumn armor/ Sügisene soomusrüü

Sügisel on kõigi lemmikrõivaesemeks kampsun! Soe, pehme ja piisavalt toekas, et sellega kergelt ligikippuvale sügis-melanhooliale vastu minna. Omamoodi lõbus on aga tabada seda momenti, kui vastuseks küsimusele: Mis on su hetke lemmikuim rõivas? hakatakse järsku seelikute, kleitide ja sitspluuside väljatoomise asemel nimetama seda kuldaväärt tegelast!

Viimase aastaga on mul tekkinud kohe päris kindlasti suur kampsunite armastus - olen päästnud neid second handi varjusurmast (topieemalduskuuri teraapiaga) ning iga hetk valmis mõnelegi kapis veel ruumi tegema! Ja külma kätte sellise armastusega ei jää! ;)


In autumn everybody just love-love-loves a sweater! Warm, soft and strong enough to face off this creeping-up-on-you-autumn-melancholy. In a way it is just fun to try to catch the very moment when the answer to the question: What is your current most favorite garment? has switched from skirts, dresses and chintzy blouses to this gold worthy creature!

During this last year, I have most certainly developed a great sweater love - have rescued them from their very own shadow second hand selves (by nub removing therapy) and at every moment ready to make room for another one in my closet! Ant this love will never leave you out in a cold! ;)

Nüüd, tuuliste sügisilmade saabudes, otsisingi esimese asjana oma lemmikud välja. Või vähemalt nii mulle tundus - tundus, et otsisin nüüd välja! Hahaha! Suvistelt piltidelt selgus, et paks kampsun oli mul ka jaanipäeval seljas! (Rahet ju sadas ka, eksole)

Igatahes võin raudkindlalt öelda, et siin, Eestis, on kampsun mu lemmikrõivaese aastaringselt - eriti sügisel, talvel, rahesajus, hommiku-udus, lennureisil, kodustel õhtutel või isegi siis, kui kiisu sinna end kerra tõmmanud. (Miial on see tõesti nii mõnigi kord õnneks läinud)

Now, when the windy autumn days arrived, as a first thing I digged out my favorites. Or at least so it seemed to me - seemed that digged out now! Hahaha! However, looking at some photos from the summer, noticed that I was wearing one of my most warm ones during Midsummer fest too! (Though indeed it was pouring hail then - on 23rd of June)

What I can absolutely say, is that here, in Estonia, a sweater is my favorite garment all year around - especially during autumn, winter, pouring hail, morning mist, flying, home time or even for my kitty to curl up in. (Yes Miia gets away with it sometimes ;) )

Midsummer - sweater warming my left and Liilit`s right side. :)

PS. For me the sweater love also represents self-love - I prefer to keep warm (because warm makes me happy) even if it means doing less outfit show offs. Or now Im just showing off the sweaters!! Haha!

PPS. On the first two photos - are some of my absolutely favorite second hand rescuees! Batwoman flies out daily! ;)