Alright. I'm going to be COMPLETELY honest in this blog, so right off the bat, I have a confession. This is most definitely not the beginning. I suppose this is the beginning of me recording this, so maybe it is the true, contractual, official beginning? If it hadn't been recorded before, does it even exist? Either way, in non philosophical terms, this blog is being created more 'in the middle of things' than anything else, so now I must catch you up on the history of 'thrifty ming'.
Most of my friends and acquaintences know I am a thrifter. Being a stingy aspiring accountant, it's hard to justify spending money on a lot of things that most of my friends don't think twice about. Alas, I have been shopping at thrift and secondhand stores for approximately the last 2 years, but not seriously until last summer.
As many of you know if you know me at all, I spent the majority of last summer working an unpaid accounting internship at one of my favorite Chicago-based retailers, AKIRA Chicago. Although they were kind enough to throw me a 35% discount on their mish-mosh of clothing, shoes, and accessories, that didn't get me very far considering I had absolutey zero paycheck to cover the remainding 65% of the tab... So what is a ming to do? Easy; thrift. In high gear.
The head office of AKIRA where I was working was located on the brink of the Wicker Park/Bucktown area which, if you know Chicago, is FILLED with hipsters and fashionable folk (completely subjective statement dependant upon your style tastes, but a statement I will stand by nonetheless). Being that it is a heavily hipster populated area, there are PLENTY of resale and thrift stores to shop at, my favorites being Buffalo Exchange andCrossroads Trading Co. Pair that with all the beautiful shipments of new clothing and shoes being stored in the office, and I had both my inspiration and my opportunity.
So if all this was in high gear last summer...why am I writing about this now? Simple answer: because I'm lazy. But I'm trying not to be. I should have started this a year ago when I was in my prime of thrifting/DIY-ing/crafting, but I didn't. Better late than never though, right? Besides my laziness, I am also doing this as apart deux to my other blog, mademoiselle ming, in which I wrote about my adventures studying abroad in Grenoble, France. Growing up with a literarily gifted mother made me stay as far from writing as I possibly could (hello, irony!), but, as I learned this past semester, it's something I find I enjoy. So, those reasons considered, I'm hoping this blog will force me to better my 'craft' and keep me being productive, and hopefully spark interest in people reading this blog to do this themselves!
Now then, what will be in this blog? I don't really know. As of right now, I would like it to be a little how-to/show-off the pieces I have upcycled from thrift stores (confused? Glance around this wonderful blog, which has inspired many of the things I have created) but seeing as through I am a fickle and inconsistent person, I'm not making any promises. Some posts may be 'how-to's', some may be advice, some may just be stupid and pointless....on verra.
Lastly, while I'm on my little honesty binge, I must say that the name for this blog does not accurately describe what I would like it to. I struggled over the name for a long time and, after feeling exhausted and utterly defeated, reverted back to a name I had chosen almost a year ago, well before this blog actually existed. But anways, yes, my thrifting and upcycling was about saving money, but it was also about exploring my creative side, challenging myself, and also taking a small step in a long and probably never-ending journey to find out who I am. I upcycle because I love the way I can describe who I am through the clothing I create. I love knowing that I am wearing a 'one-of-a-kind' piece of clothing that I created myself, and that not many other 22-year-old-accounting-major-midwestern-liberal-arts-student-suburban-middle-class-white-girls can say that. I love when people give me compliments on my pieces, because, whether they know it or not, they are commenting on so much more than my ability to select a ready-to-wear piece from a store. I love to thrift because I think that all clothing is so important and deserves a second (or third) life. These simple fibers allow us to get through our everyday lives and hold our memories, and throwing them away is terribly disrespectful.
Well...with that lengthy, yet somehow still very incomplete introduction, I leave you until the next time, whenever that may be.
ming.
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
why not start at the beginning...
Alright. I'm going to be COMPLETELY honest in this blog, so right off the bat, I have a confession. This is most definitely not the beginning. I suppose this is the beginning of me recording this, so maybe it is the true, contractual, official beginning? If it hadn't been recorded before, does it even exist? Either way, in non philosophical terms, this blog is being created more 'in the middle of things' than anything else, so now I must catch you up on the history of 'thrifty ming'.
Most of my friends and acquaintences know I am a thrifter. Being a stingy aspiring accountant, it's hard to justify spending money on a lot of things that most of my friends don't think twice about. Alas, I have been shopping at thrift and secondhand stores for approximately the last 2 years, but not seriously until last summer.
As many of you know if you know me at all, I spent the majority of last summer working an unpaid accounting internship at one of my favorite Chicago-based retailers, AKIRA Chicago. Although they were kind enough to throw me a 35% discount on their mish-mosh of clothing, shoes, and accessories, that didn't get me very far considering I had absolutey zero paycheck to cover the remainding 65% of the tab... So what is a ming to do? Easy; thrift. In high gear.
The head office of AKIRA where I was working was located on the brink of the Wicker Park/Bucktown area which, if you know Chicago, is FILLED with hipsters and fashionable folk (completely subjective statement dependant upon your style tastes, but a statement I will stand by nonetheless). Being that it is a heavily hipster populated area, there are PLENTY of resale and thrift stores to shop at, my favorites being Buffalo Exchange andCrossroads Trading Co. Pair that with all the beautiful shipments of new clothing and shoes being stored in the office, and I had both my inspiration and my opportunity.
So if all this was in high gear last summer...why am I writing about this now? Simple answer: because I'm lazy. But I'm trying not to be. I should have started this a year ago when I was in my prime of thrifting/DIY-ing/crafting, but I didn't. Better late than never though, right? Besides my laziness, I am also doing this as apart deux to my other blog, mademoiselle ming, in which I wrote about my adventures studying abroad in Grenoble, France. Growing up with a literarily gifted mother made me stay as far from writing as I possibly could (hello, irony!), but, as I learned this past semester, it's something I find I enjoy. So, those reasons considered, I'm hoping this blog will force me to better my 'craft' and keep me being productive, and hopefully spark interest in people reading this blog to do this themselves!
Now then, what will be in this blog? I don't really know. As of right now, I would like it to be a little how-to/show-off the pieces I have upcycled from thrift stores (confused? Glance around this wonderful blog, which has inspired many of the things I have created) but seeing as through I am a fickle and inconsistent person, I'm not making any promises. Some posts may be 'how-to's', some may be advice, some may just be stupid and pointless....on verra.
Lastly, while I'm on my little honesty binge, I must say that the name for this blog does not accurately describe what I would like it to. I struggled over the name for a long time and, after feeling exhausted and utterly defeated, reverted back to a name I had chosen almost a year ago, well before this blog actually existed. But anways, yes, my thrifting and upcycling was about saving money, but it was also about exploring my creative side, challenging myself, and also taking a small step in a long and probably never-ending journey to find out who I am. I upcycle because I love the way I can describe who I am through the clothing I create. I love knowing that I am wearing a 'one-of-a-kind' piece of clothing that I created myself, and that not many other 22-year-old-accounting-major-midwestern-liberal-arts-student-suburban-middle-class-white-girls can say that. I love when people give me compliments on my pieces, because, whether they know it or not, they are commenting on so much more than my ability to select a ready-to-wear piece from a store. I love to thrift because I think that all clothing is so important and deserves a second (or third) life. These simple fibers allow us to get through our everyday lives and hold our memories, and throwing them away is terribly disrespectful.
Well...with that lengthy, yet somehow still very incomplete introduction, I leave you until the next time, whenever that may be.
ming.
Most of my friends and acquaintences know I am a thrifter. Being a stingy aspiring accountant, it's hard to justify spending money on a lot of things that most of my friends don't think twice about. Alas, I have been shopping at thrift and secondhand stores for approximately the last 2 years, but not seriously until last summer.
As many of you know if you know me at all, I spent the majority of last summer working an unpaid accounting internship at one of my favorite Chicago-based retailers, AKIRA Chicago. Although they were kind enough to throw me a 35% discount on their mish-mosh of clothing, shoes, and accessories, that didn't get me very far considering I had absolutey zero paycheck to cover the remainding 65% of the tab... So what is a ming to do? Easy; thrift. In high gear.
The head office of AKIRA where I was working was located on the brink of the Wicker Park/Bucktown area which, if you know Chicago, is FILLED with hipsters and fashionable folk (completely subjective statement dependant upon your style tastes, but a statement I will stand by nonetheless). Being that it is a heavily hipster populated area, there are PLENTY of resale and thrift stores to shop at, my favorites being Buffalo Exchange andCrossroads Trading Co. Pair that with all the beautiful shipments of new clothing and shoes being stored in the office, and I had both my inspiration and my opportunity.
So if all this was in high gear last summer...why am I writing about this now? Simple answer: because I'm lazy. But I'm trying not to be. I should have started this a year ago when I was in my prime of thrifting/DIY-ing/crafting, but I didn't. Better late than never though, right? Besides my laziness, I am also doing this as apart deux to my other blog, mademoiselle ming, in which I wrote about my adventures studying abroad in Grenoble, France. Growing up with a literarily gifted mother made me stay as far from writing as I possibly could (hello, irony!), but, as I learned this past semester, it's something I find I enjoy. So, those reasons considered, I'm hoping this blog will force me to better my 'craft' and keep me being productive, and hopefully spark interest in people reading this blog to do this themselves!
Now then, what will be in this blog? I don't really know. As of right now, I would like it to be a little how-to/show-off the pieces I have upcycled from thrift stores (confused? Glance around this wonderful blog, which has inspired many of the things I have created) but seeing as through I am a fickle and inconsistent person, I'm not making any promises. Some posts may be 'how-to's', some may be advice, some may just be stupid and pointless....on verra.
Lastly, while I'm on my little honesty binge, I must say that the name for this blog does not accurately describe what I would like it to. I struggled over the name for a long time and, after feeling exhausted and utterly defeated, reverted back to a name I had chosen almost a year ago, well before this blog actually existed. But anways, yes, my thrifting and upcycling was about saving money, but it was also about exploring my creative side, challenging myself, and also taking a small step in a long and probably never-ending journey to find out who I am. I upcycle because I love the way I can describe who I am through the clothing I create. I love knowing that I am wearing a 'one-of-a-kind' piece of clothing that I created myself, and that not many other 22-year-old-accounting-major-midwestern-liberal-arts-student-suburban-middle-class-white-girls can say that. I love when people give me compliments on my pieces, because, whether they know it or not, they are commenting on so much more than my ability to select a ready-to-wear piece from a store. I love to thrift because I think that all clothing is so important and deserves a second (or third) life. These simple fibers allow us to get through our everyday lives and hold our memories, and throwing them away is terribly disrespectful.
Well...with that lengthy, yet somehow still very incomplete introduction, I leave you until the next time, whenever that may be.
ming.
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