Thrift Store Shopping

Over the weekend, the local thrift shops had their version of a shop hop - cards to be stamped as you visited each store, drawings and refreshments, and 50% off some of their already low-priced merchandise. Two of these thrift stores are on my daily walking route and I've been surprised at how strong the siren call is as I pass. But I've been good about putting on blinders and continuing on my way. Frankly, I'm not good at thrift store shopping. Others show me the great items they've found but I only see the sort of thing I've already given away. There is one exception to that, the reason I avoid shopping at these stores too often - Men's silk ties!  Do I need to add more silk ties to my collection? No. Did I let the chance that I could pick up a few more at an even greater discount lure me in? Of course!

The first store only had a few ties and fewer still that were silk. Of those, none were of particular interest. Where once I bought almost every silk tie I ran across, lately I've become more discriminating. The second store had a larger selection and I came away with 5 6 (sheesh, I can't count) I feel are great additions to my collection. My criteria as I make my choices starts with, do I love the print. The one above is my hands down favorite of the day. Color also weighs in. I was drawn to the subtle green one next to it and was delighted to discover that it had a very tiny textural print. Should be a great blender.

So pattern and color are important, plain garden variety striped ties rarely  making the cut. Not only is this an interesting pattern, a bit art deco in nature, it is a brighter color than one usually finds in ties.

I not only like the grey and blue color of this tie, but the pattern reminds me of one of the Zentangle patterns. I'm a sucker for that sort of connection. The blue tie next to it has no pattern or texture at all - a rich lovely solid which, like lighter value ties, I don't often run across. That leads me to the final criteria if a tie has passed the rest. I check for snags and stains. Some of the tie fabric is extremely prone to snagging, so if I am seeing pulled threads or other irregularities, I generally pass it up. As for stains, I know that some or most would probably wash out, but with so many great ties out there, why buy a stained one unless the stain is small and inconspicuous and the tie fabric is just too good to give up?

I waffled a bit on this last tie, but decided to add it to the pile because I do think it is an interesting geometric pattern. I think I probably have too many in this color, but what the heck, it was one of two I got with the 50% off tags. Total for my purchases? About $8, and that's not much to pay for such beautiful eye candy. Oh yeah, and they really may work into a quilt some day.