I've been wanting an 80s windbreaker for a while now, and finally found the right one. It's a dark turquoise color, which has been a color I emphasize in my portrait photography for a little while, now. It's super light, fits just about right, and does its job in both looking retro and keeping the wind out, so I can't complain!

I've been wearing these shoes almost every day since getting them. Vets 4 Success was having a Spring Cleaning sale, in which EVERYTHING was 50% off. So these shoes, already a bargain at $5.99, were 50% off on top of that.

I tried to research them, but I couldn't find anything resembling this exact pair. However, the patent number for something in the heel was filed in the late 80's, and looked like it had been registered in like 1993 if I'm recalling correctly. So 3 cheers for real 90s vibes! 

On my last hot springs trip, my latest Goodwill find worked just right! It was in the low 20s the whole morning, and pretty chilly. After hiking up to these hot springs through a couple inches of snow, I was feeling pretty warmed up! The coat is really cozy, and has the faux sherpa lining going through the sleeves, which I like. A lot of similar coats only line the chest, and have quilted sleeve interiors which isn't quite as warm, if you ask me.

The outer material is a kind of faux suede, which was great for keeping out the snow and cold breezes. (Until I slipped a couple times and got snow inside the coat sleeves... and my camera lens. Yikes. I got it out and it's still functional, thank goodness!)

My friend Jordan vlogged our hot springs trip, and includes a quick interview with me while I eat fries. I added it below!

The big pockets were a great spot to put lens caps, gloves, and whatnot, and also have a sherpa lining on the inside. This is a pretty solid find that I'm proud of, though it is a little more challenging to fit in an outfit. I like the dark brown color, and don't mind breaking the rules and mixing brown and black (cause hey - I think it can be done!) but it's still a tough piece!

I really hope mixing close shades of brown and black, or close shades of navy and black becomes a trend. That'd be nice.

Photos & Vlog by Jordan Finfrock

What started as me just dropping off some old clothes to donate ended with me not leaving as empty-handed as I'd hoped. Oh well, these are pretty sweet.

Since getting back from my senior trip to France & Italy, I've been pretty partial to buying post-trip souvenirs. (Like this Dolomite Expedition-inspired coat!) Well... here's another late souvenir from the most beautiful country I've been to. Saw these on the rack and thought they were a pair of Adidas at first, because of the three stripes. Took a closer look and noticed the pretty blatant Italian written all over it. I knew "d'Oro" meant gold, cause high school Spanish. Picked them up and they felt pretty nice. The tread was barely worn, the leather felt real, and I loved the stars and classic/vintage feel of them. Tried them on, they fit perfectly. It seemed kinda weird to have Italian shoes in an Idaho Goodwill, so I figured these were probably pretty cool.

Got home and discovered two things. First, the middle star on the left shoe is missing. Oops. (Still would have gotten them if I'd noticed that to begin with.) Secondly, that these are really Italian made, and by a company that is one of my new favorites! (Pantofola d'Oro--look at their other shoes! SO gorgeous!! If I had hundreds of euros to splourge on a single pair, I'd do it!) They only recently started to distribute in the states, and only in a handful of boutiques in bigger cities. These have the US size printed on the bottom of the tongue, so that tells me these probably weren't originally purchased in Italy, but from one of these boutiques. Amazon has a similar pair of these shoes for something like 80 euros, but the company's online store only has a couple shoes priced under 200 euros. So this is definitely a pretty high-quality footwear find!

This jacket has some stories. (And not just cause it's from the 70s.)

I found a jacket just like this one in my local goodwill, and loved it. Problem was, it was $30, which--for Goodwill--is crazy expensive. I decided to try and wait it out, hoping that it would still be there by Goodwill's 50% off everything Black Friday Sale. No such luck. Well, the thought of that coat haunted me for too long, so I found a similar one on eBay (for 2$ cheaper including shipping!) and got it.

Wore it on a recent hot-springing adventure and it was perfect. A big heavy insulating outer layer that kept the wind off of me, and started keeping me noticably warm the second I put it on. The sherpa lining is around the chest back, and collar, and the sleeves are quilted. The collar isn't quite as timeless as Levi's gorgeous sherpa jackets, but when popped, does a great job of keeping my neck warm. :)

It's about peacoat length rather than denim jacket length, which I like. I'd very confidently take on below-freezing temperatures in this jacket, and easily with thermal/sweater/flannel layers.

It's definitely vintage-looking, but I think the goofy-big lapels might come back. :)

Okay, so they're more of a trend item than a classic, but I've been wanting a pair of moto-styled jeans for a while. Found these in a consignment store and they fit pretty well. The leg opening in the perfect size to wear with boots, and they're full of well-thought out details that make me feel cooler than I am.

​Chelsea Boots: Gordon Rush

It was looking like another day of "nada" in my thrift shopping adventures. I decided to double back and see if I missed anything in the shoe racks. Whether I missed these, or they put these out while I was looking around elsewhere, I don't know. But as far as thrift-shopping gold goes, I hit the jackpot with these.

These go for $260-$270 new. This pair is in great condition, already broken in a little bit. They're sturdy, hefty, lifetime boots.

The problem for me is that they're a size 8. I can barely get my foot in there with thin socks. Though I can repeatedly succeed, it's not quite worth my discomfort to wear these guys around. My half-size-small Doc Martens are one thing. These hurt to put on. So I figured somebody else would like them more than I do.

​These have plenty of adventures and years left to live in them. I'm currently selling them on Grailed right here - https://www.grailed.com/listings/1114812 if you're interested!

This coat caught my eye due to the mention of the Dolomites, an area of mountains in Northern Italy above Venice that I was able to visit in June of this year. I pulled it off the rack and admired all the cool patches, pockets, and the "Karakorum Dolomite" lettering on the back. I tried it on, and... it fit like it was made for me. (Probably helps that it's supposed to make you look like a marshmallow.)

In another size further down the rack was an Abercrombie and Fitch down coat, much like this one, even with an "A&F" patch on the shoulder. (It didn't look quite as cool, IMO.) It was priced at $39.99! This is another example of hitting the best deals when consignment stores don't know the brand. This coat of an unidentifiable brand (new with tags!) was priced at $19.99. So I got this one, super excited about it.

Took it home, looked it over, and did some research. One of the tags had a price tag in yen, which converted to over $600USD! Now, I'm fairly certain that was one of those fake price tags that make you feel like you're saving money when you buy a coat for $200 instead of the $600 on the tag, but I really don't know. It's got a lot of pockets, supposedly used real down, and an extra sew-on patch featuring the Dolomite Mountains that I sewed onto a denim jacket of mine.

Oh! And when I tried it on at home, I noticed it had a balaclava mask attached in the hood! I feel like I could go hike Mount Everest (or the Dolomites themselves) when I wear this thing. It actually made me excited for snow and cold.

I work at a consignment/resale store called Uptown Cheapskate and love it. (It's kind of like a Plato's Closet, but... better.) It's hard not to spend paychecks there.