Today was extremely rare because not only did I find a gorgeous Missoni shirt but also a Missoni blazer, both just happen to be brand NEW…. When I held up the first find, which was the shirt, I almost wet myself but then when I scored the blazer , there just might have been some leakage ! What are the chances of finding just one Missoni items at a thrift store more of less two? I believe the gods were sending me love vibrations today. The shirt was priced at $5.00 as well as the blazer so for 10 bucks I have myself one very fashionable ensemble. Toodles for now. Daniel

One day Italy was in the air the next day it was France. Occasionally I will see Lacoste but 2 in one day hit me over the head with a baguette! Rene Lacoste founded the company in 1933 and began to produce the revolutionary tennis shirt Lacoste had designed and worn on the tennis court with the crocodile logo embroidered on the chest. In 1952, the shirts were exported to the US and advertised as “the status symbol of the competent sportsman,” influencing the clothing choices of the upper class. The crocodile logo has become synonymous with the French culture. For $9.58 I purchased both classic shirts and skipped out the thrift store. At Neiman Marcus EACH one will cost you $80 . Ok so yesterday I enjoyed myself an espresso, today I’m thinking a croissant? I really should have had them together don’t you think? Toodles for now. Daniel

Today’s is my birthday and if you have a birthday anywhere near a major holiday like Christmas God Bless Your Heart is all I can say. There is so much pressure and angst this time of the year and top it off with a birthday, it’s a recipe for disaster. I just woke up and Mitch showered me with birthday presents and the best one was this Louis Vuitton duffle bag he scored for me at Career Fashion Consignment . Mitch found this bag for me for a fraction of the retail price and knowing how much I LOVE a bargain purchased this as a birthday gift. Nice is all I can say! It’s looking like it just might be a fantastic day afterall. Maybe to some degree the anxiety decreases each year but with a gift like this I say bring it on !!! Toodles for now. Daniel

For some strange reason when I saw this Adolfo suede knit jacket it reminded me of my dad but in a good and stylish way. You won’t find anything new by Adolfo but if you look really hard you might get lucky at an estate sale or thrift store in my case. Adolfo Sardina, best known as Adolfo, began his successful fashion career in Paris as an apprentice to Balenciaga. One of his famous quotes is “a person can look put together without appearing too rigid or too extravagant, if people are astute enough to combine different clothes with flair and style, they can create their own fashion.” When I tried it on it just made me want to smoke a pipe and wear argyle socks! My head starting to swirl from all the choices of trousers I can select from my closet that would flatter this jacket . I mean this suede jacket would look fabulous with my Lagerfeld, Lanvin, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Brioni….. oh LARD stop me now cause you know I can keep rolling with the names. It was priced at $9.29 and for some reason I didn’t flinch at that price, I knew I wanted it and knew I would treasure it. Toodles for now. Daniel

It turned out to be Mitch’s lucky day when I scored this Ungaro jacket . In 1965 Emanuel Ungaro founded the company since then the brand has acquired an international fame for it’s attention to detail and incredible sense of colours and mix of unexpected patterns, by the purity of its shapes and the insolence of the details. The jacket was priced at $5.00 and since Mitch wasn’t with me while I was thrifting I just decided to take a chance and buy it for him. Turns out the jacket fits him as if Emanuel himself personally tailored it just for Mitch. Score one for me this Christmas holiday! While I was out thrifting today I also purchased this gorgeous long wool skirt from Neiman Marcus studio made of fabric from Italy, priced at $5.00. I have a good idea who will end up getting this for Christmas. Toodles for now. Daniel

Laughing all the way to our next thrift store, with the truck filled already from our first raid, Umie drove like a woman on a mission in the pouring rain. Hitting the “better wear” section first Umie spotted a FABulous vintage Halston black silk blouse. Sloan just giggled and cracked that winning smile and reminded us just how much she loves her Halston. I pulled out an Escada glen plaid skirt priced at $6.00 but turned out to be way to big for these 2 girls. As Umie was flipping through the skirt section she ran into a fabulous vintage Bill Blass 100% silk navy blue skirt with a ruffle on the bottom that just looked like it needed a new home. I walked over to the coat section and as I shifted through, 2 in particular caught my eye. One was the purple Jaeger wool coat, that if anyone needs to look like a grape should buy, and then there was the green coat. I showed Sloan and she just gasped, we both have never seen anything like it before. Sloan immediately took the coat from me and walked over to Umie and said “you need to try this on”. We both stepped back and watched as she tried the coat on and were speechless for a second (that’s a rare moment with us). The only tag inside says its made from wool and that’s it, no brand label whatsoever, so I believe some wealthy woman with extremely good taste had it designed for her. For some reason Umie took the coat off and placed it back on the rack. When Umie was paying for her stash, and Linda the lovely woman at the counter put everything in a bag, I noticed there was no green coat. Not to fail because right her was Sloan and the only thing she dragged up was that green coat. Driving back home Sloan said “Happy Chanukkah Umie, I bought the coat for you” ! Sloan said the coat was just to good to pass up and wasn’t about to leave it on the rack. Lucky for Umie she looks like a million damn dollars in the green coat that cost $7.00!

Umie, Sloan and myself really hit the thrift stores HARD, so hard it’s going to take me several postings to showcase all our finds. Amazing – simply amazing I tell you. This posting is from our first stop of the day so hold on to your wigs because it’s going to blow! Right off the bat I handed Sloan a black knit sweater with the little label that said St.John knit priced at $7.00 but since everything in the store was 1/2 off we giggled like children. Pillaging a little more I found her a Jaeger cashmere sweater, at half off was $2.00. Needing to peek at the mens section I tore through the sweaters and plucked out this gorgeous Winter white Christian Dior silk sweater priced at $2.00. When she walked up to pay for her 2 items she grabbed my sweater and said “Happy Birthday”. She handed the lady at the counter the 3 items and a crisp $10 bill and got some bills back! We walked outside and didn’t stop laughing because the find of the day hands down was the St. John knit black sweater for $3.50. In the car Sloan and Umie were talking about how they used to think of St. John knits as “old” ladies clothes but had changed their minds. I said St. John is far from old ladies clothes, I told them I can see some young thing wearing a SJK sweater with some leather legging, and a Hermes scarf for a belt. Hot, stylish and high volume all in one. I’ll post Umie’s finds next so stay tuned for more thrifting adventures because I can’t wait to tell you about the next stop we made. Toodles for now. Daniel

When I saw this burgundy color velvet Armani Exchange short sleeve shirt hanging in the mens section of the store I thought for a second it had been misplaced. As luck would have it, it turned out to be a mens shirt hanging in the mens section, so all is good. I love me a velvet shirt, always have. It just feels so sensual and sexy, down right erotic. I know we are right in the middle of Winter now but I’ll wear that under a blazer and feel seductive at best. A/X Armani Exchange is accessible Armani, inspired by street-chic culture, fashionable dance music and everything that signifies freedom and personal style. Armani Exchange is the youthful label created by Italian designer and entrepreneur Giorgio Armani. The next item I pulled out from the rack was this fantastic Zegna herringbone pattern shirt. The dark rich color is absolutely perfect for WInter and my closet ! Both shirts combined cost $10 and it was a small price to pay to feel sexy. Toodles for now. Daniel