We love the definitions of style so often tagged by newspaper 'Living' sections and downscale fashion mags: hippie chic, punk rock chic, urban chic, farm chic. It's all "chic" and, so we named this occasional look at different sorts of style. Today, thrift store "chic."

My sense of style, once I graduated from college and was unleashed from the need to follow my peers, has so often mirrored my bank balance. I've gone from boxy suits and flowery dresses found on sale at Laura Ashley and Ann Talbot (bank balance: medium low) to ultra-tight, tailored, beautifully drapey numbers from the Italian clearance racks at Neiman Marcus and Barney's (bank balance: medium high) to my current infatuation with holey lambswool sweaters, slinky urban tops, and endless eclectic jackets I find at the Goodwill outlet, garage sales, and thriftstores (bank balance: two kids, mortgage, still paying for those drapey Italian jackets, what do you think?).

However. I love the thrift store style and, much though I might long for just one trip through the July sales at Saks, the hunt is really what thrifty fashion is all about. "That's such a great pink suede jacket!" my friends say. I shrug, and tell them it comes from the bins, the local name for the Goodwill Outlet (at 59 cents a pound, a suede jacket is a spendy $1.50). I've found several great Paul Frank tees; some colorful fitted polos meant for teenagers; soft, sweet cabley wool sweaters; mind-blowingly colorful turtlenecks; flirty dresses; and voluminous skirts I take home and deconstruct.

Continue reading “It's all chic: thrift-store style”

I hemmed, and I hawed. I peered at the little laminated cards typed in a retro font. Hmm... "milk chocolate, allspice, and dried fruit"? Or maybe "complex ... notes of lemon peel ... orchid aroma." Do I want a sweet finish? Or would I rather something full of body, and herbal? And what the heck do orchids taste like?

Turns out, I love the way orchids taste. And the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe is now tops on my list. No longer do I roll my eyes when a customer quibbles between Latin American and Indonesian beans: I know that anything from the Sidamo region is sweet, light, complex, a delightful drink for summer, and the coffee from Guatemala has a cinnamony richness that's perfect for a rainy fall day.

Pooh-poohing chardonnay and preferring zinfandel over syrah is so late 90s. Today's hip imbibers are tasting coffee, not wine, and discovering a whole new palate. Tropical fruits. Jasmine. Apricot. Dark cherries. Lemongrass. Chocolate, toffee, spice of every sort. Coffee that tastes like strawberries? Until you've discovered the many notes of a truly great café, please put your "Gourmet" badge back on the rack. Coffee is the new tasting ... what's in your cup?