One pair in, one pair out + My first "vintage" dress

While on the subject of shoes, and thrifting, and that sort of thing...

I've been to another of my cousin's-once-removed clothes exchanges. I got rid of some old clothes (and forgot some others at home), and got myself a new pair of white heeled sandals.

To replace this pair:

I loved these when they were new, and they went well with the 1970 dress I graduated from Grammar school in:

But they're sadly uncomfortable, because the straps are elastic and don't hold very well, and the heel is situated in the very back of the shoe, which I have discovered not to work very well with my style of walking (long, low strides, toes facing straight forward) it's simply not comfortable, I've heard complains from others, too. The new shoes also have elastic straps, but they're more strategically situated, and the heel's definitely much better situated. So the old pair went into hiding in a wardrobe and in spring it will be brought to the next clothes exchange. That's what's so great about these events; somebody else will get to use what does not suit me, and if it's left behind, it goes to charity.

The dress: It used to be my best friend's mother's dancing lessons dress, made from a fabric they got from their American great-aunt (or was it their aunt and my friend's great-aunt?). It does not fit me perfectly, but for a while it was one of the best dresses I had (and, come to think of it, still is). I graduated from Grammar school in it, and was inaugurated into university in it, and wore it to a ball. There were some fabric scraps, too, that I made into my first headband ever, which started it all (I now wear headbands/headscarves almost all the time).
When I arrived to the Grammar school graduation exam, one of my classmates told me what a nice "retro" dress I had. I did not tell her it was the real thing.


This sort of wrap-up post makes me feel less sorry about getting rid of that old pair of shoes. I should do it more often; perhaps I'd be able to get rid of more things I'm not using anymore.