where I shop: the Boundary Store

I was too tired to post last Friday, cause Daniel and I took a sort of impromptu road trip on Thursday.  We had a meeting in Belize City which ended a bit early, and since the babysitter wasn't expecting us back for a while..... we decided to drive an extra hour up the coast to my favorite thrift store in Orange Walk.

6 hours total driving time in a 20 year old pickup truck with no air conditioning is no joke.  It is also an indication of how desperate I am to get out of the house, since my car is still not fixed.  If I'm lucky I have been getting out of the house twice per week-- an hour for Mass, and about 2 hours for market/ grocery shopping.  I think Daniel agreed to tack on a few hours to our trip because he knew it would ward off insanity for a bit longer.

Anyways, I love the Boundary store.  It is such a random place, and every couple of months the inventory totally changes because they get a new shipment of things from the States. This time there was about a hundred lamps, a room full of baby swings (which would have been useful for Miss M a few months ago) and what looked like the entire contents of a cafeteria kitchen.  Huge stainless steel pans and serving equipment-- even a whole silverware/tray serving station that is ubiquitous to cafeterias everywhere.  I kinda wanted it.

such a bad picture.  I was really rushing. The point is, this place is HUGE.

I always mean to take pictures when I am there and always forget because I am in such a rush.  This is not a man-friendly shopping place.  After about 20 minutes of me digging through shelves  and bins and pondering if I really want to get another pair of shoes, Daniel starts to get a distinctly martyred air. I think the most time I've ever managed is an hour.  Sadly, I ran out of time/ Daniel's patience before checking out the literally 1000's of shoes (since I once found a pair of Manolos for $5), but I did get some great materials for the Babe's montessori work.

Babes hard at work. I got the tray from a Boundary store a while back.

various bits and pieces.  He looooves the tongs.

My favorite find this time was a bunch of quilt scraps.  At some point this lovely vintage quilt that someone spend a lot of time on was chopped into pieces.  I rescued them.  None of the pieces are very big, but with a bit of bias tape sewn around the edges, they well make perfect doll quilts for the Babes and Miss M to enjoy.

The next shipment is due mid August, and I'm already scheming to get back...

market magic

I was due a bit of shopping luck, I’ve been looking for a pair of pants for months now with no results.  Pants are the thrifting prize, I think.  I can easily alter a shirt to fit, but pants need to fit around my waist and have the length I need, which tends to be a problem here.  I wandered into a tent at the Satuday market with a sign that said “all clothes $1,” not really expecting much.  But the first thing that caught my eye was a silk blouse-- Ann Taylor.  Then a JCrew skirt.  Then some Banana Republic pants.  I got a bit excited.  I must have spent about ½ an hour rooting through piles, and came away with 3 bags of clothes for $18 Bz total, which included 5 pairs of pants in my size!  I hope this doesn’t wipe out my shopping luck for the next few years.

When I find clothing at this price range, I tend to shop for fabric as well as  following my usual shopping guidelines.  I found this skirt, which is the most amazing silk/linen blend fabric with decorative stitching.  It is huge, but I can easily cut a skirt out for myself with plenty of leftover fabric.

I also found this… shirt thing? bathing suit cover up? nighty? with the original Macy’s price tag on it for $88 US (! you must be kidding me, Macy's....).  It is a beautiful coral cotton voile, and there is at least ½ a yard of material there which will make a nice summer dress for Miss M. 

By the way, this is Myrtle, my homemade sewing form.  I used a Pinterest tutorial (of course) which recommended using  duct tape to shape the form.  Poor Myrtle is slowly melting, sagging, and generally deforming in the tropical heat.  In case you were wondering, this is not a helpful quality in a sewing form, but she is made of like $30 worth of duct tape so I refuse to get rid of her.

Anyways, it does take a bit of who-cares attitude to root through piles of used clothing.  I am always the only gringa, and I get a lot of funny looks.  Most people probably are puzzled as to why a tourist is shopping for used clothes in Belize.  When I went to pay for my massive pile of clothes the girl in charge actually swore under her breath (in Spanish) in astonishment at me…. Believe me, I am willing to trade some funny looks  for  nice clothes.   

When I got home, I went through pockets before throwing everything into the wash, and found a tiny cheat sheet for a Spanish test.  I find it highly amusing that that particular pair of pants made it all the way to Central America...

where I shop: clothes

In college I was an InStyle magazine devotee.  Every month one of my circle of friends would buy the latest issue, and we would gather in a dorm room, sit on bean bags and beds, and discuss the latest trends.  Even though my current wardrobe tends more to jeans and rubber boots, a part of me still  wants to be at least somewhat fashionable.  This is a challenge, to put it mildly.  Belize does not have ANY malls.  There are no chain stores- not one Gap, H&M, or even Wal-mart for goodness sakes.  Stores that sell new clothes follow what I imagine Miami Beach sees as fashionable: short, see-through, and lots of sequins.  So this leaves me with the second hand stores.  Fortunately, I am somewhat of a thrift store pro (I mean, how many people can claim they have shopped at a thrift store in Guatemala?).

dress: market clothes piles, 50 cents (altered by me), belt: Guatemala thrift store, 30 cents, bag: the boundary store, $2.50

All that In-Style education actually helps me.  I’m pretty good at picking out quality fabrics and construction from a literal huge pile of clothes.  I’m also good at recognizing quality brands.  For example, I’m going to pick Ann Taylor over Gloria Vanderbuilt., and silk over polyester.  Another thing in my favor is that I am taller then most Belizeans and have really different tastes.  We tend to gravitate towards different items… not only because I wear more uncommon sizes, but also because I don’t like rhinestones on my clothing.  This is probably why no one snapped up the Manolo Blahniks I found for $5bz, or the Hermes Scarf for $1—my two most exciting finds.

the kitty claims the Manolos

 shopping in Belize

1.     know where to go.  All piles of $1 a piece clothes at the market are not equal.  I stick with the vendors whom I’ve found have a nice, frequently updated variety of higher-end brands.  If I’m looking through some place new, I quickly check brands and materials.  If they aren’t up to my standards, I move on.  In Cayo, Ceci’s clothes are consistently good.  There is also Cayo Bargain center, which has new-with-tags on it clothes from Target, Kohl’s, and other places for very reasonable prices (I’m pretty sure their buyer buys up clearance racks…. I hope).  Then there is the shoe mecca—the Boundary store in Orange walk.  They have thousands of pairs of shoes, none for more then $20Bz.  Don’t worry, mom, I clean and bleach any used shoes I buy :)  

My favorite market vendor.  Scores that day: an Old Navy dress for $5 and a silk J Crew top for $2

2.     Look outside your regular size, but know your standard sizes.  I know my size in most of the chain brands.  However, since most of the places I shop don’t have fitting rooms, I have been known to try something on over my clothes in the middle of the store.  If I ever have children, I fully intend to embarrass the heck out of them with this.

trying to see myself in the mirror while squashed in a fitting room which is actually a closet

3.     Be willing to do a little work.  I will mend small holes, take things in slightly, and shorten sleeves.  Also, a lot of places have constantly changing stock, so it pays to check in frequently.  I usually spend 5-10 minutes on Saturday mornings at the market checking through my favorite places to see if anything new catches my eye.

sometimes competition over an item of clothing can be fierce

4.     Know your style.  Huge piles of unsorted clothes are overwhelming, and it's easy to walk away with something you really don't need or even like. The other day I came across a beautiful high-end silk top for $5bz.  But  it just wasn’t something I ever would have a place to wear, so I petted it a while and moved on.  My Pinterest board has really helped me define my style and figure out what items I need to look for. 

So anyone want to come shopping with me?