Bear Hunting

I decided to attempt Round Two of my search for appropriate attire for the Bears game, this time in Bear Country.

My goal: to find some warm Bears gear that doesn't make me look like a soccer mom and that will stand out enough to get picked up by the TV cameras from the 5th row in the end zone. (I want my .15 seconds of fame, dammit.) I'm also hoping the challenge, and subsequent appropriate costume, will restore my excitement in seeing the Monsters of the Midway after a horribly disappointing performance in last night's game against the Redskins, in which my favorite QB, Sexy Rexy Grossman, sustained a season-ending injury. What's a poor fan to do but seek solace in the comfort of familiar thrift stores, hunting for, well, Bears?

I started out at the Salvation Army.



I rarely visit this store, and once I got inside I remembered why: it's totally disorganized and smells like someone forgot to throw their McDonalds from two weeks ago away. I didn't find any Bears gear but I did score five resalable books for a decent price, including this little gem, for just $2.26.



I'll re-sell this for $18.95.

Are there no Bears fans in this city? Or is everyone just holding on to their gear in the hopes that the Bears go to the Superbowl again this year (now a mathematical impossibility, though no one can explain exactly why)?

After getting out of rotten McDonald's pit, I took a trip to one of my favorite thrift stores, the Uptown Unique.



The Uniques in Chicago are one of those awesome brands of thrift stores where everything is organized by style and color. So I headed over to the men's navy sweatshirt section, where sure enough:





Nothing too flattering or stand-out, though. There were some more promising items in the kids section, but alas, they were all too small.





On to the scene of my next conquest, Village Discount Outlet on Clark.



Chicago thrift stores have decidedly more orange and blue items, even though not all of them are Bears-related.





After looking for a long time at that last scarf, I decided to buy it. Not officially-licensed Bears merchandise, but not soccer-mom-ish, either.

The Village also had a fantastic selection of Bears jerseys, although I didn't think they'd be warm enough.










And once again, the best warm-weather gear was in the kid's section.





I bought the clownish scarf and decided to make one last stop at another Unique, this one in West Rogers Park.



And there, as soon as I walked in the door, is where I saw it:



Orange faux-fur, of course! Like a real bear, but orange, like The Bears! I had a mini heart attack when I found the coat didn't have a price tag on it, because Unique has a strict no-sale policy for anything without a tag, but the woman working the counter saw me come in, run to it, and obviously noticed my dismay, so she said she'd sell it to me for $18. A little steep, but I paid it, since the coat was perfect.

Then I took a trip over to the men's navy sweatshirt rack again to find this awesome hooded sweatshirt priced at just $3.50 -- and in my size!



Pair them all up (with white knit "animal ear" winter hat), and I had my outfit, and my excitement about the Bears, restored.



Just check out that faux animal and those glam-rock buttons!





Can you say Jumbo Tron?

Thrifting in Packers Country

My boyfriend Jem recently moved to Milwaukee to go to graduate school, so I've been commuting back and forth from Chicago once a week for several months now. I figured it was high time I explore the local thrift scene.

Unless you're fortunate enough to have a navigation system in your vehicle, when checking out thrift stores in a foreign city, I recommend buying a map. This is what I did.



Then I Googled "Milwaukee Thrift Stores" and came up with a few decent articles on the second-hand situation. I plotted each thrift store on a map...



...then did my best to verify that they still existed and what their hours were. I wrote the names and addresses down in a small corner of the map for my reference.



To begin my excursion, I chose three sure-fire stores: The Value Village on North, The Value Village on Layton, and the American Council of the Blind Thrift Store on Greenfield.

I'm going to look for books. But finding decent resalable books at thrift stores can be hit-or-miss. So whenever I explore new wonderlands of used goods I try to keep in mind one or two other things to look for, just so I don't get devastated and bored. On this particular day I decide to look for scary vintage Christmas decorations (you know, the elves that "just don't look right"), and, because Jem and I just bought tickets to see the Chicago Bears on December 30th, some warm Bears gear (sweatshirt, scarves, hats, coats).

I also recommend hitting up the ATM before you start, since most thrift stores are cash only.



My map skills are a little rusty starting out and I have to ask for directions at a local hotel, but I eventually worm my way out of the downtown area and make it to the Value Village on Layton.





This is a larger store in a strip mall with lots on offer, from Christmas decorations and furniture to clothing, books, jewelry and records, everything you'd expect to find in a decent thrift store and nicely organized.







Check out this awesome vintage skyline painting in the furniture section (price unknown):



Although it is here that I begin to realize I may have trouble finding Bears gear.



Then I see a blue and orange scarf out of the corner of my eye. Joy!



But it turns out to say, "Feathers" and not Bears. Is this some kind of joke?

The same thing happens when I spy a blue and orange sweatshirt:






With no Bears gear, only "happy" looking Christmas ornaments and not a resalable book to speak of in the entire store, I climb back into my vehicle, feeling slightly defeated, but not ready to give up.

On to the American Council of the Blind.



This is another large thrift store in strip mall with lots of things for the picking. They had an excellent selection of Christmas decorations, but once again, everything was happy and 1980's-looking.



About the "scariest" decoration I found was this:



Of course, there *was* the original Jesus nightlight:



What a find! And there *was* a scary decoration, albeit a St. Patrick's Day decoration.



This thrift store did have one thing that Chicago thrift stores are surprisingly lacking in: the greeting card rack.



This is a great place to find funny, vintage greeting cards, and yet I never see them here at home. I spent a while here searching for funny greeting cards, but none really caught my eye.

I didn't have much luck in the Bears department, either.



I'm beginning to think I'm definitely in Packers Territory. Not only was there no Bears gear, I couldn't find any gear from ANY other NFL Team, or NBA team, or baseball team, or anything. Except Badgers. Sheesh.

I did have some luck this books at this store. I found three or four titles that were worth $15-30 each and buy-one-get-one-free at 90-cents. What a steal!



And in case anyone wants some new grotesque Barbie photos, I snapped a few here:







Driving back north to the Value Village on North Ave., I became absolutely convinced I wouldn't find any Chicago Bears stuff. Even the signs here are in Packers colors.






The Value Village on North is a little smaller up-top, but it has a basement FILLED with furniture, sleds and bikes.









Everything was negotiable and cheap. Check out this awesome lampshade:



And a nice vintage dining set for $60 included six chairs and a retro Formica table.



Awesome retro wooden table lamp:



Upstairs I once again found my favorite die-hard alarm clock, the Sony Dream Machine:



Too expensive at 6 dollars!

There was another item in electronics that caught my eye, as it was nearly illuminating the entire store...



But what's this? A Bears shirt?



Guess again!



No Bears gear at this outlet for sure.



But there was some pretty cool vintage fabric.



And, although they weren't scary, I found some awesome Christmas decorations.



They were pretty quality: probably why these reindeer were priced at $30!

I did find two resalable books here, and finally, I found the one piece of NFL gear that wasn't related to the packers. A baby bib, hanging in a dingy, dimly-lit corner at the back of the store...



Better luck next time!