Thrifting magic: Filofax and Madewell Transport tote

In the past few weeks I had the greatest luck thrifting: a Madewell Transport tote and a Filofax organizer materialized in front of me, straight out of my dreams. Deserving of a blog post, right? The bag was not something I had been looking for in the thrift shop because considering the bag’s Internet fame (I think every style blogger out there must have one) I didn’t imagine it would appear in thrift shops any time soon. And yet, there it was one day, exactly the color way that I liked the most. The corners were slightly worn and it had some dye rubbed off in some small splotched spots, but otherwise the bag looked great.

At home I used some black leather dye (I use this one to paint every shoe and bag I own lately, to the growing resentment of certain family members who don’t understand why the dinner table must be covered in newspapers and bags and black paint all the time. Sorry!) and conditioner to make it new again.

I am discovering lately that totes are not really the most comfortable of bags. One of the two handles always slips down my shoulder which is very annoying. I might add another strap to make this into a cross body/slouchy hobo thing. We’ll see.

Then, last week I found one thing that I’ve been dreaming of: a Filofax. I was not expecting to find one so quickly (only last fall I learned about Filofaxes and how apparently amazing they are), that was why I had bought another organizer off eBay. This Filofax is a personal size Kensington, a style that I understand is discontinued. It was burgundy in color when I found it (why don’t I ever take before photos, why?) but the same leather dye turned it into black. Now that red button stands out really nicely, doesn’t it? I moved all the inserts from the eBay organizer into the Filofax and again great luck: they fit perfectly. I’m all set.

Even the little frame wallet peeking out of the bag is a new thrift find. Not that I needed another wallet either (I don’t usually use wallets, but pouches that hold everything I own), but this one was too cute to resist. And I can alway put the other pouches to other good uses.

Now I’m promising myself that the only things I’ll look for at the thrift store for a while will be linen tops and dresses. Nothing else. Unless it’s something exceptional like these latest finds. But otherwise nothing else. For sure. Probably.