thrifting mission: find some new yoga clothes

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I’ve recently become addicted to grown awfully fond of practicing hot yoga at a wonderfully friendly studio in Uptown called Moksha Yoga. While I absolutely LOVE what it’s been doing for my heinie and my insomnia, washing my gross, sweaty gear every other day was a time-consuming drag. I looked online for new clothes for about a minute-and-a-half, but when I saw $48 shorts and $108 hoodies, I almost fell out of my chair. So, I did what I always do. Went to the thrift store!

Since the idea of sweating my tatas off in clothes that have already been worn by some other broad skeeves me slightly, I hopped over to the underground Target (aka the Target Basement) at the downtown Salvation Army Family Store, which is, if you’re not familiar, filled with brand spankin’ new merchandise. As expected, I found exactly what I was looking for. From roll-over top yoga pants to super light running shorts to tops to T’s to sports bras to plus-sized gear, this place has got it all. And everything’s super sensibly priced!

Here’s what $45 (three dollars less than the aforementioned shorts!) bought me…

Two towels (so totally necessary for hot yoga), a neon pink sports bra (the only neon color I can tolerate), THREE pairs of shorts, a raspberry colored cropped sweatshirt and an extra-long baby blue hoodie (because I freeze on my way home from class if I forget a sweatshirt). The bonus part is that five of the eight items I came home with are PINK. Yesssss.

I’m set for a while, I think, right? Thrifting mission: complete.

Namaste y’all!

xoxo,

Meghan

P.S. There’s one more day to enter the Girls Got Rhythm Fest ticket giveaway. I’m picking the lucky winner tomorrow after 5 p.m.!

giveaway: win a pair of girls got rhythm fest passes

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I have two passes to the Girls Got Rhythm Fest—worth $130—and I want to give ‘em away to one of you. To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me what act(s) on the lineup you’d love to see, along with your email address. As you can probably guess, I’m most excited to see Ronnie Spector, but I’m also pretty stoked to take in sets by the big-haired beauties L’Assassins, no-bullshit rockers Midnite Snaxxx, the reckless and wild and brilliantly named Hot Rash and…who am I kidding, I can’t wait to see ‘em all!

This giveaway will close at the end-of-day Wednesday, May 9th. To be eligible to win, you must be 21+ (youngsters there’s an all-ages show just for you on Sunday and tickets are just $10!) and willing and able to pick up the passes from me on Thursday, May 10th.

Best of luck y’all!

xoxo,

Meghan

that’s a wrap

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And just like that, another sale weekend has wrapped. Thank you so much to everyone who came to shop and visit with Rae and me over the past two days. We are so grateful for your business and support.

xo,

Meghan

P.S. There’s a sweet little article & slideshow about the Summer of Dresses kick-off party in today’s Pioneer Press! Check it out if you’re interested…I promise I’m not that squint-y in real life. :-)

beginner’s tips for shopping at mighty swell

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Mighty Swell opens for the weekend in just a couple short hours (10 a.m. to be exact) and as always, I’m really pumped. We have some great new vendors for this sale including Honey Bunny and Spano Vintage—both gals brought in some truly drool-worthy pieces, along with some old reliable standbys like Pink Vintage, Bourbon & Lace and of course, me! Since I’m sure not all of you have visited the shop, I figured today would be a good time to share some tips for Mighty Swell first-timers.

♥ Come early! This is a no brainer really, but if you want to shop the biggest selection, come today, and come in the morning. Besides getting first pick and everything, you’ll also be able to  enjoy complimentary coffee and donuts from A Baker’s Wife. We typically get four to five dozen and holy smokes, do they go quick.

♥ On the flip side, if you hate feeling crowded, come later in the day (or tomorrow) when the shop is a bit more cleared out. It may be a bit picked over, but you’ll have plenty of elbow room to take your time going through the racks.

♥ Wear underthings you won’t be embarrassed being seen in. Our dressing room is a group one, and honestly, sometimes it can get pretty packed. And while some ladies don’t mind stripping down to their skivvies in front of strangers (more power to y’all!), if you’re on the shier side, rock some boy shorts or a slip or whatever makes you feel comfortable.

♥ Ask for help if you’re new to shopping for vintage or if you’re looking for something in particular. Rae and I know our inventory pretty well, and adore helping our shoppers find what they’re looking for. We also have tons of back-stock downstairs (and at home), so if you don’t see what you’re looking for, tell us so we can check our inventory!

♥ Bring a friend and make a day of it! There are so many lovely restaurants in our neighborhood including Colassal Cafe (home of the most delicious Brie-apple pancakes and biscuit breakfast sandwiches), Buster’s (great burgers and beer/cider selection) and of course, our next-door neighbors, Chris & Rob’s Chicago Taste Authority, known for their Chicago-style dogs, although I personally love, love, love their thin-crust pizza. Come shop with a friend and then enjoy a meal in the ‘hood!

I hope to see y’all there! For details on sale hours, visit the Facebook event page.

xo,

Meghan

style magic: ronnie spector

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I swung by the record store on my break yesterday to pick up tickets to see Ronnie Spector. She’s performing next Saturday at the Girls Got Rhythm Fest, an extremely awesome female-powered rock ‘n’ roll weekend and the brainchild of my super cool pal Dana. I AM SO DARN EXCITED. I’ve listened to “Be My Baby” probably 6,000 times in my short little lifetime, but to hear Ronnie sing it in person is an experience I cannot possibly miss. With the show being almost around the corner, I’d figured I’d share a few fabulous images of Ms. Spector and The Ronettes from back in the day.

{ Photo sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 }

The icing on the cake is that Ronnie’s just one of MANY fabulous artists performing at the festival—check the lineup if you don’t believe me! If you’re in the Twin Cities area, and you like rock ‘n’ rollin’ lady bands, I’d really recommend you be there. Tickets for the entire weekend (as well as single night passes), are available at Treehouse Records, Eclipse Records or online right here. Wouldn’t tickets to see Ronnie make for a great early Mother’s Day present? Talk about an awesome mother-daughter date!

xo,

Meghan

summer of dresses kick-off party pics

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Good morning all, and happy May Day!

I wanted to pop in quickly so I could share some pics from last night’s Summer of Dresses kick-off fiesta/preview sale. It was a such a fun evening. Thank you, Meghan, for asking us to host the kick-off. Rae and I were so honored to be a part.

{All photos are courtesy of Canary Grey.}

Photos of our guests in their dresses are already up on Summer of Dresses—do go check ‘em out and then get to posting your own! If you couldn’t make it last night, don’t fret: Mighty Swell will be open again this Saturday and Sunday and we’ll be restocking the shop with fresh vintage throughout the week. (Click here for details on this weekend’s event!)

xoxo,

Meghan

10 reasons to attend the summer of dresses kick-off party

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Tomorrow, from 5 to 8 p.m., Mighty Swell will open for a preview sale and photo kick-off for the blog, Summer of Dresses. If you aren’t familiar with Summer of Dresses, it’s, in a nutshell, a happy place on the Internet where beautiful ladies of all ages, sizes and styles celebrate Minnesota’s shortest season (summer) by sharing snapshots of themselves looking cute in dresses. (If you have a sec, go here to learn more about how the group got rolling.) I can think of a million reasons why you should come by, but I’ll keep this list to 10.

1. Get a first crack at Mighty Swell’s spring collection before we open to the public. Having first dibs on everything, including our cray cray assortment of dresses, is kind of an awesome deal.

2. Get your photo snapped by the ever-lovely Wing Ta, owner of Canary Grey, in front of our springy crepe-paper backdrop. She will make you look good, guaranteed!

3. Mix and mingle with a bunch of vintage-loving ladies.

4. Make some in real life connections with chicks you might only know through Twitter.

5. Beers are $1.50 all night at our next-door neighbors, Chris & Rob’s. Nothing complements shopping and lady time like cheap beers and a big open patio!

6. It’s supposed to be 70° and sunny—perfect dress-wearing weather.

7. It’s totally free to attend! Just do the Summer of Dresses gals a favor and RSVP here.

8. New to the group? Get tips from seasoned contributors about how to make your posts great right out of the gate. (There’s a ton of great tips for beginners here, too.)

9. The Pioneer Press and Minnesota Monthly both want to use photos from the kick-off, so if it’s 15 seconds of fame you seek, you should definitely show up.

10. Gals who show up to shop tomorrow will get a 10-percent off coupon redeemable at next weekend’s sale (and our upcoming men’s event on May 18th and 19th). Sweet!

I hope you can make it! I’m hopping off to the shop now to stain our new cash wrap and finish up some last-minute merchandising. Fingers crossed I make it home in time to squeeze in an at-home mani (and perhaps a little GCB watchin’!).

xoxo,

Meghan

P.S. The cute-as-a-button Summer of Dresses logo was designed by Aaron Purmort.