"Hallo" from Belgium :-D

[lexi_icedrink]

Hello everybody,
I am a 23 year old girl from Belgium (a tiny spot in Europe) who has covered her life in thrift. If I speak of an addiction, it is really not exaggerated. I have to go and hunt every week or I feel sad :-)
I worked in a thrift store several months ago ("kringloopwinkel" in Belgium).
I decorated my house only with second hand.
My boyfriend sells records and I sell vintage clothes as an extend of our passion.
I love to boost my creativity with at random vintage finds. (sewing, re upholstery, painting, jewelry making,...)
We don't have a lot of money, but even if we were rich, we wouldn't want it in another way 
I saw there is a section in this forum to show off some thrifty finds. I can't wait to post there. But it will be difficult to select the most crazy and beautiful things 
Anyway, a big thanks for creating a forum like this!

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Welcome from across "the pond"!

I LOVE your retro pad! I want your kitchen and your desk chair!  Where did you thrift them all?  Do you have thrift stores in Belgium or flea markets?

Do tell!

Ciao, Bella!
SeSo

[Big Daddy Audio]

Hello from Arizona, USA

Thriftiness is universal.  It knows no boundaries.  It's good to know that Belgium is represented among the wise-spenders.

This board is great, and you'll find lots of people with many great ideas.

See you next time
bye for now.

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Hi and lovely to have you here! Kringloopwinkel, hm? I've learned a new word for today!

[Femme1]

Welcome!  I'm going to start saying "kringloopwinkle" instead of "thrift shop" from now on.

Is that a word in Walon (Walloon)? It sounds almost Dutch.

[Good Buddy]

Wow, our first Belgian, COOL!

We ALL want to hear about European thrifting!

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

[lexi_icedrink]

  Thanks for the lovely words!

Kringloop is the Dutch word for 'circular course'. Yep, they speak Dutch in Belgium too (In fact we have 3 official languages: French, Dutch and German)

Since the thrift shops in Belgium became more popular and expensive, I especially love flee markets and garage sales! I'm getting better and better in beating down the price. One of the best buys I've done this year was a vintage Chanel purse for 1,5$. It went straight to eBay were the winning bid was like 150$. Nice pocket money...

One of the best things about thrift hunting is that you feel you're improving. You start to 'feel' the unsearched corners and in my case, specific vintage colours and fabrics begin to strike your eye immediately. When wanting to make a bargain, it's all about acting. I am in touch with the silly - cute - naive - poor - doubting girl in myself :-) ...

Glad to meet you all!

[goodaim]

Hi and welcome aboard! Lots of Dutch-Amercians where I live, so I'll welcome any occasional Dutch words you may use. I've picked up older Dutch-language books to use in projects. I have to admit, though, that over here, vintage French text is more popular.

Please tell me, what are some of the popular collectibles in your country right now? And what catches your eye when you go to the flea markets, garage sales, etc?

goodaim

[oceangurl]

Welcome Lexi_icedrink! You will love it here as we all have a common interest in thrifting, garage sales and flea markets, a bargain hunt is a bargain hunt no matter what language or where around the globe it originates! Would love to know more about your country and what you find collectible and the prices (in american please!) you pay for items, bye the way I love Chanel, my cat is named CoCo Chanel because she is a designer one of a kind Kitty and is just as glamourous and elegant as its name sake, again welcome aboard! Ciao!

[lexi_icedrink]

Please tell me, what are some of the popular collectibles in your country right now?

Any interior design of the 50s-60s-70s is doing very well. The 90s is popular in the videogame area. In clothing, the 90s are still on there break through :-)
Very popular are old cycling objects (jerseys) or football items (shirts) I once sold a football shirt for about 150$
Old toys are also very doing very good. I'm thinking of: Lego, Fisher Price, Monchichi and Kipling monkey's, Disney, tin or wood toys...
My boyfriend says "Don't forget to mention the records" ;-)

Because Belgium is such a small country, we are often walking behind the bigger cities like London, Paris and Berlin. I don't think we are very original in main stream collecting goods. It is kind of a difficult question, because there's such a big range when talking about collection things. You gave me kind of a research task, but don't worry, as an ex-journalism student, I like 

One thing that comes into my mind, is a 'tirelire negre merci' (french) or 'negerknikkertje' (dutch) It something typical from the colonial period, when Belgium was attached to Congo. It is a kind of money-box that looks like the statue of a little begging black figure. When you put money in it, it nods 'Thank you'. This piece was putted on the counter of for example your local bakery to collect money for the fathers who were on their mission to 'save the souls of the poor' ;-) Conclusion: an object thats really sad and funny in the same time. AND in my opinion, nothing I would like to have in my living room 

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Lexi, do you still have those? I bet they would sell on eBay, lol. You know, vintage Catholic items can make a lot of $$ sometimes, especially the French/Belgium ones.

I love stuff from the 50s-60s and some stuff from the 70s (I was there, lol, so I don't want to be the "mutton dressed as lamb" )

As far as dress:  I have seen folk in Europe dressing in the 80s style, but with a millenium twist. Do you find this to be so? 

And when you mention 90s clothing style, can you describe what that is? I didn't know the 90s had a style, and I am very curious.

Ciao, Bella
SeSo     

[valleythriftshopper]

Please tell me, what are some of the popular collectibles in your country right now?

Old toys are also very doing very good. I'm thinking of: Lego, Fisher Price, Monchichi and Kipling monkey's, Disney, tin or wood toys...

I love old toys, but have only been fortunate enough to find a few good ones.  Here's one you would appreciate- 1970's Lego London Bus, mint & still in the shrink wrap that I found at the Salvation Army for $3.00.  I sold it for $250.00 on Ebay to someone from Hong Kong, there were several bidders from Hong Kong, so I guess Lego is big there. 

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj292/thriftshopper/BUS.jpg

[oceangurl]

Oh Lexi I absolutley LOVE those religious statues, are they for sale? lol! no really?

[lexi_icedrink]

Here's one you would appreciate- 1970's Lego London Bus

O wow!  What an incredible find!!!  !!!

As far as dress:  I have seen folk in Europe dressing in the 80s style, but with a millennium twist. Do you find this to be so? 
And when you mention 90s clothing style, can you describe what that is? I didn't know the 90s had a style, and I am very curious.

I think we are in a movement that picking up different vintage styles of different ages is not wrong anymore. For example: skinny jeans are hot, but wide pipes are still acceptable. It is not wrong to wear a 70s dress together with stretchy pants and 80s boots.

In this creative stream the 90s are coming through. I am thinking of the beginning of house culture. Belgium was one of the first countries making a total different sound. Influences are new beat (the first smileys!), fluo, acid washed jeans, typical nylon fluo sports wear .... In order to feel the look of it you should watch video clips of that time for example Technotronic.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/nSKTeKi-zfM&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/nSKTeKi-zfM&amp;ap=%2526fmt%3D18&amp;rel=0</a>

Most people are still convinced the 90s were totally wrong and marginal, but if you can change that view, you see that the 90s had a lot to offer! 
It's difficult to explain since I was born in 1984... I wasn't allowed to go out in that time 

[valleythriftshopper]

When I think of 90's style I think about the TV sitcom "Friends" in the early years, I think that about epitomizes the 90's.  I had the "Rachel" haircut in the mid-90's.