Get ready for some wild Christmas sweaters!

I have a fun collection of photos for you guys! The mall did not disappoint when it came to crazy sweaters this year. I'm not even going to say ugly sweaters, because I don't see these as ugly. Just crazy, creative, and a bit of a shout out to what my grade school teachers used to wear. In fact, I wouldn't even be surprised if some of their old clothes were at one of these stores!

Remember Ragstock, the store that had all kinds of fun (mostly used clothing) for Halloween? Well, they did a lot of decorating for Christmas too. Here are a few shots of their window displays. 

How fun is their vintage sign? "Lo! Lo! Lo!" 

They decorated the ceiling again. Do you see the tiny sweaters on a banner up there?

A few sweatshirts snuck in there too.

Like at Halloween, there was a rack of accessories. 

Is that elf on a reindeer llama? 

This is my favorite of the (new) Christmas sweaters they had in. You've probably noticed already that the newer ones have a sticker that says "Put your drink in my pocket". 

Another cool shark sweater. 🦈 Maybe I like these shark sweaters best because I'm drawn to the shiny material. 

There were Hanukkah sweater options too. This sloth one is my favorite of those. 

This cat sweater actually scares me a bit. I think it's the eyes. As I look at this, I don't even think it's a Christmas sweater. This feels more like a funky Valentine's Day sweater. I'm going to be nice and not say "ugly" here but I will say funky! Yikes. 

Ragstock actually has a Christmas sweater section on their web site: 

Shop Vintage Christmas Sweaters

I think you'll agree that our store has a cooler selection than what's on this site, but it's still fun to look. Also, the prices at the mall were a lot lower!

After Ragstock, I visited JCPenney. There were no funky Christmas clothes to be found there! I did find these two in the Christmas ornament section, though. If only I had a Halloween tree, or in this case, a Day of the Dead tree. I wanted to have a reason to need this pink Chihuahua head. 

Penney's did have a number of those types of gifts that only appear around Christmas time. I've never seen an electric s'mores maker, have you? It reminds me of a fondue pot, because it looks like it could be a group/party treat. At first it seemed kind of goofy, but the more I looked at this, the more I wanted to try it. 

From Penney's to TJ Maxx... Oh did TJ Maxx ever have some wild Christmas sweaters! I learned that the men's section is the place to be for those. I noticed that people in that section were watching me take photos and I assume they were wondering "What man is she shopping for?" 

This. Hahaha! Every time I see it, I laugh. It's creepy, though. 

This one's pretty cute. It has an actual ringing bell on it. 

They'll hear you coming in this one! 

I had to get a picture of the brand name on the tag.

This one is adorable. I'd wear it. 

This close-up picture of the sweater is the wallpaper on my phone now.

A couple walked by as I was photographing this and just stopped, stunned. This is what David S. Pumpkins wears for Christmas, right? It would be good for a performer of some type. Maybe every guy in a band could be wearing one of these for a Christmas concert? I'll tell you one thing, this jacket is heavy!

Yeah, we're still in the men's section here. I had thought that was a skirt, but I think it's a pair of shorts. For the reindeer that doesn't mind being a little cold. 

A few from the ladies section:

A close-up, because this one's pretty cute. 🐻

And yes, even dogs can't escape from this. I don't know about that buttoned Grinch face over the butt. I understand it's an old fashioned long johns thing, but for a dog? 

Well, there you have it! Pretty good selection, eh? I've actually been invited to a party where we're encouraged to wear something kooky like this. I don't know what I'm wearing yet, although I did get some glittery silver present decorations from Dollar Tree to clip on myself. Here's an example of one that's clipped to my Santa hat:

These actually look pretty classy clipped onto a black scarf, like old-time brooches. What's fun is that I can decorate a present, floral display, garland, etc. with these after the party!

Ragstock Vintage Halloween

After that virtual trip to Spirit Halloween, I'm going to share a little more of the mall with you guys. Do any of you have a Ragstock store nearby? These stores might just be a Wisconsin thing. Ragstock is actually a surprise for me to see in a mall, because it's a vintage clothing store. I don't recall us having a vintage store in the mall before this. I would have probably been here a lot back when I was looking for Halloween costumes at Goodwill. So, here's the entryway:

I took a few pics of the window displays too. The ladies side:

The gentlemen:

I love how they decorated the store this year! I don't remember this much effort being put in before. How great is that vintage looking sign? "All Weirdness Welcome" These decorations at the door remind me somewhat of the way I've seen dime stores decorated for Halloween in old photos. 

And the decorations don't stop inside! This is the table display you first see when entering the store. For the groovy alien. 👽

How about those boots! I think David Bowie would have worn those.

They have a lot of used leather jackets. I'm not sure how they end up with so many similar items, but sometimes there are racks of many of the same used thing. This looks like a good place to find some vintage motorcyclist pieces. Looking at this pic, high five to whoever managed to tack those cobwebs to that type of ceiling. Those ceiling pieces like to pop off if they're so much as touched. 

You could do a lot with these furry vests too. That first vest is pretty wild. Those almost look like little feathers all over it. 

OK, I love the names on these. "Tiger Mullet" "Celebrity Chef" "Groovin' Guy" and "80's Tinsel" Not that we can't figure out who these are! (Aside from 80s Tinsel) Oh man, look at the facial hair upon facial hair on Celebrity Chef! I wonder if that's all one piece? I can't stop laughing at Groovin' Guy, even now. I wonder if the beard is attached to the wig? I was actually watching an old episode of The Joy of Painting the other day, and heard Bob Ross say that he received some fan mail from a lady who told him he should get a different wig to match his beard! 

Lots of critter accessories:

Have you guys ever seen these whiskers attached to a little nose? I wonder how well that little button nose stays attached to your actual nose? I dressed as a cat for Halloween years ago and painted some whiskers on my face. I have a feeling I'd get annoyed by these, but they might be cute. 

Some of the neon 80s/90s section here looks similar to what I shared from Spirit Halloween. Check out that Viking helmet on the shelf!

No comment on this shirt. Haha! We're between the hippies and the Good/Evil section here.

The makings of a Tinker Bell or butterfly/fairy costume are on the left.

I have never seen a mask with this much going on above it. It looks like you could maybe spread out that "Laser Fringe" so it looks kind of feathery? This looks like a good Mardi Gras mask to me.

So there's Ragstock's Halloween selection this year! Although you could argue that anything in that store could be part of a Halloween costume. I enjoy seeing costumes that people have put together with vintage pieces. Do any of you have memories of thrifting for Halloween costumes? I used to have access to some really old clothes in vintage/antique stores. I never knew what I would find!

I also wanted to share some pics of the mall's train! We have a train that scoots around the mall carrying kids and any adults that can squish into the cars. There's a friendly conductor and everything. Depending on who is conducting, this train can get pretty wild. You hear that choo-choo and you better get out of the way! It's not like it's on a given track or anything. One time I had to jump into a store as the train zoomed up behind me. 

As you can see, this train is decked out for Halloween. Last Christmas, there were little trees, snowflakes, and lights on it. Here's an idea of how long it is. 

In keeping with the vintage theme, here are some books I picked up from the library last night. The girl at the bottom reminds me of Adele. 

I recently joined our town's historical society, which has involved looking at a lot of old photos. I've been seeing a number of different hairstyles in those photos. Those hairstyles got me thinking that it might be fun to try out some of those same looks or at least a modern variation of them. So, I looked through the library system to find some inspiration, and there was a lot of it! There were far more books than these!

How about the Beatnik's ponytail? I got a kick out of that. The book with the "Twenties... Then and Now" has a section for every decade in style from the 1920s to the 1980s. I can't wait to try some of these hair and makeup techniques!

If you are going for a vintage Halloween look this year, a trip to the thrift store and your local library would be a great start! 💄👠🎩