The Thrifting Anthropologist

In the 1960s, my mom brought me this Dutch designer hat, I wish I still had it, it's become famous! American women have historically loved hats; but that love comes and goes between the issue of balancing common sense and fashion sense. Baseball caps, cowboy hats, and winter wool have become wardrobe staples, but except for special occasions we have lost sight of the hats that were, and what they were called. Their shapes actually each had a name. Greta Garbo, in a head hugging cloche, the classic French bell shape A little history: Hats for more than any reason beside the absolute necessity of protecting one’s head, didn’t roll in until the Middle Ages when the Catholic church demanded that women cover their hair as part of their religion. Ingrid Bergman, in a great beret, still winter wearable and still popular Women shopkeepers rose to the challenge, creating a new industry, making or providing the needed head covers. After a few centuries, those simple ...

Everyone loves a garden full of color and fun. This is my outdoor living room and relaxing space. We use it all summer long. It’s that time of year! Buds are popping tulips and daffodils are blooming, the birds are singing and the gardens are waiting for us to get out there and grow things! Our own Jerry Cook is the king of clever recycling, this machine has made an appearance at the Olympia arts walk several times. It really works and it's art too  For me, half the fun besides the growing part is the decorating part. I regard my garden spaces as outdoor rooms and I love finding fun objects to tuck into the plants and to dress up my living spaces.   If you have a small hidden piece of wall think about painting it a vivid color, red and green are amazing together. This wall holds a collection of suns and moons and it features seating along the facing wall to just relax and enjoy the space . I’m lucky to have a   husband who builds whatever I ca...

Easter arrived on American shores with the first German immigrants in the 17 th century. They brought the Easter hare to this country and from the Pennsylvania Dutch it has spread like, well, rabbits. Every Bunny was Kung Fu fighting. Sorry, I couldn't help it.  The word Easter comes from Eostre, an ancient German goddess of Spring. Legend says the rabbit was associated with her and it does appear in stories from ancient times. The rabbit somehow got itself associated with the Virgin Mary, a cross pollination of Christianity and pagan rites is very common throughout history, and often you will see paintings of the Virgin and Child with a rabbit tucked in somewhere.   Hats in Easter Egg colors! But a rabbit and eggs?   Eggs would have most likely the easiest food to consume in breaking a Lenten fast. They could be boiled ahead of time and ready to gobble up. They also represent spring and fertility and new beginnings. The Germans discovered that if ...

The Oldest Known Valentine, from 1790, is now Valued at about $5000,  which also makes it the world's most expensive valentine Valentine’s Day is like so many other holidays we celebrate, really old and really pagan in its origins. The  Catholic saint for whom the holiday is named dates back to Roman Christians, and his legend is murky at best. He could have been one of three guys, so you can choose the martyr whose story you like best. They do all have in common that were strong, heroic, and definitely romantic and filled the bill for the church to eradicate one more pagan celebration. Around 270 A.D. the Christian church decided to assign February 14 th to the murky saint as his saint’s day because guess what? A pagan celebration took place the next day. Lupercalia was a seriously pagan festival dedicated to Faunus, the god of agriculture and Romulus and Remus, the twins who are the designated founders of Rome. A Howland Valentine, fussy, frilly and Victori...

Who Wouldn't Want a Wind Up Dick Tracy Car? This one is in space 88 at Finders Keepers  As the mom of four boys who were all obsessed with both cars and Legos, I wondered about toys with wheels? Research shows that wheeled toys have been around as long as the wheel has. Kid’s toys mimic the world around them, so if the family had wheels so did the kids.  Wheeled toys and pull toys have captured imaginations for a very, very long time. Still in marvelous existence, historians and archaeologists have found a cat pull toy from an ancient Egyptian household in Thebes, sans wheels nowadays;  a miniature Trojan style horse from Greece and on the other side of the world, a Mexican Remojada deer pull toy from Vera Cruz. 10th Century Greek Horse Vera Cruz Mexico Clay Wheeled Deer Egyptian Cat Toy from Thebes But before the 1850s toys with wheels were mostly carved wood. The industrial age changed all that and with factories came new processes and wa...

Getting ready for my annual cookie baking frenzy I got my basket of cookie cutters out and added this year’s little  Scottie d og to the group. I love old cookie cutters and I’m always looking for them when I thrift shop.  Cookie cutters come in all sizes, the big rabbit is about 8 inches tall and the little one barely squeaks out at an inch. Cookie cutters are still a collectible that most of us can afford to indulge in and I just discovered there are actually cookie cutter collector clubs, who knew?   Yes, there are a few that have sold for thousands of dollars, but those are really, really old and incredibly rare and I seriously doubt that I will be running across one in my local Goodwill. Really old cookie cutters have flat backs and don't always have handles That being said, what is the history behind these common and fun household items? Who thought of making a piece of tin into something you could mass produce cookies with? Can you imagine h...