The Glory

So many times, I have seen an ad that promises TONS of vintage clothes. I get completely hyper, lose sleep over it, and have even camped out in my car overnight only to be disappointed. One day, 13bees and I drove all the way to Staten Island and had to sit on the porch of a house that had a raunchy open sewer right near by for four hours, only to discover that they had already had the sale the weekend before and there was a whole attic full of clothing that was now gone. To top it all off, my whole sewing box fell out of the car and most of the contents went into the sewer.

I have since been determined to make Staten Island atone for its misdeeds. I saw an ad for a thrift store that had received a large donation of 50's and early 6o's items and was selling them all at a really reasonable price. The ad was two days old, so I figured that somebody else had gotten to everything, but I thought I would give it a shot anyway. Well, nobody had come yet, so I got to dig through fifteen giant garbage bags full of vintage, half of it unworn from the early 50's-early 60's in exchange for volunteering to help tag and clean up the remainder of it!!! I guess it belonged to a department store that closed down and stored everything in the basement for 50 years. Pretty unbelievable. I have more metal zippers in my house than I even know what to do with right now! Here is a snapshot of some of the goods:

And a very Greedy Seagull sitting in her newly padded nest:

A Day Trip to Paris

When curating my spring collection, all I could think of was Paris. It's been on my mind lately, maybe because we are coming fast upon Valentine's, and nobody does love like the French! Perhaps it also coincides with romantic happenings in my personal life (more on that soon!)... so if you can't afford to take a rendezvous, shop my new collection and fake it!

Maxi Dresses

I never thought I could pull off a maxi dress because I am so short, but this little spread that I found on Refinery 29 makes me want to give them another chance. When balanced with the right accessories, they can actually be quite flattering and make you look taller. I especially love the second look which mixes florals with tough biker looking pieces. I already have the Docs as a matter of fact!

A little drama

Never hurt anyone.....

All going in the shop tonight

Day Trip to Philly

I took a day trip to Philadelphia over the weekend which turned out to be quite fun. We did your typical touristy things, visiting the original senate and house of representatives, the remnants of Ben Franklin's house and of course the Liberty Bell. However my favorite part of the city was walking down the oldest inhabited residential street in America. There was even a British flag waving from one of the buildings, which was quite amusing.

It would be so great to buy that one little place with the for rent sign- but I can't imagine having to deal with tourists ogling my house all year long. If I did live there, I would dress in period costumes and shout obscenities out the window, waving a British flag with a big stein of ale- which now that I think of it sounds vaguely like what I did while living in a 700 year old house when I studied abroad in Florence, Italy. Don't ask.

Naturally, I had to check out the local vintage. I highly recommend you visit Sazz Vintage on North 3rd street if you go. Amanda, the owner is super nice and helpful and she has great items at really fair prices. I was amazed at the difference in price points between Manhattan vintage and Philly. Ok, not really surprised but still- it was a nice change!

A New Look for the New Year

Call me schizophrenic, but I really love to shake things up every few months. I am always looking for ways to improve or I go bonkers with boredom. So when I met Harlene, I knew I had to make room for her in my life. Harlene is my new mannequin. She is a Wolf, from 1964 and has seen a lot of love. Especially around her boobs. Even though she's been around the block, I couldn't say no to those gently forward-sloped hips, parchment colored exterior and tiny waist that will finally fit every vintage thing I own. Her name is stamped on her front, the mannequin belonged to a fit model in the 60's. I am really digging a rustic, equestrian, slightly rugged look right now and I think she displays my items so beautifully. Here's a look at how today's shoot turned out, courtesy of the lovely Harlene:

I Spy

a 50's John Romain bag
3 hand knit folk sweaters
3 Etienne Aigner leather bags
40's alligator hide clutch
mod wine vinyl pumps
snakeskin peeptoe pumps
metallic and black 50's peeptoes
2 beautiful tooled leather bags
tassel trimmed Zodiac boots

All going in the shop next week.

2010; Fashion for the Future

2010 sound a little futuristic, doesn't it? This spread, Numéro #109 - Abbey Lee Kershaw by Miguel Reveriego is pretty groundbreaking if you ask me.