11.28.2008

you need this coat


gorgeous 1970s leather trench coat with amazing details. i bet you could find an extra in a woody allen film wearing this. hope i don't regret listing this one!
coming to the shop tonight!

11.24.2008

i got new boots...

...perfect lace up brown leather vintage naturalizers from cuffs, a lovely sacramento vintage shop that happens to be on the same block as my apartment. such luck!
then i made a (very simple, graphically) new ad after this outfit screamed at me "hey! it's fall!"
and now i'm feeling way too narcissistic. it's weird looking at pictures of yourself all day and then writing about it. oh well. go shopping.

crank up the sparkle.

wanna stand out? here's how...





coming to the shop tonight!

11.22.2008

how to date vintage clothes

first of all, a google search of that phrase brings back mostly pages about what to wear on a date. oh so unhelpful. secondly, i was an apparel major in college and used to ace the tests when we had to look at a garment and date it practically to the day based on fibers, construction, labels, color, and silhouette. but sometimes, i have such difficulty deciding where to place my finds on the time spectrum.
it's time to bone up on my fashion history. so far in my research, i've decided to add costume gallery to my bookmarks toolbar. they give a short overview of trends for each decade in the 20th century followed by links to other websites with more in-depth coverage of the era-characterizing bits. you can also link to their picks of the best survey books for each decade via amazon.

speaking of which, amazon told me i'd probably want to buy fashion: a history from the 18th to the 20th century. i'm pretty sure they are right. it comes in two huge hardcover volumes - one for the 18th and 19th centuries, and one, even bigger, covering the 20th century. ann steeves on craftstylish gives a loving review of the book, pretty much making me drool all over my little keyboard. extra bonus for her mentioning that the 60's and 70's sections are probably the best because those are my favorite fashion decades of the moment and i'm constantly searching for more evidence as to why. i'm entering my credit card information right now.

i'm also thinking about getting john peacock's the 1970s. i already have his 20th century fashion survey which has distracted me for hours and hours (and proved pretty helpful in studying for those aforementioned tests). his illustrations are broken down by year and then by department - day wear, evening wear, sports and leisure wear, accessories, underwear, and wedding wear. they seem to be pretty accurate as to what people were actually wearing, and to include the most pervasive and date-identifying trends. however, amazon's price on this one is not quite as good as, say, finding it at a thrift store for $1.50, so i think i'll hold out.

off to amazon now to finish buying that first book, and then back to listing clothes, which was the catalyst for this whole thought process in the first place.

see the dress that started all this trouble....

i decided it's from the 1940s. i knew from the start it was gorgeous.

UPDATE: i hear this is probably actually from the 80s. damn. i need more study time!

11.19.2008

check this out!

this lovely lady was included in fierce and nerdy's fashion blog 'chic geek' today along with lots of other glam goodies perfect for upcoming holiday festivities. yay! thanks delia!

11.18.2008

major find

I was about to list this dress, when I remembered that I should really research amazing vintage labels before setting their prices. I was already beyond excited about this one - authentic 1960's vintage in silk with a gorgeous and unique color palette that fits like a dream and looks completely modern and wearable.
It turns out that Marek, New York is also a pretty coveted and rare vintage designer. I found a couple of high-end vintage stores online with Marek dresses - none as cool as this one, of course. And the prices people were paying for these items were outrageous! Oh, how I wish I could find more and more mint condition designer labels and sell them exclusively to ladies with too much money. That would be a swell job. Instead, I will just thank the shopping gods for blessing me with this find and hope that if one of those vintage shop owners sees this dress before you do, at least they won't be getting too much of a steal of a deal when they mark it up to $350. Sheesh!

Below is the awesomest of the other Marek items I found in my research. It is from the same collection as my dress but in an equally cute bubblegum pink and mustard yellow print - and... it's pants! Click on the pic to visit the pantsuit at vintage textile. Maybe you can build a wardrobe around this wonderful print!

11.10.2008

i'm so excited!!!

i'm on my way to pick up this amazing wall hanging and couldn't wait to show it off. it's HUGE and apparently it has actual tree bark around the edges. it's been on craigslist for $5 forever according to the seller. FOOLS! oh well, happy monday to me!


11.06.2008

you missed out

i really wish i had brought my camera with me for shopping today.
we hit an awesome estate sale in the most interesting vintage house i've seen in a while. the layout of the house and the decorations were amazing! and, they had multiple (!) framed paintings of cats.
at a thrift store, there was a set of four glasses in gaudy green and chipped gold paint declaring ' i <3 jesus.' at another shop, we saw a portrait that looked like a cross between chuck norris and jesus. i think it was supposed to be the latter. but he looked like a rock star.
i think i'm going to start documenting these stellar finds to share here. in the meantime, check out yard sale bloodbath, a seattle blog that documents a pair of junkers' weekend adventures and shares pics of crazy stuff and stories of crazy people.

11.04.2008

this week









some of the neato things coming to the shop this week. click here to see more.