Vintage dress twins!

I know one of the appeals of shopping vintage, to many people, is that your item is potentially one of a kind, but you know what I really love? Finding dress twins! I've done this several times (usually at the Manhattan Vintage Clothing show) but never got to document it until now. About a year ago I picked up this little cotton embroidered dress (from the early 60's I'd say) from the Brooklyn Flea for $40:

Then, this summer while at Beyond Retro off Brick Lane in London, I spotted its twin!


Twinnie here was selling for a ridiculous £60, but such is the way things go in London. Not like I really needed another one but it would have been nice to reunite them. So, go visit my twin dress the next time you are at Beyond Retro, if you're ever there. Does anyone have a similar story?

PORTLAND!

Dudes, lots has changed in the past few weeks! As I mentioned, I left England. It was sad, but what can you do... I am looking forward to new things and pursuing a real job instead of, say, working in a crap pub for 5.75 an hour cash in hand. I actually got a couple of job offers in England before they learned that I was only on a tourist visa. Damn, why do I always have to be so honest with people?

It was good to get back to the states in time to go to Automne and Graham's wedding in Portland. I don't really know these kids too well, but Automne and I had been corresponding via emails and blogs and what not so I felt like I knew what I could expect from them. I'd never been to Portland before but it also lived up to expectations: lots of vegan fixed gear kids, lots of bums/homeless people, lots of vegan/hippy shit, but... LOTS of amazing vintage shopping. As Elizabeth put it, it is ENDLESS and AMAZING.

First, the wedding... Automne's dress was OOC (out of control) radness, it was a purple, floor length number that she customized with tons of fabric flowers. And she wore matching pink and purple chiffon veil. They made a ZINE complete with mixed CD (which, sadly, I think I left in my hotel, ARGHHH!) and they even did a blog with profiles of all the wedding guests. The actual ceremony was the best part, I think... very informal and sweet and they wrote their own vows. They even had a "wedding manifesto." It ruled. I won't post my photos cause theirs are better but be sure to check it out.

The rest of the trip we spent riding bikes and vintage shopping. There were, fortunately, a good number of stores near our hotel which is where I made my purchases. First up, and best really, was Bombshell Vintage. There was a great selection of midcentury stuff, it was on the expensive side for Portland but cheap for someone coming from London and New York. I bought a 40's black silk dress and a 50's Lorrie Deb chiffon dress that I ended up wearing to the wedding. Came in at under $100, not bad.

Next up down the block was a shop called Zeno Oddities, which was an odd assortment of records, vintage, and other, well, "oddities." The guy who ran this shop was obviously much more interested in the records, but there was a nice, very small assortment of vintage, including a 40's dress that I picked up for $30 (score!). He gave me $2 off because a button fell off, pays to be a seamstress.

Further along Burnside was Hattie's Vintage. This was by and large the most expensive of the vintage shops we hit, but they had a nice selection.

I tried on a couple of 30's dresses including this black bias-cut number (very Madeleine Vionnet!)... I still can't get the hang of a long hem though so I left it there, even though it was really cool. Plus I'd already spend over $100.

The last store on this stretch was one called Rock and Rose. It was pretty mediocre, lots of vintage tees and stuff of that nature. Ana found some stuff though for cheap. I still have a hard time accepting that 90's stuff can be called "vintage" now.

The next day we ventured over to the Hawthorne District, which reminded me a lot of Telegraph Ave. in my hometown, Berkeley, CA, and lived up to a lot of Portland stereotypes. Behold:

I died a little inside. Aaaanyways, there were outlets of Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads (both in Berkeley as well) around here which we skipped but we did check out Red Light, which we were told was Portland's answer to Beacon's Closet. There was lots to look through here, also lots of crap and clothes from a few years ago. I had my eye out for things I could re-sell since I'd already spent my clothing budget for myself the day prior... I found an Emma Domb 50's dress for $20 and a couple of other things but determined that they were not really saleable so left them all behind... I'm still thinking about them days later and wondering if I made a mistake. Oh well, you never know!

Monday Ana and I went for a bike ride with rented bikes from the hotel. We rode for about 2 hours along the river.

On Tuesday I checked out Fringe Vintage, which was cute but not really worth writing home about. Not enough mid century. Nice merchandising, though. After that I met up with Elizabeth and we had tacos. She was being shy for some reason.

Then it was off to California, they put me on the smallest plane ever and it was super claustrophobic.

You could see Mt. St. Helens.

Market Publique shop is a go!

So I mentioned how I was cleaning out my closet and selling stuff left and right. Some stuff though just seemed like a shame to let go to second-hand shops for pennies on the dollar, so instead I am putting some pieces up (including some pieces new to me that I picked up at Beacon's) on a new website called Market Publique. MP is a new website started up by some kids in New York (I believe) that is essentially an Ebay exclusively for vintage. The format is great and you can sell stuff for fixed price or auction style. The great thing about it is that it is curated so not just anyone can be a seller (fortunately they approved me, perhaps it will get more exclusive as the site grows) and items will be of high quality. I think I am going to focus on shoes because they are easy for me to photograph on my own.

More stuff will be coming soon (as with any of these sites, listing takes a while). But here's what I have up so far!

Journey across the River

I have two job interviews tomorrow so am thus looking for an excuse to procrastinate rather than prep for them, so here's a blog entry I meant to write a few weeks ago (I have no camera for now, so old material must do!).

Every New York vintage-loving girl knows that good vintage in this city comes at a price, whether it be through digging through bins of ugly donated t-shirts at your local Salvation Army in search of that rare gem (which you rarely find since someone else got to it first), or though paying through the teeth for a garment from one of the dozens of overpriced "vintage" stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Personally, I generally avoid both of those avenues and stick with shopping at stores in Berkeley when I am visiting my parents, events like the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show (also generally overpriced, but known for some good deals, and an endless supply of vintage eye candy) or the odd flea market here or there (which, of course, are not real "flea markets" as they are known in other parts of the country where it might actually be possible to score a cute 50's dress for $10). And of course there is Ebay, but all too often the bidding war gets out of control and by the time your item reaches your door you get that buyers remorse that I was talking about a few entries back...

So what other options does a New York girl have? But of course, the Vintage Road Trip! Unfortunately for me, the road trip generally requires a car, unless you are traveling to somewhere that is accessible by public transportation. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you a somewhat untapped vintage fashion destination: Jersey City! Yes, New Jersey, home of the Sopranos and Bruce Springstein. Back in the day, I used to go to Jersey once in a while to go to a show at Maxwell's, but these days, I have pretty much no motivation to go there. Not to be a Jersey racist or anything but I've seen what kind of characters that state turns out and it ain't pretty (the exception being my mother, sorry mom you are cool (but you don't read my blog, I hope (can you tell I really like parentheses?))).

So it was to my surprise that there were supposedly some decent vintage stores in Jersey. A few weeks ago, intrigued by a Craigslist ad I saw for a store going out of business (sad), I decided to check out what Jersey City had to offer, and promised myself I would spend no more than $20 if I were to find something I liked. The journey took a miniscule 50 minutes from the moment I left my doorstep to the moment I stepped out of the Jersey City PATH station. The first stop was the aforementioned closing store called World of Style Vintage. Sadly, though everything was 1/2 off, there was not much stuff to be had, and the atmosphere was weird... it was based out of a hair salon and there was one lady there getting her hair did and she and her hairdresser were talking about cheating on their boyfriends or something. It was sufficiently Jersey trashy. After a few awkward minutes listening in on their conversation, I left for my second destination, Another Man's Treasure.

NOW we're talking. This store has that incredibly sweet, homey vibe that I love about most of the vintage shops in Berkeley. Whereas many of the New York shops tend to feel more boutique-y, AMT has little vintage knick-knacks and a portable record player that I believe was playing the Smiths when I walked through the door.

While the prices were certainly not cheap, they were a far cry from what you would find in the city (I saw a mint condition Suzy Perette for $75). The pretty cocktail dresses were calling my name, but were unfortunately out of my $20 self-proclaimed budget, so I instead opted for a more practical 80's tiered blouse for $15. I would LOVE to copy this blouse in silk crepe if I ever end up designing a line:

Oh, and did I mention this store is owned and operated by a super cute British guy? Oh yeah, and his wife I think, but yeah, he was nice.

Check out the try-on room!



I wish this was my bedroom.

As for the rest of Jersey City, I cannot say, the shop owner told me of another good store called Hala Vintage but as I had pretty much reached my budget limit I opted out. The good news for those not willing to make the journey is that AMT will be bringing their stuff to the Manhattan Vintage show in April so look for their booth.

Thanks for the top AMT!

Binge and Purge

You know what I love almost as much as buying clothes? Getting rid of clothes! Weird, right? But something about deciding to part with a piece of clothing, though sometimes difficult, is overall extremely satisfying. Over the past few weeks, as part of general spring cleaning, being strapped for cash, and preparing to move to London for the summer (don't get excited/sad just yet, this is only a thought and not yet a reality, more on that in another post) I have been purging my closet of items that I infrequently or no longer wear. I am trying to get rid of at least 3 items per day. This might seem like a lot, but if you know me and have seen my closet, it makes more sense. This is anything from an AIDS Walk sweatshirt I got for free (off to Salvation Army), to some rather neat vintage items that I just don't generally wear (such as this 80's leather jacket).

In this age of the "recessionista" (I hate that word), I think a lot of clothes-minded people are considering what it means to live with less. What this means varies from person to person. To me, it has meant avoiding the cheap, high-street stores like Forever 21, H&M, and the like, where purchases tend to be badly thought out and impulsive, ending with buyers remorse and items that either sit in your closet or fall apart after a normal amount of wear. I'm trying to focus more on pieces that are versatile, well-made, and more of an investment (financial and emotional). I'm also trying to envision a life where I could live out of a few suitcases and feel satisfied with my wardrobe and not feel like I have nothing to wear.

Thus, after years of binging started this major purge. Ebay, Etsy, Beacon's Closet, Buffalo Exchange, and finally Salvation Army have been my friends. Unfortunately nothing is selling for quite as much as I would like it to (with some exceptions, god bless "buy it now"). But generally its selling, and if it's not worth anything, I have no problem giving it away. In a discussion with one of Samantha's other fashion-addicted assistants, we both agreed that it was rare that you "miss" something once it is gone.

I recently started a new FIT class on Fashion Production in preparation for my potential career change-up and have been learning a lot about what drives people (in particular, women) to buy. Something I thought was interesting was this: When men go into a store, if they find what they are looking for and it fits when they try it on, 75% of the time they buy it. Women, on the other hand, will only buy this item 25% of the time, and a quarter of those will return the item later on. In other words, for many women, shopping is emotional rather than utilitarian: we shop as a leisure activity, as sport, because are are marketed to and because we care more about how we are perceived on the basis of appearance. As someone interested in fashion business, this is useful information to decide what to design or what to carry. At the same time, its also useful to assess what drives me to buy and helps me to stop and think whether I really want or need this item.

Its baby steps, surely, and I still expect to give in to my emotional shopping needs every once in a while. After all, that Paypal money was burning a hole in my e-wallet:

Oh hai beautiful Eley Kishimoto shoes, thanks for being on super-sale and for accepting Paypal!

Oh Lyell how I love thee

Gah damn these January recession sales. Everyone is tempting me with bargains and I continue to give in despite my income ceasing as of yesterday (last paycheck). To ease my guilt I went to Beacon's Closet and Buffalo Exchange earlier this week to unload some unwanted items. Honestly I don't get the logic of those places sometimes. Buffalo Exchange took a good amount of my cheap H&M and Forever 21 stuff while passing on Marc Jacobs, Built by Wendy, Orla Kiely, and Deborah Sweeney. I only made $50, which I promptly spent on... groceries. Great.

So despite better judgement, I headed to Nolita today to check out the Lyell sale. Lyell is one of my favorite NY designers, up there with Mayle, Mischen, Samantha Pleet, Lauren Moffatt, etc... yet I never owned any pieces, primarily because they are so expensive. I thought their F/W collection was exceptionally strong this year and I fell in love with this top:



And today it is mine! For only $80, down from $500. It is really delicate and beautiful. Hooray! There was also a really gorgeous sweater but I had to pass as I really don't need more sweaters.



The Lyell sale is on through tomorrow so go check it out, they're at 173 Elizabeth Street.

Godard and Beauty Products

Yesterday was my first day being officially, officially unemployed (I don't count yesterday as it was a federal holiday). While I had learned that I would not be hired by the organization I had worked for temporarily in November, it was not until Friday that we finally parted ways. Alex likened it to a bad relationship... we just. wouldn't. break. up. But yesterday the reality of things crept in a little bit. Fortunately I had plenty to keep me busy. Ana came over in the morning and we drank coffee and watched the inaguration. How funny was that last guy who made the benediction? We had many LOLs about that one.

Later I met up with Megan to score free beauty products. While not a huge beauty product junkie (I wear basically the same make up look every day, plus my best friend works in beauty PR and tends to keep me stocked with anything my heart desires), we couldn't resist the allure of this mysterious "class action" free-for-all." I mapped out the major department stores participating and Megan and I set out to hunt. Bloomingdales was first. That one was probably the most efficient of the stores I went to. The line started out on the street but then they gave you a sheet of paper with all the products that were available. To our dismay, you were only allowed 1 product TOTAL, not one product from each brand as I had previously thought. We made our picks and then moved on to Barneys. Not participating! Gah.... though we still peeked in to the Co-op on the 7th floor. On to Bergdorfs, a store I would never really set my foot in (Hi, I'm not Blair Waldorf) otherwise, where the selection was much smaller but the line was short-ish. I got talked into getting a little mini makeover at one of the cosmetic counters on the way out so Megan bailed to go meet her boyfriend. Eyes freshly made up (with no pressure to buy, fortunately), I trudged on to Saks for Round 3. This was the worst run of the bunch... the line was super long (though moved fast), and near the front you were given a ticket representing one of the brands, but were not told what products were available from each brand. Unsure of what to get, I randomly decided on Dior, and handled my ticket in to receive: a mini bottle of J'adore... which would be great if I hadn't gotten 3 FULL SIZE BOTTLES OF J'ADORE FOR FREE in a gift bag a few years ago. Its an OK scent but not my favorite, so now I have more of it. I tried to trade it in for something else (as did many women) but the Saks bitches were having none of it and we were told to move along. Anyways these are todays spoils:



Later on I went to go see Made in USA, a "lost" Godard film from 1966 featuring french hottie and Godard regular Anna Karina. Apparently it never got a US release. While it was definitely not one of my favorites of his (I got a little sleepy and got, admittedly, very confused with the plot), it was great to see a Godard film in color (on a new print), and Anna's style was, as usual, to die for.




She was all sweater dresses, trench coats, blue eyeshadow and black eyeliner. Plus, in the midst of swilling some scotch she clocked a guy in the head with one of her low heeled Mary Janes. Brilliant. I looked all over for a great colorblock sweater dress like the one in the first picture above but couldn't find one, but here's an outfit inspired by Anna.


Anna Karina in Made in USA - by nouvell_vague on Polyvore.com

c-c-c-cold shopping and burgers

It was sooooo cold today. Like, bone chilling, nose dripping, foot numbing cold. I ventured out of the house to get a facial at this place called Finesse Spa. I get them about once a year, usually when my skin is acting up which it has been ever since I got back from London. They were having a special... it was nice, they steamed my face and put my hands in these warm gloves things so it definitely thawed me out. The plan was to go to the gym and then go home, but the spa was across the street from the Chelsea Flea Market where I've never been so I decided to go check it out to see if they had any vintage patterns or anything of interest. Did not find any patterns but I did find some other things, this one lady had a stall where everything was really cheap, she gave me the following all for $115:


I had been wanting a good 60's vintage suit for some time, one with a fur collar preferably contrasting to the suit. This one is a dress suit with a mink collar, by "Visconti." Was not familiar about the label but it is in great condition. Do you think people would think it was weird if I wore this to interviews? I sooooo can't stand my Nine West pantsuit, I don't feel like myself.



Then I got these boots:



I probably didn't need these, since I already have a pair of red boots, but not ones with heels. These are dreamy.

And as it was an exeedingly cold day, I was on the lookout for a good muff. Even with gloves on my hands were numb, so I picked out this awesome black one. I know, I know, I'm Cruella DeVille. Whatever, it was already dead. She threw in the polka dot gloves for free!



I think I could wear all this together.

I felt bad for all the market vendors, it was FREEZING in there and business seemed a little slow.

After that my motivation to got the gym fizzled as I could no longer feel my extremeties, and I decided to get home as fast as possible, but on the way back I had to pass by Shake Shack, Danny Meyer's burger place. This place is known for its insane line:


So since there was none, I got a burger ($3.75) and then hopped on the subway. Waiting in the cold for it to be cooked was unpleasant but it sure was tasty. Not Dumont tasty but you can't get a much better burger for that cheap.