And accessories . . .

New additions to the store . . .

New in the store . . .

New Store Inventory . . .

Little navy chain handle purse, rose cameo brooch, and flower hair combs . . . All just added to the store as buy-it-nows.

Cardigans and T-Straps

Vintage cashmere cardigan: swap from Effie
Navy t-strap heels: swap from Effie (she found them at Cafe Society! I've been wanting to go there ever since E. started posting her finds from there!)
Tights: thrifted, new
Purse: antique store this weekend
Dress: thrift store in IL
Sunglasses: thrift store

Last week it was so hot here that I swore summer was here already, but this week it's nice and cool, and so I could wear the wonderful little cardigan from Effie. I still can't get over the loveliness of the things she sent me--they are all so small and dainty and they make me want to dress even more ladylike and put-together than I do. I even almost wore a pair of vintage gloves with this (the only short, short ones I had were white and would have clashed, though). I'm also inspired by a granny-chic photo in this month's Nylon magazine. It's the first thing in that magazine in a long time that I've loved--just very literal 1950s grandma kind of prettiness mixed with this season's Luella-style nerdiness. I'll get a photo of it sometime.

Swap!

I hardly ever do swaps because I'm always busy, (ie. lazy) but when Effie, aka The Snail and the Cyclops, asked me to do one I had to say yes. She's been one of my favorite Wardrobe Remixers ever since she first posted a picture, and I've long been intrigued by the wonderful outfits she puts together with finds from thrift stores and antique stores and her grandma's amazing attic.

When I showed Kumar some of her photos he said, "Aww, you girls are twinkies!" And I said, "What's a twinkie?" He said that twinkies are girls who dress kind of alike, and he couldn't have said anything more flattering!



The package came through the mail perfectly wrapped in old sewing patterns and twine!



When I opened it this morning it really felt like Christmas. The huge box was packed with vintage treasures, like these old bobby pins with their original, wonderful packaging and the loveliest little antique makeup containers.



Effie wrote up a note on her vintage typewriter and sent along beautiful old hairnet envelopes to use as stationary. And the '40s/'50s cashmere cardigan is the prettiest thing in the world with its floral appliques and perfect little turned up cuffs. I've actually been searching Ebay for vintage cardigans but never found anything nearly as good.



More treasures: Navy t-strap heels from Cafe Society!! A wonderful little purse in the best shade of green. And the most perfect little scarf--it has little spools of thread on it!



And I love the colors on this pillow. I put it on Kumar's porch for the photo but I'm taking it back home to put in my living room. Actually I'm already planning outfits around the shoes and the bag and the cardigan . . . they're all so lovely that I'm sure they'll be showcased here often.

Thanks again, Effie!

Little white dress

'70s crochet dress: local vintage shop, on sale.
Tights: Target
Necklace: thriftstore in MN
'60s bow pumps: local thrift store

I know I'll sound like a complainer, having moved south to escape Illinois winters, but it's getting so hot out that I'm a little terrified of summer. So I'm trying to make the most out of all of this in-between weather by wearing tights for as long as I can.

Shoes this week . . .

1. '70s Miss Capezio Wedge Sandals, size 9.5
2. Brown Leather Granny Boots, size 7
3. Brown Leather Oxfords, size 10
4. Red Leather Justin Boots, size 6

New this week . . .

Happy birthday, sister!

Today's my little sister Ashley's birthday and I wish I could be with her, but I'm trapped in my apartment doing Ebay listings . . . . Ashley was into fashion long before I was--actually when I was in high school I sort of was anti-fashion. I didn't care at all about what I wore, and sometimes Ashley would watch fashion shows on the E channel (back in the days when they showed fashion shows) and I'd just think it was all terrible. Ashley was also obsessed with vintage way back before I was. She was the craziest (in a good way) dresser at our little Illinois high school, way into 1960s clothes and dragging us all to thrift stores. Which I also hated back then too. Back then I only cared about books.

So this one goes out to Ashley . . . happy birthday! And thanks for helping to get me into fashion!

I like it when magazines take outfit photos of their staff--I know Lucky Magazine makes a regular online feature of it, but Teen Vogue just put up some polaroids of its staff and I think I like them better. They seem more casual and "real"--for instance art assistant Liz Higgins is wearing an H&M dress, American Apparel cardigan, and shoes from Old Navy, and for some reason the idea of a Vogue staffer in Old Navy shoes makes me happy.

But the real reason I wrote this post was sparked by Ms. Higgins' idea of a best bargain:

"All the thrift stores in Florida when I go back home to visit. The grannies donate the best clothes—cardigans, sunglasses, and jewelry—and it's way, way cheaper than vintage stores in the city."

I've heard before (I think it was from Leilani) that many shoppers for vintage stores take business trips to Florida to source their items. And some one else told me that Florida has the best thrift stores in the country. I might take a trip there sometime soon. Believe it or not I've never been to Florida in my life, and I think I might be even more excited to see its thrift stores than the beach.

Which part of the country is known for having the best thrift stores? I know the Midwest gets talked up a lot, but then so does the South. But then again thrifters like The Snail and the Cyclops make me think that the East coast may be just as good!

Inspiration: Chicago summer of '41

I originally planned on devoting another entire post to shoes, but I got sidetracked while looking for inspiration photos and once again found amazing ones in the Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection. This is the third time I've included photos from the collection, but the colors are so beautiful that I couldn't resist posting them. Plus all of these were taken on Lake Michigan in Chicago and it kind of makes me miss it.

Now onto the shoes . . . I'm not a big lover of 1940s fashion, but for some reason lately I've been obsessed with sandals and summer shoes of the '30s and '40s. I especially love the platform and wedge-heeled sandals that look fairly easy to walk in but still pretty. Unfortunately it's a bad season for finding shoes like this, at least in the places I've been looking. Stores are packed with flat sandals and gladiators, which I'm trying to stay away from--not my style, and I'm afraid they'll be all over the place this summer.

So I think I might have to ask for help. Does anyone know of stores that sell vintage-inspired sandals like these? One commenter mentioned saltwater sandals, but they look like they might be a bit wide for my feet, and plus I'm looking for a bit of a heel. Remix Vintage is always an option too, and I'm guessing that I'll end up buying a pair from them, even though the shoes can be a little expensive and their website confuses the life out of me.


All the shoe images above are from the book Shoes: The Complete Sourcebook. I took quick pictures of my favorite '30s/'40s shoes when I was sitting in the Borders cafe and had to be extra secretive so no one would see me. The shoes in the upper right hand corner are my summer dream shoes! I think I might end up doing frantic Ebay searches all summer long in hopes that they'll pop up!

Vintage store treasures

The local thrift and vintage stores are probably the only thing I'll miss when I move away from Athens this summer . . . A couple of people have asked me recently about must-visit boutiques and stores in Athens, and the only ones I can ever think of are my two favorite vintage stores, Minx and Agora. They are about a block away from each other on the same street and have very different vibes (Minx is more vintage boutique-like, while Agora has more of an upscale flea market feel to it), but both stores are wonderful and much better than any vintage stores I've been to in Atlanta, and I've been to a bunch so far.

Today I found this tapestry bag at Agora that I couldn't resist. And since I already have a needlepoint bag, I'm putting this one in the store to pretty it up a little. And the crochet dress was on the sale rack at Minx--it was a little long, and the drawstring waist was too low, so I bought it and altered it a bit. And now I think I love it too much to re-sell!

Lazy Saturday

If this dress looks familiar it's because it was in my store last week . . . It's kind of one of those that I listed, half-hoping it wouldn't sell because it's such a perfect spring dress. That's my excuse for wearing it out today, because really it was the most perfect spring day here in Atlanta, filled with lovely things like going out to lunch in Virginia Highlands (is that what its called?) and reading magazines at Borders (my favorite thing to do) and taking pictures of leaves (just joking).

Special thanks to Kumar for taking this photo. I don't know how he got the light to be so wonderful and hazy--he is really an art star, but he won't admit it.

PS., these are my new favorite sunglasses. I found them at the thrift store and they're from the '80s, but they remind me of '40s/'50s sunglasses in a good way.

Spring floral dresses

One commenter just mentioned that I had a lot of floral dresses in this week's auctions, and it really is true; I've been obsessed with floral prints. I keep getting inspired by all of the floral-themed editorials in magazines this spring, and I haven't gotten sick of all of this season's extreme prettiness just yet.

This was a dress I had planned to keep, but I'll probably end up selling it too. Lately I just want to put every pretty little thing I find into the store, which I suppose is good for business but bad for my wardrobe. I can't remember the last thing I found in a thrift store that went directly to my closet, but tomorrow I'm going on a suburban thrifting adventure, so maybe I will find the perfect little tea dress that I've been on the hunt for all season.

Shout-out to my only male reader, Kumar: Happy Birthday!

New in the store tonight

New auctions Wednesday . . .

I think that I'm going to start listing every week on Wednesday rather than Tuesday . . .

Even more shoes

In my last outfit post I mentioned that the t-strap heels I was wearing would probably have to be ditched for something more comfortable for flea market adventures, and a commenter asked me what sort of shoes I'd wear instead. "Do you own any nice flats?" he/she (probably she) asked.


'80s Woven Oxfords
'70s peep toe flats
'70s/'80s granny boots

Well, I don't know about nice . . . but I do have flats that I wear when I'm out shopping at thrift stores or whenever I have to do a lot of walking. These are the ones I wear just about everyday--I was going through my shoes the other day and it's sad how little I wear some of them. I sort of get into the habit of wearing just a couple pairs all the time and I go through the worst kind of shoe phases. This winter I wore the granny boots nearly every day, and it shows.


'80s black leather brogues
Remix Vintage wedges
Jeffrey Campbell ankle boots

These are the mid-heels I wear when I'm out doing errands or shopping or anything out in public that doesn't require too much walking. I'm obsessed with wearing heels and appearing taller than I am at the moment . . . I went through the same phase in college but dropped it when I moved to a city and had to walk everywhere. Now that I'm doing a lot more driving and rarely have to walk that far I wear heels more often. Though they usually aren't too high--the 2-inch heel on the Remix Vintage wedges works perfectly. And the heels on the Jeffrey Campbell boots definitely qualify as high, but they're so comfortable that I wear them all the time anyway.


Matisse ankle boots
Jeffrey Campbell t-strap heels
'60s YSL pumps

These are what I wear when I'm dressing up a little more, as the heels on all of these shoes are too high for wearing out every day. I found the Matisse ankle boots at a thrift store last year, but because the heels were 4 inches tall I hardly ever wore them out. I've finally managed to walk in them properly, and now I love them. The YSLs only come out when I'm really dressing up. But I've been wearing my new Jeffrey Campbell heels all the time (in case you couldn't tell from my outfit posts!) and the thick heels make walking in them not too terribly difficult.

Noticeably missing are summer shoes and sandals . . . I'm on a hunt for a few pairs of vintage-inspired sandals. I ought to get flat ones, but knowing me I'll end up buying a pair with wood heels or a wedge one at the very least.

Trying on the new GO International Collection

I think I'm going to make this a regular feature, because trying on and taking mirror shots of me in some of my favorite pieces from the Jovovich-Hawk collection for Target made me able to resist actually buying them, though I was really tempted by a few and am still considering making a purchase now that the collection is on clearance on Target's website. I didn't even know about the new GO International collection until Fops and Dandies' L.C. did a sneak preview post. So I had to check it out today when I went shopping for black ink cartridges for my printer (it was an excuse--I always end up buying too much whenever I go to Target) and then I had to try some pieces on, even though the collection as a whole really isn't me.

My favorite was the white tab-detail blouse in the first two pictures--it doesn't look good with the shorts or skirt in the photos, but I think I would love it with a full high-waisted vintage skirt or even high-waisted jeans (which I'm still on the look-out for). And I would have bought it if the fabric weren't so cheap-looking--it was a light cotton that ended up being sheer without trying to be.

The high-waisted shorts were cute, but too short for me. And the grey paper bag waist dress was fine but not really me and maybe not made of the best material. The last dress was great (I tried it on in a size too small by mistake or wishful thinking--imagine it in a size bigger!), and I could see it on an L.C., but not me. The best pieces in the collection were terrific, but only for other people, more modern dressers than me probably.

PS. If I look a little annoyed here it might have something to do with the giggling college girls next to me or the fitting room attendants discussing the finale of Rock of Love. "I liked parts of the show," one middle-aged lady said, "but some of it's a little too much reality for me!"

Sunday

Kumar's coming to town today and we're probably going to go visit flea markets and junk stores, so I probably won't be wearing these shoes . . .

Blouse: Forever 21
Skirt: Antique store in IL
Brooch: Antique store
Socks: American Apparel
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

Antique stores

Going to antique stores is one of my biggest guilty pleasures for sure, and when I say guilty I don't mean in an embarrassing way but rather in a way that's bad for my bank account. When I go to thrift stores it's usually to get stuff for the store (though I'll usually keep a dress or two), but when I go to antique stores it's usually to pick up something for myself. And it's always something that's unnecessary but too lovely to leave behind. Fortunately I usually just get little things. Sometimes it's fun to go to antique stores just to ogle lovely lovely things that I shouldn't be spending money on.


. . .Such as over-sized needlepoint bags!!


. . . and my favorite of all, a 1940s heart-shaped bed lamp.


Today I only ended up buying a few small things, like a pair of blue flower clip-on earrings and a little deer figurine from the '20s. And the 1930s buttons are to sew on to the bodice of a dress or a jacket or a blouse . . . Definitely something I don't really need. But how could I resist that color combination?

Garfield shirts and new skirts . . .

'80s Garfield shirt: from Kumar
Grey wool skirt: thrifted yesterday
Belt: Salvation Army
Feather headband: antique store in IL
Tights: Target
T-straps: Jeffrey Cambell

I found this skirt yesterday and got excited to wear it, even if it's made of wool and it's been bordering on hot here. The shirt is an '80s Garfield one that Kumar got on Ebay for himself, but it was too short so he gave it to me. I really wasn't born in 1983, but I kind of wish I was.

The orange tights were bought at Target on super clearance a few months back but I never really had any desire to wear them until I saw street style pictures of girls at the last London Fashion Week, wearing colored tights with vintage-inspired outfits. And then this video from Topshop, their Best Of Show LFW street style, got me to pull out my orange tights and made me wish I had a pair of extra high heeled mary jane pumps to go with them . . .

New in the store . . .

New Auctions Wednesday

Again, new auctions will be up on Wednesday rather than Tuesday . . . I'm extra excited about the dresses in the store this week too--lots of lovely details such as star-shaped buttons and ascot bows!

Vintage purse inspiration from Alexa Chung

I know I've probably said it here a lot, but I'm not usually all that fascinated by celebrity style. The outfits worn by starlets and L.A. It-Girls tend to blend together in my mind and look the same to me after seeing too many "Steal this Olson Twin's Look!" articles in magazines or blog posts instructing you how to recreate a celebrity look (head to toe!) on the cheap. Celeb Style fashion blogs are my least favorite fashion blogs.

But I think my blog might be turning into one, at least today, because I really couldn't resist putting up another Alexa Chung post. She's my number 1 girl-crush lately--a lot of times when I should be working I find myself doing Flickr searches on her just to see what she's been wearing. It's a little scary how much I've been style-stalking her. But she has such a talent for pulling off cutesy looks and turning them into something a bit more rock and roll . . . I love how she toughens up little girl jackets by pairing them with ankle boots or embraces quirky and somewhat nerdy looks (oversized glasses and Luella cardigans) and makes them glamorous. And how she's said in interviews that she feels like she's a 60 year-old-woman in a 24 year-old's body (I think there's a bit of granny chic in her best outfits) and how she also said that she refuses to dress for men.

But to narrow it down, I think that lately I've been most inspired by the bags she chooses to pair with her outfits. At least that's what's been inspiring me in the thrift stores, when I've been looking through racks of old handbags with more interest than usual. Last week it was shoes--this week I'm a little addicted to purses, but I don't feel quite so guilty about it since I always buy vintage ones. Though the tax-refund shopping spree could continue since I've been on Ebay looking too . . .


Satchels . . . This one isn't entirely Alexa-inspired. I definitely began to look out for vintage briefcase-style satchels in the thrift stores after seeing them carried by Mbibelot and Irene Adler. And fortunately they seem to be easier to find in thrift stores than on Ebay--I had a hard time finding pictures to include here. The top one was actually something I sold a few months ago and sort of wish I hadn't.


Brown leather clutches . . . The outfit on the right is one of my big favorites lately--I love the effortlessness of it, from the Gap cardigan worn over the Moschino dress to the quirkiness of the sunglasses. But what I love most is the idea of brown leather for evening. I'm so bad at choosing purses for fancier outfits--I usually just default to my tiny little quilted black bag. But it seems like a vintage brown clutch could make a dressy outfit more cool and less chi chi.


Vintage logo bags . . . I'm embarrassed to write about this, but I've been kind of obsessed with the idea of carrying a funny old '80s logo bag ever since I first posted the photo on the left on my blog back in December. Alexa carries it off and I think maybe the granny elements of the look help her out--the pom pom fur coat, the Harold and Maude braids . . . Non-designer speedy bags are pretty easy to find in thrift stores and I'm always half-tempted to buy one but also a little scared of crossing the line into bad taste territory. But I'll probably risk it anyway.

jeunedemoiselle

I've never posted photos here of girls wearing clothes from the store, but when I saw these photos of Jeunedemoiselle wearing a coat she got from the store I couldn't resist posting them. I only discovered her blog a few weeks ago, but it's quickly become one of my favorites . . . She has a knack for putting together perfectly pretty, vintage-inspired outfits and has lovely taste in movies to boot (She makes me feel not quite so corny for having an obsession with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies!) Thanks, L., for letting me post these!

You've Got Mail

Today's a rainy day after a bunch of warm lovely days in a row, but it got a lot better when my mailman came and delivered some things I had ordered. I know this is kind of turning into a shopping blog, and if my mom Becky read this she'd tell me to stop buying and to start saving. But when I'm aimlessly browsing through dresses on Etsy and come across the perfect little white sun dress that I've been looking for for months there's no way I can say no. I bought it from the store Raw Goods and the dress came in the prettiest packaging I've seen . . . wrapped up in old sewing patterns and tied with yarn.

Even though it's cold out I had to wear it today along with the headband I made last night out of feathers and a broken rhinestone earring. It's completely ripped off of ones like this . . . And maybe also inspired a little by tipsy Youtube Clara Bow documentary watching.


Certainly last but not least, my TCM Forbidden Hollywood collection came in the mail . . . It's as nerdy as anything, but I've been obsessed with pre-codes for years. They are filled with early '30s naughtiness and pretty slips and garters I wish I had and gay bars and Barbara Stanwyck being bitchy and other wonderful things.

Shoes . . .

All in the store this week . . .

New this week in the store . . .

New auctions tomorrow . . .

This week's auctions will be starting tomorrow rather than tonight. However we're keeping to the Tuesday listing schedule so things should be back to normal next week. Thanks!

Spring Cleaning

I finally got around to cleaning my apartment and straightening things up a little bit, though it's still not exactly how I'd like it to be. I have dreams of living in an old, old house, with wood floors and funny elaborate moulding and oddly-shaped windows. Right now I'm living in a 1980s apartment complex made to resemble a ski chalet. It has berber carpet and two windows. Fortunately my lease runs up in June and I'm planning on moving to the Atlanta area.

Any recommendations from Atlanta readers? I might move to a suburb like Decatur or a safer part of the city. I'd ideally like to rent out a room in an old house, but then again I keep getting drawn in by big apartment complexes because of their amenities. I'm addicted to the treadmill, so included gyms are always nice.