While everything I buy cant possible come from a small business because I am not Rockefeller, I am a HUGE fan of helping other people live their dreams and make a profit doing it, so I try to buy as much handmade,vintage,recycled,garage sale ,thrift shiz I can. And why not? You KNOW you are going to buy.You KNOW you are probably going to spend too much. So why not buy something TOTALLY unique that not one other person will have, at a reasonable price and help out some nice young entrepreneur? Or old, your VFG is not ageist. How could I be? I love old people, the older the better.Some of my happiest days as a kid were spent at a nursing home I volunteered at in High School. Yes it smelled like pee and yes there were dirty old men with catheters trying to goose me*why anyone would think peeing in a bag is an aphrodisiac I will never know.* but there were also really nice knowledgeable men and women that really helped to further my knowledge of vintage living.
So before I get off my soapbox,I just want to say, its not a bad thing to buy mass produced repro, or to only patronize your favorite vintage shop in a certain neck of the woods. Ive done it.
I just don't want you to forget that there is a whole wide word of one of a kind vintage out there and its sold by women like you who love what you love! They know how it sucks to get a vintage item that has gone through the ringer when the seller told you it was pristine. They know what its like to search and search through piles and piles of worthless shiz till they find that one gem of an item. They feel your pain and they feel your triumph, and the sellers I feature on here are the creme de la creme. If you see something you like on here ? Spread the word or buy it! Email this blog to your other vintage fashion loving friends , help spread the word about these sellers!I don't get a kickback or anything like that, I just love their shops, have had great experiences there and want to share that love with you. A side note? All these ladies measurements in their stores are spot on.I have NEVER bought anything that was misrepresented in either size or quality.
Let them help you look fabulous.
The Schwag
Today I will feature, as promised Girlswhowearglasses and VintagePointShop !
MK, first Girlswhowearglasses.
I am in Love with Mary's shop.While she may not have many things in her store, what she does have is beautiful.
I have a collection of quilted dress robes that I totally wear to work.I love them. Wearing a quilted robe dress is like wearing a blanket made of Jesus.For reals y'all , they are that awesome. She had two, a leopard one and a red one.I bought the red one and some other lucky lady beat me to the leopard one!
Here are some pics for your pleasure.
Drinks anyone?
Speaking of drinks the dress I am featuring next is from Marys store , its a 1950's number that reminds me of innocent flirting over cocktails at the Savoy.Will you have another glass? Why yes you will. But not too much, wouldn't want to get sloppy and ruin the lines of your frock now would you?
The Back. This dress is actually modeled by Mary. Is that an amazing tat or what?!
The Front. Look at that neckline! I could totally see you leaning over and exposing that perfect bit of cleavage to your Lover Man, cant you? It should come with a warning label.Designed to drive a man wild: Proceed with caution. And the best part? Its $65.00. Did you get a shiver?
This next item is a 1950's Quilted Dressing Gown. The picture for this is just perfect. I could totally see you lounging on your porch drinking tea and chatting with the girls about tonight's big plans. Or setting your hair in pin curls at the kitchen table. The best part? Its Deadstock! Still has the ORIGINAL TAGS! The one I bought from her had the original tag and I saved it! Because I am a pack rat. much to my One n Onlies chagrin.
The Back. Only $47.50 y'all.
The last piece Id love to feature is a sweet yet sexy little number that Mary calls The Sweet Little Rock N Roller Dress. Circa 1950. I have my own little story that goes with this dress. I call this dress Susie.Susie is a sweetheart but she's got a larcenous side.She's the kind of woman who gets you to give her 20 dollars for the powder room even though this is 2011 and the bathroom is now free. You let the money go with a smile and a wink knowing she'll be back, if only to find out how much you have left in your wallet.
The Front $67.50
She has those items above and other vintage treasures in her store Girlswhowearglasses and if you read yesterdays post, you know she's got a Blog. Check her out! Not only is her store bomb but she's got an interesting view of the world that I enjoy reading.
The next shop featured is the VintagePointShop. I cant lie.The best thing about this site are the prices! Their prices are so reasonable that I would swear there was something wrong with the item! But nope. Carolyn and Paulette run a tight ship! They are up front about any flaws found on a garment( the garments they sell are virtually flaw free, though its nice they mention a smudge or loose thread.) and if quality was reflected in their pricing, items would go for much much more than they do.
The dress I bought from them was a STEAL at only 35 smackeroos!
Take a looksee!
The first item featured from this store is a darling little navy 40's suit.This suit is literally crying out for someone to buy it and match it with some glittery vintage baubles about the neck and ear area. this suit says "I like my Martini's dirty and cold and maybe before 11."
The Front
The Back. The best part? Wait for it, cuz its good.This stunner is only...$50.00. USD y'all not pounds!
This next dress is called The Olivia Dress. I do think the name fits. Olivia is a shy but savvy secretary.She wont balk at the suggestion of sitting on the bosses knee but while there, she takes the time to go over the companies gains and loss's. The next time the Boss asks Olivia in, he gives her a chair.
The Back. Olivia may look like a million bucks, but she's only $45.00!!!!! Yeah, I know, crazy right?! If by crazy you mean awesome.
Last but not least, they've got a little 60's nautical purse that reminded me of 60's Marilyn.Cant you just see her sporting it with the outfit in the picture? I thought of her casually checking her lipstick then tossing the bag on a photographers couch and getting ready to work! 25 bucks.
To find more delicious vintage goodies ( they have shoes and gowns and coats!) mosey on over to the Shop and get your credit card out! Or Paypal because they take that too!
My parting thoughts will be on living in a vintage state of mind.
I love modern conveniences. I love that I get to have a wet to straight flat iron, modern make up tools and a car that can go longer than 100 miles and not break down.I'm a modern kind of girl, but I adore the feeling of Nostalgia. So how does a modern woman of the word keep that feeling of nostalgia close to her heart? OTR. I love old time radio, I credit Old Time Radio for igniting my historical curiosity. I'm no vintage purist, rather I am a history lover and the history I happen to find more interesting just happens to be from the late 30's to the early 60's. So many crazy things were happening! Wars were fought, fashion exploded, repression, segregation, the Commie scare. Arthur Miller wrote some of his most poignant works. Entertainment was virtually reinvented during this time period.Who could not be absolutely mesmerized by all that history shoved into 30 years?! listening to various radio shows gave me an insight into the humor and the history of the times. Jack Benny is the reason that I smoked Lucky Strikes when I first started smoking and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar made me switch to Camels. Which is not exactly a rousing endorsement granted, though it does go to show that radio advertising works! George Burns and Gracie, Fred Allen and his Tin Pan Alley and My Favorite Husband( Lucille Balls first show and the series I Love Lucy was patterned after) gave me my standards for humor. And they made me dig.If everyone is laughing at a joke about Roosevelt? I wanted to know what was going on at the time so I could understand and find it funny! The Fat Man, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar and Sam Spade were my models for a good noir like mystery. I loved those mysteries because the murder? Always solved.Always. There are zero loose ends and the guilty are always punished. It really fits into my need for order.Crime committed.Perpetrator gets the chair.Easy peasy!
I listen to OTR daily(at home) and Doo Wop and Swing ( in the car and at home)to help keep me in a vintage state of mind. The one site I love for both OTR and obscure black and white films that have been rendered Public Domain is http://www.archive.org/. This site is pretty amazing.Its basically a hodgepodge of random shiz that has fallen into public domain.They have music, video and radio shows.I will warn you now.You have to know what you are looking for. Its not exactly user friendly but to start you out , if you are curious, here are some links to my favorite radio shows!
A great female detective Candy Matson
and
Listen to these as I do, while putting on makeup, doing chores around the house, or cooking. One word of warning.If you listen to too many of the detective shows? You may stop standing close to windows if you are going to say something important for fear you might get shot. Or looking over your shoulder more at night. That Johnny Dollar can make you mistrust sweet old ladies with canes and arthritis!
If you like DooWop, they have a great little collection of some of my Fave's like The Five Keys or OMG.Check this shiz out, I have it on the I pod I lost in OH. Hopefully someone is enjoying my tunes. A Collection of Fantastic DooWop Tunes!
Tomorrows 2 Shops will be a surprise! I have so many great stores to chose from that I'm finding it hard to narrow it down! Id feature more than 2 but it takes me from 3 to 4 hours to write this blog with only two stores featured! Id have to quit my job! So decisions must and will be made. Stay tuned!
Till tomorrow my Lovlies,
Your VFG
Oh man, I didn't know about archive.org! Great, yet another place to get lost in for hours. In the meantime, terrific music for working! Thank you so much for mentioning, in addition to these fab shops. (Where I'm about to check the measurements on that pink dress that I do. Not. Need.)
ReplyDeleteRight on! I get SUCH a kick out of people loving what I love! Archive.org is a time sucker you are right.Specially if you know how to search! Try Searching Classic TV. That will keep you busy for YEARS! My personal fave? I married Joan and Love That Bob (if that show doesnt come up try Bob Cummings, the archive is so finicky!)
ReplyDeleteHope the dress is the right measurements, if not?Pass it on to someone you think it might fit and would like it!
Heh, I remember once back in high school humming the theme song to I Married Joan, which stopped my dad dead in his tracks. "How do YOU know that song?" Jeepers, the guy raised me on The Bickersons and The Thin Man (Nora Charles, now THERE'S a woman who knows how to dress!) and thinks I won't do a little exploring on my own? ;)
ReplyDeleteOMG! I only know one other person that knows that show!I married Joan
ReplyDeleteWhat a girl, what a whirl, what a life.
Oh I married Joan
What a mind, love is blind what a wife.
Giddy and gay, all day she keeps my heart laughin'
Never know where her brain has flown.
Each to his own
Can't deny that's why I married Joan.
I love the Bickersons and do not even get me started on the Thin Man series! They have a William Powell movie on the Archive Called the Kennel Murder Case that aint too shabby if you need break from the same six but still have a hankerin for Dicky to take another crack at a murder mystery!