Tangerine Love!

We've been featured in an etsy treasury!





Thanks to etsy's ReverieMerchants.

Tangerine is the new black for 2012.

A warm color for a cold gloomy fall day.

As my friend Kathleen describes our beautiful Seattle today:

"Soft misty rain that shows the holiday lights and garlands sheeny in the reflections...On the ferry, there is a darker line separating the slightly brighter horizon from the pewter sea, with one buoy visible where the sand bar is."

Goldfinger

My vintage Holy Grail is not lingerie but if I were to ever find something this special I think I would faint.



ebay listing for Vanity Fair gold set

How lucky we were in those days that someone could slip into such luxuries. Wear 24 carat gold against the skin without stepping foot in a jewelry store.

So sexy!

From the seller's description it feels as soft as it looks. Im hoping the seller does really well with the listing, it is a true treasure. At the time of my posting, there are still two days left to bid.

update 12.16.11 - An excellent ending.



The holiday season inspired me to lift the tissue from my lovely vintage fashion pieces.

Gold Brocade Wiggle Bombshell Halter Dress & Jacket



SOLD! - Vintage 60s Metallic Gold Evening Swing Trapeze Coat



I imagine a very special someone wearing them with the "Cloth of Gold" Vanity Fair under garments.

Now Im in the mood for Shirley Bassey singing Goldfinger...

There are many Goldfinger youtubes in existense some from back in the 60s ...till now. All fabulous. I chose this one because I can hear the needle on the vinyl.

Bravo's Fashion Hunters Great for Vintage Research

Ambria Miscia, Tara Muscarella, Karina Lepiner and Wilson Payamps are consigners at Second Time Around in NYC.

Fashion Hunters is the show that follows their purchase and sales adventures. Helpful if you are a buyer, collector, in the business of selling designer vintage fashion.

If you'd like to learn how to spot copies, not if you wish to learn how to price. Some items may be overpriced, like the Louboutin black flats in the last episode.



Some under priced.

The green pair were in excellent condition but the black were too worn to price at 350.



Bravo even went as far as to guesstimate a retail price of $600. ^^ huh?





I noticed that pricing on some of these shows sometimes get a little crazy. The auction buyers attempting to over-compensate for what they spend on storage units is one such example.

Who, in their right mind, shells out over a grand at a thrift store for a worn dusty sofa - when most, specially those outdoor units, are mice...vermin infested...*shudder*.

I dont have a clue who they think they are trying to fool.

Of course, Im not suggesting the pieces in FH come from these types of places..although one could never predict where treasures may be hidden...recalling the lady who dropped by STA with the Chanel bags found at a yard sale in a previous episode. I think I was hyperventilating during that one. Can you imagine?

Sometimes I may answer a call at a posh neighborhood with great anticipation only to leave disappointed versus having found granny's closet brimming with breath taking beauties.

If there are several things Ive learned from years in the vintage biz; the hunt is highly unpredictable - that's what makes it fun and interesting. Good quality vintage is usually one of a kind. You might hit the jackpot and find a similar one in a different size years later, but the reason desirable vintage is coveted and priced accordingly is that quality, well cared for, restored, curated vintage is rare.

The value of Fashion Hunters is how they teach to examine a garment for authenticity. How to turn it inside out to look for finished seams, straight edges, stitching, label, how the logos are positioned, the quality of the fabric/leather.

If an investment piece is your interest Fashion Hunters is for you.

I would like to end this blog entry with a final note.

Please don't forget that most purchases are often negotiable. Price tags are not always written in stone, specially when the item has glaring flaws.

Happy vintage shopping!

Vintage Weight Gain Ads Discourage Twiggy Look

With the making of the latest Marilyn Monroe movie starring Michele Williams gracing the cover of my Vogue magazine.



Marilyn's voluptuous sexy look no doubt celebrates curves!

Michelle attempted to gain weight but as she tells in the article instead it all went to her face. She padded her figure.

"But I do remember one moment of being all suited up as Marilyn and walking from my dressing room onto the soundstage practicing my wiggle," Williams tells the magazine. "There were three or four men gathered around a truck, and I remember seeing that they were watching me come and feeling that they were watching me go--and for the very first time I glimpsed some idea of the pleasure I could take in that kind of attention; not their pleasure but my pleasure. And I thought, Oh, maybe Marilyn felt that when she walked down the beach."



Huffpo's article about Vintage Weight Gain Ads

Love anything Marilyn Monroe. A huge MM poster decorates my vintage room.

I was given James Spada's book as a birthday present by dearest friends in the 80s. It is one of the many books on her that sit on my shelves.

It will be interesting to see if vintage fashions will continue to inspire the runways and maybe even encourage more designers to use normal sized models.

Its all about the healthy look.

Bergdorf Goodman opens a Vintage Restored Line

I wonder what the consensus is in the Vintage Fashion Community.

I see pros and cons.

The obvious ones; keeps Vintage Fashion in the forefront, in the eyes & minds of the consumer. That it restores badly damaged quality vintage instead of shipping to China as rags or dumping in a landfill.

Cons; that perfectly good vintage, slightly soiled, in need of delicate care will be chopped up with the excuse of 'restoring' simply only for the sake of adding the BG label.

I wrote an article recently about such a sad situation where perfectly good vintage pieces may have been cut up for the sake of a one night red carpet gala.

2011 Oscars Red Carpet

Not being one who believes everything I see on the internet I took extra steps to find out if good vintage pieces had been indeed compromised for such an affair.

What are your thoughts?

Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo Talks Vintage, Tom Ford Beauty, and Leopard Pajamas

From Vintage to Modern

I was relieved to read the word 'restored' mentioned by Linda Fargo in the article.

These are some of the comments from my vintage clothing group when I posted a link to the article:

'Off the top of my head, they probably saw Anthropologie selling dye vintage party dresses and thought they could do better. Maybe so too; Bergdorf is a wonderful store!'

'My fear, with the upcycled vintage, is that there may be a stain that could be removed with some effort, but just ends up being a good excuse to cut the bottom off and tie dye. I worry.'

'Bergdorf is so terribly designer friendly I would think they'd be like the MOMA of vintage stores. They really have been known for giving some wonderful young designers a venue even if a couple dresses on a rack... seems they love clothes too. I'd think nothing less of them.'

Bitten by the vintage bug

Is the vintage bug something that is inherited or is it a gene that exists in our dna?

We moved from the East coast some years ago and I still have some items in boxes. Oh, OK, I'll admit, lots of items in boxes. Some items I have decided no longer fit my decor and thinking of selling.

When he was a little boy, my son and I loved shopping yard sales almost every weekend. I can comfortably say we replaced almost every piece of poorly constructed furniture with sturdy well made antiques. Many pieces we still own.

Yard sales upstate NY were much different than ones in NYC and on our way home we'd make a quick stop at the farmer's market and fill our baskets with fresh fragant fruits, vegetables and warm blueberry pie fresh out of the oven. On one of those trips we made friends with a farmer's son, his name was Kenny. Turns out Kenny was a mechanic and worked on our car for years.

Some of those farmers got hit very hard recently due to Tropical Storm Irene.

The Gill Farms were one of those places we shopped.

Farmer's Markets in NYC were non existent back then. My son, who works in NYC shops them now, he gave me a cloth shopping bag from The Amish Market in NYC not too long ago. NYC Farmer's Markets will feel the effect of the storm. Sometimes we forget, or take for granted, how something that happens to someone so far is able to still affect us directly.

Going through one of the boxes recently I felt a familiar long cilindrical shape with a cobalt blue sphere at the top wrapped in paper & bubble wrap. I remembered the Art Deco shaker we found at one of our many yard sale jaunts. We couldnt have paid more than a couple of dollars for it. It would match an Art Deco sideboard we found only a couple of weeks prior for $20.00. The sideboard lives in my dining room today.

Where ever we lived we always displayed the shaker in a cabinet with the rest of the nicer glasses we only used when company came. Some of those glasses were from the Depression era.

I often wondered if the lone shaker belonged to a set.

It took me about 30 years to find out.



When I unwrapped the shaker I placed it on my coffee table thinking maybe to sell or donate. My son spotted it and asked if he could have it for his 'man cave.' He informed me he has been in search of a small Mid Century Buffet bar as well. The shaker would be the first item in his collection and of course I was so happy to let him have it and keep it in the family.

Here is a stunning image from the auction.




A close up of the mark at the bottom of the shaker.



The type of bar my son is in search of.






I saw one listed locally for a song some time ago! I contacted the seller for measurements but because I had no idea my son wanted one I passed on it, I just didnt have the room in my place. Talk about non buyer's regret!



I hope to find another.

At least trying to shop for him for Christmas or Birthdays will be more fun than shopping for sweaters, slippers or socks.

I still dont have the answer to the original question but I hope it is something we can pass down to our children and those who touch our lives.

Vintage Fashion Expo

Oct. 15th & 16th, 2011
at The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, CA







My pulse just skipped a beat.