Recent Vintage Finds

I had a different post planned for today. A post where I was going to share a little impromptu DIY Rit dye project I cooked up for myself this afternoon. But... things didn't go so well. More on that later. For now, I thought I'd show you a few things that have found their way into my closet over the past couple of weeks. First is this super yellow 60s shift dress. A couple of years ago I wouldn't have dared wear this color, but now I quite like it. I wore it out to our town's First Friday festivities last week and got lots of compliments on it! I also snagged this pretty floral print cotton skirt. I want to wear it with a simple white tank top and sandals since the print is kind of loud.

I've been looking for a pair of 30s cut-out detailed oxfords for ages but that's not the kind of thing you come across very often. Instead I found these very 30s inspired brown suede heels that will do the trick. I think they date back to the 60s but that's fine since I have a thing for 30s fashions that have been filtered through a 60s aesthetic - think Faye Dunaway's Bonnie Parker. I also managed to add yet another vintage Coach bag to my ever growing collection. I think this brings my total to five. I'm not usually one to lean towards name brands but there's something about the simplicity of the Coach bags that I love.

And that brings us back to the Rit dye disaster. I found a pretty 40s era blouse this morning and was so excited until I noticed it was plagued with some sort of bleached out spot disease. I knew by looking at it a good soaking wasn't going to be the answer but thought perhaps some dye would do the trick. All of the tags in the blouse had long since faded to nothing so I wasn't sure of the fabric content but I figured I'd give it a go anyway since it was unwearable in its current condition. Well, the dye took to the fabric like magic, turning it a nice cocoa brown. I followed all the directions, dutifully standing by the sink for a full thirty minutes, stirring the dye with one hand and eating potato chips with the other. I was so thrilled to see it there in the sink, imagining all the ways I was going to wear it. Where's the disaster you're wondering? It's now hanging in my window air drying - a teeny tiny doll sized version of the blouse you see here. It shrank a good three inches in every direction! Oopsy daisy. Later I'll try to see if there's any way to salvage it, but right now I can't even bear to look at the pitiful little thing.

Ending things on a more, ahem, positive note there's a pretty collection of 60s cotton floral sundresses now hanging on my to-be-sold rack. I found four of them this morning, all handmade from the same pattern. Someone really loved that pattern! I'll be updating the shop on Friday so look for them then. Well, at least three of them. One may have to take a detour through my closet, I'm just not sure which one!

P. S. Rebecca over at The Clothes Horse asked me to plan an imaginary party and she just posted about it on her blog. Be sure to check it out when you get a second. Isn't her blog the best?!

A Girl, A Thrift Store & Twenty Bucks, Pt. II

For my second $20 shopping experiment I decided to try to find a fancy outfit. Fancy being my word for something I would wear out on a Saturday date with the boyfriend or... well, that's about the fanciest thing I do. The first section as I walk in the door contains the shoes and purses so that's where I started. Right away I spotted a pair of maroon peep toes... in my size! I knew I'd have to build the whole outfit around the shoes. I turned to the purse section and was a little disappointed with the selection. There's usually a pretty clutch or embroidered bag in the bunch, but not this time. I finally settled on a simple black handbag with a gold toned clasp.

Now that I had my accessories, I moved on to the clothes (I'm sort of working backwards here, aren't I?). After scouring through the dress section with nary an option in sight, I headed to the dreaded black skirt aisle. Whenever I really feel up to going through this section, I always come out with something great. I just rarely feel up to it. Making my way down the row, I came up with one, two, three (!) cute black skirts to choose from. In the end I chose a black velvet number. Now for something on top. Once again I was left empty handed after going through the entire section of blouses. I was getting worried that I wouldn't be able to complete the outfit! Then I thought to go through the slips and ended up finding a pretty silk and lace top that would work perfectly. I reviewed my selections and was happy with everything I'd picked but thought the outfit would be tied together nicely with a pair of sheer tights. Luckily I found a pair in the shade I was looking for - stone grey.

The Goods:

• 40s era black velvet paneled skirt: $4.99 (half off)
• 90s era black silk and lace top: $2.99 (half off)
• 70s era grey tights: $.99
• maroon suede Hush Puppies peep toe shoes: $4.99 (half off)
• 50's black handbag: $4.99 (half off)

Since I was shopping on "half off day" the total for this trip came to a whopping $9.95! A lot of thrift store have "family days" or sale days and it's worth it to find out when yours has one. Just be prepared to fight the crowd and deal with screaming children and long lines.

The final result:

Hemlines

I've always heard that hemlines are a good indicator of the economic times in which we live. The shorter the hemlines, the better. When the market crashes, the hemlines come tumbling down. I suppose that means we should all be wearing mini skirts in hopes that it will be some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. At least we'd be in good company...

Shopping Outfits

Andreja:

1930s sunglasses: Zap Home in Lancaster
dress: Flashback Vintage in Austin, TX
bag: Zap & Co in Lancaster
sandals: Payless

Jennifer:

dress: 50s cotton dress Salvation Army
shoes: 80s flats Salvation Army
purse: 40s Bond Street Bag from Etsy
hat: wool beret Salvation Army

Flickr Friend Meet-Up

Today I was lucky enough to meet up with Flickr friend Andreja (aka duckrabbit) since she and her husband are spending the summer in Lancaster. Our afternoon activities included, but were not limited to, munching on delicious crepes, hitting up all of the best vintage shops in town, trying on pretty summer dresses, discussing the advantages of small town living, sipping iced coffee (or frozen hot chocolate in my case) and general girl talk.

Andreja scored two of the cutest cotton summer dresses from Zap & Co. I pranced around in that cute brown and plaid number at Smilin' Gal but didn't end up buying (yet!). I was also eyeing those straw hats with wide grosgrain ribbons and a particular plaid umbrella that I may have to make my own at some point. It was all around fun and hopefully the first of many meet-ups over the summer.

New in the Etsy Boutique

Today I'm working on putting some new goodies in the Etsy Boutique for you including pretty high waisted skirts, vintage lingerie, soft cotton summer dresses and 70s era Levis. Tomorrow I hope to list lots of shoes so check back then! Also, I'm going to create a new catagory in the shop for sale items and will be slashing prices in half to make room for new items. Thanks so much for stoppin' by!

July Wish List

• Classic 501 Levis: All those photos of Jane Birkin have left me searching for the perfect pair of vintage beat-up Levis. The thrift stores back in Alabama were always overflowing with these but they seem nearly impossible to find here in PA.
• Cheap Monday dress: I first spotted this on the Urban Outfitters site then on the Candystore Collective site, but both of those stores have since sold out. Thank goodness for Google because I was able to track it down in another online shop. It's such a simple dress but I think that's what I love about it.
• AA stripe one piece: I want to wear this under high waisted skirts (or perhaps those Levis if ever get my hands on a pair). I think the stripes give it a cool Parisian girl vibe.
• Black silk dress: I know I'll never be able to afford all of those Lyell pieces I love so much but this black silk dress could do in a pinch. I love the cut-out details around the neckline.
• Built By Wendy dress: Speaking of Parisian cool! I think this dress is just about perfect. I'd love it wear it with flats and a pony-tail all summer then tights and tall boots come fall.
• Sheer back cardigan: It's not quite fair putting this on my wish list since it's already sold out at Anthropologie. I fell in love with it upon seeing it in person on a trip to Philly and looked it up online when I got home. It was super soft with a sheer chiffon panel in the back. It's one of those pieces that's going to haunt me!
• Sunny yellow brogues: I'm always a fan of oxfords, wearing them with skirts, dresses, pants, whatever! These are made even better in a pretty sunny shade of yellow.
• Straw fedora: After pining for a boater hat at the beginning of spring, I finally had the chance to try one on when I ran across one at a vintage store. I looked in the mirror and instantly burst into laughter. They're so cute on other people, but just not for me. Perhaps living in the middle of Amish country ruined them for me. I see too many of them being worn by farmers pulled behind work horses.