September 23, 2008

Overwhelmed - in the best possible way

NorthStar Vintage Corporate Headquarters are being renovated, so like an unmoored ship, I've been floating around Northern New England, finding LOTS of vintage. So much that I had to break down and buy more hangers - a first in the 10 years I've been selling vintage.

One lot is from a woman who was hippie in NYC during the 60's. And she had fabulous taste in clothing. So I have boxes of great platform and baby doll shoes, bohemian dresses, and a big sheepskin/suede Pakistani coat, all KILLING me as they sit, waiting to be photographed and put up online.

Another lot is from someone who collected ethnic wear and costumes. Need a sporran? A beefeater's uniform? Leiderhosen? Brunclek? Bunad?

Still left to deal with is a store's worth of vintage menswear, and huge estate lot with clothes from the 40's and 50's - tons of gabardine women's suits and crepe dresses - all in good larger sizes.

Yay New England!

Jonathan Richman agrees

September 14, 2008

Mentioned

On the Vintage Bulletin! Thank you!

Here's the link.

This is the novelty print shirt they're talking about.


The blouse is from the McMullen Company, who, I understand, used a lot of Liberty of London prints. I done some research, but cannot find any proof. Still, it's a damn cute print, and it totally makes sense that it would be from Liberty, who made some damn cute prints.

September 9, 2008

When it rains it pours

I'm going on a big cross state motorcycle trip tomorrow. I am excited. I would be SUPER excited if I weren't missing some cool local stuff.

Day of Destruction. Smash-em-up at the local speedway. Possibly the most irony-free spot in the country.

Picnic Music and Arts Festival. I want to buy, I want to sell, I want to schmooze. I want to see good live music. Might have to come back early for this one.

Meathouse Wine Tasting. Booze and meat!

Space Homecoming Dance. Not to brag, but I have the best prom dresses in town.

Still - this is the kind of trip I will remember forever. As long as the old girl (my BMW) (and me) can make the trip.

September 7, 2008

My new favorite thing EVER

I freaked when I saw it was a vintage athletic jacket.

I freaked when I saw it was a vintage athletic BOWLING jacket, with pin and bowling ball shaped patchs.

I freaked when I saw that the patches were embroidered with the years the team won (making it easy to date) and that the winning team was Checker Cab (a bunch of cabbies winning bowling tournament in the late 50's is an incredibly evocative situation).


And then while driving it home, my associate pointed out that it was completely reversible, with a black satin, and matching bowling theme patches. These types of things should not be pointed out to me when I'm driving, because I damn near crashed the car.




This is especially timely because I have been obsessed with Rin Tanaka's work - books on vintage motorcycle culture, vintage skateboard and surf fashion, rockabilly fashion, and vintage athletic fashion.

Click HERE to see the auction.

September 4, 2008

Get Your Vote On

This woman is 47.



She is also a professional french horn player, vintage clothing dealer, and one of the coolest, smartest women out there. And good God, look at that skin!

Maggie has entered in More Magazines, "Redefining the F Word" Contest (her "F" word is Finery) and is one of the 25 semi-finalists.

She needs your vote! I might be biased, but she rocks so much more than all the other contestants. She should totally win this contest. Plus, selfishly, what better way to promote vintage clothing?!

Vote Here. Every Day, Please.(you'll need to register, but it's no big deal - that's what hotmail accounts are for).

September 2, 2008

Goth Redux

Because I work from home, I don't have much opportunity to dress up. And when I do leave the house for something fancier than the post office or grocery store, I have a uniform - black top, black skirt, black tights, black boots, silver accessories, big black bag.

And all of a sudden, thanks to the Goth Revival, I am in style, even if it's by default, and even if it's because I've just been holding on to the look since the first go round, in the 1980's. And yes, I had a Bauhaus record. Hell, I had the extended dance remix of "Bela Lugosi's Dead."

So this Goth Revival lets me embrace the things I loved in the past - like these red winklepicker skull buckle boots from *capricornvintage* (Identical to those worn by the one goth girl in my big northeast university who had a name that was spelled normally and pronounced abnormally. She had a leather jacket with spikes (!) that caught on angora sweaters, and once went to a sorority rush dressed as a nun).

Click photo for link to auction.

It also makes me want to go shopping for more black things, as I always need more black clothes (click photos for link):


Moschino Black Patent Platform Mary Janes at Zappos



Flower/Skull Pendant from Vivenne Westwood


Marc Jacobs Rolling Rings Dress at Nordstrom.


80's Black Ruched Dress on eBay


Dsquared Plaid/Black Lug Soled Booties on Zappos


September 1, 2008

9.1

Cleaning up post party beer cans and paper plates never makes me happy, but today, the act actually made me sad, as it's the last "real" day of summer.

Granted, my sadness is nothing like what I would experience as a child, when at the end of our summer on a lake in Maine, we would pack the light blue Ford Econline van (to the gills with all the furniture my father had bought) and drive back to our home in suburban Philadelphia. I would sob from the moment we drove down the dirt road, away from the house, until we made our first rest stop (food always trumped tears).

Happily, it was a glorious end to a glorious summer - 19 of us rode up to the Owls Head Transportation Museum Vintage Motorcycle Show. It was like a checklist for perfection - a dry sunny day, curvy roads through Richmond, Dresden Mills, and Alna, every bike made it to and from the show (almost a statistical impossibility with 19 vintage bikes), over 900 vintage bikes at the show (including a 1950's Harley Flat Track racing bike that filled me with covetous lust).

Though road weary and sunburnt, we all found the strength to come back chez Here to drink and eat and talk with increasing volume (to the chagrin of our neighbors) about the ride.

(And I made the most rocking Thai Peanut Pasta:

6 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1/4 cup water
9 Tbsp Soy Sauce
6 Tbsp Tahhini
1/2 cup Seame Oil
2 Tbsp Sherry
5 Tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup Honey
4 medium cloves garlic - chopped
2 Tsp fresh ginger - minced (from a jar is fine)
1 - 2 Tbsp Hot Pepper Oil

Blend all until smooth. Add in hot water to give it the consistency of whipping cream.

Add to 1 lb cooked fettucine

Toss. Top with scallions, sesame seeds, peeled carrots, cilantro, cukes...whatever you'd like.

Some of the ingredients are little weird, but once you have them, this is so easy to make, and it makes people insane with its flavor - very rich and spicy.)

Now it's the season that I think about field hockey, and soups, and leather jackets, and all of that is good too.