vintage

Fashion 101: Telling Vintage from 'Vintage' from The Gloss Click to read the full article.

Love vintage but don't know much about it? Read this fabulous from The Gloss, contributed by journalist and Fashism Co-Founder, Brooke Moreland.

Brooke enlisted my and Sammy Davis' help to answer all your burning vintage-related questions, and teach you a few valuable lessons, such as:

1. Vintage Does Not Mean "Used"

2. Vintage Can Be Integrated Into a ‘Modern’ Wardrobe

3. Not All Vintage Is Created Equal

4. Know Some Names

5. Make Sure It’s Not Junk, &

6. Enjoy the Hunt

Read all about it in her article Fashion 101: Telling Vintage from 'Vintage'.

Tie dye trend as seen on the Spring 2010 runways. From left: Rodarte, Proenza Schouler, & Blumarine. Images via Style.com

We're loving the tie dye trend all over the Spring runways. Tie dye has become quite good at appearing, disappearing, and then reappearing on the runway. However when it does reappear it possesses this magical power of always looking better than ever. Spring 2010's current take on tie dye is refreshing and inspiring. Inspiring in the sense that I am more than ready to trade in my winter uniform of an oversized boyfriend cardigan and opt for a colorful palette of tie dye tops and spring dresses. Tie dye is easy to wear, it's fun, it's flirty, and as long as it doesn't look like the t-shirt you made at Summer Camp when you were age 10, then you're golden.

Is too much tie dye too overwhelming? If so, then try an accessory. We all oohed and ahhed when we stumbled across this feature in Grazia magazine, which Greta from Greta Guide brought to our photo shoot for inspiration.

Tie dye scarf featured in Grazia Magazine.

Accessorizing with a scarf in the Spring/Summer seasons isn't always an obvious choice, but as you can see, the photo above is printed proof that a scarf can absolutely pull an outfit all together. 

Tie dye scarf from Vainglorious Vintage, on Market Publique

Want to find a unique, vintage, tie dye scarf? Vainglorious just happened to upload the perfect Spring Tie Dye Scarf. Get it while you can! And enjoy the upcoming season that is tie dye friendly and tie dye fabulous!

Walking around the West Village with Jennine! (a big thank you to Jennine for taking my outfit photo).

Last Friday, Jennine and I decided to spend some quality time (and much needed relaxation!) walking around the West Village before she left the city. We had a great lunch at Morandi talking about all things Internet related. Then we walked around Bleecker and Christopher Street and did some shopping.

We oogled jewelry at Sucre & Albertine General, tried on various garments at Cynthia Rowley, and Jennine ate her first-ever Magnolia cupcake. YUM! We mostly behaved, but I did end up getting a pair of vintage malachite earrings and a 50s clear lucite bracelet at Albertine General. There was too much temptation there for me to resist! I justified it by having a matching malachite ring and knowing that clear accessories are the thing to have right now...

After that, we stopped by Aedes de Venustas, my favorite perfume store ever, were Jennine helped me narrow down my perfume choice to 1, after many months of deliberation (I'm very picky about perfume). More on the choice later...

Here's what I wore:

Turban, vintage from Patricia H. via the Manhattan Vintage Show

Cropped trapeze shirt, vintage from Lorry Polizzi via the Manhattan Vintage Show

Lace bodysuit, TopShop (bought due to regret of selling this vintage one!)

Pleated pants, vintage, thrifted

Booties, Marc by Marc Jacobs about millions of years old (at least 4).

Jennine had a fabulous outfit on - of course. Take a closer look on her blog.

For all of you pining after her overized vintage tapestry bag, I have a surprise for you... Stay tuned!!!

Magnolia cupcakes - yum! And they have rainbow sprinkles!

Market Publique featured on GretaGuide.com

Last Tuesday, sustainable style blogger Greta came by our studio to see where the magic behind Market Publique happens. 

We have her the tour, and she browsed through the clothes we have picked out for our upcoming shoot (with none other than Rebecca of The Clothes Horse!). She also looked through some of our shoes and fell in love with a pair of black suede platforms with a bow - aren't they adorable?

We later went to my favorite vegan restaurant ever, Bliss, for lunch and some fresh juice to chat about vintage, sustainable style and upcoming collaborations. Read all about it on her blog!

And keep your eyes peeled: Greta will host an auction on her site soon... stay tuned for more details. 

Greta shows off her suede bow platforms from Market Publique

It was so fun to meet Greta on Tuesday, and then we got to hang out a little more last night, at the Fashion 2.0 Style Coalition Awards Party. She wore the shoes she brought from us and looked super adorable, as you can imagine!

Here's a pic of Greta and me hanging out at the Fashion 2.0 party with Keiko Lynn. It was so much fun!

I wore a crazy black wool vintage dress with insane silver sequin bow details at the neck and sleeves. Isn't it out of control? Plus my deco diamond earrings by Wendy Brandes, which I adore and come out for special ocassions. Nars pink lipstick in Roman Holiday completed my 80s look. 

My dress garnered some attention, which was surprising to me since there were SO many fabulous outfits. Despite the huge snow storm, people really rallied! A designer came to ask me if my dress was vintage or from TopShop because she and her friend (Michelle from She Finds)  had made a bet (she won!)- and of course I set the record straight: vintage all the way!

It's actually an 80s Adrienne Vittadini I got at Horizons. I removed the shoulder pads for sanity's sake. 

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The fabulous ladies at stylish biking blog Let's Go Ride a Bike interviewed me for Part III of their Vintage Style series.

If you're not tired of hearing me cooing over my vintage trike, go on over to their blog to read all about my biking and triking life - from when I was a kid to riding my bike around Brooklyn now. Strange things and experiences came out, and you'll probably learn more about my cycing life than you ever wanted to know...

Also, apparently, adult tricycles is where it's at! Check out this article (found via Catherine's comment on LGRAB) on the Washington Post.

Enter our giveaway for this adorable gold confetti clutch on The Clothes Horse!

Giveaway ends 01/31/10.

And congratulations to Rachel for winning our Late Afternoon Giveaway too!

Update! A new photo of New Year's surfaced on Facebook! 

Here we are, at Baba having New Year's Eve dinner. Enjoy!

___ Original Post ___

Outfit - New Year's Eve

Dress, vintage from Franny & Roey

Tights, unknown

Shoes, Marc by Marc Jacobs

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm really into velvet for the holiday season. It's warm, soft and cuddly, but unlike a snuggie, it's still festive and dressy. So for New Year's Eve I opted for this tiny velvet vintage number I found at Franny & Roey.

It was on the window, and I instantly had to try it. I loved how the dark inky velvet was contrasted with the silver  & gold trim and multi-colored rhinestones. I also loved that it has extra-mini - perfect for a night out. And as a bonus: it has pockets!! ROCK ON.

I paired it with my trusty black tights (I have at least 20 pairs, so I will never know where they came from) and shiny, shiny patent leather shoes from Marc by Marc Jacobs I got at Saks Fifth Avenue.

It's no secret that Samantha Pleet is one of my favorite designers. You may remember a while back, I covered her Fall '09 show for Jargol.com, and I've been seen wearing her clothes on this blog, even before my 'regular' outfit posts (ahem, her shorts are totally my favorites!)

So, imagine my excitement when I heard about her sample sale at Dossier this weekend! I went to check it out and found many of her Fall '09 pieces I fell in love with, including the bubble romper and little black dress we featured in our photoshoot, the emerald green sheer dress, wool jumpsuits, and 90s-inspired wool dresses with peplums and ruffles galore.

Along with her collection, Samantha has brought a few select vintage pieces from her collection, including amazing silk high-waisted Christian Dior shorts she bought in Paris. If that's not enough to get you to Fort Greene, there is also cider and gingerbread cookies to warm you right up!

Another thing I found out about this Brooklyn designer while chatting it up with her today: all her clothes are eco-friendly! As she pointed out - "My clothes reflect my lifestyle. If I eat organic, why wouldn't I use organic materials for my clothes?". So hop on over and grab some organic silk dresses and organic wool jumpsuits with wool from Vermont. A bonus: all her clothes are made right here in New York City!

I knew she was one of my favorites for a reason.

Samantha Pleet Sample Sale at Dossier

244 Dekalb Ave.

Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Sale through the weekend.

Rebecca, of The Clothes Horse, wearing a vintage vest from Market Publique

I adore black. Yes, I live in New York and we're famous for donning the 'color' head-to-toe often, but I've loved it all my life. No, I was never 'a goth'. I've just always loved black.

I also love red. You will soon get a peek at my 10+ collection of red shoes - a Dorothy complex indeed. And I've been wearing my knit red hat a lot this winter.

And, I love red and black together, expecially with a strategically-placed graphic splash of white (or cream). For the longest time in the early 90s I shyd away from the combo – the Chicago Bulls were way too popular for anyone to see the colors and not immediately think of them. But nowadays, its most appropriate!

So when Rebecca posted her 'librarian chic' outfit of red, black and cream, I adored it. The vest is on loan from Market Publique and will be available for purchase soon. We love how she belted it! And we love the tiny grid of squares and the gold buttons. It's the perfect layering piece. See more of her forrest outfit pictures on her blog.

Rebecca, of The Clothes Horse, wearing a vintage vest from Market Publique

Rebecca, of The Clothes Horse, wearing a vintage vest from Market Publique

I'm trying to stick to my New Year's resolution, so here's another outfit post.

Hat, vintage shearling pouf from Horizons, borrowed from Kate

Blouse, vintage Christian Dior from Liebemarlene Vintage

Skirt, vintage silk with abstract cityscape from Ramona West

Tights, eggplant color from Club Monaco

Sweater, navy cashmere with shawl collar from BCBG

Boots, fawn shearling clogs by Sven Boots

Bracelet, vintage goldtone cuff, Market Publique
 

I got dressed for our first real day back (Monday, bear with me on the turnaround time..) in the office (I've been mostly working from home in this awful weather, since there were so many holidays), and didn't realize my outfit is almost like the one I wore right before I went on vacation! Funny. I promise I wear different things. Sometimes.

Despite the similarity to the horses one, I wanted to wear this skirt because it has just arrived in the mail from Ramona West. As I mentioned before on this blog, they have the best vintage skirts and always seem to hem it to where I like them.  Also, you notice so many things when you take a photo: like we need to repaint the wall and buff the floors... And skirts totally look longer in pictures - it's so weird.

I also love love love this shearling hat, which is actually Kate's which she bought from Horizons. I wanted it, but it's too big for me. I can put my entire face in it (see?). I thought I'd borrow it for the picture, to go with the shearling Sven boots, the warmest thing on earth, I've had these fawn ones since last winter ('08), and the black ones since '07. They are salvation for walking around the city.

All photos by Kate Sims.