romantic vintage blouses.

lately i cannot get enough of these 1960's style vintage blouses. with ruffles, bow ties and tuxedo fronts..they're sophisticated but romantic..

paired with a pencil skirt from target, & some thrifted granny boots, it's my new favorite outfit!

i will be listing a few in my shop this week!

pretty little etsy dresses.

here are a few pretty dresses i recently photographed for my etsy shop!

vintage RED HOTS dress.

vintage small town dress.

vintage come SAIL AWAY dress.

 

vintage SHEER pink RUFFLE dress.

vintage sweet PAISLEY dress.

vintage BOHO floral dress. Gunne Sax.

vintage SOFT PINK casual day dress.

vintage DAY on the FARM dress.

wearing black.

do you ever have those days when none of your clothes look good so you put on a black shirt?

i kind of love those older women who switch their wardrobes to mostly black..my ballet teacher growing up Sally Notara is one of them, and she always looked so sophisticated!  i envy how it must simplify getting dressed in the morning... maybe one day i'll join them..

so in honor of these women...some new shop items in classic black:

"the Gwendolyn dress"

i found a dress on jcrew final sale that i absolutely loved for my bridesmaids..

it happened to be called "the gwendolyn dress".

it was meant to be!!!

i thrifted for accessories.

i gave every girl a different gold vintage clutch,

and i thrifted for vintage necklaces which i then re-pieced, attaching ribbon, modeled after the ones at jcrew.

each one was unique, and the girls chose their own gold shoes!

they look beautiful!!

TIPS FOR SUCCESS: running with the brides!!

since this blog is dedicated to all things connected with my love for thrifting and for vintage, i think it's about time i did a series of posts about my beautiful backyard wedding this summer! it was a total labor of love and would not have been possible without tapping into my thrifting resources.

i will begin with the dress...

if there is one way to acquire a wedding gown similar to hunting for one in a second hand shop, it is the "Running of the Brides" at Filene's basement NYC.


now, contrary to popular belief that this even is extremely competitive and stressful, it does not have to be!! we arrived at after the early morning mad rush for the Vera Wang's and spent a leisurely day trying on gowns..

TIPS FOR SUCCESS RUNNING WITH THE BRIDES:
1. Arrive around 10am if you do not want to fight the 'zillas
2. Bring a team of at least 3 ppl with you.
3. Bring SNACKS & water..it is tiring.
4. Claim a spot near a mirror to set up camp.
5. Guard your pile of dresses closely.

here were a few of my favorite "runners up"..and *NOTE*..all of these gowns were priced at $250!

i loved this gown..but alas it was a bit small up top...

my overly flamboyant but helpful salesman...he insisted on this dress for me though i did not agree..

a dress that i had wished was my size...

the winner!! for a meager $500!!! the original price tag??? $2,750 my friends...

so moral of the story..it's great fun & i will be going again this February with a friend in search of her gown!!

sweet engagement photos..

happy new year friends!!

i enjoyed my eve on the couch because i spent the last week in manhatten doing a dance intensive with corbindances at the gorgeous new alvin ailey studios...it was wonderful!

but with all of this continuous ice & snow in PA i loved seeing these lovely shots from an engagement photo shoot of my husband's cousin steve & his fiance courtney. 

they were taken in ocean city, nj where they will be having a beach wedding this summer!

i love how they capture the feel of the boardwalk & the beach in the cool weather..