Perennial Vintage

A good writing rule of thumb is to write about what you know, or in my book, what you love. I love vintage dresses, so I write about them. I love vintage plaid, like men's plaid shirts.  So, here's a little word about them right now. See this shirt? I was supposed to sell it. But, a men's vintage small plaid usually means it's my size, so naturally it doesn't make it to the shop. It only makes it as far as my closet. For all you size small men's vintage plaid, I'm profusely sorry. I'm wearing this shirt right this second, I love it, I get tons of compliments on it, and it's mine. ( I'm sorry!!) Then there's my husband. I bring home vintage Pendleton flannels in wool, and the ones that are his size, end up on his side of the closet. Lucky for MANY of you vintage-men's-large-plaid-flannels wearers, my husband is tall...so he needs longer sleeve, so many a times, these older larges just don't fit. Then t

It's that time of year! Okay, so because I turned 40 this year, I'm having a 6-hour 40% off sale on Black Friday!! That's the biggest sale I've ever had. Celebrate! I've also got sales going on all next weekend, starting with Black Friday Sales (which begins the 24th at 6:00pm), going through Small Shop Saturday and on through Cyber Monday. If you can't wait until then, get to my shop ◄ right now! The whole shop is on a 10% off vacation sale, since I'm taking a few days off. (All items will ship Wednesday the 23rd). Enjoy your Thanksgiving with family and friends, eat a lot, laugh a lot and then roll on over to your PC or smart phone to my shop ◄ and I'll see you there!

I wouldn't be exaggerating if I told you that I'm having a serious love affair with vintage dresses. I've been in love with them for years, but it has been growing. Big time. And I'm at that point in the story where the two star-crossed lovers have met -- and are still forbidden to meet -- and then meet again --sometimes in secret, sometimes not. (I may or may not secretly thrift shop too, as in "when I'm not supposed to.") That's how I feel with these dresses. Finding (thrifting, estate-sale-ing, word-of-mouth or otherwise) a vintage dress ( from say the 1930s through the 1960s ) is hard enough. But when I find one that fits me? That's practically like wining the lottery. Twice. Here's a small sampling of dresses I've found in the last few months that fit. I find plenty that don't fit me and they end up in my Etsy shop, which you can find right here! ◄ When they fit, it's the best! They don't make dresses quite like

Because Fall is the best time of year, because I wait for it basically all year,  I'll be having a 20% off sale from the 20th through the 25th!  I'm ready to clear out some inventory for more Fall and Winter items. So, stop on by ... and soon. Because when the sale starts, stuff sells fast! Save yourself some time  and bookmark this page ↓ Perennial Vintage ◄ See you there!

I've talked about this before. How vintage dresses are pretty much the best thing that ever existed. For years, dresses were kind of a "well, it's not the right occasion," type of thing for me.  Not no more! All that and some horrid English to tell you that when I find amazing vintage dresses -- which, trust me when I tell you that they're really hard to find -- I'm either selling it to you or keeping it. Or keeping it and then selling it. This 60s olive green corduroy dress? Yeah. Just a tad big for me. But, think that's going to stop me from wearing it? Psshh. No way. Once I've loved it some, I may sell it. (Light on the "sell" and heavy on the "may.") I'm going to switch out this belt -- because it's like the size of Texas-- and wear one of mine, a wide, black leather one along with some oxford flats. Perfect Fall outfit for Cali, and if cooler, add a black turtleneck. I'll have to In

Or also known as "cyclical fashion." If only it WAS the return to utilitarianism with the hand-made, hard-working people that warranted the insurgence of overalls. But unfortunately, it's not. It's just fashion doing its fashion "thing" and coming back into play. Overalls. They're back. I wore them twenty years ago. And now, though I'm not wearing them, I see them everywhere. There was one pair that I sold a month or so ago that I regret -- every day.  It's was a specific vintage brand called Dee Cee. I had them in my hands and I sold them. I mean, they were vintage but slim enough to make me look like I wasn't wearing a garbage bag. What is wrong with me? This brand is on eBay so I know I can find them- but I really want to thrift them, the way I found them originally. Thrifted. Worn. Patina'd to perfection. Meanwhile, if I come across overalls of any kind, I buy them to sell. No questions asked. If I list them, they will sell.

Okay. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you what my favorite color is: it's olive green. I wear it religiously. I love it like an addict. And if I could wear it every day, I would. But that would mean military, and I'm not cut out for that (Seriously, I'm not that brave... thank you men and women of the armed forces! You are amazing). But, doesn't mean I can't love it. And not wear it. I do love it. And I do wear it. And I love camouflage just as much! And if you look at my Instagram feed (link ◄) you'll see it (along with denim) as a staple wardrobe color. Like this: ↓       It's also a color I'm UBER drawn to when vintage hunting, therefore, it ends up in my shop. Like, all the flippin' time. So, if you like this color as much as I, check out what I have in my shop. ◄ And here's a sample of some of it, because I love seeing the color so much. :) Like this awesome jacket:  ◄   And these amazing o

I sort of stumbled upon these boots about a year ago (thanks to my husband) and honestly, they're the best boots I've ever owned. They are Wolverine . I talked about them in a previous post ◄and since then, my list grows with another five (of Wolverines) I want to acquire. They sell mens and womens boots and also fun other womens shoes and boots. Seriously, if I'm being honest, I might take one of each of everything. This week, though I don't normally like to give reason to wear down some of my favorite shoes, I had to wear these beauties along my coastal trekking. Wolverines fit right into the Pacific Northwest scenery, like they were meant for this place. Like here ... And here ... And here ... And here, too ... wait. No, not here. Here, I'm in my socks. And comfy. (Boots ARE in the background though ... and so is beer). Like here... Okay, this time - I know. This time, I HAD to deal with a pair of Red Wings. But, the

It's that time of year already! Not sure how -- that whole time warp thing is in serious high gear because the last six months have been a blur. Time to start thinking about Spring. This means Spring dresses! And for you vintage lovers, I can't find enough of them.     Like this beauty, a sage green sleeveless shift dress :       Or this amazing yellow maxi dress :        And there's this gorgeous 50s Polka Dot dress. Not yet up in the shop, but will be!         Visit the shop ◄ for more dresses, new items every day, and tons of inventory. Plus, right now and for the next ten days, everything is 15% off!   Hop on by!

It's not an addiction if I can admit that I have it, right? Like my sweater addiction, I have an absurd addiction to vintage mugs. This began years ago when I began collecting vintage Fire King dinner ware and dishes. I drink from Fire King, or one of my other vintage mugs, every day. And I'm not the only one who has a thing for mugs. Sometimes, you find THE one that fits perfectly to your lips, makes the coffee (or tea) taste better, and you wouldn't trade it for any other. I feel this way about Fireking. When I hop into thrift stores to find vintage clothing, a couple times a week, I inevitably  meander over to the mugs. Okay, the mug section of all thrift stores are hilarious. You have the outcast mugs, the ones maybe only one person wants, the ones that are chipped, the ones that are cracked, the mug from the trip to Arizona, the mug from Disney World. The hand made mugs to the cheap, ugly-as-heck mugs. The mugs from Pottery Barn, to the mugs from Target

I literally have an addiction to sweaters. I own a lot of them. And they sit on my shelves staring at me, waiting to be worn. Which is incredibly ironic because I live in California. Northern. Which means we do get some seasons. But, not the season that warrants wearing these wonderful woolly things regularly. It doesn't seem right. I buy mostly for my shop. But because of that, I habitually buy them, even when I don't need any more for the store. So I buy ones like this: And this: And coats like this:   And I don't have room for these. I really don't. I'm bursting at the seams.   Which is never pretty.   And I have tons (okay,  more than one) of men's sweaters and coats, too.   So, that's why I'm having a 25% off all sweater and coats sale. Go here ◄ and check it out! I need to clear all my Winter inventory to make room for Spring and Summer wear. Get these awesome deals before they're gone!

Okay, so I talk frequently about my love for Pendleton, more specifically, vintage Pendleton. There's a reason or two for this. 1. Pendleton is one of the best quality outdoors-wear clothes makers. And have been and will (hopefully) always will be. (I do have issues with their "assembly in Mexico" now rather than USA-made -- which leads me to 2.)       2. Vintage Pendleton is made better than new. I know others may disagree. But after years of buying and selling vintage Pendleton, I'm sorry... there's no debate. They're made with better quality materials and are simply manufactured in a far better manner. 3. Men's vintage small Pendleton fit me like a glove. But over the almost six years of selling them, you know how many "smalls" I've come across? Maybe two. The one I'm wearing in the pictures (and am keeping) is one of two. I have a theory as to why I don't find small ... all the wives/girlfriends

Okay ... so in a few posts back, I told you that I was years late (like nine) to the Mad Men craziness. Man, did I miss out! Okay. Not really. But, I was slightly delayed in my love for the series. I was able to watch 92 episodes within a month. Now, I know that's not a crazy, marathon-Mad-Men watching extravaganza. Crazy would be 92 episodes in like three days. But for me and my schedule (kids, work, more work, house, dog, watching the series when my husband isn't home) this is like superwoman speed. A few things I observed: 1. There's a reason why I sell vintage. It's incredible. And when the whole set is set in decade-appropriate everything, it's almost too much to take in for a vintager like myself (who happens to favor the 60s). Holy Wow. 2 . You would think this series is about Don Draper (actor John Hamm- AMAZING actor.) It's not. I know, I know. He is the main protagonist. You love him, then hate him, then love him again. But no. This ser

There is a trick to wearing vintage. And perhaps there's more than one trick. But here's the main one...      if the vintage piece is a bit more "decade obvious," keep it minimal so that you don't look like you're going to a costume party, or that perhaps you missed Halloween and are now making up for it.   Granted, if the vintage you're wearing is a classic, then you'll never look like you are wearing a costume. Which is main reason I love "classic" style. It's traditional (see that word "tradition"), which means it's not trendy.       This outfit -- all of it except the skirt (and watch) -- is new. The one piece that is vintage is the center of attention. Which it should be! But, again. I'm not even adding a vintage purse (which I could and have). But I wore my Tory Burch with it and it all worked out dandy.     The skirt is a wool-blend, 1960s mid-length wiggle skirt. The gatheri