Another Etsy Preview

There is one plus to being a clotheshorse with inadequate closet space- discovering forgotten treasures in dark closet corners.

I guess our basement has some dark corners too.

I noticed the bright green strap of this handbag poking out of a box while changing the furnace filter this morning. Although I thought I had found everything worth a damn during the recent task of going through my basement stash, here was another box of vintage ready for a new home.

The bright green Kelly Bag is a mint condition Mam'selle with the original mirror. The beaded bag with tiny embroidered flowers is made by Lumured. Both of these summer-friendly handbags will be included in my first batch up for sale.

First Rule of Wearing Vintage

Never leave home without them.

Ruby Slipper Nails

I end up sticking with one polish for my fingers and toes for pretty much the entire summer, every summer. This is another of my thrifty lady moves; I find one perfect color, and use almost every drop of the bottle during the season.

Last summer it was Cover Girl's Coral Rose. This summer it is Revlon's Frankly Scarlet.

Due to the often wishy-washy coverage of shimmers, I typically prefer cremes, but Frankly Scarlet goes on as a true, deep red with just the right amount of gold fleck.

It is like ruby slippers for the nails. Love.

Woodruff Flea

Thanks to getting up ridiculously early this morning I managed to hit all three Drives at the annual Woodruff Place Flea Market before the rain started. Here is a brief recap:

East Drive: A fellow with some great architectural antiques like doorknobs, light fixtures and such is in the 900 block. He also had some excellent news, a marketplace for antiques of all sorts will be opening the first of July on 16th Street at the Monon.

Middle Drive: A fellow with several purchase-worthy lamps is set up on the 800 block. I am kicking myself in the ass for not the buying the mint condition MCM lamp shade he had for sale. Across the street is a sale with a few rough, and therefore pretty gross and creepy, taxidermied animals, pretty sure the same ones I have seen in years past.

West Drive: 800ish block there is a gentleman with a good collection of very old vintage, mostly dresses, but also some underclothes and hats. A lot of it was stained or too old to actually wear, but there were a few gems that probably will not last.

So out of all of this, what did I buy? Only this Napier necklace. In addition to being huge and having a lion, I loved its '70s take on regality and filigree.

Dress Painting

Crossed the Line

Sorry fellow thrift shoppers of my fair city, I have crossed the line.

I have resisted purchasing items in the past with the express intent to resell, but lately my position on this has changed. For years, I felt it was only fair to give another lady the chance to prance around town in the fabulous vintage shoes or a dresses that I could only wish were in my size.

When the guy from a local vintage shop came to our yard sale a few years ago, I resisted him buying the clothes I had for sale. My husband talked some sense in me- 'um, we are having a yard sale to get rid of stuff, and wouldn't making $200 before 8:00 a.m. be nice?' Yes, it was, but I envisioned ladies who would do the wearing and enjoying themselves to score at my sale.

The less romantic reality is, there are plenty of folks in town scooping up vintage and turning it for profit online or in shops. Since I have lived in Indianapolis I have seen the previously mentioned reseller, arms loaded, dashing around a thrift store, oh, I don't know, probably a couple hundred times. Seriously.

This all really hit home after seeing a dress I had recently donated back to the Salvation Army for sale at the Savvy Bazaar, a yard sale type shindig set up in a parking lot a Broad Ripple salon. The day I stopped by there were vendors selling vintage or their own handmade wares with tasty grill smell and blaring reggae filling the air. I must say, this is a pretty sweet idea. But back to the dress- this was one I had not worn in years and donated back to both free up some space in my closet, and to give it the opportunity to be worn and enjoyed again. Here it was, for sale for $16.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have done some selling before. This was cleaning my closet of clothes no longer fit, that I brought home really hoping to fit, but did not, or that never made it to the alterations shop. These were shoes I swore I could squeeze into, but were too painfully tight to actually wear, or handbags I decided to part with as my collection grew. And a couple items that were just too beautiful and delicate not to possess that I later felt silly for coveting so.

Of course neither of these pairs of darling kicks fit my giant hooves, yet this time they came home with me. Vintage is what I love, what I am passionate about, and what I am good at. I have accepted that others profit from it, and now, I am ready to give it a shot too.

Less-Effort Beauty

In addition to a few suicidal thoughts, blow drying my hair in our pea-sized bathroom during this unseasonably warm weather has inspired me to do something new with my hair.

The something new I am ready to do is nothing.

It is not just the hellish bathroom inferno, hair has been on my mind since last month's visit to New York City. Through my recent trips out of the Midwest, and browsing street style blogs from around the world, I realize, that here in Indiana, we try really hard when it comes to our hair.

In addition to drastic dye jobs on both ends of the spectrum, it is commonplace to spot highlights in streak or chunk form. We meticulously straighten, use smoothing serums, and fortify with hairspray. It is a lot of work, and too often, this shows.

I am guilty of all of this too. Until a few years ago, I no longer knew what my actual hair color was. At some point, it has been every shade, from platinum to black, and most colors of rainbow. Despite choosing more natural colors for some time now, I still spend a lot of time attempting to tame my thick, wavy hair.

Not ready for my grays to show just yet, I will continue to color my hair, but I am ready to give blow drying and straightening a rest. I am tired of working against it, trying to make it something it is not. If a woman can confidently rock a less than perfectly styled mane in Paris or New York, I am declaring this bit of less-effort beauty good enough for me too.