Vintage Show This Weekend in LA

I'll be participating in the Vintage Clothing and Textile Show this Sunday in Burbank. The show starts at 9am and costs $6, with early admission starting at 8am for $20. The address is:

Pickwick Gardens
1001 Riverside Drive in Burbank

It is just a one day sale and dealers will have vintage from all eras, designer resale, yardage, jewelry and accessories. Usually there are better prices at this show than the Santa Monica show but many of the same dealers attend. Come and check it out!

Vintage Shopping: TOKYO

Today's International Herald Tribune includes a story on Tokyo's vintage shops and a brief history of vintage fashion in the city. The article argues that Tokyo is perhaps the most exciting city in the world for vintage fashion and covers the emergence of trends like reconstructed vintage. Read the full article here and see the accompanying slide show here.

New LA Store: Craig Evan Small

RackedLA reports on a new antique jewelry store opening soon on La Cienega. Craig Evan Small will bring Victorian, Deco, Modern, and other fine estate jewels and watches to the neighborhood overrun with high-end boutiques. Read the story at RackedLA or visit the Craig Evan Small website.

Karen Elson's Vintage Store In Nashville

Did you know that model Karen Elson is opening a vintage store in Nashville? Their website does not provide a date, but one post suggests that they are currently buying vintage stock for an immanent grand opening. You can keep track of their progress at their website, Venus and Mars Vintage.

In The News: Vintage Enamel Jewelry

For those of you who look at this blog from time to time, you'll notice that I'm a big fan of vintage costume jewelry, and especially chunky gold pieces with colored enamel details. Refinery29 has marked this as an emerging trend, although it seems to have been around for at least a year as far as I'm concerned. Along with the story they have pulled links from current eBay auctions to get their readers shopping on the cheap. Read the story and follow the links at Refinery29

New York Magazine on Vintage Costume Jewelry

This month's issue of New York magazine includes a spread of contemporary costume jewelry by Alexis Bittar, Kenneth Jay Lane, and Banana Republic among others. Alongside this story they list sources for digging up vintage costume finds in New York and ways to determine the age and value of older pieces. View the article here.

New Jewelry Line: Tuleste Market

JC report profiles the new jewelry line Tuleste Market, which fuses vintage aesthetics with modern wearability. The line has a distinctly art deco look. Read more about Tuleste Market at JC Report, shop the line at Shopbop, or visit their website here.

New LA Store: Platt Jewelry at Antiquarius 2

Platt is not so much a new store as a newly reopened and reimagined store. Their collection of estate and antique jewels is breathtaking, and their new store is conveniently located next door to Second Time Around Watch Company. Racked LA has a profile of the store with some pictures, which you can see here.

New LA Store: TenOverSix

A new accessories boutique is opening on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles and is expected to carry vintage along with current designer offerings. Racked LA reports that the store will stock "Rachel Comey, Alexander Wang, Comme des Garcons, and Martine Sitbon." It will be interesting to see how the store is merchandised, and whether the vintage and current styles will co-mingle or face off from opposing corners of the shop. Read the full article at Racked LA.

New York Store Frock Profiled

Yesterday The Brooklyn Paper published a profile on New York vintage store Frock that included an interview with the store's buyer. Lexi Sacchi talks about her recent finds, her resources, the store's customer base, and the popularity of cocktail dresses and purses at their Brooklyn location. Read the entire article at The Brooklyn Paper.

Room 222 Vintage Sale This Sunday in LA

My friends at Room 222 are holding a sale this coming Sunday, August 2nd. If you don't know about the space, Room 222 is a small vintage showroom packed with great vintage and designer pieces. While it is normally open to stylists and designers, they open their doors to the public every few weeks. It is located in Los Angeles at 509 N. Fairfax, in Room 222 (upstairs) and they will be there from noon until 4pm.

Torso Vintages Trunk Show in LA

Last week I stumbled upon an incredible vintage store in San Francisco. Torso Vintages is just off of Union Square on Sutter Street and houses a fine collection of clothing and accessories. They will bring an edited collection of their pieces to Los Angeles next week for a Trunk Show held at Chateau Marmont. The sale will be held on August 5th and 6th with a preview on the evening of the 4th.

Sample Sale This Week!

Sorry for the short notice, but starting tomorrow and running through Friday May 30th, many of the showrooms in the Cooper Building will be holding sample sales. This is a great opportunity to shop at below wholesale prices from some great labels. I will have a small collection of my vintage pieces in Nyali Showroom on the fifth floor. For those of you who haven't been to the building, it is on the corner at Ninth Street and Los Angeles in downtown LA.

Lanvin Micro Mini Print Dress

Someone meant for this great Lanvin dress to be worn as a shirt, I suspect. The print is a stylized zebra pattern over stripes of bold spring colors. This is one of my favorite recent finds. I'm putting it up on eBay, along with some of my other finds, starting tomorrow. I'm trying to get my eBay store to get a little more traffic. So visit HERE!

My Thierry Mugler Finds at Decades!

I recently paid a visit to Decades and sold them three of my Thierry Mugler pieces. In the images above are two of them- a flame bodiced mini dress and a jumpsuit with built in cat-eye brooch. These are iconic Mugler and, while I wanted to hold onto them forever, I thought now would be a good time to share them. I got these pieces several years ago. Unfortunately most women overlooked Mugler for the past 15 years. This also happened with Herve Leger. Everyone thought it looked "dated" or too costume. Anyway Decades posted these three pieces on their blog and I couldn't be happier that they are being exposed to a wider audience than I am capable of reaching. I have a few other Mugler pieces that I will be posting this week.

Vintage at Opening Ceremony!

From the LA Times:

Goldwyn's ladylike details

Dominique Porter / Liz Goldwyn

A whimsical piece from Liz Goldwyn’s vintage collection, $230.

Opening Ceremony will present a collection of 1930s to 1960s sweater clips and headpieces curated by style arbiter Liz Goldwyn.

By Erin Weinger, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 30, 2008

OPENING CEREMONY, the bicoastal store that brought us the red-hot TopShop and Chloë Sevigny clothing lines, is now dabbling in vintage with a collection of 1930s to 1960s sweater clips and headpieces curated by style arbiter Liz Goldwyn.

After spending five months digging through thrift store bins and flea market tables, Goldwyn amassed 40 items for the New York and L.A. stores. The fashionable L.A. filmmaker has even more hidden away, but parting is such sweet sorrow. "They yelled at me," she said of the sales staff who reminded her that her finds were not for keeps. "It's always hard to give things up."

The clips and headpieces, $150 to $350, nod to ladylike midcentury style, which is on the fashion radar again thanks to TV's "Mad Men." The clips -- designed to hold a cardigan on the shoulders -- are retro prim and whimsical. One set has a cat clip on one side and a mouse clip on the other. And now that hats are having a moment, you might actually be able to get away with wearing one of the slightly dotty-looking velvet flower or pheasant feather creations.

"They're sexy," Goldwyn said of the one-of-a-kind pieces. "But a little disheveled."

Goldwyn's "Springtime Romance" collection for Opening Ceremony, 451 N. La Cienega, West Hollywood. (310) 652-1180.

Fun Furnishings

One of the things that has kept me so busy this past month is that I finally got a booth at Wertz Brothers. I've had the jewelry case since last April and with a booth you can build a much bigger presentation. It allows for bigger objects but requires much more attention, which I'm now learning. I'm still getting the details down but these are two of my favorite pieces from the booth. The wall chandelier up top is just incredible. I have $850 on it but it could easily be $3000 in the right place. The "trunk" is carved to resemble a tree and the bulbs are covered by crystals. It's a little bit Liberace, and that doesn't scare me. The second photos is of two very old Chinoiserie night stands. They are laquered red with hand painted gold vignettes. These are priced at $1150.

Absence

This past week has been crazy and I'm sorry that I haven't updated since last Tuesday (to my few friends who have been checking up on me). Although I haven't updated I have had a few moments for shopping- though I didn't make it to the flea market this weekend. Some of my stand-out finds included an incredible artisan sterling cuff that I will photograph and post tomorrow and a pair of earrings made from dominos (I've been into this playful look lately).

I sold the Bluemarine wristlet listed below- I guess I'll have to add a tag for sold items since I don't want to remove posts when items are no longer available. Also I'll be participating in the FEM sample sale this weekend- I'll have a small booth with vintage clothing and accessories.

Also a lot of designers I know are having upcoming sample sales- I'll try to update as I hear about them but for now Pade Vavra is having hers tomorrow (Thursday) at her showroom in the Cooper Building and Calleen Cordero is having a major shoe sale at her store on Beverly Boulevard starting December 4th. Again the FEM show is this weekend so please contact me if you need more details. I will be there, as will Nyali Showroom with Giorgio Brato, S. Sun, and many jewelry lines.

Nina Ricci Deadstock Sunglasses

These great Nina Ricci wayfarer style sunglasses are currently for sale on eBay under my username FOUNDfashion. They're dirt cheap- a buy it now under $60. They've never been worn and are scratch free. I have a few more of these in other colors if anyone is interested. Also it is difficult to tell by the photo but there is a black angular plastic overlay on top of the tortoise in the front (above and on the side of the lens). Nice detail. Also love the discreet NR logo. More Nina Ricci sunglasses will be posted- probably in the spring.

Wertz Brothers Antique Mart

If you find yourself in Santa Monica come visit my booth at Wertz Brothers Antique Mart. It seems like a strange place to score great vintage fashion but there are many jewelry dealers and some vendors that specialize in clothing and accessories. I have a case in the center section- it is hard to miss. You can ask for a 10% discount when you visit, which I offer to my special customers.