god bless america.
this may be one of my favorite finds of all time, in ranks with a gucci clutch, a herman miller like wooden bench and the oxford shoes that i shared earlier in this blog…a vintage american flag with 48 stars. i die. over & over again. found in san diego at a thrift store that once was reasonable, but now has become “expensive”. americana at its best.
with the advent of shows like pawn stars, american pickers and storage wars, the saying “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” is reiterated.
when visiting thrift stores stray away from the conventional and seek out the “other stuff”. you never know what you may find.
btw, pardon the ugly brown couch. been meaning to pick up a shabby chic white sofa for awhile.
wrist action.
vintage finds are my go to presents. i was in need of a gift for a friend so i headed to one of my local thrift stores where i found the pretty feather/leaf-like silver bracelet. perfect. got home, tried it on and looked in the mirror and could not take it off. great. plan b. so i turned to my own jewelry collection to see what i could give up. i found the blue, green, red and ivory bangle which i had picked up at a street market. the colors screamed vintage gucci. had yet to wear it so i decided that this was a possibility. stuffed the 2 bracelets in my suitcase and was on my merry way to california. spent good times with my vintage partner in crime slash cousin and i asked her opinion which one to give up. she said none. both keepers. so stuffed the 2 bracelets back in my suitcase and was on my merry way back to nyc.
p.s. gave my friend vintage housewares
fontalicious.
if i had a dog, i’d name her helvetica. god, i love typography. often when browsing thrift stores, you can always gage vintage items by color, material and font. attracted by their typography and functionality, the apron and duffle bag are some awesome vintage finds from my trip to san diego. unfortunately, i was only able to purchase things that could fit in my suitcase. trust me if i could, i would have purchased 2 leather chesterfield couches, a dining set of table and chairs, a massive bird cage, a vintage baseball bat, rusted metal boxes, a set of wooden skis, military metal gas cans….just to name a few.
back to the items above, thrifted from different stores, red, black and serif fonts must have been the business back in the day and according to the duffle, 1981. i could only imagine what bill shoemaker’s 50th birthday party was like in the summer of 1981 on the beautiful beaches of del mar…me and my dog, helvetica, playing fetch on the shore, would have made fun guests.
btw, i just googled bill shoemaker and he was a famous horse jockey who stood 4 feet, 11 inches and weighed only 95 pounds. shoemaker won 4 kentucky derbys and was immortalized by andy warhol with a portrait. that must have been some 50th birthday party.
kiss me it’s christmas.
i have worn this festive number two christmases in a row and not to an ugly christmas sweater party, but to my family’s annual christmas day party and plan to do so until the sweater is no more.
finding an ugly christmas sweater at a thrift store has become more of a challenge since they are high in demand for themed holiday parties. i have heard that some vintage stores have a special section for these sweaters and charge a minimum of 45 dollars a pop. minimum!!!! the key is to find such item in the off season. i found mine during the summer.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SUNNY SAN DIEGO!!!!
mamma said knock you out.
red is the color of power and warfare, so it is quite poetic that boxing gloves are red and this vintage chanel button down is the same shade. gabrielle bonheur “coco” chanel was known for her menswear-inspired fashions. i like to femme up this find with denim cut offs or wide legged jeans.
this crisp cotton chanel button down is my summer staple. when wearing it, i feel like i own and rule the summer and am transplanted to the riviera somewhere, italian or french, sipping on a chilled glass of pinot grigio or iced tea. i love how i am discussing summer when the first day of winter is 10 days from now. i am already longing for sunshine and warm weather, that’s the SoCal girl in me.
t minus 6 days till san diego - supreme vintage shopping, carne asada fries & time spent with my triplet nieces. priceless.
turn the lights down low.
while living and studying in milan, italy, you gain appreciation for furniture design from kartell to cappellini to cassina to boffi. having sat on a starck chair one too many times during aperitivo, i knew when i saw this plastic goodness from afar it was something special. sure enough, i checked underneath and it was by philippe starck. as i carried it to where my boyfriend was, the vintage vinyls of course, i shared with him my find and put it down and sat on it. boyfriend: ummm, i think that is a table that you are sitting on. table, chair, who cares, i own a starck. later we found out the lighting table was from starck’s collaboration with target. does that change things? of course not. un bicchiere di vino per favore.
black suede shoes.
with cheetah print calf hair. hotness. i had been thinking to myself how i would like a pair of loafers and an animal print pair of shoes and POW! KAPOW! BOFF! ZAP! SOCK! 2 in one. see more details here: supertaster on flickr
supertaster 1 bernie madoff 0
canvas & leather.
if i had my own handbag line i would call it canvas & leather. my handbag buyer friend says it is a terrible name because it is limiting. but really??! why would you want to make bags out of anything else, unless your name is miuccia and make parachutes fashionable.
anyways, this bag is vintage barney’s and it has been my go to bag every since i thrifted it. i feel bad for my handbags. i will buy one. it will be my fave bag, but then it will be replaced with my next find. the cycles goes on and on. i wonder what handbag will replace this one. until then, canvas & leather. view more details: pocket and stitching
fur fridays.
i have had this vintage fur stole slash wrap slash capelet piece of goodness for awhile but had never worn it. i broke it out as the weather was crisp and heck it was friday.
not sure what type of fur it is, but if you can make it out in the photo there is a stripe pattern. stripes + fur = delicious.
