Tag Archives: vintage

Shopping in New York: Vintage

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Now onto my third post on New York; Vintage.

I will state that overall I didn’t particularly rate the vintage in New York. This was for two reasons 1) It was mostly over priced (I’m talking over $200 for a simple 50s dress in some shops) and 2) a hell of a lot of the vintage stores were more consignment/ thrift stores that had mostly 80s and later stuff. I can see the market for this, but it just really isn’t my scene.
So, here is a little rundown featuring some of the places I visited for vintage in New York:
First off, Brooklyn flea
I LOVED this place. Located in a very pretty leafy and quiet part of Brooklyn this flea market runs on Saturdays and Sundays and features great vintage clothing, homeware and jewellery. There were a few really good sellers there. One selling possibly the most sensational deadstock sunglasses I have ever seen ($125 on average per pair) and another selling lovely clothes mostly from the 40s and 50s including a wonderful range of swimsuits.You can find the sellers blog here. Keep a look out for the shots from the fair and you might just spot me there : )
Williamsburg

(don’t do a me and think, its not that far from Brooklyn to Williamsburg, I’ll walk. In the midday june heat this was a seriously bad idea…get the subway instead)
Williamsburg has a great vibe about it and has a plethora of vintage stores dotted around. The central Bedford avenue also has a great selection of eateries and coffee shops, and on the day I was there lots of street vendors too. To me this had a real air of Brightons Lanes about it. A great place to visit but the well known vintage stores there like Beacons Closet were along the lines of Beyond retro with most pieces dating to the 80s, or in some cases newer.
Lower East side and East village

I whiled away a few hours wandering around the streets here and I have to say if you want older vintage to head to Lower East side. There were a few great (although pricey) vintage shops here. Especially on Ludlow Avenue and Orchard Avenue. I did stumble across a great street fair though. Hester street fair, where I picked up my only goodies of the trip. Here there were lots of craft sellers and also vintage sellers and food stalls. My purchases were a great bag and dress from seller Cotillion, who you can see more of on her website (incredibly reasonably priced and some of the nicest hats I have seen in a long time)

I’m sad to say that the dress may have to leave my collection (its a tad big on the bust, and I already have a big enough alteration pile…but i will update if i decide to sell it on!)

So that is my brief rundown of New York vintage, of course there is lots more to visit vintage wise but with only four days in New York I fitted in as much as I could. I have heard great things about Hells Kitchen flea, so I believe this is well worth a trip too, and I will have to make a visit out there on my next trip to the big apple!

It’s think pink week for Advantage In Vintage

Posted in 50s, laura ashley, susan small by

If you follow me on twitter @liztregenza you might have seen tweets that I was going to be selling off some of the fabulous @vintagesecret (Naomi Thompson’s) collection. Well, I am delighted to say that at the moment I have some of these wonderful items avaialable on ebay, including a dress that was featured in her recent book Styleme vintage: Clothes.






I am keeping my listings each week at the moment to distinct themes. This weeks theme is think pink. So there are lots of fab pieces from the 30s through to the 80s in pink tones. Not only are there items from Naomis collection, but some of the examples currently up on offer are from my personal collection too. With not one, not two but THREE Susan Small dreses from the 1950s.  I am still desperrately downsizing, and there are lots more items coming up in the next few weeks (dresses by Alice Edwards, Blanes and Radley to name but a few).


To go to the listings on ebay just click the link under each image





A gorgeous white dress with blue and pink floral design





A simply delightful 50s St. Michael skirt



One of the dresses for sale as featured in Style me vintage






An amazing pink floral dress from my collection that is up for sale. This dress has a wonderful back detail back!





Not just pink, but polka dot too. This ace dress is an 80s Laura Ashley number





Another from my collection (and one I really don’t want to let go of). A Susan Small dress



There will also be more to come from Naomi’s collection including some highly collectible pieces (the most amazing novelty print berketex dress, a quorum skirt and a delightful 30s black evening dress amongst other items.)


If you want to know anymore about the pieces I am selling feel free to drop me an email.

Thoughts on why I wear vintage

Posted in 50s, bargains, beaded, Horrockses, tatty devine by

In the last few weeks I’ve had too much time on my hands and have gone all deep and meaningful with regards to my feelings on vintage.  So watch out there are a few of these kind of posts coming!
So the all important question- why do I wear vintage?
For me this is a multi-layered question as my desire to wear vintage stems from many sources.
History
For me this is the defining reason why I wear vintage. I love the fact that something isn’t new and has already lived a life before it comes to you. I am an obsessive researcher, and given the chance I will research ANYTHING (zip manufacturers, fabrics, finishing techniques…anything). A single vintage garment can offer me so many avenues for research, and also so many stories for me to pass on. As someone who is quite shy I always find that your clothes can be a great talking point, and my own, sometimes outrageous vintage choices often provided me with something to talk about.

This little number ended up being a great one to research after i found the original advertisement, you can read about it here
Re-creating lost bonds with the past
For me it has a lot to do with the fact that none of my family every really kept their clothes from the past, and it seems to be a way of recapturing my own family history by acquiring things that link back to their past.
My fathers side of the family have long been involved in the textile trade (see this anecdotal post about my granddad) and my Granddad worked for the tailor Hector Powe  (where he met my Nanna) and also briefly for Frank Usher in the 50s, I think this deep seated bond (and the fact that I never really asked my granddad about this connection before he died) makes me feel a need to recapture my families own past. My Nanna in particular always gets excited when I turn up with my latest vintage finds, especially those from the 40s and 50s when she was a young woman. I love the way too that this seems to jog her memory and then I hear (often hilarious and touching) stories from her younger years.


My wonderful Nanna and her sister in the 1940s
Dressing differently



Aged 7 with mother Tree…i have distinct memories of being DESPERATE for this alphabet print wrap top : )



A typical look for me aged 14…not vintage but this was my kind of random style. I can’t find a full length pic of this outfit but it was a blue and pink stripy polo shirt, white gypsy skirt, TONS of beads and converses. Happy memories.

Another typical look and a very vintage styled dress aged 14

Aged 13 and another of my former favourite dresses. I still have this one somewhere…



When I first started wearing vintage I think the desire to dress differently  was my main reason for getting into it I remember vividly the sneaky trips up to brick lane when I was 14 or 15 to go and visit the vintage shops. My first purchases were all small the odd blouse or dress but I think it was when I was 17 that the desire to wear vintage really kicked in. This was all because of the search for the elusive “may ball” dress. My dress was SENSATIONAL. And I think most of my reason for choosing it was this desire to look different, and not like everyone else.  Over 4 years on it is still one of my most prized possessions (partly due to the memories attached to it from both my may ball and my freshers ball at uni which I also wore it to) and something I would never let go of.


The elusive May Ball dress back in 2008- again no full length pics of the front of it…apologies!

Value
This isn’t a vital part of wearing vintage, but at a time when I am having to sell large chunks of my collection it is something at the forefront of my mind. The sort of vintage I tend to wear (mostly 40s and 50s) is currently hot property and therefore rather than loosing money when I sell my items on after a few wears I often make money. This is something with buying new that cannot be achieved.
In terms of money it is also my LOVE of a bargain. Although I have been known on more than one occasions to squander over £200 on a vintage dress it is more often than not my dresses picked up for pennies which have a great story behind them that I love the most. 



A legendary “pennies” purchase St. Michael Marks and Spencer 1950s skirt purchased for £5 many moons ago.

Final thoughts




But most importantly for me vintage isn’t about pidgeonholing myself into a particular era or trying to religiously recreate a look. Yes, i primarily wear clothes from the 50s but i’m not trying to recreate the past, i’m not a re-enactor and I’m not wearing fancy dress. Vintage for me is a “tool” for creating my desired look. It offers me the chance to express myself in a different way and also i tend to feel much more comfortable in vintage clothes than i do new. 


The key thing i always think about when dressing is to dress in a way that makes YOU feel comfortable. I love vintage, and that is what makes me feel most “me”, vintage is an expression of my own love of history, femininity and textile design, but equally if something new is beautifully cut and designed i can love it just as much!

Outfit worn for my Summer ball last week. 50s dress worn with a Tatty Devine necklace and Zara shoes. Nice mix : )

So, that’s a few thoughts into why I wear vintage. Inspired a lot by Charlotte of Tuppence Hapenny’s  recent blog post which you can read here.
 http://tuppencehapennyvintage.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/why-i-wear-vintage.html