ROSEMARY HARRIS: It's not exactly on the way but yesterday I attended the Collingswood (NJ)Book Festival and the day before, driving down, I decided to stop in Lambertville. Lambertville is right across the river from New Hope and the two towns comprise one of the coolest areas I know of on the east coast. Great food, great clubs, awesome Golden Nugget Flea Market on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, (I scored a complete set of yellow Fiesta there for about $40) good rafting and kayaking and some of the best vintage shopping anywhere.I probably fell in love with vintage clothing because of Love Saves the Day, a legendary shop in NYC's East Village. Bakelite bracelets, lucite handbags (like Joan's!) vintage lamps and anything from Sgt. Pepper like bellboy uniforms to Joan Crawford uh...kiss-me shoes from the 40s. Sadly, Love Saves on Second Avenue is now just a memory.
But there's another one in New Hope, PA - just minutes from my new favorite vintage clothing shop, Millcrest Vintage. It's right on Bridge Street and the proprietor, Paula Cooperman is just as sweet as can be. I stopped in on Saturday and instantly lusted after a brocade 3/4 length jacket and a cocktail dress that Ava Gardner might have worn in The Barefoot Contessa.
The bodies were different then - to say nothing of the sizes - so Ava's dress will be going to parties without me, but take a look at some of these gems.
Any fans of vintage clothing or accessories? 
I haven't had a waist like that since, well, ninth grade. If then!
ReplyDeleteI own a very sweet short black velvet jacket with gold trim that I wear every couple of years for a special occasion. In fact, I think I wore it to the Vampire Ball at Crime Bake a few years ago. Got it at an antique store.
I think we have previously discussed here my cowboy length, fringed leather jacket. I used to wear it with lizard skin boots and a pearl gray Stetson known as The Banker for its relatively narrow brim. I always wanted to be Sheriff, but was considered a better bartender.
ReplyDeleteI love to look at vintage clothes..but I don;t generally wear them. They shapes are different than the shaoe of my body, somehow! (WHy is that?)
ReplyDeleteHow old is vintage, anyway?I have some things frrm the 70s you might be interested in..maybe the 80s. Hmm. or are those just considered "old" ?.
And I have Donna Karan jumpsuit from the 80's that i NEVER wore--and now it's so fashionable again--it could be current! Strange, huh?
I think I remember that jacket, Edith. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAlas...some stuff from the 80s is considered vintage, but as a teen I coveted the old suit jackets from the 40s. Strong shoulders, beautiful buttons (even the plastic ones) and fitted, which suited my figure, such as it was!
Nowadays I'm more likley to be looking at the handbags or vintage pens...one size fits all.
Lambertville: writing it down.
ReplyDeleteI buy and wear LOTS of "vintage" jewelry. Like the half dozen Bakelite bangles I've picked up at church sales. My favorite silver earrings (from a yard sale) are so worn that the Taxco stamp is barely visible on the back. We once bought a collection of ladies' hats that our kids went through playing "dress-up."
One of my daughters asked if she could wear one of my old Qiana gowns from the 70's to a dance when she was in high school. It had some stains from touching another, red, dress while stored in the ttic, so we dyed it. It looked great on her.
ReplyDeleteI have some nice vintage stuff, just no place to wear it. Or if an event comes up, it doesn't coincide with the right weight. Annoying. Handbags, scarves and jewelry, though, another story.
Man, I haven't thought of Love Saves The Day in ages! I liked that place too.
ReplyDeleteI love vintage clothing, and am mostly into the midcentury stuff, 30s-50s though I do have a few 20s pieces that I love like my deco coat with the monkey fur (!!!) collar and cuffs.
Definitely a fan . . . what's that old saying? They just don't make them like the used to . . . [and I'm still totally satisfied with my Lucite purses!] . . . .
ReplyDeleteI love clothes from the 50s--think Audrey Hepburn, or Juliette Binoche in Chocolate... But they don't fit me. Sigh. Not even when I was in my teens and early twenties and really thin.
ReplyDeleteI do love vintage clothing shops, especially in England. There are some wonderful places in and around Brick Lane in the East End, and of course there is always vintage stuff on Portobello. But mostly I just look and enjoy.
Pretty much all I watch on tv is old movies, and I LOVE the clothes -- how I would love to walk into a nightclub wearing beaded satin, heaps of jewels, and a white furry jacket ... mmmm.
ReplyDeleteMaybe my fave vintage purchase is the coat i wear most often - black leather, 3/4 length, 3/4 sleeves with a white fur collar. Very Rita Tushingham or Lynn Redgrave. Very wearable. I feel as if I should burst into a chorus of Georgy Girl every time I wear it.
ReplyDeleteHow I wish I had saved all my old clothes. They would be vintage now. Also too small :-)
ReplyDeleteI have started wearing my (longish) hair in an "updo", and so have started collecting vintage (and antique) hair combs and pins. They have a tendency to break, however, so now I'm in the market for modern, metal, vintage-inspired replicas. I do love vintage clothing--it's just hard to find items that are in great shape, while remaining chic by today's standards. :)
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