dear golden | vintage

mothers + daughters

2012-01-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

via Trendland

Real mother and daughter pairs were cast in this photo series by photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten.

have a seat

2012-01-26T09:04:00.001-05:00

Some new pieces are dressing up the shop lately. The french settee was a long time in the making. I searched for one of these even before I had a shop but they are always way out of my price range. In November I found this one on Craigslist being sold about 3 hours from my house by a woman who refinishes and reupholsters this type of furniture. When it was listed on Craigslist it was unfinished so I got to pick the upholstery color which is something I never dreamed I would be able to have done for a piece like this. It was a long wait but it's finally found it's home in my shop.

The painted screen was also a Craigslist find, I wanted a screen that wasn't too "chinosierie" but still sort of dreamy. It is from the 1920s with neat wood inlay on the frame. Most of the very antique ones are so expensive, I really got lucky with this one. The light fixture is something I picked up on my last trip to New York, had to have it.

1950s dress sisters

2012-01-25T19:27:00.000-05:00

Not that long ago, last month in fact, I had one of my all-time favorite dresses in the shop. 1950s black soft boucle knit wiggle dress with gorgeous gold bugle beading - sigh...it sold, but last week I found her sister dress (below), same size only the beading is in silver as opposed to gold! I was sort of in shock and I admit I sort of almost cried a little bit. I remember just taking some steps back from the rack when I found it just to catch my breath. I mean, these dresses are rare enough, but to find two in the span of 30 days? Makes me think they might have been owned by the same woman maybe?
The sister dress is available here.

1950s Silvered Wiggle dress

girlie hair & manly clothes

2012-01-24T16:01:00.000-05:00

A very Annie Hall inspired outfit for this bleak and cold day. The bleak and the cold mitigated by a fun hair appoint here with my little spitfire of a friend Deb. It was just a trim, but Deb got product happy (in the very best way) and then styled my hair in this sort of deconstructed 1960s sex kitten thing. I really liked it paired with my menswear outfit.

white cotton oxford - thrifted

gray wool vest - adelaide's homesewn

Pendleton plaid wool tie - thrifted

Giorgio Sant Angelo high waisted wool trousers - thrifted

wool zip up jacket - Althleta

charcoal wool car coat - thrifted

black leather boots - Blunnies

pour l'amour de l'amour

2012-01-23T16:28:00.000-05:00

images are linked

a SHOP update fit to love.

floral bodies

2012-01-22T14:35:00.001-05:00

via Trendland

The artwork of Cecilia Paredes, a Chilean artist who paints her own body to camouflage herself

among the pattern of floral wallpaper. What it did was made me want some floral wallpaper in my house.

And for it to be spring.

lena hoschek ✤ a/w 2012

2012-01-19T17:09:00.000-05:00

Lena Hoschek | autumn/winter 2012 | here & here

I can't imagine it's particularly easy, as a fashion designer who loves vintage clothing, to create a line that is obviously vintage inspired without being costume-y, unoriginal or unmodern, but Lena Hoschek does it right, so so right. I think I have previously avoided blogging about her collections just because it's sort of obvious that I would like her pieces and every other vintage-loving gal does her part to blog the collections. But I couldn't resist this time, partly because I fell super in love with how every model has a simple wool beret on her head and the styling made me happy I have not chopped off my hair. Tonight I'll be sleeping on sponge rollers for sure. Tomorrow I'll be on the hunt for that petulant shade of deep red lipstick (I'll take any leads I can get, hint hint).

Evelyn Nesbit

2012-01-18T12:20:00.001-05:00

via

c.1910s Evelyn Nesbit photo by Charles Dana Gibson

A few years ago I read American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White: The Birth of the "It" Girl and the Crime of the Century. I think it's safe to say that if you read my blog, you'll love this book. The book is an account of the life of Evelyn Nesbit, a woman I didn't realize I had seen many times before knowing who she was. You know all those turn of the century drawings of the beautiful woman with the "Gibson Girl" look? Much of the time when you see them you are looking at the face of Evelyn Nesbit. Her story is a juicy one with all the hype that's ripe for Hollywood. I won't attempt to retell it here, you should read the book, but you can also read a pretty fantastic two-part blog post on her at Caviglia's Cabinet of Curiosities. And for even further reading, ByGone Fashion & this post.

daily dressing

2012-01-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

This is daily in winter. Some giant sweater, lately it's this ultra floppy, ultra soft cashmere one I recently thrifted. Top knotted hair (getting boring) and my Yokoo knit cowl (what can be warmer or cozier?). I got new glasses too and they are this fantastic shade of blushy-peach which warms up the complexion so nicely, so much so that I am not even wearing makeup. Glasses as makeup! I got them in New York at Fabulous Fannys. They sell glasses in sizes so if you like a pair that is too large for your face you can get a size or two smaller - brilliant.

monday shop update

2012-01-16T17:14:00.002-05:00

images are linked

I gotta say, this first dress here is one of my favorites, it has taken me over a year to put it in the shop. As a matter of fact, now that I review the post the first three dresses lived with me for a long while. Did I wear them? No, but yet, I just had to cuddle them for some time before letting them go...

sometimes a girl gets lucky

2012-01-15T19:57:00.000-05:00

Sometimes a girl bids on a dress on eBay and is certain she'll never win it, so she just puts the dress and the bidding completely out of her mind. One evening she is at the stove making a stir-fry and she gets an email alert that informs her she is in fact, a very lucky girl & she has won the bid on a pristine 1950s Christian Dior dress. The stir-fry somehow tastes better than ever, birds are singing over her shoulders and she pours a little tumbler of Redbreast whiskey in celebration. Fast forward to several days later when this girl is just spending a lazy-ish snow day at home and the mailman delivers this Christian Dior dress and the blasted thing fits perfectly. Sometimes a girl gets really, really lucky.

I'll be wearing this dress very soon & then promptly add to The Distillery to mingle amongst the other stars. She's all mine.

beautiful on the outside

2012-01-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

society6

I'm tempted to buy one of these pretty iPhone cases...

where is all the maximalism?

2012-01-12T20:22:00.002-05:00

via Trendland

Normally, I don't give a fig about what models & other celebrities do or where they live, but the other day I was sailing around Pinterest seeing interior after interior of the same colors & style - vaguely minimal, but earthy, warm, white, wood, throw in maybe a color... hey, the irony is not lost on me that this pretty much describes my own house. And then I thought - whatever happened to lushly decorated interiors? They are sort of out of style? Where is the maximalism? My answer came today in the form of photos of model's Agyness Deyn's loft. While I am certain this place would end up driving me mad, it is refreshing to peek into, so much to look at it! I want to have lunch there and then come back to my own tamer digs.

winter's soft side | a shop update

2012-01-11T22:58:00.000-05:00

images are linked

some pretty things beckon • visit the shop

morning

2012-01-11T08:26:00.000-05:00

Morning is my favorite. Bits around the bedroom. Two-sided enamel necklace.

Ella basking near the heat vent. Coffee. Sunlight.

1920s show & tell

2012-01-10T09:26:00.001-05:00

Recently I went out to lunch with a friend and afterward he and I stopped into a little antique shop I like to frequent. Lucky thing that we did because a real gem was awaiting me, I don't usually find a whole lot at this particular shop but that day I found this coat. 1920s golden silk velvet with nude silk crepe lining, ruffled collar, wide cuffs and the most elaborate frog closures I have ever seen. I am happy to say the coat is now part of The Distillery but is also something I will wear (likely more than once), I can totally see it paired with modern clothing as well as a 1920s dress.

some shop additions

2012-01-09T07:45:00.000-05:00

images are linked

I'm too into this color scheme/color story/color pallet (take your pick) to leave it behind - though I know I must move on!

Here are some recent shop additions.

le grenier

2012-01-07T21:17:00.002-05:00

le grenier

christian peau

Beautiful photography, simple & beautiful styling and perfectly amazing shoes. I'd say this site was speaking my language only it is SO not speaking my language (see for yourself). The product photography on the site is a serious inspiration.

faves : roos atkins dress

2012-01-05T10:39:00.002-05:00

1960s Roos Atkins advertisement

Roos Atkins was a chain of upscale men's and women's clothing stores based in San Francisco, from the 1960s through the 1980s. Maybe something like Macy's? I have had this dress for about 2 years now and am finally wearing it. It is soft wool knit that is just the right weight under a medium weight winter coat. The belt loops are really wide suggesting it should be worn with a wide belt but I always feel like a wide belt makes me look shorter, plus I wanted to wear my favorite belt. The coat is divine, no, seriously. My friend Amy bought it on Etsy last year and I was crazy jealous. Patience is key because a year later the coat is mine through some coat trading between her and I. I then had the coat shortened by about 2 inches. I'm telling you, tailoring coats is the way to go.

vintage 1960s Roos Atkins knit dress ◊ estate sale (?)

black tights ◊ target

bright leather belt ◊ thrifted

vintage 1950s black wool swing coat ◊ friendly trade

black waterproof boots ◊ Cougar-Storm via Macy's

black suede heeled booties ◊ Madewell

more with the creepy cool

2012-01-04T22:24:00.000-05:00

Arrestingly unsettling unrealistic-realistic paintings by Lu Cong.

the outside is in : shop update

2012-01-04T07:45:00.000-05:00

images are linked

The first shop update of 2012 is thus.

2011 Shop Favorites

2012-01-02T16:31:00.001-05:00

This is ridiculous, yes, I know, I'm aware. How can I have this many sold favorites from 2011? What's more is this is a very pared down collection - I thought I was being nearly ruthless in my selections. This is what happens when you love what you sell, you end up have a million favorites.

Choosing them meant I had to sift through photos of all my sold items and I can't lie here, it was painful. I want so many of them back in my shop! It's terrible of me, but it's true.

At any rate, here they are, the who-knows-how-many that made the cut of my favorite vintage pieces sold in 2011.

Here's to 2012 and seeing if there will be even more in this list at the end of it!

totally Sundance

2011-12-30T11:43:00.001-05:00

You know the Sundance catalog right? This outfit screams Sundance doesn't it? I know it might not be super hip, but I sort of love the whole Sundance style, makes me feel like a very cool, arty, affluent older woman living in some cool town in Utah. This length of skirt is sometimes hard to wear, I think it's important to have a nice high fit on the waist and a tight-fitting top, oh and a heel on your shoe/boot.

I also thought since I have a raging coat obsession I should start to show them in my outfit posts. This one was purchased for the shop but I sort of fell in love with how it swings, the tie cuffs & the hood so it's a keeper for now.

vintage 1970s wool coat ◊ thrifted

black bodysuit ◊ Anthropologie

southwest skirt ◊ thrifted

vintage 1970s black leather heeled boots ◊ thrifted

victorian gold-filled locket ◊ eBay

vintage 1950s black wool beret ◊ thrifted

shop update to close the year

2011-12-30T07:45:00.000-05:00

images are linked

A shop update here on this second to last day of 2011.

Maybe tomorrow I should do a post of my favorite things that sold this year?

Though it is always sort of painful revisiting sold items...

shoes i'll never own

2011-12-29T15:44:00.003-05:00

Too expensive for me, but that won't stop me from drooling over them.

What is it about the perfect leather ballet flat?

All found here.