Vintage Shopping: German Science Posters

I was at the Alameda Flea Market last month and there was a gentleman there selling beautiful German pull-down posters with all sorts of science related diagrams out of the back of an old van. I haven't stopped thinking about them since, and may have to return next month ready to pony up some cash for one.

In the meantime, I've been looking around for them online. I spotted these from Berlinner Strasse. They are all original (instead of all the reproductions out there), ship straight from Germany, and range in price from $200-$300 - and they are so pretty:

(and other similar posters can be found at Ekho Vintage or Bonnie & Bell as well)

Vintage Destination: Pretty Parlor

We recently stumbled on the prettiest, pinkyest, jewel box of a vintage shop in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.  When you walk in to Pretty Parlor you're greeted by an overload of awesome girly vintage: colorful crinolines hanging from the ceiling, your favorite '80s children toys, and carefully assorted and color-coordinated vintage beauties.  $25-$85 will score you a pristine vintage dress, and make sure to check out the cat collection (live and figurines).

The people at Pretty Parlor are so nice and helpful, and all about helping the vintage scene in the neighborhood. We love the vintage shopping map they put together (and then scanned on the spot so we could post about it).  Definitely a must-see in the Seattle vintage scene.

Pretty Parlor:  119 Summit Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102

Vintage Destination: Seattle's Georgetown Trailer Park Flea Market

There are a ton of great vintage spots in Seattle, but this spot in the Georgetown neighborhood may be the quirkiest.  It's a trailer park AND a flea market.  There's only a few shops, but the prices are good and there are treasures to be found.  I picked up hobnail salt and pepper shakers for $5.  Definitely worth the trek, and hey, if you're lucky you'll get invited to the kid's birthday bbq that seem to be a regular occurrence.

Georgetown Trailer Park Flea Market
Saturdays, 11-6
map

Vintage Shopping: 115 Suitcases

MLE found this etsy listing for 115 fabulous vintage suitcases. If you can drive out to Michigan and pick em up, they would be yours for a mere $700.


If you don't manage the decor in Anthropologie stores, what do you think you could even DO with that many suitcases???

A few suggestions:

1) Suitcase Furniture , ie chairs and ottomans



(via maybeproduct

2) Pet Beds



(via Vintage Renaissance)

3) Storage as cabinets or vanities




(via homedosh)

Though with that many suitcases, you could probably glue them all together and make an entire house out of them.

Vintage Shopping: Leather Satchel

I've been hankering for a cross-body leather satchel/purse lately.

I found these two lovely ones at allencompanyinc that are pretty much scratching that itch ...




I wish I could justify the purchase of both. (I opted for the brown one. But as of right this second, that black Coach purse is still up for grabs for a measly $65)

Vintage Shopping: Eyeglasses

I wear glasses every day of my life, and am always looking for fun novelty frames to add to my collection. At the Vintage Expo I was excited to discover a shop called Allyn Scura with one of the largest selections of vintage glasses that I have seen in one place. Most of the frames were 'new-old-stock,' which means they've never even been worn. They do have a website, but the stock listed there is pretty limited. You should check these guys out in person at one of the shows they do (mostly southern california, it appears). It is easier to see which frames look best on you in person anyway.

(a few favorites from the Allyn Scura website)







Another great online source of vintage eyewear is the etsy shop Vintage50sEyewear.

Vintage Finds: La Petite Matches

Oh, estate sales, how i love you. So many times all the little gems in a home get overlooked as people rush in for the bigger ticket items.

Picked up these little Swedish mid-century "La Petite" match boxes the other day. So perfect in their pastel and gold coloring. Each tiny box (just 1 1/2 inches by 1 inch) is filled with hot pink tipped wooden matches. I think even just one of these little boxes would make a wonderful gift to pair with a candle.

Vintage Inspiration - Fur

The wonky weather here in SF made us cancel this week's photoshoot (curses!), which means we will have to wait until after we get back from the 2010 Sundance Film Festival to make a long-awaited shop update.

In the meantime, I've been looking around at warm jackets to keep the chilly Utah snow at bay next week. The Sundance film fest always brings lots of people dressed in FUR ... often in really amazingly obnoxious ways, like huge Yeti boots and coats that look more like oversized polar bear costumes than anything.

I think there are a lot of ways to wear fur this season that look a little classier ... I always like a good vintage fur collar on coats, and there are lots of good synthetic furs that are being produced these days so that more little animals don't have to die in the name of fashion.

A few ways to wear fur without looking like a caveman:

Vintage fur collar/shawl (shawl with belt = so cute)

calivintage | this time tomorrow

Vintage fur trimmed coats (apparently pants are optional ; )

thriftwares | sally jane vintage

Short fur jackets

lookbook | uggshopstyle

Vintage Finds: Mini Gillete Razor

Another estate sale score: a mini travel razor and carrying case! The little razor handle unscrews for easy storage. Never been used to cut a hair!

I immediately took it home and gifted it to a certain boy I know that can grow a mean beard. I think it makes a fun gift for the dapper man that has everything?





I'd never seen these before, but a quick etsy search found a similar one here, so maybe they aren't that uncommon. But they sure are cute. You really can't beat vintage packaging.

Vintage Finds: Dennison Gummed Labels

Maybe I had labels on the mind, which is why at an estate sale last week I was so delighted to find these lovely vintage Dennison labels. I love office supplies anyway, so when they come in beautiful old packaging made to look like mini-books, I find them completely irresistible!

Knowing What You Gots

Vintage shopping is a variable thing. Sometimes you are on the hunt for something specific, and other times you just let yourself be led. A few years back Bex and I spent some time poking around at flea markets and basement museum shops in Moscow. We fell in love with the cold war space art, but couldn't afford any of the big pieces. I stumbled on several strips (about 8 inches long, each image is about 2 inches by 1.5 inches wide) of cosmonaut propaganda. They've been hanging above my monitor at work for two years now. And then!(my favorite of the lot, the nobel dog-mo-nauts)

Yesterday I was purusing the blog world (apologies, since I can't figure out where I saw this), but I stumbled on maraid's match box label set on flickr. What did my wondering eyes see? In addition to some truly beautiful soviet era art, I saw my little images! Mystery solved, I have inadvertently bought unused match book labels. Even better maraid has lots of great notes and info on each label--- their flickr site is a treasure trove.
If you want to get in on this action, and don't want to fly to Mother Russia, you can do what maraid did-- hit this ebay search. And happy surfing-- I could spend hours on that flickr site!

High Falutin

One thing that is very lovable about *most* vintage clothing is its affordability (yes, we do think the stuff in our shop is a steal). Can I get a "woot" from all the recessionista's out there? This is true except for some designer vintage wear.

I stumbled across this sale of vintage Pucci at YOOX which starts today (you can buy it all from your iphone!). I love this stuff but it's a tad out of my range-- $875 for a bikini?!! Which vintage Pucci would you buy? My fantasy picks are below (but I can't get the pictures of the website, so click away).

Swimmingly
The long and SHORT of it
Out and About

Aye-Aye Captain

I've always had a thing for uniforms-- they just look so crisp, and nicely retro. Cribbing the uniform style is one way to look professional and yet hip (the holy grail of vintage dressing for me these days). Sailthouforth put me onto this site-- a comprehensive collection of stewardess uniforms. So much eye candy.

Basic things to think about if you want to copy this look-- phrases like epaulette, pussy bow, pencil skirt, fitted jacket, and scarves, scarves, scarves would be a good start. Let us know what you find (and yes, we will be posting things that fit these terms in the shop). Be prepared to waste a lot of time looking at all those uniforms, and consider buying some of our adorable vintage luggage to tote with you