meet brown bag vintage

well, good golly gee, it's been a long time since i posted pictures of other people's vintage. bad tracy. i've been saving up a bunch of 'favorites' to show you from shops i found via twitter (now that i'm actually using my twitter page). but now i've waited so long, the goods have just piled up, so i'm going to dose you with installments of beauty. first up, the magnificent brown bag vintage.


basically, i want everything in this shop. she posts those great vintage pieces that new clothing designers wish they could rip off.

and please check out the amazing shoe section! there's almost forty pairs of the most to-die-for soles...you're bound to find something you have to have.

now, really, get on twitter. i've found so many amazing vintage shops there that i can't wait to show you!
and if you ever wonder what i'm doing when this blog lays sleeping for days at a time (which i'm sure you have been pondering incessantly), follow me on twitter! i keep that up to date more regularly, and i tell you, it is quite exciting!

gypsy love

this is what i wore last weekend when i hosted a $5 vintage sale in front of my house during midtown's monthly 'art walk.' the sale went really well, and it was fun sitting out on my front stoop all afternoon chatting with shoppers and passers-by.
i've kind of dubbed this my 'gyspy' skirt - especially since i usually pair it with mis-matching patterns, i believe this skirt belongs dancing about under stars and candlelight at a party like the one in chocolat.
maybe because i've been dreaming of this simple, colorful, fun lifestyle i call 'gypsy,' or more likely because some pretty major things are changing in my life right now, i have begun to hear the call of the road more persistently lately. after graduating college, i traveled around the west coast for six weeks, and then spent the next year flitting about rather insanely. now i'm getting the itch to go exploring by myself again, but, hopefully, with a more sensible head on my shoulders this time.
i've got to plan a little adventure for myself - at least i already know what to pack.
more things i'm looking forward to: crisper photos, less awkward poses, and the appearance of boots in these photos! i should have all three down by fall, which is only a month or two away! (summers here are loooooong.)

top: thrifted
skirt: thrifted
sandals: thrifted
belt: urban outfitters. dang! so close to 100% thrifted!

it's like that, but better

here's your vintage version of the a.p.c. collection everybody's raving about! add tights and a long sleeved shirt for the look on the left; unzip the dress a little and add a short sleeve v-neck sweater for an (even better) ode to the look on the right. i just saved you like $200.

leather jackets. mmm, fall.

i've been buying a few fall pieces here and there all year, and keeping them wrapped up tight until the right time came. i'm not really sure that time is now either, but when i found these two jackets last week, i couldn't bear to hold them back!

and so, the first lil' peek at deborah jean's fall collection, already in the shop. i think i'll probably let some of the others out of the closet next week. are you ready for boots yet?

sweet babydoll

i've been so lucky -- i found five (five!!) adorable babydoll dresses whilst shopping this week. and i'm only keeping one of them! it's the one on the left below. i put it on for the shoot, but it just fit me too perfectly and i love the colors too much. the other four are going into the shop by the end of the weekend. they're great for these end-of-summer days. light and breezy with sandals or flats now, and super cute when it's boots-and-tights time!

you'll feel just like penny lane in almost famous. i think i'm going to put that in my queue and see what other inspiration penny can bestow upon me.

paint box

i am loving these bright tops! (going into the shop shortly.) i am especially loving the two crop tops with my super high-waisted vintage deadstock braxton jeans. i am maybe-too-much loving said jeans rolled and scrunched up with my new 60s wood-stacked heel oxfords (with fringe!).
i hereby announce uber-excitement for my upcoming transitional fall wardrobe. too bad i don't get to keep any of these tops.






more on this week's finds coming soon! they were so good, they need their own posts even!

it's an outfit post!

this week i've been overcome by my new-found love for 90s floral prints and the cute little mini-dresses they adorn. i bought this halter dress for the shop but found out later that the adorable print had obscured from me a huge rip in the fabric -- so, she's mine!
remember how i called it a dress before? i think on normal people it would be a really cute little mini, but i'm a giant, so it's a really cute little tunic i can wear over my cutoff shorty shorts.
i'm hoping i'll also get to wear it by the pool over my chocolate brown boyshort bikini bottoms. then it will be my 90s/40s pinup swim suit!

glasses: 70s christian dior on etsy
top: thrifted
shorts: f21
belt and shoes: urban outfitters

heart palpitations

these will probably be gone by the time you read this because they are the most wonderful shoes ever. but perhaps by sheer luck, you will be the lovely girl with size 5 1/2 or 6 feet who gets to snap these up. are you seeing this?! mustard. patent leather. round toe. double strap. bows! lauren, you rock.

it's still summer

found on ffffound

here we are, caught with a whole month of hot summer weather left, but all kinds of fall fashion photos floating around, and more frequent little glimpses of the cooler weather to come. we're already picking out the layers we can't wait to add on, but can't really even think of wearing that much clothing. when i go out shopping lately, i don't know what to buy for the shop -- it's kind of silly to still be picking out little sundresses for you, and i find myself gravitating towards the coats and boots. oh, the confusion!
so here's a little summertime picture that makes me happy i'm still sporting flimsy little dresses and lots of bare, tanned leg (i know i don't look at all tan in shop photos, but trust me, that's tan for me - i'm much whiter elsewhere!!)

also, please look at the 'reading list' on the right side of the page. it more than doubled today! i've been collecting all these blogs in my reader for way too long without adding their links. some i've been reading for months and months, others are pretty new to me. i really admire these girls for their designer's eyes, writing styles, and the beautiful pictures you'll find on their pages. check 'em out!

this dress

yesterday i found the perfect dress. i knew immediately it would not be going into the shop. i even picked out one of my favorite dresses in my closet to substitute for this one because i felt so bad for keeping it.
but, alas, it will be going into the shop. because it doesn't fit.

life is so unfair sometimes.

new lovelies

this has been one of the busiest weeks i can remember. i've been running so hard, i actually slept for 11 hours last night - and boy did i need it! it was pretty slim pickings in the shops this week, so it took extra hours of hunting to track down these goodies, but it was worth it because they are ah-mazing. i found great everyday dresses and skirts, and some more avant garde pieces. everything was so fun to try on during the photo shoot today, i had to strike some more 'model-y' poses -- the sass was just too much to contain!
check out the shop....these babies will be arriving throughout the week. hope you likey!

coming soon...

here's the rest of last week's goodies, arriving late (again) in the shop over the next couple days.

estate sale finds

some of tomorrow's goodies came from the estate sale i went to on friday. the house belonged to a pack rat who seems to have lived many, many years by herself. most of the rooms had been decorated completely in purple - the exact same shade as these awesome t-strap heels i found there. i think it may have been her favorite color. she had also turned one whole bedroom into a closet (a woman after my own heart, indeed) filled with racks and racks of crochet-covered hangers holding mostly awful pastel 60s polyester. the clothes were actually pretty cute - girlfriend had bangin' taste up until about 1982 it looks like. i just can't buy you guys all that synthetic stuff. so here's about half the stuff i smuggled out of there - of course, i had to keep some too. the tank top is so adorable - a poly blend knit henley with tiny little whales all over! i would live in those two dresses, but i'm going to let you do it instead.
the other thing you should know about our stylish benefactor: she spilled a lot. these three knits have slight stains on the fronts of them - but the prints make up for it by being so adorable and also distracting the eye from the stain! swell!

i'm hoping to start listing this stuff in the shop tomorrow. next up...the rest of the update!

remember her?

i just caught a glimpse of one of my long lost loves.

the amazing, peter pan collared, earthy green, wildflower printed, perfect-in-every-way, 50s cotton daydress that i bought for myself but sold in the shop, is available again.
i was super excited to sell it to the lovely ms. emma, author of one of my very first favorite blogs, closet shots. you know you're doing okay when one of your style heroes is shopping from you!
well, emma found the dress a tad too long, and is selling it in her brand new etsy shop! the shop announcement claims this is just a practice round, so make sure to bookmark the shop - when she gets going, i know it is going to be awesome.
and for now, if you missed out on this dress the first time around, or are only now meeting and falling in love with her, snap her up now by clicking right here.

pretty finds

i should be fast asleep right now, but i got trapped looking through the etsy vintage pages. these beauties are the first look at what i'd like to be wearing in the fall - and, yes, i do find it absolutely ridiculous that i am thinking about fall outfits when i can barely stand to wear any clothes at all in the miserable heat wave that struck here this week.
i love the little details on the dresses and the blouse, and all three shoes just made me swoon -- those first ones especially. the vest is faux-fur, so don't hate me for including it, and it came from a shop that just opened on etsy this week which i think will definitely be one to watch out for.
now i am sleepytime. g'night!

oxfords from the greedy seagull, dress from santoki vintage, green 30s heels from easy street vintage, 50s peach blouse from siouxsiette

faux-fur vest from she loves vintage, plaid sailor dress from lethilogica, two-tone oxfords from rarae aves

new this weekend!

these items were actually supposed to be photographed last week and listed already, but i had an out-of-town guest and a case of the lazies so it didn't happen quite as planned. that means these lovelies will be listed over the weekend, and the things i was supposed to photograph on thursday will be ready on monday so that i can get back on schedule and have 20+ more items for you by this thursday! sheesh! i am so behind!
p.s. this is seriously my favorite collection yet -- i really pared my finds down to the items most likely to be found in my closet. and this first dress actually stayed in my closet for a bit before i had to get it ready to live in your closet! i love it so much i wore it to get my new driver's license photo taken last week so that i can remember it forever. or at least for the next five years.
p.p.s. click here to shop!