Free People Vintage

Have you ever gone over to Free People's website? They have a vintage store that sells "one of a kind" vintage clothing and accessories.  They have awesome stuff that is styled well but it is SUPER EXPENSIVE. Super duper expensive in my opinion.

I wonder why with all the vintage that is online now-a-days why people purchase stuff from their site... Is it because they style it well? I don't think so, lots of shops online have great style.   I've gone through this over and over in my brain and I think it's because people feel it's been validated as "cool" because it's in their vintage shop. Or maybe they feel it's worth more because they paid more?  I get that and if I had that kind of money I might buy something from them as well.

This isn't an attempt to put down their store, it's a great store! I've just been pondering and trying to figure out why some vintage stores get away with charging huge prices and make lots of sales and others charge little and sell little.  I guess that's the big secret to selling vintage!

Anyhow whether or not you have the money to buy from them it's worth a browse over there to see what they have! I like how they break up there shop into "themes".   Right now a couple of my favorite themed sections are "Pretty in Pink" which is vintage special occasion pink tulle dresses.  They also have a "Tartan Traveler" section which features lots of fair-isle sweaters and tartan shirts (which also sell for close to $300).

Here's a couple of vintage items from Free People that I would buy if I had that kind of money and some similar finds on Etsy.

This dress is in FP's "Black Sheep" Section which has black and white and lots of lace. I love how they photographed it, but like to see the clothes on models to get an idea of fit.

Free People Vintage White Lace Dress $698

Vintage white strapless lace dresses are hot right now and very hard to find. If you find one at a decent price, snatch it up fast because they sell quick. If you can't find one in your price one, perhaps you could pair a vintage bustier or corset with a white lace skirt? Lots more of those online. 

This bustier would be great with a high waisted skirt. I love the look of this particular one and you can't beat the price!

Vintage Bustier $18 

 There are lots of options on Etsy, search for lace skirt, petticoats, slips etc. I particularly like this one. 

Vintage Lace Skirt on Etsy $42 

This sweater on FP is Ski Apres Chic for sure.

FP Skier Sweater $248 

 So this one doesn't have the cool skiers, but the colors are similar and it's still ski apres chic and it's almost 90% less....

 Ski Sweater on Etsy $29! 

From the "Tartan Traveler" section (which I love how they styled) is this plaid jacket

Free People Vintage Plaid Wool Coat $268 

 This one on Etsy is very similar and it's Pendelton! 

Vintage Plaid Coat on Etsy $115

I love this tapestry purse on FP. You can find lots of them on Etsy. Search for 'needle point vintage purse' or 'tapestry purse vintage'

Free People Vintage Needle Point Purse

These military anorak type jackets are very trendy. Love them! 

Free People Vintage Military Jacket 

Anorak at Anthropolotique

Needle Point Purse at Anthropolotique

Thanks for visiting my blog! 

Because I'm from Florida....

I love fashion and I love putting together outfits but when it comes to Fall layering I'm CLUELESS. There are days when I honestly feel like a little kid trying to get all the pieces to work together and getting look right and not looking bulky....so complicated with all those pieces!

I'm clueless because I grew up in Florida... South Florida.  In South Florida it's really hot and humid 90% of the year and you don't want to wear many clothes (have you been to South Beach?).  So when it finally drops from the 90's to the 80's in November not much changes in your wardrobe.

 In the Fall in Florida your "coat" is a jean jacket,  your "boots" are your closed toe flats or even (gasp) socks with your sandals. Granted I went to school in a lower income area and I'm sure the girls in the prep schools had fall boots... and I'm also sure I made fun of them for wearing them when it was 85 degrees out.  No scarves, gloves, beanies.... you get the point.

In the winter when the rest of the country was bundled up we'd have days at the beach.  On the rare occasion when we would have a "cold snap" and the weather would drop into the 40's people brought blankets to school. No joke.  So if you ever see a Floridian like me in Canada at Christmas time looking like a total winter fashion disaster have a good laugh.  We sure laugh at you all when you bring your pasty selves to the our beaches :-)

Now here I am in Southern California. It's not a cold weather climate, but it is definitely colder than tropical Florida.  Layering is essential here. The weather changes throughout the day by 20-30 degrees and I get so confused as to what to wear.   I often find myself staring at girls in cute fall outfits trying to dissect them and figure out how they made it work.  I'm getting better at it, but I must admit there has been quite a few times where I attempted a cute layered look and changed at the last second because I felt foolish.



Anyhow I'm trying to get better at Fall styling and have been doing some online research.  Here is items that I would love to buy for my SoCal layering.

J CREW Button Up

J CREW Excursion Quilted Vest

What's better than the skinny jean? Skinny cords. I love them.

Free People Cords

Here's a great winter coat for my fellow Floridians and it's vintage :-)

Vtg Wrangler Jacket

And of course fall boots! I found these at an estate sale. I adore them, but they don't fit! But the perfect fall boot, don't you think? They are military issued from the early 1900's. Sigh. Shrink feet, shrink...

Vintage Wing Foot Boots

I wore Birkenstocks like these year round and when it got cold I threw on some socks! Who needs boots? 

Old Picture - Help me ID???

I picked up this old picture yesterday at a garage sale and I liked the looks of it.  The price was only $5 so obviously I bought it.

Didn't think much of it but when I looked closely at it I noticed that it was dated 1854. Upon closer inspection it seemed to be an original drawing. 

I'm am not an art expert at all.   I googled different variations of what the artist name seems to be Wendler? Mendler? 

Anyhow nothing has come up.  Not sure what to do now.  An art appraiser? But then I might feel like a fool when it's nothing:-)

Anyhow here is the pictures I took of the front of the picture, the artists name and the back of the piece.

Let me know if you have any thoughts! Or suggestions of what the name might be.

When you look at it in person you can see the metallic of the pencil markings and it is different than the color spots. That's why I think it's original.

Between my hubby and I, we've come up with many variations of what this name is. What do you think?

Even it's not a famous artist, if it's original and really from 1854 it should be worth something, right? I told you I'm not an art expert:-)

All I can decipher from this is "French man". Thoughts?

Sweater Season!

Yay! It's finally cooled down enough in Southern California for me to be able to start thinking about sweaters again. I love sweaters. They're cozy and they can make great statement pieces.  I headed over to Anthropologie's website to see what they had. I'm going to be honest, I was a little un-inspired this time. There are seasons where I just drool over Anthropologie's sweaters and this season I was a little let down. There were a couple of cute ones, but hopefully next fall will be better. Fingers crossed.

Anyhow between looking at street style blogs, popular internet searches, and just plain ol' shopping I've noticed some sweater trends. Oversized is huge right now, pun intended. Fairisle is still going strong. Cable knit, especially big chunky cable knit is being worn by lots of fashionistas.  Anthropologie seems to be liking polka dots and dots in general. Dots are all over Pinterest too.

In my opinion though (and not because I have a vintage store on Etsy) I think this year that vintage is the way to go.  There are some really cool ones on Etsy, so make sure you see the photos at the bottom of this post. Don't miss the NKOTB one, amazing.

This one below from Anthropologie looks cozy and I love all the color. I've noticed "Spacedye" sweaters have been a popular search on Etsy  lately. This would be cute with high boots.

Pallava Cardigan Anthropologie 

Yes, this one is in my shop but it's awesome.  I love the bright color and those striped sleeves are awesome.

Spacedye Sweater Anthropolotique :-)

This is one of several polka dot sweaters that Anthropologie had on their website. Very versatile. If it was in my closet I'd wear it with a pencil skirt.

 

Tweed Dots Pullover - Anthropologie 

This one Etsy is polka dot AND Fair Isle. Too cute! I'm personally too busty for that high neckline. It's only $18, so if you want it you'd better move fast! 

Vintage Polka Dot Sweater ETSY

These throw on sweaters are great for Southern California where the temperature changes like crazy throughout the day. You always need a cardigan to throw on. The one below is probably my favorite on Anthropologie and I LOVe how they styled it. 

Argyle Intarsia Cardigan Anthropologie

This vintage one on Etsy is very cool. I love the toggles.

Vintage Nordic Fairisle Sweater ETSY

More Sweaters sweaters that I just love!!!!

Imagine this leopard cardigan with a pencil skirt, tights and boots. I LOVE it!

Vintage Slouchy Leopard - Etsy

This one is AMAZING! If I had an extra $98 right now it would be in my closet. So cool.

 

Vintage Horse Sweater Etsy

I love the cable knit on this one. Simple, versatile and cozy.

Vintage Cable Knit Long Cardigan Etsy

And to close out my tour of sweaters, this NKOTB one is too cool. Too cool for me, but some girl is going to rock it and I give her props.

NKOTB Sweater Etsy

What sweater trends are you into this year?