Necklace Collection

In the not-too-distant past, if you'd asked me about necklaces, I would have responded that I'm not much of a jewelry wearer. But lately, as my outfits have become simpler, I've been reaching more more jewelry, in particular necklaces.  I've been searching them out on my thrifting trips; multi-strands of brass chains, tassels, carved stone, geometric wooden beads.  I've amassed a bit of a collection and these are a few of my favorites.  I've been pairing them with skinny black jeans, a silk blouse and a pair of ankle boots. 

Roslyn Estate Sale

I awoke early Saturday morning and headed to a local estate sale.  Only this was no ordinary estate sale.  It was a kind-of-a-big-deal estates sale, at least in Lancaster terms, for a number of reasons.  First, the house where it was held was designed by a local legend of an architect by the name of C. Emlem Urban.  If there's a building of note in this city, chances are it was designed by Urban.  Second, it was once the residence of the Watt family, one half of the duo that was responsible for the Watt & Shand department store that occupied downtown Lancaster beginning in 1879.  And even if the house didn't have such an impressive pedigree, the imposing chateau style mansion is still quite a spectacle. 

The house, named Roslyn, was on the market for a cool $5 million when Tom and I moved to Lancaster four years ago.  At the time, we joked about hitting the jackpot and buying the house but then realized that even if we had the $5 mil to buy the place, we'd still have to work full-time to afford the $33,916 in yearly property taxes.  Ha!  Now the price has been reduced to $1.25 million.  What a bargain! 

The morning of the sale, I figured it was going to be a bit of a madhouse so I headed out early.  But not early enough!  It seems that people from far and wide had heard about the sale and I ended up parking about a mile away and walking because there were already cars lining both sides of the road.  There was thousands of people walking all over the sprawling grounds of the house and a line of people wrapped around the side of the house waiting to get in.  I took a deep breath and got in line.  I'd heard rumors of vintage clothes in the sale, but I didn't want to get my hopes up since there were some serious hardcore auction hunters there.  I finally reached the front door of the house and it turns out only three rooms on the first floor were open to the public.  The line snaked all the way through, shoulder to shoulder, but I managed to snap a couple of photos of some of the furniture that was up for auction.  But no vintage clothes...

So, I made my way to the carriage house where all the small housewares were displayed on tables.  Some really amazing things!  I wanted to take so much home with me but I knew I didn't have all day to wait at the auction booth for the items to come up.  Then in the corner of one of the stables I found the vintage clothes.  There were only about five dresses and a handful of coats.  The dresses dated from the 1890s to the 1920s.  And they were beautiful.  I tried to take a photo of the silk chiffon flapper dress but it turned out a blurry mess.  I was too overwhelmed by the whole situation to think much about taking photos. 

Long story short (well, this is already kind of long) there were some vintage hats and purses in the box lots that I wanted to bid on, but by the time I stood in line for nearly an hour just to get my bidder number, most of the boxes had already been claimed.  It was so disheartening to be standing in line and watching all the pieces that I wanted to bid on leave in other bidders hands.  I guess the early bird gets the vintage!  I ended up bidding on one box and bringing home some vintage brass planters to put my house plants in.  I'm happy just to have something from the estate and to be able to say I've been inside the house. 

Jacques Esterel

I thought I would show you one more thing that found its way into my closet.  I came across this dress at the Salvation Army while I was searching for things for the Etsy shop.  I pulled from the rack a 60s mini dress and as soon as I saw that vintage tag I was in love.  The dress is made out of some of the softest suede I've ever felt in a wonderful chocolately brown.  I knew I loved the dress and that someone must have spent a pretty penny on it back in the day, but I didn't know anything about the designer so I did a little internet sleuthing.

A few fun facts about Jacques Esterel:

• He was born Charles Martin in 1918. 
• He was an entertainer as well as a designer and wrote plays and songs. 
• He is perhaps best known for the pink gingham wedding dress he designed for Brigitte Bardot's 1959 wedding to Jacques Charrier. 
• His company was involved in a legal dispute over trademark infringement with Yves Saint Laurent.  YSL lost the legal battle and had to pay an $11,000 fine and $1,100 for each item produced from the plagiarized design.

New Old Things

It's been quite a while since I've done one of these posts!  There have been a few things that have slipped quietly into my closet over the past couple of months and here are my favorites.  Some were thrifted, some were traded and some were found at local vintage shops.  First there is a sweet 70s knit dress with pastel floral embroidery and pointelle details.  I'm always a sucker for these types of dresses and finally thrifted one in my size.  Then there's a 60s era cotton dress that needs a little TLC since some of the buttons are broken/missing but other than that is pretty much perfect.



I have a little collection of blazers but for some reason I hardly ever wear them.  I'm going to do my best to show this 1930s one a little daylight now and again.  It's quite lovely with its pointed collar and nearly-falling-apart silk lining.  As a matter of fact, seeing these photos side by side gives me an idea of exactly how to wear it... layered over this gauzy cotton blouse.  This piece is quite a mystery to me.  When I first spotted it I thought it was going to be a 70s bohemian style piece, but upon closer inspection there's nary a machine stitch in sight and all of the embroidery was lovingly done by hand.  There are little hand crocheted buttons that fasten up the back.  Now I think it's much older, perhaps 10s or 20s!



Last and certainly not least, this 30s era sailor dress.  Serious sailor perfection.  When I first spotted it, this dress was being tried on by another vintage loving lady at a local shop.  I stood and watch her turn in front of the mirror, looking this way and that, trying to decide if the dress should go home with her.  The whole time I was turning green with envy that she had found the dress only moments before I surely would have discovered it.  After stalking her around the store for a bit, I saw her take the dress to the check-out counter and tried to put it out of my mind.  It was her lucky day, not mine.  Then for some reason, she must have changed her mind at the last second and I wasted no time swooping right in and making it mine all mine!

Flea Market Finds

Here's a look at the things I picked up for myself a week ago on a trip to the Adamstown flea markets and antique stores. I think the one I was most excited about was this wool sailor suit. I still can't believe I found one in such a small size. The pants are a perfect fit! Of course the legs aren't the same length which I can't quite figure out but that will be an easy fix. The top fits well too although the one time I tried it on, I couldn't get it back off over my head by myself which made me feel super claustrophobic.

Next is a 40s cotton dress in a brilliant sapphire blue. It doesn't look like too much on the hanger but it has the prettiest neckline and once I tried it on I knew if would have to come home with me. I also found that pretty plaid 70s skirt. I love the fact that it's earthy autumn colors in a summer weight cotton.

My handkerchief collection was getting a bit out of control so I've limited myself to collecting ones with dogwoods only. I found two to add to my growing pile. The Edwardian slip will serve as the white maxi skirt that I've been searching for. And last but not least, a straw sunhat that I've been wearing everyday since.

Shupp's Grove

This past Sunday I headed up to Adamstown with Amelia to check out the flea markets. Our first stop was Shupp's Grove. I highly recommend visiting their website solely to listen to their rockin' theme song! I've tried to visit Shupp's in the past but it was always rainy or cold or something so this was my first visit. I loved it! It's outside but all in the shade so even on this hot July day it was pleasant to walk around. There are stands and stands of things to look at and just when I thought we had reached the end, we rounded a corner and it just kept going. Of course I got fussed at by a grumpy old lady for taking photos (someone please explain to me why flea market people are so fussy about photos - I really want to know!). I ended up picking up a couple of things for myself and one lovely 40s velvet dress that I'll put in the shop this fall.

It was getting rather hot so instead of going to Renninger's to walk around outside we stopped at the Mad Hatter to take advantage of the air conditioning. That place is pretty vast too. It's always fun to visit the Memories shop because it's like rooting around through and old lady's attic who's been squirreling vintage dresses and hats away for decades. Again, I picked up a couple of things for myself (photos coming!) and Amelia found a couple of dresses as well.

Then we made one last stop at Oley Valley Architectural Antiques. The purpose of this visit was not so much to buy anything but simply to oooh and ahhh at the massive furniture and doors stored in this place. I swear, as soon as we walked in my first thought was, "we're in the Room of Requirement!" With every corner we turned I was sure we were going to find a vanishing cabinet or a copy of Advanced Potion Making. I'm convinced most of the furniture came out of a castle because I can't imagine anyone having ceilings high enough otherwise.

I was going to get a better shot of my outfit for this post after I got home. I had planned on using our backyard which is finally filling in with all the flowers I planted in the spring. Tom and I were sitting on the backyard swing relaxing for a bit when a catbird swooped in and landed on the trellis above us. They have really lovely songs like a mocking bird so we were excited he had joined us when... you guess it! He pooped all over my white dress. Ugh. Just my luck! So, no outfit photos in the backyard for now.

New Old Things

A week or so ago I mentioned that I had thrifted some David Hamilton worthy pieces for summer wear. I often think that polyester completely ruined the entire decade of the 70s but then I find a pretty sheer cotton blouse and my faith is restored that some good things did come out of those years (plus I was born in the 70s so it can't be all bad, right? ha, ha).

I know that first dress doesn't look like much hanging there on the wall but I've pretty much been living in it for the last week. At first I thought it was just a pretty floral print but after wearing it for four days straight I finally realized there are little mama and baby koalas hiding amongst the leaves. So stinkin' cute! The other three pieces are sheer floral print blouses that I plan on pairing with high waisted shorts. That's sure to be my go-to outfit whenever I don't know what to wear this summer. And don't worry, I didn't hog them all for myself. I've already done one 70s floral inspired Etsy update and I have another one in the works.