I have tried to focus mainly on blogging with my own original content lately, but I just have to share the news about my personal fashion idol, Kat Von D. Like her, hate her, whatever -- but the girl's got style. Just get a load of her shoe "closet" (which is actually a shoe room). I wish I had space for the shoes I have now, let alone an entire room.
She also has a great informational video on mourning jewelry here, something I adore but can't afford (at least not authentic antique mourning jewelry). This is a subject I am very interested in. If I may add to the little lesson given in the video, in centuries past, women were expected to wear black for up to year after their husbands died as a visual display of widowdom and grief. Those who could afford it often willed money to be used after their death to pay for mourning rings, which might have the departed's initials, portrait, and many times actual hair from the body, to be distributed to their loved ones. I think that is fascinating.
Kat Von D has stepped away from the reality show world, but is still very busy! She is still tattooing at her very own shop, High Voltage Tattoo in LA. She is also working on an album, finishing a new book, and designing a new line for her fashion brand, Kat Von D Los Angeles.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
My New York City Shopping Trips Part V: Search & Destroy Vintage in Saint Mark's Place
5. Search & Destroy Vintage
25 St. Marks Pl
(between 3rd Ave & Astor Pl)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village
This store is awesome. Located in the famed punk neighborhood of Saint Mark's Place, Search & Destroy might look intimidating to the passerby, but I felt like a kid in a candy store. I wanted to buy so much, but we were pressed for time and in desperate need of a restroom. The prices were reasonable (in New York City terms). I found an awesome 60's avant garde print polyester dress marked $24. There was a pair of velvet Doc Martins. I kid you not. It is a cramped inside, not that it was a small store, but more that there is just so much stuff. They sell vintage and new items for an alternative client base. Right up my alley, and, they happen to be right across the street from another awesome Saint Mark's Place institution, Trash and Vaudeville.
Final thoughts: A must see!
25 St. Marks Pl
(between 3rd Ave & Astor Pl)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village
This store is awesome. Located in the famed punk neighborhood of Saint Mark's Place, Search & Destroy might look intimidating to the passerby, but I felt like a kid in a candy store. I wanted to buy so much, but we were pressed for time and in desperate need of a restroom. The prices were reasonable (in New York City terms). I found an awesome 60's avant garde print polyester dress marked $24. There was a pair of velvet Doc Martins. I kid you not. It is a cramped inside, not that it was a small store, but more that there is just so much stuff. They sell vintage and new items for an alternative client base. Right up my alley, and, they happen to be right across the street from another awesome Saint Mark's Place institution, Trash and Vaudeville.
Final thoughts: A must see!
My New York City Shopping Trips Part IV: Hamlet's Vintage in Greenwich Village
4. Hamlet's Vintage
162 Bleecker Street (Greenwich Village)
New York, NY 10012
I heard about this place from reading positive Yelp reviews. From the way people raved about it, I pictured it as a large, open store. In reality, it is one itsy bitsy room. There were a lot of costume-y pieces that I couldn't see being very practical -- more like those things you buy with the best of intentions, and then you never actually wear them out. (I have this child's size kimono that I thought was just so rad in the store, but now has been living exclusively in my closet for a year.) There were some cool things, like authentic vintage military jackets, but what a lot of people may not know is that army surplus stores sell vintage military clothing too, for waaaay cheaper. I did see some metallic knit sweaters that tickled my fancy, but I didn't buy anything here either.
I am used to vintage stores here in Pennsylvania, where there is a gotta-have-it item at every turn. I usually have a hard time not spending too much at vintage stores, because I want everything, but this trip I just didn't have any luck. Granted, I am cheap (or as this blog would suggest, thrifty) but I am willing to spend more on a unique vintage piece with character. Vintage stores sell a lot of what you can find in thrift stores, but the draw is that they have the crème de la crème, the best of the best, weirdest and funkiest vintage finds. That's why people are willing to spend more.
Final thoughts: Worth checking out if you have the budget and you're in the neighborhood, but it's very small.
162 Bleecker Street (Greenwich Village)
New York, NY 10012
I heard about this place from reading positive Yelp reviews. From the way people raved about it, I pictured it as a large, open store. In reality, it is one itsy bitsy room. There were a lot of costume-y pieces that I couldn't see being very practical -- more like those things you buy with the best of intentions, and then you never actually wear them out. (I have this child's size kimono that I thought was just so rad in the store, but now has been living exclusively in my closet for a year.) There were some cool things, like authentic vintage military jackets, but what a lot of people may not know is that army surplus stores sell vintage military clothing too, for waaaay cheaper. I did see some metallic knit sweaters that tickled my fancy, but I didn't buy anything here either.
I am used to vintage stores here in Pennsylvania, where there is a gotta-have-it item at every turn. I usually have a hard time not spending too much at vintage stores, because I want everything, but this trip I just didn't have any luck. Granted, I am cheap (or as this blog would suggest, thrifty) but I am willing to spend more on a unique vintage piece with character. Vintage stores sell a lot of what you can find in thrift stores, but the draw is that they have the crème de la crème, the best of the best, weirdest and funkiest vintage finds. That's why people are willing to spend more.
Final thoughts: Worth checking out if you have the budget and you're in the neighborhood, but it's very small.
Related articles
- My New York City Shopping Trips Part III: Monk Thrift Shop, Greenwich Village (thriftycent.wordpress.com)
- My New York City Shopping Trips Part I: Bleecker Bob's Record Store (thriftycent.wordpress.com)
- How-To: Shop and Wear Vintage (fabsugar.com)
My New York City Shopping Trips Part III: Monk Thrift Shop, Greenwich Village
3. Monk Thrift Shop
Address: 175 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10011
This, admittedly, was not on my list, but I was drawn in my the signage. Honestly, it was disappointing. Things were expensive, making it more vintage boutique than thrift store. There were some high end designer items, like Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Gucci, and D&G. However, a lot of items (weirdly enough, especially the designer items) were in bad condition -- tears, stains, and missing buttons and hooks. Everything I liked was upwards of $100, which threw me off because there were posters saying"Dresses $9." I saw none. They did have a lot of legit vintage clothing, however. They also have men's clothing. I didn't buy anything here, but I enjoyed sifting through the racks.
Final thoughts: Pass on this one. Too expensive for the quality of the items.
Address: 175 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10011
This, admittedly, was not on my list, but I was drawn in my the signage. Honestly, it was disappointing. Things were expensive, making it more vintage boutique than thrift store. There were some high end designer items, like Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Gucci, and D&G. However, a lot of items (weirdly enough, especially the designer items) were in bad condition -- tears, stains, and missing buttons and hooks. Everything I liked was upwards of $100, which threw me off because there were posters saying"Dresses $9." I saw none. They did have a lot of legit vintage clothing, however. They also have men's clothing. I didn't buy anything here, but I enjoyed sifting through the racks.
Final thoughts: Pass on this one. Too expensive for the quality of the items.
My New York City Shopping Trips Part II: Greenwich Village's Curated Goodwill Store
My record shop craving having been fulfilled, I now wanted to seek out some thrift stores and swanky vintage boutiques.
2. "Curated" Goodwill Thrift Store
Address: W. 8th Street between MacDougal and Sixth Avenue
In my pre-trip research, I read this article about a curated Goodwill store in Greenwich Village. With all the talk of Ferragamo, vintage Dior, Ann Taylor, and other name-drops, I was so excited to check it out, I could hardly keep my pants on. Maybe I just have bad luck, but the only designer items I saw were in the window display, and those there being held for a silent auction. The window had some 90s Jimmy Choo clogs and Kate Spade heels, but nothing really relevant to current trends.
Don't get me wrong, you can certain tell that someone was hand-picking all the items -- there wasn't any junk or damaged items like you might see in your average Goodwill, but all in all, it seemed like it had already been picked over. It is in a swanky neighborhood with a lot of vintage stores in the vicinity, after all... but, it was still fun to look. The store was clean and well organized, which is impressive, considering the amount of people who are in and out each day. Long story short, I left empty handed.
Final thoughts: Check it out if you're in the area, but don't make a special trip.
2. "Curated" Goodwill Thrift Store
Address: W. 8th Street between MacDougal and Sixth Avenue
In my pre-trip research, I read this article about a curated Goodwill store in Greenwich Village. With all the talk of Ferragamo, vintage Dior, Ann Taylor, and other name-drops, I was so excited to check it out, I could hardly keep my pants on. Maybe I just have bad luck, but the only designer items I saw were in the window display, and those there being held for a silent auction. The window had some 90s Jimmy Choo clogs and Kate Spade heels, but nothing really relevant to current trends.
Don't get me wrong, you can certain tell that someone was hand-picking all the items -- there wasn't any junk or damaged items like you might see in your average Goodwill, but all in all, it seemed like it had already been picked over. It is in a swanky neighborhood with a lot of vintage stores in the vicinity, after all... but, it was still fun to look. The store was clean and well organized, which is impressive, considering the amount of people who are in and out each day. Long story short, I left empty handed.
Final thoughts: Check it out if you're in the area, but don't make a special trip.
Related articles
- Are thrift stores getting too pricey? (thriftycent.wordpress.com)
My New York City Shopping Trips Part I: Bleecker Bob's Record Store
From Saturday to Tuesday, I stayed with my mother in New York City, where she lives. (You can read her blog here.) Before heading up there, I had spent a few hours researching vintage boutiques, record stores, and thrift shops that I might want to visit while in the city. Let me tell you, there are so many of these stores in NYC, it feels overwhelming if you want to narrow it down to a doable number, and there wasn't any good reliable list of vintage/thrift stores to fall back on. Anywho, one click led to another and I ended up finding a bunch of stores with addresses on Bleecker Street, so I decided to make it easy on everyone with me and just try and shop on and around that street. I didn't get to every store I had on my list but I did get to see quite a bit. Here is what I did.
1. Bleecker Bob's Golden Oldies Record Shop
Address:118 West 3rd St, New York, NY 10012 (Greenwich Village)
Hours: Sun-Thur 11-1am Fri-Sat 11-3am (Crazy weird hours, right?)
I did not get a shot of the exterior of the store, but this is a good one. The prices were reasonable and based on rarity and condition. The place was not picked over, as is the case with a lot of record shops. The majority of the records are organized alphabetically/by genre, so you didn't have to dig for all eternity if you had something particular in mind. I spent more than I normally do on records, but I was on vacation, so I got crazy. I bought The Ramones: End of the Century ($24), Kraftwerk: The Man Machine ($13), and a Siouxsie and the Banshees single Cities in Dust ($10). These are bands that I have never found on vinyl in any of my travels, and they are three of my favorite bands, so it was worth the money. Sadly, the Ramones album skips (not sure if it is my record player or what, because I can't see a scratch).
Final thoughts: Go there!
1. Bleecker Bob's Golden Oldies Record Shop
Address:118 West 3rd St, New York, NY 10012 (Greenwich Village)
Hours: Sun-Thur 11-1am Fri-Sat 11-3am (Crazy weird hours, right?)
I did not get a shot of the exterior of the store, but this is a good one. The prices were reasonable and based on rarity and condition. The place was not picked over, as is the case with a lot of record shops. The majority of the records are organized alphabetically/by genre, so you didn't have to dig for all eternity if you had something particular in mind. I spent more than I normally do on records, but I was on vacation, so I got crazy. I bought The Ramones: End of the Century ($24), Kraftwerk: The Man Machine ($13), and a Siouxsie and the Banshees single Cities in Dust ($10). These are bands that I have never found on vinyl in any of my travels, and they are three of my favorite bands, so it was worth the money. Sadly, the Ramones album skips (not sure if it is my record player or what, because I can't see a scratch).
Final thoughts: Go there!
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