Going into storage for another season; glittery holiday gowns.
Coming soon; prom dresses and an "As Is" area for nice but doesn't quite make the grade items at deep clearance pricing.
Soon to go: Winter coats for lighter winter gear and pre-spring items.
I'm still working out my January, February and March hours. For now I'll definitely be open the first weekend of those months and by appointment. Also if I'm at the shop working, as long as the floor is clear of totes, racks or other objects, feel free to knock.
Thanks!
Sunday, December 29, 2019
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Holiday Open House
Saturday December 14th Noon-7pm.
I'll have treats and special savings for my customers throughout the day.
Concurrent with Deep River's Holiday Parade at 4:30 -7pm.
Happy Holidays!
I'll have treats and special savings for my customers throughout the day.
Concurrent with Deep River's Holiday Parade at 4:30 -7pm.
Happy Holidays!
Friday, December 6, 2019
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Get your holiday bling here!
Look at this lovely Lilli Diamond 50/60s chiffon "Marilyn" style halter dress with a satin waist and rhinestone straps in the back. A stunner. Approximately size 2-4.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Fall is falling, hours are changing
I hope everyone is getting to enjoy the gorgeous weather and beautiful fall that we are having!
Starting this week my new shop hours are Saturday 12 to 6pm, Sunday 12-4pm.
I will have special Holiday hours. Stay tuned.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Falling Into Fall
So it's mostly done, ahead of schedule. My winter stock is in. I'll be finishing up this week and then I'll start exploring my stock to fill holes as they come open. Some really great pieces. As always cleaned, curated, restored, green. Photos to follow.
Friday, August 16, 2019
Turning The Ship (or Shop)
It's been a busy summer here at the shop, also at home with summer guests, in the gardens and finishing my Master Gardener course work so I've been a bit remiss with this blog. Starting in the last weekend in August, I will be turning the shop toward fall, then winter wear.
Expect a complete turn about by the first part of October. It's exciting because I have a lovely (and huge) selection of fall and winter clothing. As always: Curated, Cleaned, Restored and Green.
I'll be featuring a fantastic Titanic Era coat in the Valley Courier Shopping Guide (the finder section). Look for it September 19th.
Thanks for dropping by.
Cathy
Nostalgie in Deep River
Expect a complete turn about by the first part of October. It's exciting because I have a lovely (and huge) selection of fall and winter clothing. As always: Curated, Cleaned, Restored and Green.
I'll be featuring a fantastic Titanic Era coat in the Valley Courier Shopping Guide (the finder section). Look for it September 19th.
Thanks for dropping by.
Cathy
Nostalgie in Deep River
Saturday, June 8, 2019
New Stock is In!
I'd love to say that I've found my storage container of A-list summer dresses that I packed when I moved my business from Kansas City but that hasn't happened yet. It's somewhere, likely mislabeled but this week I spent some time working on pieces in the minor mend box. A hook or eye here, a part of a hem there, a button, a snap all wanting to be completed before finishing and stocking. A lot of this stock hasn't seen the open market, much less the northeast vintage circuit. Good stuff!
I've refreshed my windows and installed AC as it looks like it will be warm summer. Come visit for one of a kind vintage in a cool, clean atmosphere. Open Fri-Sat 12-6. Sun 12-4
I've refreshed my windows and installed AC as it looks like it will be warm summer. Come visit for one of a kind vintage in a cool, clean atmosphere. Open Fri-Sat 12-6. Sun 12-4
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Why Vintage?
I can only answer for myself as vintage clothing has been nearly a lifetime passion as a wearer, collector and retailer.
It all started with my grandmother's cedar wardrobe tucked into the attic gables of her little farmhouse on the prairie. It was the mid-late 1960s and I was probably 8 or 9 when I discovered that wardrobe. While not particularly girly, I had a decided opinion about what I wore. My tastes have always skewed toward alternative and those mothball infused dresses, party gowns, sheer nylon blouses with their rhinestone buttons and fur trimmed coats of the 40s and 50s called my name. I cringe now when I think about how my sister and I relentlessly played dress up with those treasures and wore them to smithereens but it was the beginning of a life long love affair with fashion in general and most especially vintage/retro fashion.
Somewhere along the line, those old clothes disappeared along with the wardrobe and I was a teenager in my hippie chick uniform consisting of bell bottomed jeans or overalls embroidered over pocket edges and every hole covered with a stitched butterfly or flower. Having little money and having to negotiate when I wasn't buying my own clothes, I always ended up with "sensible" which to me meant plain and BORING so when I found an old pair of ivory muslin curtains in a box in the basement I sat down at the machine and made a couple of fluttery tops that I then embellished. So Scarlet O'Hara of me. (This was a few years before I read Gone With The Wind in my early 20s so I had no idea at the time!) I was on my way to fashion independence.
Then it happened: I was connected to my vintage roots once again at a farm auction in the late 1970s. I went looking for cheap furniture to fill my first apartment but I couldn't compete with the antique dealers so I bought an amusing looking box full of Edwardian whites and old linens among other things that didn't interest the dealers. In that box were old bloomers, drawers, corset covers, blouses and chemises that I cleaned, repaired, in some cases embellished and incorporated them into my wardrobe.
Then I discovered 40s dresses! about the time the Pointer Sisters were hitting the scene with theirs. Then it was 40s suits, and 50s lingerie and cotton day pieces. I started haunting auctions, farms sales, tag sales, junk and thrift stores looking for vintage clothing. I got tons of compliments and inquiries as to where I was finding my clothes but most didn't understand what I was talking about when I tried to explain it, the rest were disapproving. Hey, no competition! Anyway....
A long decade passes, vintage becomes a thing about the same time my genetics catch up with me in the mid-late 80s so I started to collect and then resell, including my personal collection. I still wear vintage but it's the more unstructured ethnic pieces and caftans that work for me now.
Vintage pieces are almost always of superior fabrication and detailing. The tradeoff is that vintage pieces normally require more specialized care than modern clothing and rarely have any give but the pieces are eye-catching, normally are one of a kind even if they were mass produced, they have become singular by attrition and lastly, vintage fashion has withstood the test of time.
I'm a dedicated fan. If you are even curious about fashion come visit the shop sometime. We'll talk!
Thanks for reading.
It all started with my grandmother's cedar wardrobe tucked into the attic gables of her little farmhouse on the prairie. It was the mid-late 1960s and I was probably 8 or 9 when I discovered that wardrobe. While not particularly girly, I had a decided opinion about what I wore. My tastes have always skewed toward alternative and those mothball infused dresses, party gowns, sheer nylon blouses with their rhinestone buttons and fur trimmed coats of the 40s and 50s called my name. I cringe now when I think about how my sister and I relentlessly played dress up with those treasures and wore them to smithereens but it was the beginning of a life long love affair with fashion in general and most especially vintage/retro fashion.
Somewhere along the line, those old clothes disappeared along with the wardrobe and I was a teenager in my hippie chick uniform consisting of bell bottomed jeans or overalls embroidered over pocket edges and every hole covered with a stitched butterfly or flower. Having little money and having to negotiate when I wasn't buying my own clothes, I always ended up with "sensible" which to me meant plain and BORING so when I found an old pair of ivory muslin curtains in a box in the basement I sat down at the machine and made a couple of fluttery tops that I then embellished. So Scarlet O'Hara of me. (This was a few years before I read Gone With The Wind in my early 20s so I had no idea at the time!) I was on my way to fashion independence.
Then it happened: I was connected to my vintage roots once again at a farm auction in the late 1970s. I went looking for cheap furniture to fill my first apartment but I couldn't compete with the antique dealers so I bought an amusing looking box full of Edwardian whites and old linens among other things that didn't interest the dealers. In that box were old bloomers, drawers, corset covers, blouses and chemises that I cleaned, repaired, in some cases embellished and incorporated them into my wardrobe.
Then I discovered 40s dresses! about the time the Pointer Sisters were hitting the scene with theirs. Then it was 40s suits, and 50s lingerie and cotton day pieces. I started haunting auctions, farms sales, tag sales, junk and thrift stores looking for vintage clothing. I got tons of compliments and inquiries as to where I was finding my clothes but most didn't understand what I was talking about when I tried to explain it, the rest were disapproving. Hey, no competition! Anyway....
A long decade passes, vintage becomes a thing about the same time my genetics catch up with me in the mid-late 80s so I started to collect and then resell, including my personal collection. I still wear vintage but it's the more unstructured ethnic pieces and caftans that work for me now.
Vintage pieces are almost always of superior fabrication and detailing. The tradeoff is that vintage pieces normally require more specialized care than modern clothing and rarely have any give but the pieces are eye-catching, normally are one of a kind even if they were mass produced, they have become singular by attrition and lastly, vintage fashion has withstood the test of time.
I'm a dedicated fan. If you are even curious about fashion come visit the shop sometime. We'll talk!
Thanks for reading.
Friday, May 17, 2019
Shop Opening Day!
We got to the shop an hour before opening but since we were pretty used to an opening routine left over from our days at the West Bottoms, we were ready by 12:30. Good thing since three customers came by before opening time.
I'm hoping for sales right away but I'm realistic. It will take a while to get the word out and for customers to find me.
Summer Hours: Friday & Saturdays 12-6 pm
Sundays 12-4pm
In the meanwhile some photos:
I'm hoping for sales right away but I'm realistic. It will take a while to get the word out and for customers to find me.
Summer Hours: Friday & Saturdays 12-6 pm
Sundays 12-4pm
In the meanwhile some photos:
Monday, May 13, 2019
The Outside is Painted!
Yay! It looks marvelous. Classic.
The old chipped, faded and multicolored facade didn't inspire confidence in the greatness within the shops in the building.
I took a few photos. We are behind the gray door. Opening Friday, May 17th at 1pm.
The old chipped, faded and multicolored facade didn't inspire confidence in the greatness within the shops in the building.
I took a few photos. We are behind the gray door. Opening Friday, May 17th at 1pm.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
The building of a new shop in our new home
I've done this 5 times now. Every time it's different.
The first shop was in a restored colony barn in Palmer, Alaska. It was small and very informal as befits such a space but it was filled with wearable vintage treasures. The shop was part of a co-op of 5 dealers.
After the co-op folded I moved to a mid-century modern metal and glass retail space in the arts district Anchorage as a stand alone business.
We moved to the midwest for family reasons and I spent 4 years in the Kansas City West Bottoms First Friday Antiques Weekends with hundreds of other dealers filling old warehouses downtown. It was a wild scene with street food, music, pop-up events and many thousands of shoppers. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Now I'm in Connecticut to stay a while. I'm opening a shop on the scenic highway 154, north Main Street in Deep River. Back to my roots in a smaller antique building that we have been rehabbing to open in early May.
My philosophy is to underpromise and over deliver. I strive for excellent customer service. I hand select my pieces, curating, cleaning and restoring every piece that comes into my shop. I strive to keep prices reasonable and to have a range of sizes which can be difficult with vintage clothing.
Please come and visit when you find yourself in Deep River or Chester. I plan to open in the afternoons Fri-Sun and by appointment. Street parking is iffy in this area, but there usually is a south facing space in front.
I am located at 124 Main Street in Deep River on Keyboard Lake just north of the gazebo with the gray door. You can't miss it.
Some shop work in progress photos for your enjoyment.
Before:
The first shop was in a restored colony barn in Palmer, Alaska. It was small and very informal as befits such a space but it was filled with wearable vintage treasures. The shop was part of a co-op of 5 dealers.
After the co-op folded I moved to a mid-century modern metal and glass retail space in the arts district Anchorage as a stand alone business.
We moved to the midwest for family reasons and I spent 4 years in the Kansas City West Bottoms First Friday Antiques Weekends with hundreds of other dealers filling old warehouses downtown. It was a wild scene with street food, music, pop-up events and many thousands of shoppers. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Now I'm in Connecticut to stay a while. I'm opening a shop on the scenic highway 154, north Main Street in Deep River. Back to my roots in a smaller antique building that we have been rehabbing to open in early May.
My philosophy is to underpromise and over deliver. I strive for excellent customer service. I hand select my pieces, curating, cleaning and restoring every piece that comes into my shop. I strive to keep prices reasonable and to have a range of sizes which can be difficult with vintage clothing.
Please come and visit when you find yourself in Deep River or Chester. I plan to open in the afternoons Fri-Sun and by appointment. Street parking is iffy in this area, but there usually is a south facing space in front.
I am located at 124 Main Street in Deep River on Keyboard Lake just north of the gazebo with the gray door. You can't miss it.
Some shop work in progress photos for your enjoyment.
Before:
Previews of coming attractions:
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