Saturday, February 27, 2010

Swap fun

The New York Times just did a profile on my neighborhood, Bedford Stuyvesant. It included a review of a local, just down the street (not a stone's throw but a leisurely walk) vintage store called Collecther. I plan to visit tomorrow, as they have Sunday recession specials (all dresses $25!) I'm sure it will be very busy just after the Times' profile, but I am in the market for a cute vintage dress for a special event.
But the big update is my participation in clothing swap, with some lovely ladies I met through a coworker yesterday in Brooklyn. They were mostly journalists and they had some great clothes. Even though we had different body types, heights, etc., it was amazing how certain things translated so well. As one woman said, "I'm so happy to see how my clothes are supposed to look." I brought a few pieces that I had bought in the wrong size, some dresses meant for a shorter torso, pieces that I was not comfortable wearing, etc. It was great to meet lovely ladies and have pie from Little Pie Company. I also made out like a thief. It's like social thrifting, while building social capital. Win-win.
This is all swapped clothes, except the undershirt and the shoes. The dress worn as a skirt was donated to me from a good friend back in 2002 (remember when jersey tank dresses were all the rage in the late 90s?). I love the scarf (from the coworker). I think of it as baby steps into wide world of accesorizing.




scarf: swap
brown cardigan: Banana Republic, swap
purple underwear shirt: Uniqlo, $10
dress: NY&CO, friend donation
long underwear leggings: Target, $10
boots: ebay, $95 (Born)

During the snow yesterday, I forced cohabitator to come to Manhattan and give me his opinion on glasses, as I broke mine that morning and wanted a new pair. These are "Take me seriously" glasses. Herbert the Hippo just wanted to say hello.
Blokey and I are off to the tailor. He has a vintage suit that needs tailoring. I will post pictures soon.

9 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. So many comments on this one...

    1. $25 dresses on Sunday? Awesome. I wish our stores had that kind of deal. I hope you find what you're looking for tomorrow :) (and will post pics if you do!)
    2. Clothing swap? Wow, what a cool idea. Wonder if I could find some gals around here to do that with. And as you said, it'd be a cool way to meet people too (since I'm often lacking on girl friends who live in the same city as me).
    3. Those pies all looks delicious! What kind did you have? Like Jack watching Liz eat a steak while recovering from his heart attack on 30 Rock, I want to see what kind of tasty pie you had (that I shouldn't). Mmmm :)
    4. You're able to get new glasses the same day? Jealous. I had to wait over a week just to get my new pair of reading glasses yesterday (which, by the way, switching from a full-on prescription to just reading is really weird).
    5. Last, and most importantly, I LOVE your outfit! I don't remember tank dresses being big then at all (but I was wearing Catholic school uniforms for a majority of the late 90's, not trendy, and afraid of ever showing my arms in public) but I love what it's become. You look so cute and sassy, and that is indeed a great scarf. Nicely done! :)

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  3. Thanks lady! I'm glad you approve. I thought you would. Nicey gave me the tank dress (it was more like a long camisole with no shape to it) just after graduation. I use it to layer all the time. It's great.
    I'll post pics if I find the dress. You know what it's for (well, before and after).

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  4. Ah, okay then I do vaguely remember dresses like that. I had the more modest t-shirt and polo shirt versions of those, and they did look pretty terrible (I didn't know about cool tricks like belting to create a waist back then). You've inspired me to find some cute, shorter scarves too. I only have the long ones, which can be a bit much at times.

    Is the dress for Friday, or do you already have something picked out for that? I'm going to have fun with clothes myself that weekend :)

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  5. Maybe Friday, maybe for the dinner thing. I haven't figured it out yet. To be determined!

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  6. Oh I love everything you got at the swap! It sounds like it was a good experience and I'm glad you got so much stuff.

    I haven't been to that store yet but I'm wondering if, when spring hits, I can just walk there from Eastern Pkwy on Franklin since I have a friend that lives over there. Hmm.

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  7. Hey Jesse, I think walking from Franklin is doable. I walked from Fulton-ish, and that was about 15 leisurely minutes.

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  8. Oh I love everything you got at the swap! It sounds like it was a good experience and I'm glad you got so much stuff.

    I haven't been to that store yet but I'm wondering if, when spring hits, I can just walk there from Eastern Pkwy on Franklin since I have a friend that lives over there. Hmm.

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  9. Ah, okay then I do vaguely remember dresses like that. I had the more modest t-shirt and polo shirt versions of those, and they did look pretty terrible (I didn't know about cool tricks like belting to create a waist back then). You've inspired me to find some cute, shorter scarves too. I only have the long ones, which can be a bit much at times.

    Is the dress for Friday, or do you already have something picked out for that? I'm going to have fun with clothes myself that weekend :)

    ReplyDelete