chicfaced

Hey guys!  I have some exciting news that I can finally share – I’m opening a vintage clothing store here in Fredericksburg.  beaucoup vintage will open at 208 William Street next month!

Tom designed my logo

I never thought this longtime dream would actually become a reality until one day…it did!  At the tail end of 2009 I was presented with an opportunity on a retail space that was too good to pass up.  In the following weeks, the stars aligned, things kept falling into place, and here we are!  It has been the singularly most exciting, rewarding, stressful and challenging thing I’ve ever done.

Opening my own clothing store is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time – something I’d always mention when my girlfriends and I would chat about what we wanted to do when we grew up!  My mom credits herself with my interest in fashion, as she and my grandmother’s favorite past time was making clothes for me and dressing me up.  I really can’t wait to have a  fun, beautiful, colorful collection of vintage clothes for women to get as excited about as I am. I daydream of the spring when it’s warm out, people are strolling downtown, and I’ve got a shop full of girls in pretty dresses (me included)  Weirdly enough, downtown Fredericksburg has not one vintage clothing store and I’m so happy I’m the one that gets to break that silly trend.

Here is a shot of the interior as of now…….thanks to Chris, Tom, Seth and Ian, there is no longer a wall in the middle of the store (those beams used to be connected to one solid wall that split the entire space in two).

Please don’t mind that pile of debris over there on the left hand side of the store.

Aside from scouring local/regional thrift stores, Goodwills, Salvation Army and eBay for inventory, the most store-related fun I’ve had so far is the photo shoot I did for the store with my friend and photographer, Anna Shumaker, and friend (turned model) Laura.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the shoot (unedited and raw, but I couldn’t wait to share).  I’ll be turning these photos into a digital and hard copy lookbook and will also use single shots for different publicity/marketing ideas I’ve got up my sleeve.

Please bear with me – there are a lot of photos….I just love them all!

Can’t believe I found an actual vintage Oaxacan dress!  I was so happy when I snatched this baby up.

Super cute, super mod 60s mini dress.  Perfect for an art opening (which we replicated during the shoot at Brandon’s studio

Another fab find – late 70s/early 80s wedding dress.  Gorgeous!

This series is my favorite.  We styled this dress 2 different ways:  for her shoot with the Tobacco shop guys, we went Grecian goddess with a vintage gold plate necklace and gold headband.

Then we decided to go super glam with red lips and lots of bling….

We hiked over to the old Coliseum on UMW’s campus to shoot this dress – it was begging to be photographed near some columns!

anndd….she’s out!

Laura was (obviously!) the best model I could have asked for and Anna was (obviously) the best photographer – thanks so much ladies  (L, next time – you’re helping me style! Moving houses be damned!)

If you’ve stuck around till the end here, thanks!  I am just so excited to share everything I’ve been up to!  There are way more photos and I’ll definitely be doing a lot with them, so you’ll be sure to see them pop up again here and there.

xoxo, Megan

this snowstorm may not have been good for my stir-craziness, or for my footwear, but it sure has been good for the blog. one thing it has afforded us, in all this time off, is a chance to take lots of pictures (and together! which doesn’t happen as much as you’d think it would for living all of five blocks from one another, but we are trying to be better about that). another thing it has given us is lots of gorgeous sunshine! megan and i met up today to have lunch and trudge around town and here are some snapshots of our afternoon:

delicious lunch at the old town grill & cafe. i recommend the sweet potato fries!

on megan: bb dakota faux fur vest, handmade cowl scarf by the very talented anna* , limited wrap shirt (thrifted), vintage suede skirt, f21 floral lace tights and earrings, old suede boots, and target turtleneck

on me: vintage faux fur coat, frye boots, balenciaga bag, marshall’s scarf, target sunnies

back to the grind tomorrow, hope you all had a good weekend!

xoxo,

laura

*(check out her awesome photoblog here)

Still not sure how Mother Nature got VA mixed up with the Siberian tundra this winter, but L and I tried to make the best of it this weekend, braving the blizzard for wine, mussels, fries and some live music on Friday. We had fun taking photos in the snow, even if our outfits aren’t exactly decipherable due to the approx. 23 layers we’re both wearing!

We tried to keep it as chic as possible (ACAP), with lots of black, faux fur, stripes and sparkles.  Mother Nature went for the simple all white look, which is classic year-round.

Kybecca, a local wine bar, was offering all-you-can-eat-moules-and-frites, so…

….we obviously had to partake.  I got the Thai curry and L opted for the garlic.  I’m gonna go ahead and be honest, though, and say I really only wanted buckets full of those f’in french fries with the cilantro mayo for dipping (I’m a sucker for frites, whatcanIsay).  mmm, hungry.

As frustratingly immobilizing as the storm has been, it has been fun trekking around a snow-covered Fredericksburg with friends on Friday, grilled cheese and gossip girl Saturday afternoon followed by spiked hot chocolate/bad movies in the evening…. and now gearing up to hike up the hill for brunch and meet up with L to take more photos later.

What did the rest of you east-coasters do? Snowmen? Igloos?

We hope everyone stayed warm, safe and chic this weekend!

xoxo, M

hat - urban outfitters/coat - alloy/velvet blazer (unseen) and skirt - j.crew/tee - old navy/shoes - dolce vita/bag - balenciaga

hi all- sooo, my camera takes really crappy nighttime pictures, apologies for the blurriness. also, it’s effing cold outside. nevertheless, mike and i braved the temps to head downtown for dinner tonight and i made him take some pictures of me on the way. on the rare occasion that he is around to do it, i remember how much easier (and faster) it is than standing in front of a tripod. to all of you self-photographers out there: do you ever eventually stop feeling like a weirdo when people walk by on the street and see you standing there, posing at nothing? please tell me you do. ah, the awkward moments of a fashion blogger…

….or at least, trying to stay that way.

in the inestimable words of an ex-boyfriend, it is hotter than two squirrels fucking in a wool sock. in hindsight, he had lots of less than desirable qualities, among them kleptomania, pathological lying and a tendency toward vandalism, but he sure had a way with a phrase. but i digress.

wednesday, megan and i braved the stifling heat and humidity for the shortest photo session to date. i really am such a wuss when it comes to hot weather. still though, the surroundings were lovely as ever–fredericksburg has no shortage of scenic backdrops. in this case, we chose the kenmore plantation for our blogger antics before scurrying away to the air conditioning. thanks again to anna for sticking it out with us!

on megan: f21 dress, vintage necklace, poppy bag, target belt and sunnies, dsw sandals

on laura: target top, express pants, etienne aigner pumps, self-designed jewelry (except f21 ring), f21 sunnies, balenciaga bag

the necklaces are an assortment of amber, tiger’s eye, jade, coral, quartz and turquoise stones. all kinds of positive energy around my neck that day! if you believe in that stuff, like i do.

trina turk tank, f21 dress (turned into a skirt), old navy clutch, seychelles wedges, target earrings

i wore this outfit to go meet T and some friends for drinks and tapas at a local wine bar. this skirt used to be a dress like the one i wore here.  i bought them at the same time, thinking i would exchange whichever color i liked the least.  once i got them in the mail, i realized i liked them both and for $12.50 a piece, i figured i could get wear out of both of them….and yesterday, when i was trying to find bottoms to go w/this top, i saw the dressing hanging in the closet and figured i could hack off the top to make a skirt, and it worked!  yay!  also, i srsly love these shoes, for realz.  i kinda wish the cut out was bigger in the heel, but i can’t complain. it’s still love.

i just got an impulse to go to dsw.  to window shop, ya know.

oh, and just because i’m obsessed w/roasted tomatoes right now, here’s my dinner for the past few nights:

roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, chevre, thyme and whole wheat baguette

whole wheat pasta, homemade pesto, roasted tomatoes, peas

mmm.

Hey, Happy Birthday to totallymeat!  Chicfaced will be bringing the party tonight; pics to follow!

man, taking outfit pics is hard in the sweltering heat, but we made it through. in fact, we had a very nice evening walking around with anna while she experimented with the new camera, scoping out future photo-ops, and ending up at the local bistro cooling off with iced tea and a delicious dinner.

on laura: aa tee, anthropologie skirt, urban outfitters sandals, f21 sunnies, balenciaga bag

on megan: old navy top and clutch, f21 skirt, anthropologie necklace, payless shoes

yep, that's a confederate soldier, just hangin out in the doorway. dude's really got the whole blogger pose down, i'd say.

my antipasto of roasted garlic, housemade sausage, cured meats, pickled vegetables, roasted red peppers, mozzarella cheese and crostini

megan's gazpacho

anna's mussels

making the most of yet another daily downpour:

on megan: ae jeans, aa tee, anthropologie bag, target earrings

on laura: via spiga trench, steve madden flats, balenciaga bag

we spent a lovely evening grilling al fresco at megan and tom’s yesterday. on the menu were beef and feta mini burgers, grilled chicken, orzo and black-eyed pea salad, fresh fruit, and wine (it was too dark to take pictures of the food unfortunately). here are some highlights from the night:

a delicious bowl of cherries:

totallymeat’s tailcoat:

some shots from anna and tm’s garden:

dining by candlelight:

so far, i’d say the season is off to a good start!