chicfaced

blouse - victoria's secret/skirt - vintage from etsy/belt - urban outfitters/moccasins - matisse/bag - mulberry alexa

this outfit was an attempt to achieve a fall feel while still remaining comfortable in the heat. the leaf prints, satchel and moccasins felt very back-to-school to me, so i went with it. i was also going for a sort of miu miu s/s10 vibe here, only without the maryjanes (sad face). although, i have ordered the forever 21 knockoffs! so let’s hope they aren’t totally uncomfortable because i’ve already started planning outfits with them in my head. the belt clasp is two lion heads–kind of hard to see in the pictures. and i am looooving my alexa bag. it has been on heavy rotation along with the nightingale this summer, but this is its first time on chicfaced.

till next time,

laura

a little while back, when megan first opened her store, i walked away with this dress as my first purchase:

i really liked the lavender color and the print, but the long puff sleeves and ankle length hem were a bit too big love. major potential there though. so i ended up taking off the sleeves altogether and taking it in at the sides a bit, and then had a tailor take a good 10 inches off the bottom. and i am very happy with the results. it is now light and airy, easy to wear, and one of my favorite go-to summer dresses:

dress - beaucoup vintage/necklace - f21/shoes - pour la victoire

next up, we have mike modeling the sweet ass mint green blazer that he picked up at bv last weekend (and he’s hardly taken it off since):

ain’t he handsome?

quite the vintage-wearing couple we were that day

xoxo,

laura

red skirt – etsy, all else – beaucoup vintage

yessssssss.

cape - vintage/tee - target/jeans - bdg (uo)/moccasins - matisse/bag - chloe/sunnies - f21

i found this little blue cape on etsy earlier this spring. it is definitely one of the happiest things i own, if you can assign a feeling to a piece of clothing. i think you can. add in a pair of polka dot sunnies, a red bag and sparkling sunshine and i felt downright gleeful. i hope everyone had a great weekend! xoxo, laura

blazer - vintage/tee - aa/jeans - old navy/shoes - seychelles/bag - chloe/sunnies - target

sometimes the clothes speak for themselves. not much to add here except i found the blazer on ebay, which was a fun challenge because, as you might imagine, there are a lot of seriously ugly plaid blazers to sift through. it works equally well with mini skirts and short dresses. i just have to make sure to wear heels, or else i’m all torso. i remember reading somewhere that the chloe ‘bay’ collection (from which this bag and my other chocolate one come, and which i heart) was inspired by 1970s luggage. a little trivia for ya.

till next time,

laura

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

Over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly interested in vintage fashion – when I first started buying, I relied on others (mostly online vintage shops) to do the searching.  I only had to wait for a shop update and choose what I wanted from an already-curated selection.

Lately though, for a number of different reasons, I’ve been doing a lot of my own “picking”.  Spending Saturday afternoons hopping from one Goodwill to another has become an afternoon I so look forward to.  Since this new interest in the search, I’ve learned a few things that help separate the quality from the quantity.

I wanted to share one of the most helpful things I’ve learned on how to date vintage with ya’ll – I know many fashion bloggers out there have been thrifting for vintage for a lot longer than I have but hopefully this will help some of you!

The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) was founded in 1900 and remained active until 1995.  Beginning around 1940, ILGWU tags became common on any piece of clothing that was made by a union company.  The tags took on different forms, colors and acronyms between 1940 and 1995, thus making these tags invaluable when you’re trying to 1) decide if something is even vintage and 2) dating it to a specific period.

ILGWU tag 1955-1963

ILGWU 1963-1974

ILGWU 1974-1995

Obviously, not every vintage garment was union made; you’re sure to find lots of gems that won’t be able to be dated so simply, however, what a thrill it is to see this stamped on a tag of a pretty dress while you’re standing in the middle of a thrift store!

I’ve got a whole list of other tips and tricks I am happy to share if ya’ll want more – just let me know!  Hope this helped!

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s almost time for some coconut cake and BIG LOVE.

p.s. How many of you are also lovvvinngg the new Big Love intro? I could watch that on repeat for an hour and be happy.

sources:  vintage fashion guild, The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping by Melody Fortier

faux fur coat - vintage/tee- AA/skirt- j.crew/shoes- dolce vita/sunnies- target/bag- balenciaga

speaking of vintage finds (well done, megan!), up for show and tell today is this freakin’ fabulous cheetah print coat that i scored off ebay a couple weeks ago. it was particularly fortuitous for two reasons: one, it fits perfectly–no need for alteration–which is practically unheard of for me, and two, it cost next to nothing! the starting bid price was really low, which was cool, but i was sure there would be a bidding war in the last few minutes, as is normal for this kind of thing, and i was prepared to have to drop some cash. but there were no other bidders! or maybe there was one, i can’t remember because the adrenaline rush that ensued has made me fuzzy on the details. all i know is, i don’t have a lot of luck with vintage unfortunately, but the pieces i have found that have worked have been real treasures. and after losing out on countless auctions for similar coats that ended up going for insane amounts of money, with patience and luck, the right one came along. so now i can finally unleash my inner mrs. robinson-slash-edie sedgwick on fredericksburg. yesss!

so readers, tell us about your memorable triumphs, vintage or contemporary. i love hearing clothing anecdotes!

xoxo, laura

today, I fell in love.

behold:

I decided last minute to go thrifting around town this afternoon.  My first two stops were fruitless but readers, the third stop – Goodwill by the Super Targ – I spotted this blue, vintage BOW BACKED dress from across the way, ran to it, grabbed it w/o even looking at the size and got in line. I can’t stop staring at it….it’s sweet, ya know, with the bows but the open back makes it kinda saucy too.  It fits really well from the shoulders to the waist but it is super long…..I’m def gonna hike the hemline way, way up – trip to the tailor is now scheduled for tomorrow! .  Now all I need is a holiday party to attend!

EDIT:  Guys, the pretty dress goddesses are watching out for me today.  I spotted this dress on Etsy the other day, and was crushed when I realized it was reserved for someone else.  I messaged the seller just in case and guess what !  I just got an e-mail saying it is mine if I want it.  AND it’s on super sale.  Sometimes the chase is worth it!

Lots of new outfits here!  Picture heavy (and pretty chatty) post ahead…..

vintage dress, f21 dress worn as slip, jessica simpson pumps, UO sunnies

Wore this to work last Wednesday.  I got it in the mail from adore vintage - it was my 1st purchase from the site and I’m hooked – awesome prices coupled with a big selection of vintage and vintage inspired dresses – sold!.  I like this dress because it is unexpectedly modern – this dress is most definitely from the 70′s but at first glance, it looks like it could have been produced this year. 

I had forgotten these shoes existed in my closet until I randomly watched a video interview between Rachel Zoe and Maria Menounos from Access Hollywood a year or so ago.  Here’s how the interview went down:

RZ: As you know, a nude patent pump is an essential in every girl’s shoe collection
MM: ……………
MM: ………..why….?

RZ: ……………???? WEELLLLLL BECAAAUSSEE it is an essential and goes with everything and elongates your leg.

duh, Maria.  They were both so over talking to each other, it was hilarious.

old navy dress, targ tank, UO sunnies, vintage/gifted earrings and bracelets

I think this is the last time I’ll get to wear this dress for the season…  wore this out to dinner with T one weekeday night.  It is one of my favorite dresses –  was having a bit of my own RZ moment with the long, printed maxi dress and big gold vintage bracelets.

L and I went shopping downtown with our friend Victoria on Saturday afternoon – there is a local vintage jewelry store (where I get most of my vintage jewelry) that was having a Everything is $5 sale and a new consignment shop opened Saturday as well.  We all scored a lot of good loot…  I got a super cute wrap blouse and silk dress – both from anthropologie – at the consignment store…it’s funny, too, cause I consigned quite a bit of stuff there the other day and Victoria ended up buying one of my dresses.  Guess I owe her a drink…

Anyway, here is what we wore:

express top, h&m skirt, gucci bag, tapeet by vincini flats

h&m shirt, f21 skirt, dollhouse sandals, norwegian wood necklace, vintage/gifted bracelets

After lunching, shopping and a few hours of recuperating from the heat, we all went out to a local restaurant, Sammy T’s, to see our multi-talented webmaster, totallymeat, along with our other awesome friends (Chris Park, Kenny Ellinger, et. al.) perform in the local brass band, Elby Brass.  That’s right.  A bunch of dudes (who are most certainly not in high school) in high school band uniforms, playing funk music and generally being awesome and dance-y and funny and amazing entertaining.  I’m so proud of my very talented friends.  After the show ended around midnight, Kenny dj’ed till about 2am.  I danced, danced, danced the night away with a bunch of friends and had the best time.  I love nights like that….

Here’s what I wore (feel free to visualize a vodka soda, a pair of contraband raybans (thanks, Chris) and a big smile on my face to get the full effect of the evening):

vintage dress, vintage earrings

Also, I may or may not have acquired one of the marching band uniform jackets – in my size! – that I will most certainly be wearing this Fall/Winter.

Great weekend….too bad I am one of the only suckers who has to work tomorrow.  Labor day…hello, Fall!