Yes, it's St Patricks Day

and yes, I have been told I have the map of Ireland on my face. And I have red hair (with some help from my fabulous hairdresser, Justin), and I like the occasional beer, and I've been to Dublin and Cork, though I did NOT kiss the Blarney Stone.

But I enjoy March for other reasons


Market Publique

Could I resist a sexy new vintage clothing auction site? No.

Spring cleaning

Not NorthStar Vintage Corporate Headquarters necessarily, rather, my eBay folder, with my sales from the past 8 months.

It may sound self-congratulatory, but I find (and manage to sell) some cool stuff. One thing I'd like to find more of are vintage t-shirts. But it would be tough to get rid of them. I love them for myself even more than I love the money they can bring in.

Here are a few from the NSV archives:

1980's Todd Rundgren Sweatshirt (pre-annoying Bang on the Drum All Day Song).

1980's Fishbone T-shirt (which makes me regret that I didn't keep the t-shirts from when I used to go to tons of punk rock/ska/metal/new wave shows):

1950's Matchless Motorcycle t-shirt (bought for myself, off of eBay, worn once, maybe)

1920's Cambridge Cycle Club wool (ick) racing jersey. This was a good one!

The coolest woman in the world

Anka-Eve Goldmann.

BMW enthusiast, racer, and motorcycle fashion stylista.



You can read about her at the vintagent blog, which is my new favorite non-vintage CLOTHING related blog.

Two months until the roads are clear!

Changes

A new year, new president, and a new lighting setup at NorthStar Vintage. Crazy times!

I've always loved the yellow wall background of my photos, but all that color was messing with the true hue of the photographs. So I've invested in a new lighting and backdrop setup and it is making me very happy. Finally I can capture the detail of black velvet (or the tougher to shoot blue velvet) garments, and can fully display some of the big wedding gowns that took up half of my previous shooting area.

Here are a few examples:

1950's white embroidered lace gown.

1950's black ribbed satin New Look dress/coat.

1980's blue velvet Norma Kamali dress.

1940's cream satin wedding gown.

Some of these will be going up on eBay, and some of these will be going upon my website, which, in another exciting (at least to me) development, is being worked on by a bona fide web guru. Finally!

So stay tuned for pictures that finally show the beauty of the clothing. And for the new Northstar Vintage website. I'll have a party, and you all are invited.

Tis the season

I'm heading up north next week on a huge buying trip and I need to clear out some of my old merchandise. Plus, I LOVE my buyers! So here's an early holiday gift from Northstar Vintage - all store items are 30% off

Click on the logo to get to my eBay store.


My newest obsession

I can't resist lawn art. The more bizarre, the better.

Random sign letters are good too.


There are so many incredibly crazy, weird old things out there.

Which is why I get crabby in stores like Home Goods or the Christmas Tree Shoppe; all that Made in China decor adds stress to our environment, in its creation, shipment, and ultimately, disposal (because the tchotchkes are so cheaply made, it's easy to chuck them).

We shouldn't be spoon fed our decor. There are a zillion environmentally friendly options out there. While not the hippest gal out there, Martha Stewart is my idol - the woman could decorate an estate using flower pots, cardboard boxes, and a glue gun.

And of course, ultimately (and selfishly), I think we should apply this concept to clothing. Vintage is green, it's non-exploitive, and still, it looks damn cool.

Since you asked

I bought a Paul McCobb chair. It looks great on the shiny new floors!


And today I am finally listing some of the great pieces I've acquired over the past few weeks!

Overwhelmed - in the best possible way

NorthStar Vintage Corporate Headquarters are being renovated, so like an unmoored ship, I've been floating around Northern New England, finding LOTS of vintage. So much that I had to break down and buy more hangers - a first in the 10 years I've been selling vintage.

One lot is from a woman who was hippie in NYC during the 60's. And she had fabulous taste in clothing. So I have boxes of great platform and baby doll shoes, bohemian dresses, and a big sheepskin/suede Pakistani coat, all KILLING me as they sit, waiting to be photographed and put up online.

Another lot is from someone who collected ethnic wear and costumes. Need a sporran? A beefeater's uniform? Leiderhosen? Brunclek? Bunad?

Still left to deal with is a store's worth of vintage menswear, and huge estate lot with clothes from the 40's and 50's - tons of gabardine women's suits and crepe dresses - all in good larger sizes.

Yay New England!

Jonathan Richman agrees

Mentioned

On the Vintage Bulletin! Thank you!

Here's the link.

This is the novelty print shirt they're talking about.


The blouse is from the McMullen Company, who, I understand, used a lot of Liberty of London prints. I done some research, but cannot find any proof. Still, it's a damn cute print, and it totally makes sense that it would be from Liberty, who made some damn cute prints.

When it rains it pours

I'm going on a big cross state motorcycle trip tomorrow. I am excited. I would be SUPER excited if I weren't missing some cool local stuff.

Day of Destruction. Smash-em-up at the local speedway. Possibly the most irony-free spot in the country.

Picnic Music and Arts Festival. I want to buy, I want to sell, I want to schmooze. I want to see good live music. Might have to come back early for this one.

Meathouse Wine Tasting. Booze and meat!

Space Homecoming Dance. Not to brag, but I have the best prom dresses in town.

Still - this is the kind of trip I will remember forever. As long as the old girl (my BMW) (and me) can make the trip.

My new favorite thing EVER

I freaked when I saw it was a vintage athletic jacket.

I freaked when I saw it was a vintage athletic BOWLING jacket, with pin and bowling ball shaped patchs.

I freaked when I saw that the patches were embroidered with the years the team won (making it easy to date) and that the winning team was Checker Cab (a bunch of cabbies winning bowling tournament in the late 50's is an incredibly evocative situation).


And then while driving it home, my associate pointed out that it was completely reversible, with a black satin, and matching bowling theme patches. These types of things should not be pointed out to me when I'm driving, because I damn near crashed the car.




This is especially timely because I have been obsessed with Rin Tanaka's work - books on vintage motorcycle culture, vintage skateboard and surf fashion, rockabilly fashion, and vintage athletic fashion.

Click HERE to see the auction.

Get Your Vote On

This woman is 47.



She is also a professional french horn player, vintage clothing dealer, and one of the coolest, smartest women out there. And good God, look at that skin!

Maggie has entered in More Magazines, "Redefining the F Word" Contest (her "F" word is Finery) and is one of the 25 semi-finalists.

She needs your vote! I might be biased, but she rocks so much more than all the other contestants. She should totally win this contest. Plus, selfishly, what better way to promote vintage clothing?!

Vote Here. Every Day, Please.(you'll need to register, but it's no big deal - that's what hotmail accounts are for).

Goth Redux

Because I work from home, I don't have much opportunity to dress up. And when I do leave the house for something fancier than the post office or grocery store, I have a uniform - black top, black skirt, black tights, black boots, silver accessories, big black bag.

And all of a sudden, thanks to the Goth Revival, I am in style, even if it's by default, and even if it's because I've just been holding on to the look since the first go round, in the 1980's. And yes, I had a Bauhaus record. Hell, I had the extended dance remix of "Bela Lugosi's Dead."

So this Goth Revival lets me embrace the things I loved in the past - like these red winklepicker skull buckle boots from *capricornvintage* (Identical to those worn by the one goth girl in my big northeast university who had a name that was spelled normally and pronounced abnormally. She had a leather jacket with spikes (!) that caught on angora sweaters, and once went to a sorority rush dressed as a nun).

Click photo for link to auction.

It also makes me want to go shopping for more black things, as I always need more black clothes (click photos for link):


Moschino Black Patent Platform Mary Janes at Zappos



Flower/Skull Pendant from Vivenne Westwood


Marc Jacobs Rolling Rings Dress at Nordstrom.


80's Black Ruched Dress on eBay


Dsquared Plaid/Black Lug Soled Booties on Zappos


9.1

Cleaning up post party beer cans and paper plates never makes me happy, but today, the act actually made me sad, as it's the last "real" day of summer.

Granted, my sadness is nothing like what I would experience as a child, when at the end of our summer on a lake in Maine, we would pack the light blue Ford Econline van (to the gills with all the furniture my father had bought) and drive back to our home in suburban Philadelphia. I would sob from the moment we drove down the dirt road, away from the house, until we made our first rest stop (food always trumped tears).

Happily, it was a glorious end to a glorious summer - 19 of us rode up to the Owls Head Transportation Museum Vintage Motorcycle Show. It was like a checklist for perfection - a dry sunny day, curvy roads through Richmond, Dresden Mills, and Alna, every bike made it to and from the show (almost a statistical impossibility with 19 vintage bikes), over 900 vintage bikes at the show (including a 1950's Harley Flat Track racing bike that filled me with covetous lust).

Though road weary and sunburnt, we all found the strength to come back chez Here to drink and eat and talk with increasing volume (to the chagrin of our neighbors) about the ride.

(And I made the most rocking Thai Peanut Pasta:

6 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1/4 cup water
9 Tbsp Soy Sauce
6 Tbsp Tahhini
1/2 cup Seame Oil
2 Tbsp Sherry
5 Tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup Honey
4 medium cloves garlic - chopped
2 Tsp fresh ginger - minced (from a jar is fine)
1 - 2 Tbsp Hot Pepper Oil

Blend all until smooth. Add in hot water to give it the consistency of whipping cream.

Add to 1 lb cooked fettucine

Toss. Top with scallions, sesame seeds, peeled carrots, cilantro, cukes...whatever you'd like.

Some of the ingredients are little weird, but once you have them, this is so easy to make, and it makes people insane with its flavor - very rich and spicy.)

Now it's the season that I think about field hockey, and soups, and leather jackets, and all of that is good too.

Pockycock!

When I was a little girl, I used to alter words to my own liking.

One of the few words that I remember is "pockycock," my own special word for pocketbook. Now that I am 40 going on 12, the word cracks me up to no end.

And I've been elbows deep in pockycocks this week (heh - I can't help it!). Here are a few of my favorite, now up for auction on eBay.

Click on the photo for links to the auction.

1950's Red Leather Bucket Purse


1950's Black Lucite (?) Box Purse with Seashells


1940's Corde Purse with Lucite "Tortoiseshell" Clasp


1950's Minature Doctor's Bag Purse


1950's Pink Patent Modern Purse - My Favorite!