Category Archives: VINTAGE FINDS!

Vintage finds: The Williamsburg Flea!

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IMG_8914It was a beautiful day in Brooklyn and I finally had a sunday off to do whatever I wanted so I dragged my boyfriend out of bed to finally visit the Williamsburg flea. I have heard many great things about the Brooklyn Flea’s and cannot believe I haven’t been to one till now. Better late than never because It was absolutely perfect and such a great way to recharge my soul because NY really doesn’t have the best vintage shops. In my opinion most vintage shops here are way too expensive and don’t really carry the great styles I see elsewhere. I can’t blame them, the rent here is so expensive, they have no choice but to price their vintage at higher price points. Anyway, If you can imagine, I was in pure heaven at the WillyB Flea, the prices were just right and the vintage and antiques were great. I met some great vintage dealers and purchased some really cool things. I am already itching to go back! I get lots of messages from many of you asking about my favorite vintage stores in NYC, my response from now on will be “Just go to the Brooklyn Flea’s”. Now I just have to check out the Fort Greene and Long Island flea to see what great vintage I will find. I plan to make trips to the flea markets at least once or twice a month because my soul loves it and needs it! Check out all of the interesting things I saw and purchased at the WillyB flea inside! Continue reading →

The Manhattan Vintage Show!

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IMG_5093Thanks to my good friends over at D&J Vintage, I was able to attend the Manhattan Vintage show with my momma. I went almost a year ago and have been hooked ever since! Though the prices are a bit steep, you are always guaranteed to see great vintage pieces. I always leave with something every time I go and I never attend without my favorite shopping partner miss Mama Vandalizm. She enjoys it just as much as I do. I think this time was our best time at the MVS because we met some really great vintage dealers and got to support our friends from D&J Vintage who had their very own booth for the first time ever! I took many pictures and scoured through many different booths but some of them stood out to me more than most. I met some wonderfullllllll people who had such great personalities that matched their great eye for vintage picking. I went to MVS with no intentions of buying anything this time but ended up with some fascinating vintage pieces that are some of my best to date. Some of my best picks came from the “What was is Vintage” booth. My mother and I received such sweet hospitality and really loved Neal and Judy Bergman. They had exactly what I was looking for and I ended up with 4 great pieces from their booth. First I found an AMAZING brocade dress on their sale rack that fit me like a glove. Then, I found..not one, but TWO spectacular vintage bikinis that fit me perfectly at their booth. I have been searching for the perfect vintage bikini for such a long time, I mean YEARS. Finally I have something to bring with me to Viva next year! As if that was it, I also found a vintage 3 piece playsuit that fit me to the T! It was a quadruple whammy that I got 4 great finds at one booth! It really started off my day of with a smile. After that we went over to the D&J Vintage booth to see my favorite vintagers Jan’ell and D. They have a really great eye for vintage and I realized how amazing they were when I modeled for them a few months ago and saw their collection. I nearly died every time I modeled one of their pieces and wanted to take everything home with me. Rummaging through their racks I noticed some of the pieces I modeled, particularly this yellowish a-line neck tie dress. Needless to say, I ended up leaving with it because I remembered how it made me feel when I modeled it for their shop. I just had to have it and I can now add that to my favorite vintage finds which always end up coming from the D&J Etsy shop. I really adore them as much as I adore their vintage and I hope all of you who attended the show got to visit their booth! After that, I thought I was done. I swore I was done. That is until I stumbled upon the Algamated Vintage booth. My mom and I bought some great vintage pieces from them last year and this year I found an AMAZING dress that had a tribal animal print adorned with tiny sequins. I cannot WAIT to wear it. I have to say, the owners from Algamated are also always very sweet. They have vintage that is earlier than the 1940′s and in such great condition. On our way out I bumped into some familiar faces like Antonio and Sonya Abrego over at Dated Vintage who had an AWESOME Vintage varsity jacket. It was green, reversible, and had the name “Viv” on the front. It was perfect but I had already did my shopping for the day. After making my final lap around the pavilion I was done for the day till I fell in love with a fridge. Yup, my next investment ;) . See photos inside of my favorite booths at the show! Continue reading →

Viva Las Vegas 16: Day 3!

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IMG_4163It was day 3 of my trip to Vegas for the Viva Las Vegas convention and I was excited to fulfill all of our plans! My best friend Derek wanted to show me more of the downtown area of Vegas when we stumbled across some cool vintage/antique shops! I cannot tell you the joy it brings me to discover a vintage/antique shop. I am immediately overwhelmed with happiness like a pirate who has just found buried treasure. The first antique shop we came across was Retro Vegas and boy were we loving the scenery. I mean, this guy had an emporium of antiques and I wanted to take everything with me. There were mid-century tiki bars, Danish Modern tables, dining sets, Patrick Nagel portraits, giant sculptures, and more. I was in Antique heaven and cannot wait to revisit again next year. Our second discovery was Electric Lemonade, an awesome and adorable vintage shop I instantly fell in love with. The two lovely ladies who run the shop are amazing pickers as their selection of vintage apparel was amazing and decently priced. I went into town in there and bought a bunch of cool threads and Derek did pretty well too. After a little shopping we rushed back to the Orleans to go support my friend Tony who was participating in the male swimsuit competition. I mean, come on, I had to come support Tony! And who would want to miss a male swimsuit competition pshhhhh ;) . The competition was actually pretty funny and my mother and I enjoyed seeing a bunch of people dressed to kill in there awesome vintage swimwear. Tony ended up in 3rd place but is still a winner in all of our eyes! He is one of the best hair stylists I have ever met and I was sooo stoked that I had an appointment to get my hair did right after the contest. He did a great job setting my locks and let me tell you, my hair hasn’t had that much bounce in years! After a successful day of shopping, sun bathing, and pampering, we called it a night to prepare for Derek’s booth  at the car show. Continue reading →

Viva Las Vegas 16: Day two!

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IMG_3749It was day 2 of my trip to Vegas and my morning was so sad as I had to bid my family farewell. They were going back home to California and though I wish they could have stayed longer, I was still glad I got to spend even a day with them. I turned my frown upside down when I realized this day was the beginning of the Viva Las Vegas convention! I was so stoked to finally check-in and see some of my west coast friends, visit the awesome vintage vendors, and watch some bands play! But before all of that, we headed on over to Buffalo Exchange again lol! We were about to pass it on our way to see some friends so we just hadddd to come in. I was definitely glad I stopped by as I found some more goodies someone jusssst donated like this cool vintage leopard fur coat, a faux-leather top, polka dot skinny pants, and a vintage dress that had a fur trim on the skirt! I think I spent less than $75 on the whole load which was not bad at all considering the type of prices the vendors were charging at Viva! After my fun little quick shopping spree, I headed on over to see some of my moms friends who were in town. Our friend Zinny has two really adorable daughters I look at as my own family. They are such little animated characters and I wish we lived closer so we could see them all the time. After we spent a few hours with them we were off to the Rio to change for Viva but on the way we noticed a huge fire. Key Largo Casino was in flames :( . The irony is that I was telling my best friend Derek how I loved the old signage of Key Largo and ironically, it was the only thing that wasn’t affected by the fire. Everything else burned down to flames and we wondered if any homeless people were actually living there because it has been abandoned since 2007. It was definitely scary and such a sad ending to such a cool structure. Luckily we were able to drive out of that smog and onto blue skies, back to our hotel room where we were able to rest up, recharge, dress up, and head back out for Viva at the Orleans. Continue reading →

Viva Las Vegas 16: Day one!

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title1I look forward to the Viva Las Vegas weekender every single YEAR. It is probably the only time I feel my happiest and in my element because I am surrounded by thousands of people who understand and appreciate my love for the rockabilly lifestyle. The convention just keeps growing with popularity each year as the awareness of the lifestyle progresses and it is always great to see some familiar and fresh faces. I love being able to shop at the vintage vendors, see girls in their glamorous vintage threads, watch people jive to great bands, and see amazing classic cars. It is so surreal to see people exuding the lifestyle so perfectly; I always come back to NY inspired.

I am so happy my Mom was able to come again this time as she wasn’t able to come last year and it just didn’t feel the same without her. She has the same appreciation I have for the culture and it inspires her as well. My bestie Santiago came too and I was so excited to help him with his booth at the car show where he was able to showcase his beautiful artwork to thousands of people. But before I get to all of that, my mom and I arrived in Vegas a little early to spend some time with my West Coast familia. We missed them so much so we savored every second we had with them since we don’t always have the chance to fly out to California. Our first stop was my favorite spot, BUFFALO EXCHANGE. I am absolutely in love with every single Buffalo Exchange I have ever been to. I always find something! Every time I go to Viva I visit BE at least 3-4 times as they have a steady rotation of new stuff on a constant. After my jackpot, we were off to go see the Pawn Stars shop. My mom and I love that show so we wanted to see it all for ourselves. To our surprise it was extremely disappointing. The entire shop was B-O-R-I-N-G and nothing like they portray it in the show. The inventory was wacksauce and the store was more like a gift shop for Pawn Star merchandise with cups and t-shirts that say “I love chum lee”. It was definitely a bummer but we quickly left and were off to Freemont where I fell in love with all of the neon signage and got to see a light show featuring one of my favorite rock bands, Heart. We walked around till sundown and by that time, my bestie Santiago was flying in so we met up with him and enjoyed an awesome late night dinner at In-N-Out Burger. Not bad for my first day in Vegas if ya ask me! Continue reading →

The Fitting Room Confessionals!

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IMG_3447The other day I met up with my good friend Nubia in the city for a walk around the city which included a few stops to a few stores. I don’t shop nearly as much as I used to anymore because I have so much stuff, but every now and then a little window shopping turns into a jackpot. Some of you may remember my old “Vintage Finds” posts where I would showcase all of the new treasures I found whilst thrifting. I used to spend hours taking photos in each and every item I bought showing you how I would potentially style it, but it was too much work and felt more like 10 outfit posts in one. I am so happy and relieved that I purchased a vintage Betsey Johnson mannequin because I saved myself from the hassle of dressing and undressing myself and the self-timer setting lol. Anyway, you dolls used to LOVE those posts and I think I need to resurrect them but in a different more hassle free way. So after a conversation with my friend Nubia that day, she gave me a great idea to start something called “The Fitting Room Confessionals”. The idea is to take pictures of everything I try on in the fitting room and talk about why I love or dislike it. It is also an opportunity for me to show you my tips/perspectives on shopping. In this post/case there were no casualties as I ended up taking everything home, but It is what I found that makes it so special… Continue reading →

Art Basel 2012 in Miami: Day dos!

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DSC_1426On day two, I spent less time in Wynwood and more time exploring other parts of Miami with my beau like little Havana and Biscayne Boulevard. I wanted to see cool deco hotels, motels, and thrift stores as well as the culture of Little Havana and thanks to our good friend Frank, we were able to visit the best spots. Our first stop was Little Havana were I was inspired by the culture of the people there. It was so dope to see latin elders play dominos and chess while smoking their cuban cigars. I also fell in love with an art deco theater there that featured some really awesome old films. Then we were off to Versailles Cuban Cuisine to enjoy a VERY YUMMY breakfast that was so good, I miss it terribly. After that we went off to Biscayne Boulevard where I was also completely floored & inspired by the amazing architecture of the hotels. It is heaven for people like me who follow the rockabilly culture. So many of them are still in mint condition despite being built 50-60 years ago. I wish New York would have salvaged great architecture like Miami did, it really is..so amazing. I also fell in love with some of the cute thrift stores on Biscayne like Vintage Revenge and Fly Boutique. They were both super cute and full of goodness at decent prices. I found some very special things at both shops but really hit the jackpot at Vintage Revenge. I have to say VR was my favorite because the owner was so sweet/helpful and she had such amazing vintage pieces from my favorite eras. I found the BEST swimsuit there that may or may not be Versace (as if I care anyway). The tag is missing and she was pondering if it was too. Regardless, this swimsuit was BAD (in a good way). It was so amazing, I was afraid to wear it but had to have it as It fit me like a glove. Ironically I found a vintage Cache top as well that looked great with it, only it was a bit over my price range for that sorta thing. With my luck my friend ended up finding one for me just like it at Red White and Blue in Hialeah for just $5.95 so on day 4 I sported them both (post coming soon). After an eventful day of sight-seeing, we revisited Wynwood and then went off to Fania to support my best friend Santiago at his awesome showcase via the Pax Performing Arts Center. See photos inside! Continue reading →

Camo season.

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It is CAMO season people! I was especially excited to bust out mine the other day because it is one of the few reasons why I can deal with this cold weather we are about to get hit with. I absolutely love camo prints, fur, leather, and being able to wear cool scarves and hats this time around. I always say I want to live on a tropical island but when I really think about it, I’d miss being able to wear of all my Fall & Winter things. Anyway, on this day I decided to take a walk around my neighborhood and visited some thrift shops before I was off to meet up with my best bud Santiago. My best friend and I love to go on random adventures to beautiful and historic places in or around the city. We always have a great time just wondering around discovering places we didn’t even know existed. I didn’t know there were so many beautiful places to go here in the Bronx until my bestie and historian showed me around. On this day we went to visit a waterfall I used to go to when I was a teen followed by a cool chill dinner at a great sushi spot we found while driving around. This is a small post because I didn’t have my camera with me but you can see more details of my outfit and my day via my iphone inside. Continue reading →

Viva Las Vegas 15: Day 3!

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It was day 3 in Vegas and we were ready for the first day of the Viva Las Vegas convention festivities. The first day of vlv is really just to register, check out the vendors, and see some bands play so I took the opportunity to do all of those things whilst venturing out with my family to go antique shopping. Me and the girls were excited to really dress up and strut our east coast flavor. However, walking in heels from 9am-12am is no joke so of course there were many outfit changes. I made sure I made use of my first outfit of the day which was one of my favorites out of everything I brought with me. I wore a regal silk scarf around my head, my vintage Sharagano blouse, my Betsey Johnson nautical shorts, a vintage belt, and my Christian Louboutin stilettos. All of my accessories were vintage including my change of shades throughout the day. I just wanted to mashup 90′s Versace with mid-century pinup style and that is why I love this outfit so much. It was busy but it just worked.

Believe it or not, the girls and I went BACK to Buffalo Exchange. Obsessed? maybe. I swear every time I go there I end up finding something and lord I found lots of really cute pieces this time. Plus I always find cheaper vintage their as opposed to the VLV vendors who sell over-priced vintage. Anyway, after that I was off to see my family again for some Antique shopping in the Fremont area of Las Vegas. When I got back I headed straight to the VLV vendors to see if there was any good vintage deals but I didn’t find much. After running around all day I felt my body start to break down and I needed sleep BAD so I got back to the hotel room changed into some comfy clothes and headed downstairs for some R&R and good noms at Koji. This Japanese restaurant at the Orleans that had me addicted to their spicy mayo. Though dinner was pleasant I didn’t last the night to see the bands. I just went to our room and passed out.

See more inside!

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Vinny the riveter’s vintage finds!

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Yesterday was one of those “never waste a minute” kind of days where I made the most and the best of my day. My day started with me running to the Salvation Army in Hells Kitchen to shoot for a project that is in the works. I cannot announce what it is until it comes to full fruition. Hopefully it will, I have my fingers crossed. We shot for most of the day the best part about it was that I was able to THRIFT and meet other thrifters like darling Patrice Williams who is not only a fellow thrifter but a blogger as well! Patrice runs the blog “Looking fly for a dime” and I suggest you all check her out! Patrice knows her vintage, why? because as soon as I walked in the door she had a vintage 50′s robe at hand that I was drooling over for hours until we made a trade. She happened to like a purse I had in my cart and I must say..I wasn’t going to miss that bag..but that robe…I would’ve missed it had she not been so generous in giving it up. I absolutely adored her and can’t wait to thrift with her again. I ended up with a garbage bag full of goodies that I can’t wait to wear and I have photos inside to prove it! I also invited my friend Tim who is my old coworker from Billy’s Antiques so we could catch up after thrifting and grab some grub. He ended up leaving with a bag full of stuff too. We snuck in a little fun photo shoot of my outfit before leaving the building as Tim usually takes my pictures (he is such a good friend :) ). I definitely dressed for my thrifting occassion in a “Rosie the riveter” outfit I can’t wait to show you! After an exhausttting dayy of shopppinngg ;) we headed on over to BBQ’s where we had some good-ol-fashioned southern food and what a perfect way to end the day than a big plate of food and a strawberry daiquiri. More details and photos inside! Continue reading →