True Showmanship

This weekend, I attended the Manhattan Vintage Clothing & Textile Show. For $20 admission, I was granted the two-day pleasure of a veritable candyland, showcasing nearly one hundred top-notch vintage vendors all under one roof. Believe it or not, it was only my first year in attendance. I'd previously been kept away by legend of the expo's high designer vintage prices but was pleased instead to discover a wide breadth ranging from aspirational to wallet-friendly, & quite a few sellers were apt to disclose their best price almost the moment a piece caught your eye.

Many vendors, keen to designers on the hunt for ideas, forbid photographs, & truth be told, I got so distracted by the cornucopia before me that I forgot I even had a camera. I would have liked to show you more, but here's a small sample of some of my favorites.

Olive's

Among my first & friendliest stops was Olive's, a Brooklyn-based boutique run by Jen McCulloch who won me over with her gorgeous finds & many compliments on my vintage cape. 

Olive's style seems a mix of comfortably chic & irrepressibly romantic. They offer up a beautiful selection of flapper dresses, tapestry purses, cozy sweaters, 1940s slingbacks, & Depression era trinkets. It was a struggle not to walk away with a 1950s leopard fur muff, one of my vintage bucket list items. I consoled myself with the conviction that I'd visit her Court St shop very soon.


De Jewels
If you're anything like me & Liz Taylor, you'd go mad for De Jewels which had spectacular assortment of mid century costume jewelry, every one of them a statement piece, big & bold enough to garner compliments from across the room.

Deirdre Geary's East 21st St Manhattan salon is by appointment only at 212-228-6445, with most prices ranging around $65-200. Cocktail rings being among my sartorial addictions, I was prepared to break the bank here, but eventually whittled my purchase down to this magnificent 1960s piece.


Matinee Idol
Most of my fun was had at Matinee Idol where I delighted in a selection of flirty, feminine dresses, blouses, & intimates from the 1920s through 50s. I tried on no less than seven. Our taste & prices were so similar, I introduced myself to proprietress Shelley White by declaring, "You're my doppel-shop!"

We had a nice, long talk after which I left with a sweet mint green 1920s silk garden dress. I found myself utterly tickled by its resemblance to a basket of flowers once folded in the bag.

Matinee Idol, alas, does not have a brick & mortar location, but makes regular rounds at vintage shows. I'm assured they'll be set up at Fashion Alley on November 19th & 20th, so mark your calendar. Lord knows I have.