Lots of Textures and Styles to come...

Since coming back from Los Angeles, I have been busy cleaning, mending and photographing all the beautiful new items I picked up for the shop. Here is a small preview of the patterns, textures and colors to come...

Silks, chiffon's, wool's, embroidery and more! Come check out the shop within the next coming weeks to see what's new. 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BarnabyJack

L.A., Topanga and a Summer Sale

I just got back from little ol' Los Angeles and I am excited to say I had a successful visit. My original plan was to scout more vintage for the shop, but I happened to also visit a little hidden gem known as Topanga Canyon and the Getty Villa. 

Topanga Canyon...15 minutes from Santa Monica.

Topanga Canyon is a small community of retired hippies, artists and some L.A. bigwigs. Surrounded by national park, but still 15 minutes away from Santa Monica and 8 minutes away from the beach, this place feels like an old L.A. secret. So it is no surprise that Topanga is the home of a well stocked vintage shop, called Hidden Treasures. I also got to visit a little shop that goes by Hill Billy Hip. This shop is slightly smaller, but still has some great stuff.

... and of course, I stopped by the Getty Villa... The Getty's smaller, more traditional, sister. The gallery was exhibiting ancient artifacts from the Byzantium period, the highlight was the jewelry :)

The quick trip was great but the whole purpose of the trip was to find vintage, and luckily I was able to haul back over 50 new pieces. I will be listing these new items in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime we will be having a 20% off everything sale in the shop. Sale starts today, June 1st and ends thru June 7th! Coupon code: SUMMERVIBEZZ

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BarnabyJack

DeGrazia

A few weeks back I visited the DeGrazia Gallery, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I have lived here my whole life and never thought twice to visit this museum. This is largely attributed to my lack of appreciation for all things southwest until after I left Tucson and lived in New York City for four years. Now that I am back, I obsess over southwestern vintage and this gallery feeds that obsession quite well.  

The DeGrazia gallery has been here since the 1950s, and it is completely dedicated to showcasing the work and life of  Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia. To be honest, I have never been a huge fan of his work, but the gallery itself is beautiful and unique. I especially loved the little hidden chapel off of the gallery (photo above). I can't really describe this chapel or the feeling you get when you go in, so I won't. 

The DeGrazia gallery ends with a walk through a pretty desert garden with giant prickly pears and walkways. 

My favorite part of the gallery, the vintage jewelry designed by the artist. In my wildest fantasies I find jewelry like this at thrift stores for $6 .... 

If you're ever in Tucson, check out this gallery, or find out more here.

Vintage Street Style: Summer Festival Edition

immaculate

90s 4ever

tropical print

matchy matchy two piece

kimonos and denim

pattern mix

tribal print gets cute

kate bosworth can do no wrong

a sheer thing

crochet and lace

simple yet effective

lace over black on black

...and of course, the queen of queens.

Slip Dress

1940's Slip Dress

I went to the flea market the other day hoping to find stuff for the shop, but instead I ended up buying two amazing folding chairs from the 70's. They are in my backyard where nobody goes, ever. Money well spent. However, I did manage to find this pretty slip dress from the 1940's. The cut is really flattering and the details are perrrdy. Goes well with the honey brown clutch in the shop. 

honey brown clutch

Oh, and I did find this Beaver State Pendleton Blanket, too. Whenever I see anything that remotely resembles Pendleton I stop dead in my tracks. Luckily, this was a REAL Pendleton, and it also has some lovely fringe all around it. 

I would have stayed at the flea market longer but sometimes I get so overwhelmed at the amount of amazing stuff, I just have to walk straight out of there. I get like that at home depot, too. There is such a thing as too many choices, and too many ideas. Once I get an influx of ideas my brain shuts off and I waist hours just standing there with a dumb look on my face OR I end up buying a crap load of stuff for different things, and then when I bring it home none of it makes sense.

Pendleton Blanket

S T R E E T S M A R T : High Waisted Denim Cut Offs

One of the most difficult things of having an online vintage shop is having to say goodbye to items that I will probably never see again. You would be surprised how much I grow attached to certain things, and when they sell a little part of me dies. However, one item will always be in the shop, especially around summertime and that is the tried and true, high waist denim cut off shorts.

Denim never gets old, and even when it is actually old, it looks even better than when it was new. That is why used/vintage denim is the best way to go. These already worn in jeans are typically very soft and comfortable. They even are little frayed in certain areas... but we are talking genuine fray from use, not the chain store frayed denim where you pay $50 for jeans that have holes already. 

Best of all, vintage denim shorts are almost always high waisted, which can be quite flattering to most figures. 

+++

There are two denim brands that I'm always in search of... Levis and Wrangler. These two vintage brands go back a while and have a solid place in our fashion history. Each brand has certain advantages and fits.

LEVIS

 

Levis are as American as apple pie, but unfortunately now they are made elsewhere. BUT, they're still made well, and now they are coming out with some new branding that caters back to their original rough and wear charm of the 1960s and beyond.

Levis denim shorts are great because they fray well and usually have a really nice texture. The washes are always right on point and most of all they are usually pretty comfortable. 

 One thing to watch out for is the diaper effect. Old Levis jeans/shorts from the 1980s and 1990s are super tight on the waist and balloon out on the hips. This creates a weird diaper effect when worn as shorts. They can also really hug the butt crack sometimes which is quite uncomfortable and embarrassing. When buying Levis cut offs, check to see that your waist and hip measurements match.

Find this pair of Levis and more in the shop!

WRANGLER

Wrangler is the slightly lesser known American denim brand. But in some ways I feel like it's a bit better than Levis.
Since opening the shop I have realized that Wrangler denim is slightly stretchier which makes for a better fit that most Levis shorts. Wrangler hugs the hips nicely without being to tight. Plus, you can find vintage Wranglers in all sorts of crazy colors.

Find this pair and more in the shop!

S T R E E T S M A R T : Kimonos

 

One trend I can't deny right now is the Kimono cover up. Lately, I have been spending every spare minute in search for my vintage kimono soul mate. There is only one for me out there, and I will find it. But for now, I spend my time admiring other ladies and their very own (match made in heaven), kimono true love.

Don't they make great pairs? 

Find all these street photos and more on Pinterest

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:)