You may have noticed my blog posts are sparse, my events are few and far-between, and my Etsy shop is on vacation.

Fear not, vintage lovers. There are exciting changes ahead.

But first, I’m slogging through some business as usual. I’m finishing up my graduate degree, which means writing my thesis on—no surprise to you, I’m sure—the apparel manufacturing industry. At the same time, I’m juggling multiple gigs in order to make Quarter Life my “full-time” career sooner, rather than later.

And Quarter Life itself is changing. Later this year, you’ll see this familiar blog redesigned with a new name, a new look, and a new walk (but the same ‘ol attitude). It’ll be paired with an Etsy relaunch that I hope will make you proud of my visual merchandising skills, among other fine qualities!

So I’m off the grid to an extent, but not unavailable. You can find some transitional vintage pieces at Ginger Root Design through the end of April. This summer, I’ll be appearing at the brand new Grant Avenue Market, which I’m very excited about. I hope to see you soon, and we can chat about what’s next for this here little shop on the move!

xoxo,
Lisatella

I made friends at Mahla Antiques, where MC found a decanter he loved (of course), I found an awesome bar set that I’m itching to sell to a Mad Men-inspired bar, and I found the Best Fashion Book Ever.

One of the sections at Mahla featured this amazing, amazing pink kitchen counter. There were even some pans in the oven! If only I had space at home for such a beauty.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, I learned where suitcases go for their final trip around the luggage carousel: Youngstown, Ohio. The Liberty Goodwill store had tons of fun pieces to look through.

This is just half the Goodwill haul. I was carrying the other half. Thaaaaanks, MC!

Stay tuned for some really fun and awesome announcements about where you can find Quarter Life vintage this summer and beyond! Until then, I’ll keep buying….

I know thrifty style mavens who live and die for the Tossed & Found sale every year. (Seriously. Ask Jen.) It’s this weekend, so get ready to haul some giant bags of goodies out of the Junior League of Washington’s annual sale.

From JLW: Tossed and Found is the Junior League of Washington’s annual weekend sale that provides many families in our community with quality, gently used household goods at bargain prices. In 2012, the sale attracted more than 3,000 shoppers and raised more than $118,000. Proceeds from the sale are used to fund the Junior League of Washington’s community-based programs and literacy activities.

I’ll miss it once again due to fun family obligations, but I encourage you to go shop!

I bring a batch of vintage back from the thrift or the rummage or whatnot, and sort the “to the cleaner’s” pile away from the washable stuff. But something always sneaks by me into the washer when it should probably be hand-washed on its own.

Case in point: The fuschia blouse that went into the same load as this once-white toaster cover.

Just…ugh.

To the Borax bucket we went. I dumped the pink water every few hours and let a final round of soaking sit overnight. A good rinse, a spin through the wash (with the whites this time), and voila:

Love you, Borax. Forever and ever.

Wear the Color of the Year without breaking your budget

Style confession: I love huge sweaters

Fashionista tip: Keep jewelry sparkling with this easy solution

New York Fashion Week: Ladies’ highlights

Goodwill field trip: Horizon Goodwill

Take me to Goodwill with you, Macklemore!

Goodwill field trip: Goodwill Boston

]]> http://quarterlife202.com/2013/03/04/winter-highlights-from-the-dcgf-blog/feed/ 0 lisatella Shopping at Goodwill http://quarterlife202.com/2013/02/20/exploring-western-maryland/ http://quarterlife202.com/2013/02/20/exploring-western-maryland/#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:40:37 +0000 lisatella https://quarterlifedc.wordpress.com/?p=4448 Continue reading →]]> Earlier this month we took a little road trip to Western MD for a ski trip. Since I don’t ski, I shopped! I’m saving some of the best finds for the DCGF blog, but here’s a peek at some other cool items:

I loved this mini iron. It still works-and matches my outfit!

An amazing little treasure trove called Cobwebs had tons of old appliances, all that still work. I tried to convince MC that we needed an old-school waffle-maker, but no luck.

I couldn’t resist a set of two groovy coffee cups. They’re made in Japan and nest together so nicely in the cabinet. They just make me smile!

Photo by Ginger Root Design

It’s your last chance to find Quarter Life vintage at Ginger Root Design! The ladies are making space in The Back Room for new vintage vendors, but you still have time to mix, mingle, and shop before QL waves goodbye.

Stop by for a vintage mixer and meet-the-artist night on Friday, February 22! I’ll be absent, but you’ll be able to shop vintage and handcrafted goodies all night. Just be sure to RSVP (because there will be wine)!

Thanks so much to the staff at Ginger Root Design for hosting me for the past two months!

It’s pretty great. That’s all I can say.

I also would like to share my look from a crazy nostalgic party I attended over the weekend. You had to choose a look from the ’80s, ’90s, or the ’00s. I went with the late 80s, thanks to Quarter Life vintage, some inspiration from my big sister, and a whole lot of hair spray:

As much as I love the “serious” side of wearing vintage (you know, the elegant, timeless side), I also really love the costume side. Here’s to playing dress-up!

When this beautiful piece arrived from my vintage fairy grandmother, I had no idea what it was. It lacked the traditional pin-back in order to be an ornate brooch. It didn’t have a mate, or I would have thought they were shoe clips. I might have tried to clip it into my hair like a big barette. It almost worked.

But lo and behold, this here is a dress clip. A little research tells me that these were popular from the 1920s through the 1950s, and were used to dress up any ol’ garment you please.

Take a look at the back:

Those little teeth on the clip are the kicker—how I know it’s a dress clip. If this were a shoe clip, the prongs would be sharper. If this was a fur clip, specifically for accentuating voluminous fur coats, there would be no clip on the back—just two long (and sharp!) metal rods.

When dress clips were popular, you could wear one to show off a plunging neckline, or to make your coat or blazer lapel stand out from the crowd. If you were really fancy, you had a set. Some dress clips came in pairs and could be worn together or separately. The Love of Vintage shows a few examples of “duette” dress clips. If you wore the two clips on each lapel, on a dress collar, etc., you could really dress up a piece that had been hanging out in your wardrobe for a while. And think about the 1930s—maybe you couldn’t afford a new dress, but you might have a few dress clips from the roaring 1920s that you could put on to make a dress or coat look new again. Even in the Great Depression, people still had reasons to dress up and look (and feel!) their best.

You can still wear dress clips in these traditional ways, but don’t be afraid to branch out, either. 52nd Street Vintage has a few ideas, although I wouldn’t recommend sticking a vintage dress clip on the pocket of your jeans. I would love to see this clip worn in someone’s hair, maybe with the aid of a thin headband.

This piece is now available on Storenvy and Etsy.

Model: Grace Luo. Photo courtesy Polly Sue’s.

For $10, you’ll get all the ingredients to cook up some vintage valentines. (Yes, there will be doilies. At least, I’m told there will be doilies.) There are two sessions on Sunday, February 3, although the first session is totally booked—better sign up quick if you want to be in the 3 p.m. group!