Friday, July 23, 2010
What's Vintage to You?
I never understood the snobbery or the seriousness behind people who sell and wear vintage clothing. I think beauty (and in this case, vintage clothing) is in the eye of the beholder. Who is to say a dress from 1983 isn't vintage? To an 17yr old, it is! To me, not so much because I grew up in the 80s and the clothing doesnt appeal to me. But I dont sell vintage clothing to myself...I hear what people want, and I find it! I remember while in high school, myself and many of my friends wore vintage 1970s bell bottoms and hippie dresses - my mother would cringe at the sight of the clothes I would buy at flea markets in NYC. Now I can relate! My least favorite era? 1940s. Boring, drab, greys/blues. Sure, some of the dresses have nice shapes to them - but everyday wear to me - blah. I tend to be more attracted to the styles of the late 60s and early 70s - perhaps its because I love Pop and Abstract Art, the artists who emerged during that time - and the music too! To me, wearing vintage clothing is not a style (like being preppy or goth) - its just love for clothes that are no longer around - whether it be 40s, 50s, 60s or whatever. My favorite thing to do, is to pair vintage with modern. For instance, a cute pair of modern jeans with an adorable little 1950s top and a pair of vintage stilettos. I never wear ALL vintage - to me, thats too costume-y. I know many vintage "people" who look the part, everyday of their life. Not for me. I usually wait to Halloween for that sort of thing. But, to each their own! Wear what you like, and as long as you love it - that's all that matters! And never, EVER - take vintage clothing too seriously. After all, its just clothes! Here are a few of my favorite items that are currently for sale in my shop (and some NOT in my shop just yet!)
60s MOD baby blue dress
60s Serbin MOD shift dress
70s Rag Dolls of SF Hippie Dress
70s Christian Dior nylon & lace Nightgown/Robe set
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Funk, Fashion, and some Burlesque thrown in!
I have been lucky enough to have been given the honor of working with the lovely peeps over at TVP Records and WXGR in Portsmouth. They throw weekly and monthly parties here on the NH Seacoast, one of which is called Flush: Funk & Fashion. Concetta's Closet did their first Funk & Fashion Show last week at the Gaslight in Portsmouth. What a great time! I had my lovely friend/assistant Molly helping me out. We joked prior to the show, as she posted her Facebook status: "Channeling my inner Whitney Port". HAHA! I then commented and said, "Can I please be Roxy?!" - Molly was quick to answer with, "No Dana, you're KELLY CUTRONE!" Ughh! Why do I have to be Kelly? Im not THAT old! I heart you Molly ;-)
Anywhoo, it went very well, despite the hot dressing room. This weeks show was a tad different. Rather than having 5 shops showcasing their fashion, Concetta's Closet was in the SPOTLIGHT! The fine ladies and gents over at Iron Heart Circus asked if they could peek in my closet and have a grab at some of our vintage lingerie for their Vixen Variety show they were performing that night. And how awesome they all looked! Veronica Pepper aka Crissy and the rest of the gang were awesome! What a show! Im super jealous of all their perfectly toned and limber bodies. Check out these photos taken by the ever so talented Erik Ralston:
Anywhoo, it went very well, despite the hot dressing room. This weeks show was a tad different. Rather than having 5 shops showcasing their fashion, Concetta's Closet was in the SPOTLIGHT! The fine ladies and gents over at Iron Heart Circus asked if they could peek in my closet and have a grab at some of our vintage lingerie for their Vixen Variety show they were performing that night. And how awesome they all looked! Veronica Pepper aka Crissy and the rest of the gang were awesome! What a show! Im super jealous of all their perfectly toned and limber bodies. Check out these photos taken by the ever so talented Erik Ralston:
Our vintage/girdle complete with bullet boobies! Looked AMAZING on her!!
The lovely Ariel in a cute new dress, not yet listed!
Adorable Daniele in a slinky LBD with 50s sparkly pumps..
The bearded lady wore our vintage slip
Caitlin in a gorgeous gown
Christina is wearing a new vintage mocha nightgown and robe..
Angela looks stunning in this 80s cocktail dress!
What a great bunch of events these people throw. If youre in the Seacoast area or anywhere in the Boston Metro area, you should totally check one out! Good music, a good crowd and good fun!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Its a HEAT WAVE!
So in case some of you didnt know, we are having a bit of a heat wave here in New England. Its pretty damn hot. But I like it - it the kind of heat wave that reminds you of when you were a little kid riding your bigwheel down the block following the ice cream man just to get one of those "screwball" snowcones - so you could cool off. Well, my idea of cooling off now is heading to the beach. Nermina (one of Concetta's Closet's models) and I headed to Wallis Sands beach here in New Hampshire. Nice clean bleach - a little too infiltrated by kids, but I tend to sit as far away from the kid crowds as I can. (Dont get me wrong...I love kids, but not sand-kicking, screaming/crying ones!)
So that brings me to my next topic - Bathing suits. I see tons of vintage bathing suits on Etsy from the 50s/60s. You know, the ones that look like your grandma would have worn it (and I think mine still probably does). Bullet boobies, low hips and so much coverage that you only get your legs and arms tan. So not my thing. I tend to lean towards the funky 70's cutout bathing suits and super low slung bikini bottoms. Here are a few of my fav's from Etsy:
From: cherrybloomvintage
From: AvantGarb
From: OldSkoolApparel
From: lightyearsvintage
So that brings me to my next topic - Bathing suits. I see tons of vintage bathing suits on Etsy from the 50s/60s. You know, the ones that look like your grandma would have worn it (and I think mine still probably does). Bullet boobies, low hips and so much coverage that you only get your legs and arms tan. So not my thing. I tend to lean towards the funky 70's cutout bathing suits and super low slung bikini bottoms. Here are a few of my fav's from Etsy:
From: cherrybloomvintage
From: shopREiNViNTAGE
From: AvantGarb
From: OldSkoolApparel
From: lightyearsvintage
Friday, July 2, 2010
My FIRST Blog!!
So Im new at this whole blogging thing. I will warn you, Im not a great writer. Im better at talking, like, face to face. So forgive me if I babble on.
That being said, let me give you a bit on me. My name is Dana, not Concetta (pronounced Con-Chet-Tah). Concetta was my great-grandmother, of whom I have never met but always loved the name. She obviously Italian (duh!) and came to America back in the early 1900's from Naples Italy - along with my great-grandfather Giacomo (James in English) and my grandmother, Vincenza (Jennifer in English). I currently reside in the Live Free or Die state of New Hampshire, but moved here from Brooklyn NY. Yes, yes, I know. NY to NH?!?! Long story...but Im here and making the best of it. I have a background in online media and have worked for boutique ad agencies and huge companies like MTV/Viacom. So being that online media is few and far between up here, I opted to do my own thing - which has always been a dream of mine - and start my own vintage business.
Sooooo, ONTO THE VINTAGE, right?! Well, obviously I'll be posting about my own vintage finds. But I will also be posting stuff I find that I adore from other Etsy sellers. There are so many other sellers that I find so amazing. I think I will feature one Etsy seller a week (or at least try to). I'm open to suggestions as to what everyone wants to see, hear or know about. Like I said, this is my first blog - they didnt teach us how to do this in college back when I had a dial-up and a beeper :)
That being said, let me give you a bit on me. My name is Dana, not Concetta (pronounced Con-Chet-Tah). Concetta was my great-grandmother, of whom I have never met but always loved the name. She obviously Italian (duh!) and came to America back in the early 1900's from Naples Italy - along with my great-grandfather Giacomo (James in English) and my grandmother, Vincenza (Jennifer in English). I currently reside in the Live Free or Die state of New Hampshire, but moved here from Brooklyn NY. Yes, yes, I know. NY to NH?!?! Long story...but Im here and making the best of it. I have a background in online media and have worked for boutique ad agencies and huge companies like MTV/Viacom. So being that online media is few and far between up here, I opted to do my own thing - which has always been a dream of mine - and start my own vintage business.
Sooooo, ONTO THE VINTAGE, right?! Well, obviously I'll be posting about my own vintage finds. But I will also be posting stuff I find that I adore from other Etsy sellers. There are so many other sellers that I find so amazing. I think I will feature one Etsy seller a week (or at least try to). I'm open to suggestions as to what everyone wants to see, hear or know about. Like I said, this is my first blog - they didnt teach us how to do this in college back when I had a dial-up and a beeper :)
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