Thrift to Give

*originally published in Biscayne Times (http://www.biscaynetimes.com/)

I suspected I was in the right place when, after walking into Art & Fashion Showcase on Biscayne Boulevard, just over the Miami Shores line into North Miami, I immediately spotted the early-1980s designer blouse with the Daffy Dan’s tag still attached.

Daffy Dan’s was located in my rather pretentious hometown of Livingston, New Jersey. During my formative years, which were also in the early to mid-1980s, it sold eclectic designer samples, one-offs, and racks of odd sizes for astonishingly low prices. I liked it even more because my NYC bedroom community peers shopped at Bloomie’s and other mall department stores, where the elitist-priced outfits beckoned the less, well, artistically driven. And while Daffy’s, as it became formally known in 1987, is these days a clothing, accessories, and home-goods empire with 21 stores all over the Northeast, I still browse there every time I visit my folks.

The price tag bearing the store’s older name, Daffy Dan’s, confirming the blouse as pre-1987 and therefore an authentic collectible, lent me a private chuckle. I felt an even more pleasant jolt of serendipity when I began to chat with owner Jenni Gordon, who had opened the boutique only a couple of days before I wandered in, she said.

As it turns out, Art & Fashion Showcase is a nonprofit organization. All of the goods in the store -- high-quality stuff ranging in purpose and style from an antique foot rest to a Betsy Johnson two-piece -- are donated, and profits benefit art and design students. In fact, she told me, though her grandmother and father, who had been handling the organization, had been turning the money mostly into scholarships for college-age students, she was interested in expanding her reach.

Readers of this column know by now that I’ve taken a job teaching at Miami Arts, the new charter school for visual arts, music, dance, creative writing, and drama students, located in the Design District. I’m fortunate enough to have been given two rooms in the building, one for my classroom and one that I’m making into a lounge, where I teach the kids how to workshop each other’s poetry and fiction. This is also where we will eventually run the school’s literary journal and do the yearbook. The problem is, it’s a plain white box of a room: no windows, no furniture, no relief from the uninspiring landscape of fresh plaster. So I’ve been doing some decorating. And in order to do this on a teacher’s salary, I’ve been thrift-shopping quite a bit.

For me this is no hardship. Not only do I love a bargain for good material, instilled in me from my Daffy Dan days, I have a fondness for old things -- so much so I co-authored a craft/sewing book with a designer from New York called Born-Again Vintage, even though I’ve never gone much beyond attaching a button to a shirt. Naturally Miami Shores, where there’s practically guaranteed to be multiple moving, estate, or garage sales every weekend, has been a good source of stuff for me. And at this point I’ve been to, or know about, nearly every consignment, vintage, antique, thrift, and donation shop in the area, including the North Miami Goodwill Superstore & Donation Center. Opened this past summer, the North Miami Goodwill Superstore, 11990 W. Dixie Hwy., represents what all of their larger thrift stores will look like in the future: high ceilings, brightly lighted, with clothes divided into size- and sex-appropriate sections like a department store. Plus, as my daughter says, “It doesn’t smell bad.”

I don’t care much about odors -- there’s always dry cleaning and Febreze -- as long as there aren’t any moths or other destructive insects. And yes, I have flipped through racks of “vintage” clothing where moths have risen in a fluttering swarm, and the owners just shrug (or worse, berate me) when I tell them. (This happened to me in Montclair, New Jersey, when Bridgett and I were looking for wedding dresses for our next project. We bought a secondhand wedding dress, but obviously held back on the woolens!)

For this quest, I haven’t encountered any unpleasantness. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’ve never had so much fun scoring funky paintings, throw pillows, and foot stools at relatively low cost. It’s amazing how generous folks like Jenni Gordon and Donna Ashby Clark of the Upper Eastside’s Divine Trash, become when you talk about teaching. Just mentioning the word “kids” got me pillows for them to sit on from Gordon, and Clark donated a large canvas in addition to knocking prices down on other, smaller pieces. At both sites, I’ve been invited to hold readings for my MAC students, which will be such a thrill for them -- and for me.

Another place I’ve been haunting, Grubstake/GIVE Good Works (givegoodworks.org) also operates as a charity organization. It takes donations of furniture and goods, for which you can deduct fair-market value from your taxes, and either gives them to families in need or sells them at its Wynwood Art District thrift store on 24th Street and N. Miami Avenue, about 15 blocks from my school. This place is a treasure trove, crammed with the history of 50 households at any given time, and it’s a hoot to wander through the ever-changing merchandise.

Even closer to my school and Miami Shores, Lotus House Thrift (lotushouseshelter.org) debuted at the end of September on NW 36th Street. Lotus House is a shelter for homeless women and children, and the shop’s proceeds go toward maintaining it. Sited in a former art gallery and done up in colors usually reserved for cotton candy, it’s also staffed by Lotus House residents, giving them valuable work experience -- the proverbial two birds with one thrifty stone. You know I’ll be a frequent customer, and not for the ovenware, either. After working in pajamas for 13 years as a freelance writer, my teacher’s wardrobe could use some enhancement. And I don’t think I’ll be getting donations for that.

Naturally, with my taste for vintage, I’ve always thought about opening a store of my own. Miami Shores Village would be the ideal place for it, and I’ve got such a collection of everything from cribbage boards to milk glass that I could probably stake it with items from my own house.

Then again, I’ve made my commitment to educate teens about writing fiction and poetry, and making them comfortable while they read and critique each other’s work -- a scary prospect for most of them. So I’ll leave it to someone else to scout the perfect location for a funky vintage boutique in the heart of our garage-sale-happy community, perhaps even during the christening of our new Village Place, scheduled for Friday, October 2.

By the time you read this, the celebration will over, but know that I was there, playing at Miss Jane’s Music Studio with the Miami Shores Flute Ensemble, using my 30-year-old Gemeinhardt open-hole flute. Which, come to think of it, is a collectible.

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YouTube Debut

Check THIS out! I just came across this video on YouTube that challenges viewers to make new clothes on the cheap and we're in it! Totally rockin'--see for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll5KCcmxmzQ

More Bridgett

I know--I can't get enough of her either. So if you want to view some unique BAV items, head to The Women of Color Expo on Saturday, August 15. It runs from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. in the Glenpointe Marriott in Teaneck, NJ. Tickets are $15 and there's childcare available. So you can be worry-free while you absorb all the beauty, style and fashion you can handle!

www.womenofcolorusa.com

Meet Bridgett

Are you interested in learning how to create sustainable clothing from vintage duds first-hand? You're in luck! Bridgett's going to be exhibiting at the "Sustainable L.A." event that coordinates with the Downtown Film Festival--Los Angeles.

http://www.greenrightnow.com/kabc/2009/08/04/downtown-film-festival%E2%80%93los-angeles-will-showcase-sustainable-la-event/

Bridgett goes on at 3 p.m. You can find her sewing--and our books for sale!--at 7+FIG at Ernst and Young Plaza in downtown Los Angeles, at the corner of 7th and Figueroa Streets. A farmer’s market and product expo take place on the main level, while the speakers and films take place at the 7+FIG Art Space on the second level. Then stick around--a reception at the Festival Lounge at the AT&T Center will follow the event, beginning at 7 p.m.

Another One Toots Our Horn

Thanks to Deborah @ Ma Bel Ailie, who calls us a COVETABLE COVER. Check her out at http://mabelailie.com/links.html.

We covet you right back!

A New Mention

Yay! A new friend:

http://www.thebigbanger.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much. We appreciate the press, and love that you love :-)

Born-Again Kids

Bridgett makes these awesome knit corsets. A couple of months ago, she made one for my daughter Zoe, who is only 11. Zoe put hers on this morning over a plain white tank. Looks so cute with appliques or embroidery, too, on a tween or teen, and with other designs for a grown-up gal. And they're so easy to make. All you need is an old sweater, a long piece of ribbon and a crochet needle. Take a look at the directions in Born-Again Vintage and see for yourself.

The 80s Prom: Why Only Live It Once?

Jen's good friend Tabitha lives for Halloween, and nothing makes her party more fun for her than having a theme. Last year, we were all fairies: good fairies, bad fairies, rocker-chick fairies, etc. This year, we thought it would be fun to have an 80s prom night. And look what Jen just scored on eBay!

Naturally, as soon as we're done wearing them, they go straight to Bridgett for remaking for putting in our book, 27 Dresses. Jen can't wait to see what she does with these. The photos were cribbed off eBay, so you can't really see what great patterns and colors and textures these are. But we're sure you can use your imagination.

The Aforementioned Cape

Jen has a feeling you were curious about the cape she mentioned in the first Paris blog. She found a picture of herself in it, posing in front of the golden gates of Versailles (you can't get more vintage than that!). So here it is. Cute, right? Especially over a tank and skinny jeans. It was chilly and breezy that day, so here she's got it layered over several jerseys--not exactly how she had planned to wear it. But it did in a pinch.

It's important to note that vintage boutiques often stock a rack or two of original collections from up-and-coming local designers who reflect the shop's philosophy. Jen has scored a number of quality, original, non-expensive items this way (she'll post another one soon), and Bridgett's designs are frequently showcased in such places. So even if you're not a total vintage freak, but love unique pieces, stop into your corner vintage store for a look-see. You never know what might be there.

To Wash Or Not To Wash -- That Is The Question

Jen's mom brought up a valid point when they were browsing vintage wear in Paris: Does she always wash something she buys before she wears it? Of course she asked this question hoping Jen would reply "yes," but sort of knowing that the answer was, "well..."

The truth is that Jen only sometimes washes or dry cleans an item before wearing because she's lazy, and also likes to wear her new items, a bunch of which she finds while traveling, immediately. But in truth, reputable boutiques should have already done the necessary spot removals and so forth. In the course of setting clothes out for display, proprietors not only dry clean the lots of estate clothes they've picked up on their rounds, they steam clean for wrinkles and also make minor repairs such as adding or replacing buttons. (This can add major value.) For instance, in this picture, taken at the window in the Rodin Museum, Jen (right, in green 1940's polyester) is wearing a freshly purchased item from the day before, found at Le Marche aux Puces in a little shop at the beginning of Les Halles de Dauphine.

However, if the item comes from a yard or garage sale, or if the piece comes from a place that has moths in the woolens--like a store did in Montclair, NJ, where Bridgett and Jen purchased a wedding dress for 27 Dresses (more on that particular adventure in another post to come)--it goes for cleaning, yes. Moths fluttering out while you're going through the racks are just one indication that nothing in the shop is being cleaned, let alone cared about.

Restraint in Gay Paris--an Oxymoron?

So here's the first item Jen scored from a vintage boutique in Paris, on the outskirts of Le Marais, in a little shop called Venus au Cour. (Ignore the ugly bedspread; the Hotel Cadet is not the most charmingly designed of lodgings). She also bought a hand-crocheted, rust-colored, cropped cape that was not vintage but made by a friend of the shop's owner. But that's it--though there plenty of items that could have gone in her sack, the prices were too high and the Euro too strong. Yes, Jen actually stuck to a budget! (Sort of.)

The cape's a keeper and looks adorable over a tank with jeans, and not a candidate for renovations as a) it's not vintage and b) it would fall apart when it's cut. As for the flamenco-style skirt, Jen's not going to give it to Bridgett for a while--or maybe not ever--as it fits perfectly and looks totally hot with a sexy black shirt and heels. Remember, not everything needs to be cut and redesigned. If you find a piece of vintage that you like, is wearable and fits you, keep it as is. There's always another item that can be subjected to scissors.

Born-Again Coats

You wouldn't believe what you can do with retro jackets and coats. This used to be a structure-less winter jacket with a terrific paisley print. With a little trimming, it's a take on tails! And below was a waist-length coat with long sleeves, giant buttons and a fur collar that was both itchy and sweaty. It looked like a bed jacket for a rich old lady. But the material was irresistible. Now it's a funky piece that makes unique use of that great color and cloth, perfect for hip chicks of all ages.

And you can get useful clothing not only from coats, but from the linings of them. This was the zip-out lining of an 80s black trenchcoat with huge padded shoulders that looked dated even though trench coats came back in style. With its original zipper but trimmed sleeves and an added ruffle, this is a great piece to wear over leggings or skinny jeans.

Find Our Book

Madhousewife's Vintage, who sells cool vintage trinkets and duds on eBay (http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=madhousewifesvint), wrote to us to let us know that she was MADly in love with Born-Again Vintage and had checked it out of the library three times. Where could she buy it? 

The answer, most obviously, is Amazon. But if you want to help us out, go to your local bookstores and ask them to order (or re-order) it. Because the initial print run was only 5,000 copies or so, the bigger bookstores didn't display it and no one knew it was there. So we didn't sell a ton of books, and the stores are already sending them back. This, as you can imagine, is a sucky situation! Especially because we want to write a follow-up called 27 Dresses: How to Alter, Up-Cycle and Remake Your Bridal, Bridesmaid and Prom Gowns.

That said, if you are an independent bookstore or vintage boutique and want to stock our book and/or Bridgett's designs--they go great together, naturally, and are perfect gifts for the sustainable recessionista in your life--let us know. We'll be happy to send you info on how to do so.

Miami Book Signing and Fashion Show

We had a blast at the Biltmore Hotel, promoting our book and Bridgett's fashions this past spring, thanks to our hostess with the most-ess, Tara Gilani. The models looked gorgeous in B.Artise Originals! Actually, they'd look fab in anything they wear, but they loved Bridgett's designs and really wore them well. It was a fun evening :-)

A couple of these designs are now available at Rebel, located on Biscayne Boulevard, Upper East Side, Miami. Don't look for this green dress, though--Jen's friend Michaela snapped that up pronto!

Jen bought parts of this brown-and-gold brocade dress (below) in Atlanta at a great vintage boutique called Stefan's Vintage Clothing (http://www.stefansvintage.com/; stefansinc@aol.com). They've got terrific formal wear and an excellent men's department, for you guys who like to wear the classics. The've also got a great big black cat in the shop, who sleeps on the counters just waiting for you to pet him. Incidentally, this dress came with a jacket, which Jen now wears as is with jeans. Remember, you don't always have to cut up everything you find...