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.