Wild Time at Myrtle Dove Vintage

 

I love a planned shopping trip, so when A.M.B. wanted to go to Myrtle Dove Vintage this weekend, I was in! To start, I sent her my shopping tips. I know, it’s a little silly I have shopping tips, but they really are helpful!

In General:

·         Wear things that are easy to take on and off…Lace up boots are a pain every time you are in the dressing room.

·         If you are looking at separates; wear separates. If you wear a dress, but are trying on all tops, you won’t have any pants to come out of the dressing room in…. or vice versa.

o   Similarly, if you are trying on dresses, wearing a dress and tights is great; however, if you try on pants and have tights on it sucks! You do not have an accurate fit for the pants if you keep the tights on, and is super annoying to take them off.

·         Wear a tank under your top.  I do this, because I almost always layer anyway, but it is also helpful for those tops that are too low cut, which is generally all tops for me since I am busty.

·         If you like something, pick it up and try it on because you never know what it will really look like on you versus the hanger.

When you are looking for a specific item (I.E. Dress to wear to for work)

·         Bring with you whatever else you might plan to pair with the item you are looking for.  The worst thing is when you purchase an item to wear with something else, and they don’t match or work together.

o   For example, if you are thinking of putting a turtleneck or button down under a jumper, I would just wear that top to the store. 

o   Or, you could get one in the store.  Sometimes I go shopping on a whim, and do not have a layering tank on… Oh No!  Not to fear, I just grab one in the store so I can try things on J

·         Be open-minded.  You may go in with one style in mind, but find something else that is totally awesome!

·         If possible try on a few sizes of the same item, to see which is best

o   This is not possible since we went to a vintage store, but keep in mind that sizing was different decades ago, so pay more attention to the shape and less to the tag.

Myrtle Dove Vintage is a great vintage store in Roland Park off of Lawndale Avenue. The store is owned by two awesome sisters, Mary and Michelle. They were so nice the whole time we were in the store and they clearly have an eye for great pieces.  The store has a great curated selection of women’s, men’s, and children’s clothes, as well as accessories and housewares. 

Dress Rack (Where I spent a lot of time!)

 

A.M.B. and I spent about 3 hours scouring the racks for our favorite pieces.  We practically tried on the whole store! Which as you know from the above tips, you need to try everything on! A.M.B. was looking for a work appropriate dress that would hide her tattoos and fun everyday clothes.  I was looking for anything and everything! A.M.B. found a great tweed shift dress that had a higher neck, which will be perfect for work.  She also got this amazing 50s style shirt dress.  So cute!

A.M.B. looks so pretty posing in front of the dressing room!

She also picked up a great nautical scarf, adorable knee high socks with hearts on them, a cute short sleeve sweater top, an owl pot holder, and an owl post card.

I was in love with this dress online, but unfortunately it was too small. 

I did, however; buy this awesome husky sweater, and this amazing blouse with ducks, cats, and dogs on it.  It was a wild time (Sorry for the awful joke but I had to make it!)

$20

 

$20 

I also scored this great shawl collar blouse, sweater vest, and amazing mod shift dress.   A lady actually tried to sneak this dress away from me, and I almost let her buy it, but alas we were meant to be together!  The fit is great and I love the bright pattern.

$12

$10

$19 (Was marked down from $30) Corbin decided to pose with me!

I also spotted a pretty amazing leather bomber jacket in the men’s sections that I loved and some other great dresses.  Unfortunately, my wallet needs a little time to refill, but another trip is definitely around the corner. I cannot wait to go back, and for those of you cannot make a trip to the actual store, checkout their Etsy shop, follow them on  Twitter @MDVintage and like them on Facebook!

A big thank you to both Myrtle Dove Vintage and A.M.B. for such a great day!

Goodwill Haul

In honor of the last Saturday of the month I decided to post about my Goodwill haul from last week.  For those of you who don’t Goodwill has a ½ off sale every last Saturday of the month, but R.H. was over last weekend and we thought a Goodwill outing was in order.  I purchased the following three items, and showed you how I would style them in different situations.

White and Black Stripe Talbots Blazer (New)-$13.50

Black Flowy Xhilertation from Target Blouse (New)-$8.00

Kimchi Blue Dress (Thrifted)-$6.75

 

Casual Look:

This white and black blazer was a little pricey from Goodwill, but it’s Talbots (high quality) and new (all tags were still attached.) Added benefit is that it is a petite!  Sometime you really can find your size at thrift stores J I paired it with a plain tank and jeans.  This look is super chic and perfect for running around doing errands or going out to eat.  I didn’t experiment with any jewelry for this shoot, but I would probably pair this blazer with this awesome red African beaded statement necklace I bought from a street vendor in D.C.

 

Work Look:

To make this blazer work appropriate I paired it with a black t-shirt shift dress I purchased from Talbots Outlet when I was in high school and my black flats.  To make this more winter friendly I would pair it with tights and boots. I love that this blazer has a little stretch which makes it super comfortable!

 

Casual Look:

Again with flair jeans this floaty top looks great and gives the look a 70s vibe.  A great arm-party of bangles would really finish off the look.  A necklace would interfere with the lace action going on up top, but a great pair of feather earrings or large gold hoops would probably work as well.

 

Night Out:

The black top looks badass with black leggings and black boots. I actually wore this last night with black nylon leggings from American Apparel (Yes, AA is expensive, but I was thrifty enough to get the Groupon the last time it was available; $50 worth of clothing for $100.  It was an amazing shopping trip with D.S.) In this pick I am wearing it with my H&M leggings and I think it still works.  If I may say, I look hot, without showing too much skin!

 

Casual Look:

This dress is pretty; pretty awesome.  I love the print, the princess bust line is amazing, and I love that it has sleeves for the winter.  The chest was a little too deep for me, so I stuck a plain tank underneath with some lace trim to add some interest.  Burgundy Hue brand tights and awesome Steve Madden boots finish off the look. To dress this up for more of a date night or party I would pair it with heals and more sparkly jewelry.

Goodwill How-tos:

Goodwill is great for finding more than just costumes and ugly Christmas sweaters, but you do have to dig.  It’s hard to go and look for a specific piece, but it is great for browsing and being open to whatever catches your eye.  Be on the lookout for everything, and do not be nervous if the tag says one size, but it looks another; a lot of clothes end up in Goodwill because the sizing is off.  Try on EVERYTHING you like, and be sure to look over every item for stains, working zippers, and that all buttons are attached. For pants double check that the bottoms aren’t worn, unless you are like me and will probably need to hem them anyway J Goodwill is a lot of digging, but it can have amazing wearable results.  The trip before this I got a VERY gently used pair of Joe’s Jeans for $10.  Beat that!

Let me know about awesome finds you have gotten from Goodwill!