1.1.11

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a happy, joyful, fine time celebrating and bringing in yet another year. I happen to be nearing a two-year anniversary of Birdcage Bohemia as well as a one-year anniversary of La Caravane Bohème. Yes, both in January. Both probably a result of my earnest and fervently worded resolutions. Luckily for me, those resolutions took hold much unlike my most common one: cease the nail-biting! That one never works. Perhaps if I made a resolution of a different creature, such as “get more manicures.” That could work since one needs nails in order to get manicured, right?

So anyway, here I am, drinking a cup of tea and looking over my two shops. They both have grown so much and taken a life of their own. I am amazed every time someone chooses to “heart” an item and ecstatic when someone buys something. Each one is a celebration of its own, and speaking of minor celebrations, I feel the need to cheer for joy whenever I find a recycled box that is the perfect size for whatever I’m sending. But I digress.

What I really want to talk about here is a transition. Everyone, at this moment, is considering a transition. Whether it be of the body, the mind, the social surroundings, the relationships, the career, happiness. I’m considering one that touches upon each one of those. I’ve spent a lot of time the past few months considering my next step for Birdcage Bohemia. I love making jewelry but the blueprint I had in mind when I first brought Birdcage to life was much larger.

I purposely chose a vague name like Birdcage Bohemia with the intent to expand eventually. I wasn’t sure how exactly. One day, it would become a place where I could promote my own work along with other artists’ works, a shop of its own so to say. Then another day, I just saw myself creating scarves and sundresses and jewelry and whatever else strikes my fancy one week or another. It was confusing and I forced myself to focus on jewelry and just jewelry until the day came I would know what I would do.

There was the Caravan. My vintage shop. It became an unexpected baby. And since it started off as a joint venture, it was wholly separated from Birdcage Bohemia. Then, one day, it became part of Birdcage Bohemia and I found myself juggling the two shops, blogs, and followings. At first it was manageable, but as both shops grew, the amount of work became tremendous. However, there was no way I could just dump one. Both shops are my children and I love them both equally.

So, I’m doing what looks to be the obvious. I assure you, it wasn’t obvious at the time. When I’m joining together a brooch and clip-on earring then dashing off to model a 50’s dress, I can’t think straight for more than 15 minutes at a time. The two shops will remain separate. They both work in their own spots perfectly. However, I’m combining the blogs and followings. It’ll be something like Birdcage Bohemia on La Caravane Bohème. Basically, “Let’s go for a ride and fly free!”

I hope, at the moment, that it will just take a few weeks to get everything together and going in motion. I feel though that the Business Gods will laugh at this mere mortal of a artist and vintager playing the businesswoman. However, I’m really excited for all the changes that will be happening. A brand new blog where you can actually comment! It won’t just be about pretty baubles and vintage clothes, I’ll wax poetic about food and traveling and the whole grand lifestyle every girl and woman secretly wants. Complete with my fantasy sheep and goat farm/winery/restaurant/studio. A girl can dream right?

Also, as everyone has heard me talk about for practically forever, I’ll be debuting a line of scarves and cowls made from cool and vintage fabrics and trims. I have one listed already but there will be more to come. It’ll show up slowly but I promise it’ll come steadily. I’m also playing around with the idea of fine silver for a very small collection of tiny treasures on necklace chains. We’ll see. I’m just excited to get the ball rolling, finally!

So, I’ll see you on the other side!

Fly Free,

Beatrice

Looking Back

It's the final month of the year. Usually, we're coming out of the glutton stupor of Thanksgiving and diving headfirst into sparkly lights, spiked eggnog, and holiday shopping. Once the presents are wrapped, then torn open, and the family members are gently but forcefully herded out the door, we sit back and sigh.

*Whew!*

Then, it's New Year's. And as one entity, we collectively lose our breath and go, "What?" 2010 will be over? "What?" We have to get used to writing 2011? I just mastered writing 2010 instead of 2009 like a few weeks ago!

Looking back on the year is our way of hanging on to our momentary life. I call life "momentary" not because in the end, it's utterly brief in the grand scheme of things, but because it is a series of moments. A collection of tiny memories that make up a whole. We may remember that July of 2010, we could barely sleep due to a great amount of stress, but the things we actually remember are flashes of events. 

Yes, we were stressed out that entire month, but we focus on the one memory that happened in the second week where we found ourselves navigating a city we didn't know and encountering crazy drivers that seem to have come out of a movie. That moment defines the entire month and that is the moment we actually remember.

Years from now, we'll forget why we were stressed; but we'll never forget the crazy white-haired man gesturing quite obscenely at us from behind for stopping quite legally at a red light. Thank goodness the light turned green right as he decided to open his door! 

I bring this up now, while we still have Christmas to tackle, because I found something pretty cool from another blog I frequent. It's called Reverb 10 and it's a duo of girls who decided we should take a moment every day in December to reflect back on 2010 and to think forward to 2011. You sign up, and they send you a prompt everyday which you have to answer. I know, I'm joining a little bit late in the game. However, better late than never! 

New Year's Eve, 2009. It's a familiar road, but who knows where it goes.

I thought I would begin at the beginning, looking back to December 1st and answering the prompt for that day:

One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? 

Discovery. I've had a lot of ups and downs, a lot of doubts, followed by a lot of frustration. All of that muck in my life? It led me to discover a few things about myself. It helped me discover just how much I can endure before saying, "Enough!" It helped me discover how to pragmatically judge a situation without giving in to emotions that may lead me to make bad decisions. I discovered I'm stronger than I thought I was, but more vulnerable than I should be. It's a process, and I'm certainly not done, but for now, I know I am on that path.

A year from now, I'd like the word for 2011 to be Self. I'd like to find myself in December, 2011, secure in my Self; knowing I spent the year making the right decisions to help further my Self in my accomplishments, happiness, and love.

What is your word for 2010? Why? What do you want your word to be for 2011?

Write it in the comments below.

Happy Vintaging!

Beatrice

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s Thanksgiving, the day of lots of food, family and friends, and taking a moment to think about what motivates us to get up in the morning. So what are you thankful for, what gets you up in the morning?

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1931. What an adorable hippo!

I’m thankful for:

•  Knowing something new and exciting can happen during the day.
•  Being able to cook delicious meals for the people I love.
•  Listening to my cat meow incessantly because he is here and he wants me to know that.
•  All the people I love including my parents, my sister, my boyfriend, my dear bestie, my friends, and the people I see day to day who affect me more than they know.
•  Having the ability to get up and go to the gym and move my body at will.
•  Modern technology which enables me to have dinner at the same time as Nadia so I don’t eat alone, sell my jewelry and vintage clothes online through Etsy, learn things that I otherwise could never find out, and discover how much of a world there is out there.
•  That I’m here and alive among everyone.

I hope you all have a wonderful, beautiful Thanksgiving! Write your thanksgivings in the comments below.

Happy Vintaging,

Beatrice

Winter Party Season - Just Party!

The holidays are coming on fast. Like, so fast, I'm already cooking Thanksgiving dinner and I don't realize it. Have you noticed that Thanksgiving is in... three days? I'm not counting today, Monday, because it's nearly the end of it and I'm wondering about my apple sage dressing already. 

I like to call this time of the year "The Official Winter Party Season." It's the time where you see all these pretty velvet cocktail dresses in lush jewel tones dotting the department store racks. Apparently, the cold winter months mean that we must congregate at a friend's house and eat hor d'oeurves and sip wine like it's our last party featuring hor d'eourves and wine. I've got no issue with that. The only issue I have is that, er, my friends are a close-knit group and they are going to get mighty sick of me showing up in the same purple cocktail dress every weekend.

I'm sure most of you are in the same boat as me. So... this Lanz Originals black velvet mini with a plunging back and a pretty bow might be perfect for this weekend's "After-Thanksgiving, Thank God Our Extended Family, Especially Aunt Mary, Has Left" party. I very nearly almost kept this little cutie to myself but had to remind myself, constantly, that I already had a pretty black velvet mini in my closet and she was sure to be very jealous of dear Gala.

But then, you know. There may be a party at your WASP-y in-laws that require something sleek and simple. Plunging necklines are out and well... minis' would probably get you an involuntary annulment for sure. The only perk is that they have that fantastic Sangiovese that runs for about $60 a pop and hey, you married the guy, so drink the wine! Bianca would serve your purpose well. Modest yet you can wear it with a sly smile that you could very well channel Bianca Jagger in all her white horse glory when Miss Blonde Mom-In-Law isn't paying attention.

Oh screw it, you know your bestie boy who likes boys is throwing a stunning, disco-ball lighted dance party complete with proscuitto-wrapped figs, champagne, and a decree that one must wear black and shine like they mean it. Bianca is perfect for the WASPs, but Roxanna is when you need to throw down and give it your all. Sparkle, shine, shimmer in all your glory. Glory! This was another one I had to physically pry out of my own hands. My excuse, it didn't fit me as well as I needed it to and well, I'm terrified of tailors.

I digress; but here's a few more lovely pieces waiting to find a home in the shop that is perfect for "Winter Party Season." Party on, girls, party hard, party pretty, and have fun, girls. Your credit card bill will sober you up in no time next year, but that's next year. This year, party on!

Sparkle Black Bolero    Ruched Lace Gown    Fuchsia Lace Mini Dress

Happy Vintaging!

Beatrice

Find all of these and more at: http://www.Etsy.com/Shop/LaCaravaneBoheme

All Your Clothes

Go look in your closet. How many pairs of jeans do you have? Don't be shy, dig in the back there, count every pair. Got it? Okay, now count how many short-sleeved shirts. Yes, you have to count each one even if you have five of the same black shirts from The Gap. Alright then, count all the shoes you have piled up on the floor. Each pair, please. 

Me, I have ten to twelve pairs of jeans off the top of my head. I have about eighteen short sleeve shirts. The majority of them I do not wear and come from seven years ago and still, for some reason, live in my closet. My shoes? I can't even tell you. Why? Because they are literally all over the place. I have some in my bedroom closet, some in the foyer closet, some in the hallway by the front door, some in the basement.

A couple months ago, I decided to do a purge of my closet. I thought it would be cleansing and good for me. Instead, I got extremely stressed out. Holding up a sweater that I've worn possibly a grand total of three times last winter, I still kept coming up with reasons why I needed to keep them. "Well, I need this black crewneck sweater and even though I basically never wear high-neck tops, I might need it one day! I might decide to play a fancy rich Mainer in a giant log cabin in the country one cold evening and wear it!"

Needless to say, that black crewneck sweater still lives in my closet and no, I have not had an urge to channel a blue blood New Englander since.

I'm not writing about this to expound on the virtues of shopping well and the joys of mixing and matching. I just wanted to simply give you a snapshot into the closet of almost every average woman out there. I am no more special than the rest of them, and just as guilty of an overstuffed dresser. 

So it really amazes me when I think of women from eras past. Before the mass-production of clothing, it was expensive and it was very normal to darn that hole in your sock for the eighth time in two years. A woman would own two dresses, a skirt, a few pairs of shoes. They would care for their nylons as if they were gold. My mother who experienced her twenties heyday in the 70's told me that everyone basically showed up to work five days a week in the same exact outfit. No one blinked twice.

Should we go back to that? I don't know. There's a certain pride in knowing that you managed to make your favorite fall coat last six years through diligent care. And sometimes, it's nice to see a picture of yourself from back when you were beginning your new life and you're wearing a pair of boots you still own and wear now. Sometimes, keeping clothes can bring back memories and make you feel as if you were not alone while trekking through the journey of life. Sometimes, it's just so much fun to find a new fall coat.

In the end, I think what I'm trying to say is that clothes make you who you are, crazy New England whims and all. So as long as you respect them for that much, you should never feel guilty for not knowing how many pairs of shoes you have.

Happy Vintaging!

Beatrice

Where Has All the Menswear Gone?

As of late, I've been getting quite a few requests to start carrying men's vintage clothing in La Caravane Bohème. I thought I'd start off small, a few scarves, maybe a shirt or two. Easy, right?

I never thought it'd be just a wee bit difficult to stake out vintage menswear. Granted, most of the shops I go to do have a men's section. However, most of those items are usually tattered beyond repair. The lining of a coat would be ripped nearly in half; or a pair of pants would have sorely worn knees. You men are hard on your clothes! There wasn't much that I could salvage.

One day, though, I put my mind to it and told myself I wasn't allowed to leave the shop until I was walking away with a decent amount of menswear. I walked out that store one and a half hour later with just two sweaters. They're really awesome sweaters, I have to say. One's a nice cream cable knit and the other is a really heavy duty grey fisherman's pullover. I won't lie, I was disappointed that I managed to unearth just two items.

I'm not one to give up, though, and I dove in at another store. It had a huge men's section but most were as I described before: worn out, ripped, or not vintage enough. We have enough shops on Etsy hawking 80's and 90's clothes, thank you. (By the way, clothes from the 90's are not considered vintage. It is strictly 80's or older.) I persevered though and told myself it was possible to unearth some quality vintage menswear.

On the long and heavy rack of men's coats and blazers, I plucked a grey herringbone wool coat out. A quick once over, a check of the tags, a glance at the silhouette, revealed itself to be an overcoat from the 50's. Have I hit the jackpot? Indeed! Now, with renewed motivation, I pushed myself to find another coat or blazer. Next, I pulled out a camel double-breasted blazer. By now, I was exhausted and ready to go home and snuggle up with a cup of tea, so I marched to the cashier with purpose and made my way home.

So, I zoomed in on my boyfriend's drummer as my potential model. After some sweet talking (read, begging,) he agreed and helped me out. The sweaters went swimmingly. Then, we got to the coat and blazer. I was nervous because they seemed a little too big for Garrett, our dashing male model. Once he put one on, my hope rose because it seemed to fit him well. Then, my eyes traveled down his sleeves and to my horror, I realized they were short!

"Oh crap."

After adjusting the sleeves and throwing the coat on two other guys and hoping the sleeves magically lengthened, I was forced to face the truth. While I had found these two items in the men's section, they were wholly, undeniably womenswear. Ugh. Note to self: Always measure the sleeves. That's definitely one lesson I'll never forget!

I guess I just have to keep looking. That's the fun part, right? :)

Happy Vintaging!

Beatrice

Aachoo! Why Buy Vintage?

Today I went out to my favorite vintage shop to see if they had anything new. They always have at least a few items perfect for bringing home and putting up on our shop so I'm never disappointed when I leave. As I looked through the rack of dresses, my mind started wandering and I started considering what I was actually doing. Here I was, looking through dusty old garments finding that so-called diamond in the rough. It's messy, tiring work. 

The clothes are usually packed so tightly together that it takes a lot of arm power to pull the hangers apart so I could look at each piece. Then, near the end, I'm fumbling for tissues because these clothes are dusty and make me sneeze a few times... um, a lot (and I'm not allergic!) On top of that, I'm wondering, "Have these clothes even been washed? Have they been sweated in? Ew, what is that spot?" I can seriously become germaphobic in seconds. 

Note: This is why I make a point to wash, dry clean, and/or spot check every garment before putting them up in the shop. Only one person needs to go through that in each garment's vintage life and it shall not be you!

I take over my bathtub for hours at a time, not to the delight of the other inhabitants of the house...

The question I suddenly found myself wondering as I dove into another dusty pile of possibly unwashed clothes was, "Why am I doing this?" Anyone could easily dash to the nearest Target and find an adorable 60's inspired shift in a Liberty-lookalike print all clean and pressed and never been worn. Too bad that you may find that same dress walking towards you the next day on the streets. Perhaps that awesome Urban Outfitters cardigan you shelled out big bucks for looked awesome for exactly two and a half days before all the buttons inexplicably fell off in one fell swoop when you weren't looking. Nothing against Urban Outfitters, they have beautiful clothes but their quality can be contested at some times.

Once I considered the alternate: Target, Urban Outfitters, your local mall, even the sidewalk boutique where the coat you bought actually goes for 50% less online; it all started coming back to me. This labor of love, the time I take to search the shops, the amount of detergent I go through as I clean each piece, waiting for the perfect day to take pictures, finding the perfect name, writing a good description- is all in the name of beautiful, individual, personal style. 

There are so many reasons why vintage clothes are just so awesome:

Some people are blessed with the perfect 50's style body, and it would be near blasphemy if they didn't adorn it with Marilyn Monroe style dresses and taffeta and net ball gowns. Others find themselves a Twiggy lookalike and it's just unthinkable if they didn't don a shift every now and then. Don't appease yourself and your special era-styled body with cheap reproductions of past styles. Go to the source itself. Seek out the real 40's Dior New Look silhouette or the 70's flower child reign if it fits you.

It's eco-friendly. Without sounding too tree-hugger-ish and granola, not that I have anything against that, reviving clothes that is already around is one of the best ways to reduce waste. Imagine the thousands of blank white shirts churned out by the Hanes factories overseas. Imagine them getting lost in the back of some drawer somewhere. Imagine them eventually thrown out. Imagine the thousands of garments gracing the sales rack at the mall. Imagine them sitting there... sitting there... and sitting there... Imagine the resources it took to make them: the lights, the gas power, the fabric, the space the factory takes up, the pollution. Imagine all of those garments that sucked up valuable resources in the landfill. Point made.

You are certainly going to discover vintage clothes have the one thing most clothes nowadays do not. That, my friends, is quality. Sure you can find a great quality pair of boots if you're willing to shell out over $400 for them. This is truly the age of you get what you pay for. Not so with vintage clothes. With a sharp eye, you can discover a beautiful wool coat with mink collar for a mere fifty bucks. What if you saw that same coat (neé a reproduction, but still) in a shop? How much would that go for? It is doubtless that a skirt from the 60's has been crafted with careful care to last as long as it can. Back then, we weren't a throwaway society. We were a "make do, make it last" type of world and the clothes are representative of that.

Once I reminded myself of all that, I dove back into that dusty pile of clothes with renewed vigor. Vintage clothes rule; and I'm so happy that I could help in the process of getting those garments back out into the world. After all, like I said, only one person needs to do all the dirty work in a piece's vintage life. That would be me. You get to enjoy the end result!

Happy Vintaging!

Beatrice