WORN: Fashion with a Purpose

We had the pleasure of hosting a Trunk Show for Worn for Peace last week.

WORN is a business of Catholic Charities of Fort Worth that provides refugee women from war torn countries an opportunity to earn an income through the sales of scarves that they hand knit. All the scarves are knit in the USA by women who have survived the war and poverty of their homelands.

The Fall 2012 line includes scarves of various styles and price points all hand-knit from 100% Peruvian wool in gorgeous fall colors.

The founder of WORN, Abbi Ice, came up with the concept two years ago and now 41 refugee women are on the path to being financially self-sufficient. WORN scarves are available on their website, www.wornforpeace.com and also at these retailers. This holiday season, give a gift that is not only fashionable, but socially-conscious and provides hope for refugees to find value in both their work and themselves. WORN but not abandoned. Thanks to Abbi and Meredith for bringing your beautiful products to Bess & Evie’s!

Lusts and Loves from the Dallas Vintage Show

First off, apologies for my highly sporadic posts lately. Last week we were prepping for the Dallas Vintage Clothing and Jewelry Show, and this week we have been, well, recovering. It was a great show, and it’s always so nice to meet other dealers and see some of the amazing treasures they have discovered. Here are a few of our favorites:

This vendor took great pride in presenting the most unique and unusual items for sale. Our favorite pieces included this chain-link vest. A little Jean-Paul Gaultier, a little Medieval, a LOT Madonna. Which, I guess goes without saying when you mention JPG. I’m not sure who wears this, or to where, but there’s something so fabulous about it. Oh if only I were a bit more daring!

Chain Link Vest

The same vendor also had this great armadillo handbag. Now, we have had a few 1940s Cuban baby alligator bags come through the store, but never anything as disturbing and wonderful as this little guy. Definitely not a purse snatcher on the planet that would come close to grabbing this off of your shoulder.

Armadillo Handbag

One of our favorite dealers is Ken Weber, owner of Vintage Martini in Carrolton. His collection is to die for and when you have amazing pieces, you can create amazing displays. We are visiting his store soon and I have a feeling I will never want to leave!

Vintage Martini

Ken’s mother, Janet is also in the business with her online shop Woodland Farms Vintage. They tend to travel together on buying and show trips and never, EVER fight over who gets what in their picks. Janet has a collection of 1920s cloche hats that are truly works of art. Probably not hats that you would actually wear, given their age and fragile nature, but beauties to look at!

1920s Cloche Hats

Just as with the cloche hats, anytime you find a garment from the 20s that is wearable, it is a true find. This beaded silk dress was appropriately put up on a mannequin high out of reach of hands itching to touch. Including mine!

1920s Beaded Silk Dress

Finally, there were two booths of jewelry across from mine. Normally, I’m so overwhelmed by the massive amounts of rhinestones and bling that I tend to stay away from these booths. But, there is always down time, and boredom and curiosity drive you to wander and check out what everyone else has. The one piece I did fall in love with was this snake pin. Of course, we are all about snake jewelry in any form so it’s no surprise that this caught our attention. However, at $225, a bit out of our price range!

Snake pin

The next show will be in March. If that chain link vest is still there, I am SO buying it!

Highlights from Mrs. V’s Trunk Show

We hosted a trunk show this week for our dear friend Margot from Mrs. V’s Vintage. Margot and I go way back to our Pier 1 days together. I actually hired Margot to work for me as a Merchandiser and then sadly had to lay her off 7 months later when the company took a different direction. Lucky for me, we are still friends. She has a real job as a teacher, but she inherited her passion for thrifting and antiquing from her mom and has created a lovely side project which is Mrs. V’s Vintage. She has an amazing eye for cool, trendy, eclectic mid-century housewares and décor and we were thrilled to give her a little corner of our store to showcase her treasures. Here are some of my favorites:

 

 

When I was a kid, Fisher Price play houses initiated you in to make believe play. Whereas girls now start playing Barbies early, like at age 3 or 4, we did not have Barbies until age 7 or 8. Fisher Price play houses came in several formats and you could use the furniture interchangeably. There was a Tudor doll house, a school house, a house boat, and my personal favorite, the A frame. From the plank “wood” floor to the decal rag rug, the A frame screams 1975. It even has a WORKING dinner bell on the back porch!

We are all about anything having to do with cocktails, and who doesn’t need “a guide to pink elephants”? Dated 1952, these drink recipe cards are “alcohol resistant” (brilliant!!) and provide not only 200 recipes but a guide to the perfect type of glass for every drink.

It’s probably the Scot in me that can never resist a tartan, or the sound of bagpipes for that matter, but this plaid picnic set has to be one of the cutest things ever. The thermos will keep your Baileys and coffee nice and warm and since there is only one mug, you don’t even have to share!

Back in the day when there was ONE phone in the house and you had to reserve a time slot to talk to your sweetie, you might have sat in a chair like this in the corner of the kitchen. It was in the kitchen so your mother could keep half an ear on your phone conversation while she was cleaning up after dinner. I love the printed vinyl upholstery that looks like the night sky. Even in the 50’s they had a thing for metallics!

For more great finds from Mrs. V, check out her etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MrsVsVintage

And you can “Like” her on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/MrsVsVintage