More Great Vintage Dresses from Violetville and Timeless Vixen

My two favorite eBay sellers for vintage are without a doubt Timeless Vixen and Violetville. Both of these eBay stores offer an amazing array of fab vintage finds--mostly dresses, lot of coats--week after week after week. Visiting these online shops is like stepping into well-edited vintage boutiques--no crap to wade through, no questionable items. Nothing but peaches! I purchase from both over and over.

Recently from Timeless Vixen I got this two piece dress and matching jacket '40s ensemble. (I'm trying to decide whether to have it altered.) I love the lapels and the buttons.



I also got this gorgeous sequined wiggle cocktail dress. It fits like it was made for me (although I don't think I could eat a big meal while wearing it.)



And from Violetville I won the auction for this LBD with a twist--thick fringe hangs all around from the neckline. That has Material Girl written all over it.


So, fellow shoppers, if you're in need of a vintage show stopper, click on over to eBay and see what Timeless Vixen and Violetville have going on. They both offer items in XS-XL. Listings include tons of photos of the clothing on happy blond models. They give all the measurements you'll need (always go by measurements when buying vintage). And the auctions have reasonable starting bids (although they can end on the high side). Just promise not to bid anything I want.

My eBay Search for Vintage Dresses

Long-time readers may have gathered that I get into buying phases. There was the sequins phase. The clutch phase. The sweater chain phase. The enamel flower pin phase. eBay makes quick work of collecting anything. Lately I've been focusing on vintage dresses. I love my plaid one (that I got hemmed seven inches) and my flowery one (the jacket is great).




Last night I won an auction for a darling pink dress that also comes with a matching jacket.



I've found that for vintage dresses, I do better saving favorite searches of entire stores. The pink dress is from Nova Vintage, the plaid from Violettville Vintage, and the floral from Timeless Vixen. (To save full-store searches, you need to click on the seller's name in an item listing to get to their profile, then click on Items for Sale. Once there, you can save the search. I can't find another way to do this.)

I like these stores because they have small inventories and all the items are well chosen, well photographed, and well measured. Note about buying vintage clothing online: You gotta have measurements. Vintage sizing is way different than current sizing. But it's really easy to know if something will fit when you've got bust, waist, hips, length and shoulder-to-shoulder measurements (and sometimes more). That really takes the risk out of buying items that are often non-returnable. (Nova Vintage will accept returns for clothes that don't fit if you send them back in seven days--always check for return policies in item listings. I've found most sellers to be very reasonable when it comes to returns.)

In addition to store searches, I also do category searches. I put in "dress" then filter to "vintage" then pick an era. Once that list is up, I'll add and "M" to "dress" in the search field to narrow down the list. The smallest vintage offering I can fit into is what most sellers consider "M." Those ladies in the '50s and '60s had tiny little waists. Or girdles. Or I'm just too thick in the middle. It's probably a combination of all three, but it seems that the busts are usually a good ten inches larger than the waists in these dresses. That's not so in Material Girl's figure. If I had a 26-inch waist I could have a dynamite vintage dress wardrobe in my closet.

My Shopping Weekend: Vintage Florals for Spring, Cheap Accessories, More Shoes

Despite the fact that weather here insists on dropping below 60, it is indeed spring. And I indeed continue to work on my spring wardrobe. Here a bring you a few recent acquisitions.

First, I won an auction for a vintage Saks dress from a favorite eBay seller--because it's really adorable and because a like the ideas or florals for spring as recently seen on the runways. (Check out, for example, the odd shapes and crazy colors and patterns of Balenciaga.) The dress and jacket got (which fit me like a glove) are bold, but in a cute '60s shape. Both items have amazing rhinestone studded buttons, and the dress is finished with a blue velvet belt. The cropped jacket I'll wear on it's own over a t-shirt and jeans (once they get back from the dry cleaner. I'm sure these have been packed away in some old lady's basement in California for a couple decades.) The blond model below showcases all the item sold by the Timeless Vixen eBay store. They post new fantastic vintage dresses and suits every Friday and all auctions start at $24. And they often make a mint, many items going for upwards of $200. (This outfit set me back $118.)


I'm also thinking bold jewelry for spring. (But, then again, I'm always thinking bold jewelry.) Check out this necklace below--an eBay steal for $2.25. I can't wait to wear this.



My problem collecting clutches just won't go away. I got this red woven clutch (leather doesn't seem very springy to me) with a lucite handle for $9.99.



My loyal readers know I've been really loving all the yellow in the stores this season, but I often lament that I look like crap in yellow. I think it would be fine on my feet, however. I'd recently purchased a pair of uncomfortable yellow camper pumps from Zappos that I had to send back. I still had some Zappos gift certificate left over from my birthday, and in a total impulse purchase on Friday night I bought these super yellow pumps by Volatile. They arrived yesterday and I really love them. (They don't look quite as yellow in person as they do online.) Cheapy Jr. is not a fan of this shoe. When I test drove them yesterday he kept insisting I take them off--until I pointed out that they are the color of a DHL truck. Then they were good. (The boy loves delivery trucks. Me too.)