Vintage Crocheted Vest From Rice And Beans

Here's a beautiful handmade vintage crocheted vest from Rice and Beans Vintage. The construction is perfect and at $80 it's a steal (trust me, I crochet, the woman-hours are worth much, much more than that). It's a one of a kind piece that will fit extra-small or small. If you're going to follow the crochet trend you might as well make it a work of art.

Wishlist: Vintage Claude Montana Leather Jacket

Around these parts I used to be known as "that girl with the red leather jacket." Said red leather jacket was a store brand from Lord and Taylor and cost $300, which was a lot to me at the time and is again, considering the current economy, but it was worth it because whenever I had nothing to wear I could just throw it on over anything, put on a pair of gold hoops and look put together instantly. I literally cried when it got so worn out I had to put it to sleep, but this will happen if you wear something virtually every day through three seasons of three years.

I admit it, I don't have $1,250 to spend on clothes for the year right now, never mind on one leather jacket, but a girl can dream, can't she? If I did I'd be the proud owner of this vintage Claude Montana leather jacket from Katy Kane Vintage and Couture Clothing. If that little department store number did so much for me, imagine what life would be like in this figure-flattering and attention-getting one of a kind designer piece? I'd feel like Emma Peel...I can't imagine anything better for catching criminals or breaking hearts.

Katy Kane Vintage is a sponsor of the upcoming Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show on April 25th and 26th at the Metropolitan Pavilion. You can bet I'll be buying a lot of scratch-off lottery tickets between now and then in the hopes of walking away with this one.

Girlfriend Shopping Trip To Unique Vintage (A Blog Carnival)

Now that it's springtime there's nothing I'd like more than a shopping trip with a bunch of girlfriends, but what can you do when some of the people you like to shop most with live on the opposite coast? Shop online, of course! My friend Stevie of www.la-story.com came up with the ingenious idea of a blog carnival where a bunch of us could visit outstanding online shopping sites together and post our favorites...all the fun of a girlfriend shopping trip without the fluorescent lights and "does this make my butt look big?" Our first stop is Unique Vintage, a site that mixes true vintage with vintage-inspired clothing for the ultimate selection of glamorous retro dresses in a wide range of styles, sizes and prices.

Stella of Well Above Average has gone first and picked a retro satin print blouse that would look equally gorgeous in the Hamptons or Miami as it does in L.A. Sandra of Debutante Clothing and Tami of fête à fête will also be posting, and I can't wait to see what they and Stevie pick out. As for me, I went nuts over this 1930's style bias-cut silk satin gown. It totally fits in with the 30's vibe from New York Fashion Week Spring 2008, is a dress that will allow your beauty to shine rather than calling attention to itself, is supremely flattering due to the bias-cut, and features seriously high-end material and construction. Wear this and you can glide across the floor with a martini (a real one, not flavored) like Myrna Loy as Nora Charles without worrying that you'll see three other people in the same dress. The gown is on sale right now for $350 for prom/wedding season but a comparable gown in a department store could easily cost upwards of $1,000.