Dallas Vintage Clothing and Jewelry Show - Review

PROS:
Condition:  Most of the pieces I looked at were in really great shape without any tears or stains or pulls.  Really beautiful and unusual pieces with great detailing.
Prices:  Beyond reasonable and fair.  I used to live Los Angeles for quite some time--I'm guessing that if this was a show in Los Angeles instead of Dallas, prices would be at least twice as much.  Today I ran across a two-piece silk Chanel maxi evening dress in perfect condition for only $595.00.  Let's just say I definitely did not get the sense that vendors were trying to gouge customers with outrageous prices.  And if I ever move out of Dallas I'm going to have to run around and hog up all the fantastic buys in this city because the pricing elsewhere will just be too high.
Selection:  There was a mix of both authentic designer and street vintage options complete with purses, hats, shoes, scarves, eyewear and any other accessory you could think of.  You'll find many more dresses than tops and pants though.  Jewelry fanatic paradiso.  A lot of the vendors display their pieces by decade which I love.
Vendors:  Friendly vendors.  Not pushy.  Helpful and knowledgeable.  Vintage Martini is one of my favorites.  Ken Weber, one of the owners, has a film costuming background and fabulous taste.

CONS:
Admission:  I have never liked the idea of paying to get into a show where you are planning on buying, but who does?  Although admission was only $10, I'd certainly rather spend the ten bucks at one of the booths.  Free parking though.
Selection:  It's not a huge show where you'll find booth after booth after booth.  All told there are about 25 booths.  I actually couldn't decide if this was a pro or a con, because I liked how it felt more intimate and how it was not overwhelming.  For me, there was soooo much to look at and I didn't know where to start.  Hard core vintage shoppers though might find it to be too small of a show.


I just had to try on this fuzzy coat cha-cha-cha
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Céline’s French Bliss…Just Say Oui

Arguably one of the lesser-known French designer brands is Céline—and we’re not talking Céline as in Dion, but you all already knew that. Housed under the umbrella of the Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessey powerhouse, Céline offers luxury apparel with clean lines and feminine simplicity.

French women are known for their simplistic style and for choosing quality over quantity when putting together their wardrobes, and perhaps they are on to something here. Céline can be pricey (cotton skirts often retail between $600 and $1500--ouch!), but when you buy Céline you buy a piece that you can wear for years.

We could totally picture Amanda Seyfried’s character, Sophie, wearing a skirt just like this in Letters to Juliet (granted she was in Verona, but hey why not be an American wearing French when in Italy?). If you liked the costumes in this film, be sure to check out this week’s vintage Céline piece. On a side note about Letters to Juliet...why did the writers have Sophie and Charlie quote Hamlet instead of Romeo and Juliet when the movie was supposed to be about Romeo and Juliet? But we digress...

The Importance of Being Earnest...and Well Dressed. Investing in a Vintage Designer Wardrobe for Work.

1. Dress for the job you want and not the job you have.
It may be a little touchy to completely out-dress your boss, but it is important to project a confident appearance at work. Set your sights on the next job you want and dress as though you already have it.

2. Think about your brand.
Unfortunately--or fortunately--depending on how you look at it, we all project an image, or our brand, to others. What is your brand at your workplace? Well dressed and polished or slouchy and too casual? In an age where flip-flops and capris have taken over some offices on casual Friday days, you may want to reconsider the casual wear before you get flip-flopped right out of that promotion.

3. Consider quality over quantity.
Nowadays it's very easy to spend twenty-five dollars here, thirty-five dollars there on clothes, and then you come home and feel like you bought nothing and have nothing to wear! Those trendy clothes purchases you may be making can add up fast, and often fall into the "disposable clothing" category since they are too trendy and too ill-fitting to wear from year to year. Consider investing in fewer, yet higher quality, vintage designer pieces that don't go out of style each year and continue to look great year after year.

4. Reward yourself for your hard work.
We women sometimes embrace this strange notion that we don't deserve to spend money on ourselves. We put everyone else first and feel guilty when we shop. Been there? Ditch the guilt. You work hard for your money and you earn every penny. You deserve to reward yourself with a nice, quality designer piece here and there.

5. Truly consider your wardrobe an investment.
Nice designer clothes are an investment in you, an investment in your business, and an investment in where you are going in life. Think long term and enjoy your vintage designer pieces for the years to come!