From A Flea's Point of View

Christine of Carmen & Ginger.

Debbie (& friend) of Vintage Haven.

The absolute gentleman Zachary of Newton Street Suit Co.

Bobby From Boston Magpie

Swamp Rabbit Books Artifaktori

Propologie

The Red Velvet Shoe
(CoCo modeling my grandmother's c1949 Flobert gown....NOT For Sale :)

Giuseppe first in line for a shoe polish~~I wonder if he paid his brother?

followed by his adorable son...

Best photo of the day....an uncle shines his nephew's penny loafers.

Best Dressed Gentleman~~Mariano. Trust me.

Best Dressed Lady~~modeling a 1950s dress by "Coco"~~the lovely
and extremely talented Ida Floreak.

Thank you to all who attended The Top Shelf Flea II and for granting us another wonderful day. From the distinguished gentleman who arrived early with his LL Bean bag filled with (handsome) shoes in need of a shine, to the mother/daughter team out for a day of shopping together, to the pretty single gal looking for the perfect dress for that upcoming wedding, to the little man wearing his penny loafers eagerly anticipating his very first shoe~shine....the day was absolutely perfect, from a Flea's point of view...as well as from mine.

~Michelle

(P.S~~If you shopped at "The Shoe" and lost your parcel, it was most thoughtfully returned to me, so please contact me via email at theredvelvetshoe@yahoo.com and I will mail it to you right away.)

Men's Department - First Level

As usual, there are a number of sellers at the Top Shelf Flea with very nice vintage menswear.  You know, actual suits and proper shirts, jackets and shoes and such.  At Carmen and Ginger, we typically have a lot of "girlie" stuff but want you to know we've got some fun stuff for the guys too!  A great selection of Hawaiian shirts plus a nice vintage jacket or two, rockabilly Jantzen sweater and rockin' 1950's fringe jacket.  And we've always got some great skinny and zoot-suit style ties!  We'll put the men's goods right up front, in plain sight and with easy access, so that you do not even have to touch the "girlie" stuff - we promise!

Top Shelf Flea Market in the Press

The Weekly Dig was kind enough to interview me and a number of our vendors for a full page article. Read it here. Thanks so much, Emma.

p.s. correction: our hours are 10a.m.-4p.m., not noon till 6p.m. like the article states.

Cookbooks Galore!

Just a few more days until Swamp Rabbit Books opens shop at Dilboy VFW Hall in Davis Square! Last Top Shelf Flea everyone seemed interested in the cookbooks, so this time 'round we're bringing a shelf-full. That's just a sampling in the image above.

Look closely, and you'll see everything from a small-press Arizona Cookbook ($3) to a signed first edition of The Art of Cooking Omelettes ($559) -- the latter recommended by Julia Child herself on her 1960s TV show "The French Chef" (see her making an omelette here!). Other collectibles include a more modestly-priced first edition of the amazing Thousand-Recipe Chinese Cookbook ($18) and a first of Liberace Cooks! ($134), signed by Liberace! The chef on a budget will find numerous cheap cookbooks as well, many of which are out-of-print or unusual.

We'll post more previews to this blog before Sunday, so stay tuned!

Pour Le Bébé

Yes, there will be some vintage wonderful for your precious little ones at The Top Shelf Flea II.

We'll have this lovely little girls vintage navy blue wool coat with matching hat from Ricky Craft Originals...about a size 3.

And for your little man, this charming Liberty of London double breasted tweed coat with brown suede collar. Start them early, I say.

Who could resist this custom made in Argentina/100% cotton sailor romper? Or the antique christening robe?

A Black Watch Kinloch Anderson pure new wool beret~for a CHILD? Tin Tin will be jealous.

A green velvet cropped blazer by Donna Capozzi will delight your little fashionista.

A little lamb basinette music box that plays "Rock~A~Bye~Baby" would make a perfect baby shower gift.
And this little ABC caddy would be perfect for stashing ribbons and bows.

"Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression." Dr. Haim Ginott

So why not let some fabulous vintage clothing make an impression on your little people?

It's Leathah Weathah

At least that's what they'll be saying up in Somerville next weekend at the Top Shelf Flea!  (Translation from the Boston Accent: "Leather Weather.")  If you love vintage leather jackets, Carmen and Ginger is going to have some beauties for you at the event!   Each has it's own special appeal, so come early, try on, and find exactly what you want before someone else does!  This is all fresh stock.  Doors open at 10:00 am...

The Curve of Her Shoulder

Two lovely 1960s Regina Glenara for Glenoit faux~fur wraps and a few other Jackie~O worthy vintage coats on their way to Boston on the 24th.

A H(a)unting We Will Go...

Photo courtesy of Costume Craze

Last year at about this time, I blogged about my vintage seller angst with regard to the upcoming Halloween holiday. You see, Halloween is the one time of year when suddenly EVERYONE is willing to shop vintage. While it can be a "swallow your vintage snobbery pride moment" (i.e.: when someone thinks that vintage dress you thought was so beautiful is so "FUNNY! and the PERFECT costume!" Huh?) the fact that Halloween brings ALL people, not just the vintage junkies to vintage is a wonderful thing! First of all from a sales point of view, a sale is a sale. Who cares if someone thinks a dress is beautiful or funny? You can't control what people do with your items once they purchase them in either case. The person who thinks something is beautiful may end up trashing it while the person who thinks it's funny may actually have it cleaned after the holiday and carefully pass it along to someone else for a completely different purpose.

Sexy leopard items are always popular for costume or for clubbing! And leopard is so "in" again this season, baby!

This is why I realized having the Top Shelf Flea II a week before Halloween is PERFECT timing! First of all it's a transitional season. People are looking for not only warmer clothes, coats, etc. but also great formal items to wear to the flurry of holiday events taking place in November and December. Second, people are looking for fun, unusual items to wear for Halloween! What a great mixture of shoppers! Plus, likely some hard core vintage addicts will find some fun costume ideas, and, some strictly "here for a costume" types will get sucked in to the beauty of some vintage treasures. Win win

Mad Men Costume or Fashion statement? Patriotic 60's suit or crazy politician lady costume? These work equally well as both!

Last year I sold a fantastic hot pink 1960's cropped suit, just like the two above and was somewhat aghast when the buyer sent me a photo after Halloween of herself wearing it covered in blood! "Relax" she assured me, "the suit was perfect for my costume but the blood was temporary. In fact, I am wearing the skirt as I type this!" Whew, thank you for that. See, both costume AND fashion, who knew

Shiny metallic disco era costumes or Studio 64 couture revisited?

Keep in mind that the vintage sellers at the Top Shelf Flea will each have a variety of items for you again at this event! Whether you are looking for a formal affair, every day wear, costumed event or gift for that someone-special in your life we've got it! And, plenty of places to try on the goods for size! Bring your friends, bring your camera phone and get second opinions if needed! We all love to talk vintage shop and are happy to help you find exactly what you need.

Skinny ties for guys: Mad Men costume, or, back in style for Fall 2010!

If there is anything you are looking for specifically that you wish for me to bring for you to try on, drop me a note. If there is something in my shop you wish to see in person let me know that as well. As you can see, I have racks and racks of goods so will be choosing carefully which goodies to bring. I am happy to bring along anything special you need - for an event or costume, no worries! - so let me know!

A View From "The Shoe"

Greetings Top Shelf Flea fans...just 16 days until we converge upon Davis Square with truckloads of vintage merchandise for you choose from.

I saw a bit of a Jackie~O theme today as I was putting boxes of goodies together to bring along. That's a 1961 edition of The Complete Story of America's Glamorous First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy by Deane and David Heller. The glasses? They're c1960s Foster Grants. The clutch is c1950s and comes with original change purse & cardholder. Ah, the cloche....a beauty, isn't she? 100% wool Glenover by Henry Pollack, Inc. A sweet & sexy little black slip is a vintage maidens wardrobe staple. The grey chinoiserie is an absolute dream, as is that sweet black beaded cardigan (with the original tag still on!).

I'm up to no good devising a contest to win a Gift Certificate to spend at The Top Shelf Flea~~stay tuned for details.

Michelle @ The Red Velvet Shoe ~~ Facebook Twitter Blog

Eye Candy

Feast your eyes! We all thought Amanda did such a great job last time we decided to stick with what works. Besides, we were all to busy gathering the world's greatest old stuff for you, our beloved customers,to spend any time on a new design.

Doors at 10:00, drinks at Noon (pistols at sunset?). See you there.