A few of my favorite things

The thing about collecting vintage is that pieces sometimes reveal themselves slowly. Sometimes they come with an obvious narrative — a velvet cloche says 1920s and winter; a pair of long satin gloves speak of elegant ballrooms. Othertimes they are without the specifics of time or place and, out of context of history, seem timeless and poised for the next adventure. Personally, I like the latter best, and among my finds those pieces that have stubbornly demanded that I give them new stories rather than accepting well-worn cliches — those are the ones that become my prized possessions.

The western boots.
Found these in a vintage store in the East Village in New York last spring. My birthday present to myself.

The silver bangles.
These belonged to my mother; I believe she brought them back from San Francisco during the 1970s. I inherited them as a teenager and have worn them ever since.

The dashiki.
This belonged to my husband during his brief Rasta phase. Now I wear it as a summer coverup.

The hand-tooled leather belt.
Found in a Goodwill years ago. It's the perfect size for me and goes with every pair of jeans I own.

The textured clutch.
A recent purchase, this bag is both tough and girly (like me).

The Marc Jacobs trench.
An ebay find; love it for its military styling and the slightly preppy blue and white striped lining.

The canvas handbag.
Charmingly preppy — the decorative whale-print strip is on velcro and meant to be interchanged with other designs — yet also a little boho with the wooden handle. I bought this on ebay when I was looking for a kelly green handbag. This wasn't what I had in mind, but the manufacturer was from Asheville (where I live), probably during the 1960s when the textile industry was huge in North Carolina.

The satin t-strap pumps.
I bought these for my wedding — and wore them with a 30s-era silk dress — but they've come in useful so many times since then. The brown color goes with everything and the t-strap style is timeless.