Fresh Picks: Animal Attraction

To incorporate trendy animal prints into your wardrobe, think vintage! These wild clothing and accessory finds go beyond the commonplace, for a look that’s uniquely yours.

70s vtg animal print loungin... JojosRetroandV... $44.00	Snake Skin Animal Ethnic Vin... TRUECOLORSFORY... $12.00	Vintage Victoria's Secre... FancyPantsAndM... $8.00
vintage sequined leopard bla... charlesvintage $40.00	Vintage 1960s Leopard Print ... alexsandras $68.00	Vintage 80s Silver Taffeta L... hillbillyfilly $22.00

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Welcome New Members: Birds Chasing Bugs, Goodlookin' Vintage and Pagan Cellar Jewelry

Birds Chasing Bugs is the shop of Amber, a painter turned vintage curator, featuring more than 200 vintage dresses, separates and outerwear, plus swell accessories. She has an impressive collection of shoes and handbags to give any outfit vintage flair. These linen pin-up girl heels are a knockout!

Goodlookin' Vintage (Etsy id goodlookin) from Seattle has been a popular destination for Etsy shoppers for more than 3 1/2 years. This is a place where you want to linger over the kitsch, antiques, collectibles, ephemera and memorabilia--more than 450 treasures in all! No single item defines the shop, but who doesn't love this fabulous 1950s Underwood typewriter?

Pagan Cellar Jewelry includes vintage and handmade from Bill, a jewelry designer and soapmaker who has also been part of the Etsy community for 3 1/2 years. His shop includes vintage jewelry for all prices ranges, and the collection of vintage cameo brooches is extensive. My personal fav is this Victorian lady with blue background.

It's a pleasure to add these veterans to the Etsy Vintage Team. Welcome!

For Holiday Parties, Go Vintage

It's that time of year--festive holiday parties, where everyone dresses to the nines, sips martinis, and flirts with someone they shouldn't. (OK, that's not my life, but someone lives that way, right?) This year, do it in style with vintage clothing and accessories. Here are just a few sample outfits; for more options, follow these links for vintage hats, dresses, shoes, and purses.

Happy Holidays!

1950's Black Velvet... GeneralWhimsy2 $15.00	1980s black felt wool h... dustyrosevinta... $44.00	Vintage 1950s White Pet... cemetarian $10.00
1980s Red Ruched Sarong... Erstwhilestyle $62.00	Limited Editions by Ell... Jonquil $250.00	vintage 80s tiered LACE... ikonic $32.00
Vintage Platform Heels ... Nachokitty $75.00	Vintage Black Leather S... dahlilafound $32.00	Vintage White Size 8 M ... vintagegoodnes... $21.95
Vintage 1950s KELLY HAN... TimeAndAgainFa... $39.00	Vintage 1950s ART DECO... BetaAccessorie... $26.00	vintage clutch - philip... moxiethrift $25.00

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Member Spotlight: Dahlila Found

When they’re good, online vintage stores can offer the same excitement as a brick and mortar store—an eclectic, surprising mix of wonderful items, and something unexpected each time you turn the page. Meet Dahlila Found, “California vintage, accessories, and decor.” We recently had a chance to speak with the proprietress, Debra (aka Dahlila).

Q. How did you come up with the name of your shop?

Back when e-mail was new—yes, imagine!—I had an epistolary romance with an Englishman with a 1930s aesthetic. We were both story tellers at heart, writing e-mails to each other as antique “telegrams.” We were our own protagonists: two lovers, miles apart living in another era. It was Out of Africa meets The English Patient, and Dahlila was a pistol and adventurous woman. Her spirit runs through me and Dahlila Found.

Vintage orange oxford box heel

Q. Describe the aesthetics behind your shop.

Eclectic, colorful, bold. I am drawn to color. Sometimes I’ll pick up a piece just because the texture and color are fabulous. The shop changes constantly as I never really know what I will find on my ventures: 30s silk scarf, 70s industrial lamp. There’s nothing like the element of surprise. I love it. 

Retro polka dot scarf

I’ve never been a purist. I like to mix up eras in my shop and in my wardrobe.  I’ve been thrifting since I was in a teenager, because that’s where all the exciting clothes were. I’d buy 1920s mourning dresses, wear them with black tights and cowboy boots. Louise Brooks meets Siouxie Sioux. I’d wear shark skin ties and men’s jackets with big floppy hats: Annie Hall. I had tons of hats and I wore them all. Dress-up was my favorite activity.

Q. What does your family (or friends) think about your on-line vintage business?

It’s a toss up. When I worked in editing, at cocktail parties I’d simply say “I’m an editor,” and people would swoon like I was writing for Vogue or Forbes, when in reality I was covering the most tedious magazine in existence: California Geology. May it rest in peace.

As a shop keep—an on-line shop keep­—people have this notion I’m throwing junk on EBay between episodes of Jerry Springer. It’s a hard sell, and honestly, I still trip up explaining what I do. But often, when they see my excitement over a sale or fun purchase they brighten up to the idea. They can sense my happiness.

My mother warmed to it when she saw my sales numbers rising. She invited me to a Gatsby themed fund raiser once. I showed up with a suitcase (vintage) filled with trinkets, dresses, hats, jewelry. We spent all day playing dress-up and were the smash of the party. She kept telling her friends, “These are from Debra’s shop.” It made me smile.

Vintage mosaic floral cookie ti

My father is a historian and art dealer. He has two Etsy shops! We swap goods, trade secrets and sales stories every day. It’s in the family, really. My great, great grandfather was an apothecary in a wagon train medicine show. He sold crazy tinctures in glass bottles that promised cures. My great grandmother sang and danced for the show too. Traders, makers, tinkers, pickers, artists, crows. I’m just keeping it in the family.

Q. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

“It’s all beautiful, but you can’t take it with you.”