~ savannah antiques ~

I don't claim to be an expert in the Savannah vintage/antique scene (because I've only been there twice and only been to three shops total), but from my experience, little that it may be, Savannah is a vintage-lover's dream.  Last weekend I visited Alex Raskin Antiques, the Wright Antique Mall, and Southern Charm Antiques, and today I'm going to do my best to describe each as accurately and fairly as I can.

Alex Raskin Antiques:
Last year when I was in Savannah, we went into Alex Raskin's store (the basement of a large house) and snooped around for an hour or so.  Little did we know that we had only seen one out of four stories - so when we went back this time, we climbed every staircase (even though I had to be nudged up the final one thanks to a mild case of vertigo), peaked into every room, and heard every floor board creak as we cautiously passed over them.

The house itself was built in the 1850s - it's a beautiful representation of its era, complete with exposed beams and peeling paint.  Some might cringe at its slightly-dilapidated state and yearn to restore it to its original glory, but I strongly feel that it should be left alone to sag and creak as much as its 165 year old self wants to.  In some rooms, you can clearly see the passing of time and fading of styles by counting the layers of wallpaper that are peeling off the wall and will eventually flake to the floor.  The carpet has years worth of dust settled into it, the railings on the staircases are well-worn, and the house itself has clearly been well-loved by every generation of occupants, past and present.  To cover and sand and strip and paint would be disrespectful to the house's spirit (if you believe in that kind of thing, which I do).

      

      

Wright Antique Mall: 

I have a shocking number of photos of the Wright Antique Mall - zero, in fact.  Probably because I was way too excited to find several racks of vintage clothing, and boxes and boxes of new old stock hairnets, hair pins, and stockings (in my size!!!), from the 40s and 50s.  I already regret not buying more of the stockings (the opposite of buyer's remorse), but I did stock up on hairnets and postcards, so that kind of makes up for it.

Southern Charm Antiques:

Within fifteen minutes of getting into town, we found a parking place, ran into Southern Charm Antiques, and ran out with an amazing 30s hat, all before the meter ran out of time.  So, mission accomplished.

Southern Charm Antiques was cram-packed with vintage clothing, vintage jewelry, vintage shoes, vintage hats, furniture, dishes and silverware, grandfather clocks, and a plethora of odds and ends.  I easily could have spent two hours sitting on the floor, rifling through the stacks of magazines and brochures.

In between the shopping and snooping, we attended my best friend's graduation from SCAD (yay!!!), I got to walk in her senior fashion show, and we moseyed through blocks and blocks of beautiful parks and historical houses.  I miss it already.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ vintage ephemera ~

Throughout my life I've collected everything under the sun.  Stamps, marbles, vintage patterns, Nancy Drew books, vegan recipes (do those count as a collection or an obsession?), vintage clothes, vintage hats, vintage hankies.....I could go on.

But recently my attention has been drawn in a different direction: vintage ephemera.  That is, books, sheet music, magazines, catalogs, recipe books, etc., etc.  And over the weekend, I hit the jackpot!

Books for 25 cents, sheet music for a dollar, postcards for 45 cents.  JACKPOT.

First up: 1953 South Carolina Mills catalog

     

     

       

      

1957 Conquering Outer Space

Look For the Silver Lining sheet music

Oh, and one last thing (even though it doesn't qualify as ephemera)....

Paul Revere and The Raiders

I'm quite sure I didn't NEED another obsession, but I'm sure enjoying it.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ plaid perfection ~

Do you ever find a vintage piece hanging in a shop that you're convinced will change your life and you hold your breath while trying it on and it actually FITS?  Cause that happened last week, and let me tell you, it feels awesome.

I wore it to class yesterday and felt like Barbie: College Edition.

It's a testament to my incredible self control that I haven't worn it every single day.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ nyc day 03 part 02 ~

Let me tell you a little story.  Once upon a time a girl with frizzy hair and Atticus Finch glasses went to New York City and felt a little lost.  Then one day she went to Soho and fell in love.

It seemed that Manhattan was too big, Tallahassee was too small, but Soho was just right.

Okay, don't get me wrong - I love Manhattan!  But there's something about Soho that is simply amazing.  Maybe it's because of the bookstores, vintage clothing shops, handsome men with bikes and beards, and 5 million coffee shops.  Whatever it is, I love it.

Fanelli's cafe.  Try the black bean pesto burger - SO good!

Evolution - an awesome (and slightly spooky) store where you can buy everything from human skeletons, earrings made out of beetle wings, various bones, etc.  

     

I also went into a Chanel store, which was gorgeous and terrifying!  Since I couldn't afford to buy their doormat, I went down the street to the Housing Works Thrift Store where I found an amazing vintage dress.  Much more my style!

I could have spent four weeks photographing everything that inspired me!  I'll save that for next time.

xoxo,

Eliza