31/08/2011

VINTAGE IN CALIFORNIA

If you're a regular reader of my blog then you will know how obsessed I am with vintage shopping, there's something that is just so exciting about it, knowing that someone before you enjoyed the clothes and that they had a whole other life before you came along and bought them. The fact that most of the stuff I buy was made before I was born is a pretty weird thought too. So obviously, while here in California, I have done a ridiculous about of vintage shopping. The first shop on my long list is probably my favourite vintage shop I've ever been to, and trust me that is a very big statement considering the huge number that I've shopped at. The shop is called Hidden Treasures and is in Topanga which is a small village in the Santa Monica Mountains. The village has this amazing rustic vibe with markets and thrift stores and cute little hut-like houses. The shop was incredible, with an amazing range of vintage items, from faded t-shirts to suede fringed ponchos to frilly petticoats. Scattered on shelves and tables among all the clothes were loads of random antiques such as a child sized motorbike, china dolls and a stuffed chicken. Some of the clothes were kept on rails out the back in a very overgrown garden area and the whole effect was quirky and exciting.










After a few days spent on the beaches of California I went to Los Angeles and had a whole new vintage shopping experience. In LA there is a road called Melrose Avenue and it is literally lined with vintage shops. My favourite by far was one called Jet Rag which was on a road just off of Melrose. It was very different to hidden treasures, a bit less quirky and more like a regular vintage shop just about ten times the size of any normal store. The stock was amazing, rail upon rail of perfectly faded vintage t-shirts arranged in colour order, racks of dresses for every decade and too many checked shirts to count. I actually ended up buying two items from the boys section and only one from the girls while I was there because the boys selection was a bit better and, luckily for me, the androgynous look is in fashion right now.






21/08/2011

CALIFORNIA - SANTA MONICA

Just want to start this post by apologising for not posting is so long! I've been away at camp so I had no internet (not sure how I survived) but now I'm finally back and ready to blog. My holiday to California, which I think I've mentioned a few times, began on Thursday when I landed in LA. First stop of the trip was Santa Monica which is a city on the beach in Los Angeles County. I spent most of my time there cycling along the seafront to Venice Beach and swimming in the sea in Santa Monica. One of my favourite places I've been to so far in California is the Venice Boardwalk which a pedestrianised street on the beach lined with market stalls, street performers and quirky shops. It's hard to describe the amazing mix of the people to see and the things to buy so instead I'll show you some of the photos I took there...








Sorry about how short this post is but I'll be back soon with more Californian stuff.