Saturday, April 11, 2009

Fashion Finds at The Brooklyn Flea

We had lunch at the waterfront park a block away from the DUMBO location of the Brooklyn Flea, which has the most beautiful view of Manhattan.  Topshop trench, Viktor & Rolf x H&M skirt, Miu Miu Bag, CK tights, Vivienne Westwood x Melissa flats, Chanel sunglasses, vintage beret.

Since the Brooklyn Flea's inception nearly a year ago, I've been intermittently stopping by on weekends to rummage through the piles of kitch and antiques, while dragging my husband along with the lure of some Mexican home cooking from the Red Hook cart vendors. Started by my friend Cynthia's older brother, Jonathan Butler, who also runs Brownstoner, the Flea is now open on Saturdays at its original Fort Greene outdoor location, and on Sundays at an indoor space in DUMBO. Although I've found many awesome treasures for my apartment at the Flea (iittala glass for 10% of the asking price at the MoMA store?!), I definitely do not go there to shop for clothing. In the past, the vintage selection has ranged from sadly shambolic to downright grimy, and the jewelry selection has been even more jankity, with prices that definitely do not match the value. Sorry to sound so harsh, but when you work with this stuff you notice.

On my visit last Sunday however, it was as if the flea had undergone some kind of head-to-toe fashion makeover, perhaps in part due to it's recent collaborations with trend conscious bloggers like Cool Hunting, Daily Candy, and Racked.  There seemed to be more vintage clothing vendors on hand, and each one of them brought out the best items they had to offer, in addition to actually attempting to merchandising their wares.  The prices still weren't cheap, but the selection was pretty amazing, including plenty of flouncy vintage dresses from the 50's up through the 80's.  I have a soft spot for vintage prom dresses, and they had plenty on hand, which reminded me of my own vintage prom dress, scored for $38 at a now-defunct East Village boutique named Prom Queen Superstars.  Here is a small sampling of my favorite picks.  Sorry that the pictures are so lousy, the lighting inside is weird, and most of the vendors didn't allow photography...

I've always wanted one of these vintage beaded clutches.

A bead embellished bolero jacket.

Prom dress #1 was selling for $50 at the same booth as the beaded purses.  Something that I would have loved to wear in high school, minus the fake flowers at the bust.

Prom dress #2, which is a kinda like a nicer version of the first one, and cost $180.  This is something I would still wear today, and even though it is very prom, it could be very Luella Bartley.  I loved how different colored purple and violet lace were layered to create an ombre effect, no matter how rudimentary it might be.

This 60's dress is something I would have loved in college.
-Tiffany

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