Thank God for Friends

I can't believe that this Saturday marks my little baby girl's 1st birthday, or "dohl" as we call it in Korean.  For readers who don't know, the dohl is a huge deal in Korean tradition and has become an even bigger ordeal amongst second generation Korean-Americans (IMO). 

Jessie's dohl will still be on a smaller scale compared to other dohl's, but planning this thing feels like a monster.  Most of the bigger details such as food, location, and party favors have been planned, but there's still so much more to do this week.  I still need to plan the decorations, print photos, make a slideshow and so on and so forth.  Thank God I have wonderful friends that are lending me all the vases, banners, fake cakes, and hanboks (traditional Korean clothing worn at special events such as the dohl). Without them I would be sitting in pools of tears because I would be lost and stressed.  I want to share some sneak preview shots of her dohl, but I hope the following picture will NOT be occurring at the party (but I'm sure it will)...

I wanted to show my mother-in-law what Jessie looked like in a hanbok, but she was so tired and had a meltdown while I put the layers and layers of clothes on her and then my mother-in-law thought it would help to put her on this car, but jessie just ended up crying even more.  Poor thing.  Am I a bad mom that instead of consoling her right away, I took a picture with my iPhone?

Here are some less stressful sneak preview pictures of some things that will appear at Jessie's birthday...

Both hanboks are so pretty, so we're going to have to do a trial run on Jessie, again, and see which one she looks better in.  Thanks HK and EP for letting me borrow these!

a handmade banner made by HK

excited to wear this pink lace 1960s wiggle dress!

handmade by EP, also! 

I have the most talented friends!!

I will still be updating the shop daily, also so be on the lookout for some amazing dresses!  Hope everyone has a great Monday!

A Little Milestone

1970s maxi grecian dress

1930s sheer cotton voile dress

left: 1930s black mary janes

right: 1930s black suede peep toes

1960s straw pink hat with netting

1940s blue rayon mesh dress

left: 1950s mustard yellow circle skirt

right: 1980s pink high waist skirt

1970s bombshell bathing suit maillot

1980s killer heels



1970s Bruno Magli Burgundy strappy heels

1970s boho floral dress

1970s Cole Haan clogs



1970s Handpainted Silk Scarf

left: 1970s Parisian man shirt

right: 1970s sheer pink floral blouse

1950s polka dot seersucker pleated wiggle dress

1960s P&M Paris Statement Necklace

The shop finally hit 1,000 sales.  It took a little longer since I had little life milestones like moving into our first home, surviving a pregnancy, and surviving the newborn/infant stage.  But, I finally made it and it feels great!  I feel like I'm finally in a groove with the shop and can be more consistent with the listings.  But, you'll never know what curveball life will throw at you, so I can't promise anything at the moment.  But, I can say that I do love my shop and I hope to keep going at this little venture for a while.  Thanks to everyone for the support, love, and encouragement!

As a thanks, the shop will remain on sale until April 30th at midnight!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Guest Post from Sassy Sister Vintage

A little guest post written by Kim of Sassy Sister Vintage! 
As I checked into Anna's shop Revolving Styles the other day, I noticed that she was getting close to 1,000 sales.  She should be super proud of herself as this is no small feat for a mother with 2 small children.  From keeping her shop stocked, to editing the photos, to sending the packages, cleaning the clothing, and on, and on, and on, you've got to stay on your toes!  Believe me, I know from personal experience!

In honor of her (almost) 1,000th sales and also because we all need new Summer outfits, I've decided to put together some outfits from her shop that I thought would be super cute to sport in the coming months.

Vintage 60s Ascot Blouse

1950 Circle Skirt

60s Tapestry Bag

Red Quilted Purse

1970s Cotton Pique Summer Dress

Vintage Etienne Aigner Wedges

Peach Chantilly Lace Party Dress

1940s Floral Clutch

1960s Black Stilettos

And possibly by the time you read this posts she will have her 1,000th sale.  Congrats Anna!

(Thanks Kim for the cute blog post.  Be sure to check out her blog and shop!  She has amazing vintage, also!)

Goodbye Old Friend

I opened up my shop 2 1/2 years ago and this little dress form helped me along.  However, when I moved into my new home 1 1/2 years ago, the stinky little mover men decided to drop her and break her legs.  That's why she's lopsided.  So, for the past year, I've been doing ghetto photo shoots where I tuck my Lucky Magazine under one of her legs so that she doesn't appear as lopsided.

my husband drilled some screws in the little legs to keep the dress form standing.

It started taking up too much time to try to edit my photos and to prop a magazine under the legs and I knew I had to find another dress form.  I searched for the past 6 months on ebay, craigslist, antique malls and flea markets for a vintage dress form, but couldn't find one that I liked for the price.  I caved and just purchased a brand new one that was more sturdily built.  So, I'd like to introduce my new friend.

We're getting along quite well and she is a lot more low maintenance than the previous one.  I think and hope we'll be friends for a long time.  Now back to work. 

My Left Foot

This blog post has nothing to do with the award winning movie "My Left Foot." It has to do with how awkward my feet are when posing for shots for the shop, especially my left foot. I don't mind poking fun at myself- in fact, I'm quite good at it and I frequently do so.

As an Etsy shop owner, I experience the ebb and flow of views and sales daily and currently, the views are low. Whenever I take a short hiatus, the shop suffers and I realize I need to keep things fresh in my shop with new items and new ways of tracking new views. Putting clothes and accessories on live models seems to be a great way of getting more views, and it's something I don't mind doing once in a while. So I thought I'd give the modeling shoes thing a shot since it's quite difficult to receive good traffic for these items for me. I had no idea that modeling shoes would be so difficult and because they are close-ups, would be so detailed! What a humbling and funny experience it was.

My shots just kept getting more awkward because I think I started trying too hard.  Initially, with the red shoes, I just had no idea where to point the toe.  Then, I started to point the toe at an angle that made my left calve seem much larger than my right.  I proceeded to adjust my footing, only to cause even more weird leg positions and more veins to stick out of my unevenly tanned feet.  I was sweating during these shots, but I think it provided more views.  I just put the burgundy heels up in the shop and they received a considerable more amount of hits on the first day than the other shoes on their debut days (althought, no hearts, haha.)  So, maybe i'm on to something (or not).  Either way, I've got to figure out a way to control these joints of mine.  Any advice or should I just stick to no live model shots for the shoes.  I really won't be offended if you tell me to stop! ha.

Remnants of the Flu

I battled the nastiest 24-hr bug I've ever faced.  I was freezing cold, then burning hot, and sweating like a pig the entire time. Every part of my body ached and keeping my eyes open was a heavy task. I knew my fever was high because my eyelids felt hot and and my son would kiss my cheek and say each time, "You're burning."  I even turned down food, and I never turn down food!

If my husband had not come home early from work to take care of the kids, and me, the kids would have starved and not slept.  I'm so thankful for my husband!  He fed them, cooked, washed the dishes, and put them both down while I was delirious.  I woke up this morning feeling much better and this is what I found!

My husband got blindsided by me being sick and had to think quickly and cook something for dinner.  He made this pasta, and if you're wondering what that long strip of meat is, it's bacon. hahaha.  I died when I saw this.  He literally used jarred tomato sauce and put whole slices of bacon.  That's it- no vegetables and the bacon wasn't even cut.  I think it's one of the cutest and most wonderful things he's done.  I will let him eat the rest.

I don't blame my husband for not being able to pick up the toys after all he did yesterday.  However, this is only half the mess that was left by the kids.  How can two little kids create such clutter?

This was the mess created by me.  I've been on this bad sleep schedule where I sleep at 9:30, then wake up at 3 a.m. and work.  I did that again and that's when I started feeling the flu and apparently knocked over my poor headform and threw my vintage inventory on the floor. I claim temporary insanity.

Anyhow, I'm glad to be feeling human and healthy again and more listings coming to the shop tonight!  Only 12 more sales until 1,000, which means only 12 more sales until my sale is over!

A Pop of Color

1960s Sheath Dress

1940s Black Noir Dancing Dress

1960s Talbott Lemon Skirt

Left: 1960s Cream Ascot Shell

Right: 1960s White Cotton Top

1960s Black Textured Heels

1970s Kelly Green Shirtwaist Dress

1970s Seersucker Bathing Suit

1950s Pink Rhinestone

1940s Blue Day Dress

1970s Blue Embroidered Night Gown

1970s Salvatore Ferragamo Oxfords

1980s Neon Blue High Heels

Little Girl's 1950s Dress

1960s Fredericks of Hollywood White Bustier

Can I just say that I really am proud of this shop update?  I don't think I've had such a variety of color and items before!  This season is all about color and although I tend to like neutrals, I can't help but want to incorporate colors into my wardrobe.  Which is your favorite piece?  I think the first dress and the Fredericks bustier have to be my favorite.  I was just really excited when I found that TALON metal zipper on the bustier.  Anyone else get excited over zippers? Ha.