Thursday, July 26, 2012

New Arrivals July 25th

50's teal temptation party dress.
1940's rayon crepe dress and 50's hat.
1940's Saybury dressing gown. 
1950's silk dress from peck & peck.
30's ethereal wedding gown.
1950's New Look dress by Joset Walker.
1960's blue cupcake dress.
1960's Lilly Dache red portrait hat. 
1960's coffee and caramel chiffon dress by Jr. Theme. 
1960's Pat Sandler sequined mod dress.
 Just a small sampling of some of the fabulous things that have come in lately. Most of these items are available online in our ETSY store as well as our boutique here in Portland.

Thanks for looking!








Friday, July 20, 2012

SALE this Saturday!



 HUGE SALE this Saturday! 


Everything in the store will be 30% off!


Making way for the fabulous fall collection!


Sale starts at 11am and ends at 6pm. We will be serving mimosas and madeleines. Bring your friends and shop to your hearts content!


Sale excludes items in the bridal salon. Bridal Salon will be open to the public so be sure to check it out while your here.




Saturday, July 14, 2012

What To Wear...









I've been completely addicted to the website picmonkey. Picmonkey allows you to make collages with your photos and it's free!  What in heaven's earth took me so long to discover it?!

So I'm a little collage crazy. I'm having so much fun going through my inventory putting together outfits. So you will probably see a lot more of this.

Everything pictured is currently available in the store minus maybe a couple items that have already sold. Check out our ETSY shop, a lot of them are available there.

Thanks for looking!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Nice Day For....

Edwardian era cotton and lace wedding gown ( waist 25"), perfect with the 80's lace up boots (size 9) and a vintage parasol. 
Classic 50's tulle and lace wedding dress paired with equally classic pearls. Waist 26".
Exquisite Edwardian silk chiffon embroidered tea-wedding dress with scalloped edges. I love the grosgrain ribbon petals and back bow. Size 2-4 petite. 

 The Xtabay Bridal Salon is open to the public every Saturday between 11-5pm. We are open by appointment on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Call us at 503-234-7568 to schedule an appointment.

Thanks!



Monday, July 9, 2012

True Value







Let's start with a little eye candy. Behold this exquisite 50's pink and black flocked taffeta party dress with zig-zag hem and ruffled shelf bust. Fabulous. Beautiful. We have a whole store full of beautiful dresses of this caliber.

Now for the nitty gritty. Let me warn you:  some of these images may be rather disturbing. The things you see below were taken from my actual closet. They are not props.

 I feel they are important to share because they reveal the truth about the current state of modern clothing. Most new clothing is being made and sold cheaper than ever before. Modern clothing has become a bit like toilet paper, use it once and then flush it down the toilet.

 I often wonder if we are going to have vintage clothing in the future. Twenty years from now will we be able to sell that $12 Forever 21 micro-fiber mini dress? Not likely...

 I decided to clean my closet the other day. I was shocked to discover the amount of crap I had. Wadded up tangles of faded black leggings, stretched out t-shirts and tank tops, bras with underwire poking through. A lot of these items had only been worn a couple of times but after being washed (in cold water mind you) had turned into fuzzy, pilled mountains of mush.

 Total money spent on these items? I would guess around $800.   Could I resell any of these items? Sadly, no. A Buffalo Exchange employee would laugh in my face if I brought this motley collection in. What did I do? I donated them.
                                                                      Case in point:


 My beloved black American Apparel Tee. After a couple of washes it has completely faded, the shape has been lost and the fabric has developed an almost velcro like ability to attract lint and animal hair. How much do you think Buffalo Exchange would give me for this item?



Really, I'm sorry you have to see this. This was an $88. Halogen (Nordstrom house label) black microfiber dress, that I wore maybe 4 times. Though it claimed to be machine washable in cold water this is how it turned out.  Look how gross it is! It's all stretched out, covered in fabric pills and hairs and would be promptly rejected by the resale market.


If you know me then you have undoubtably seen me in this dress. I have owned it for over 12 years now. It is from the early 60's and is made of a sturdy polished cotton. I have washed and worn it hundreds of times. Someone 50 years ago washed and wore this thing hundreds of times. It has yet to go completely out of style and say I decided to sell it today, I estimate I could probably get $125 for it.


Note the minimal appearance of animal hairs- and I live with a pomeranian and a persian:)


So my point is this: Vintage clothing is getting expensive. In lieu of new clothing getting cheaper and cheaper, the price of good vintage continues to climb. It's getting scarcer and scarcer. I can no longer breeze into the Goodwill and come out with a cart load of treasures. The Goodwill is now filled with Target and Walmart cast-offs. Here's the thing though, where is the value really? Are you really getting a great deal when you buy that trendy $18 poly dress from H&M that falls apart after you wash it? 
Is it something that you could wear for years and pass down to future generations? 
I'm not saying I don't wear new stuff. I do all the time.  I just think it's wise to invest in a few great vintage pieces and see how long they last you. And then when you're really tired of them come and sell them back to me:)

More examples: 

My 1960's wool leopard print Kimberly cardigan, purchased in 2001--worn and washed 100's of times.
                                                                            vs.
My J.Crew black stretch cotton cardigan, purchased in May for 78. to wear on cruise. Washed once :(






                                   My somewhat more organized closet. Somewhat.

Examples of some good investment dresses:


1950's atomic print cotton day dress, waist 24". Sold.

50's cotton lilac day dress, waist size 26", 168. 


These 50's cotton dresses last forever! You can wear them and wash them and mend them and wear them again. They can retain and even increase in value over the years! At the risk of sounding really cheesy...Now, that's true value;)