Latest Favorite Find

Buried in the depths of a dark closet, amidst poly slacks and decorative sweatshirts, I found this evening gown. Tucked away in a diamond tuck print gold plastic garment bag, it looked as if it hadn't been touched since it was last worn, maybe sometime in 1952. It took a trip to the dry cleaners and a bit of stitching to return it to it's original stature. It's so glamorous I can barely stand it!

On a body it does what all good dresses should do. It carves out a wasp-like waist. It makes your breasts spill over in generous abundance and it gives you hypnotic hips. Maybe I'm being a little dramatic but really...look at it...

The dress is being featured in our front window this week. Feel free to come by and be blown away.

It's the Little Things that Count

Last week was beastly. There's no reason to get into the details, but limp at my desk, just plain worn out, I barely lifted my head when my friend, Judith, stopped by. "I brought you a present," she said and handed me a small package wrapped in summer green tissue paper. It was a late 1950s necklace with a triple strand of mocha-pink, satin-finished beads. I clasped it on immediately. The plastic beads were light on my skin.

Taped to the top of the package was the best part of all: a vintage greeting card with stylized drawings of perfume bottles and hairbrushes. The lettering inside was gold script. I loved it! That she took the trouble to find a card she knew I would adore, then wrote a thoughtful message inside, meant the world to me.

Judith's gift reminded me that sometimes the best things in life are the little things: a cup of coffee in a mug that feels good in your hand; a scented candle filling the room with the subtle fragrance of lemon and lilies; a scarlet pedicure; the luxury of an afternoon nap; a heavy bar of Italian soap for the bath.

It's so easy to focus on the big things and think that they will make your life perfect. "If only I could spend a month in Paris!" or "I wish I could drop a c-note at Le Pigeon--now that would be a dinner worth having" or "Life will not be complete until I have an square-cut emerald ring".

Well, guess what. A good night's sleep on line-dried sheets is paradise. Watching your dog sleeping in a patch of sun, twitching with happy dreams, warms the heart more deeply than an impulse buy at a department store. A poached egg, made with a fresh egg from your neighbor's Araucanas and sprinkled with chives, is a dinner to rival anything a James Beard award-winning chef might turn out. Opening a handwritten letter is the depth of luxury. (Just work on your handwriting. You might be surprised at how it's gone down the toilet in these days of text-messaging and emails.)

Liz knows all this and has stocked the Xtabay with the little things that matter. At the store now is a full selection of Butter nail polish, from Robin's egg blue to pure gold. They're made without the toxic ingredients you'll find in drugstore polishes, so you can touch up your manicure without fear while you watch Double Indemnity and scheme how to get a pair of satin mules like Barbara Stanwyck's. She has gathered all sorts of vintage stationery and cards, which you can buy singly or by the box. Surely someone in your life is waiting for a love letter. And the Xtabay's Volupsa candles are fabulous! I especially love the little candles in glossy ceramic pots with lids tipped in gold paint. Liz has also stocked up on fancy soaps, lip glosses in beautiful tins, and purse-sized perfumes.

Maybe you can't buy a poached farm egg or line-dried sheets at the Xtabay, but you'll find lots of other small pleasures waiting. If you're lucky, you might even catch Gaby dozing in the sun.

Xtabay Introduces URCHIN:re.design Bridal Collection by Sonia Kasparian

We are so excited to annouce the arrival of Portland designer Sonia Kasparian's line of re-constructed wedding gowns. Each gown is one-of-a kind masterpiece, made from bits and pieces of old retired (or just plain tired) wedding gowns and cocktail dresses. Aren't they just the dreamiest things ever?

Dip-dyed wedding gown by Urchin 785. available exclusively at Xtabay.

Chocolate silk satin cocktail dress by Urchin 455. available at Xtabay.

Lavander mist dip-dyed wedding gown by Urchin 998. available at Xtabay.

Sonia's line is also available at Flutter on Mississippi. Contact Xtabay for more information at 503 230 2899.

First Lady

Michelle Obama has been getting a lot of press for her strong, simple silhouettes and basic colors. We like her style. We like how she dresses to reflect the strong, independent, modern woman that she is. But Michelle reflects the style of another First Lady we admire: Jackie Kennedy.




Jackie Kennedy also wore strong and deceptively simple clothing. Like Michelle, she dressed to flatter a slender but boyish figure. She bent the fashions of the times to work best with her body. That's what real style is.

A study of Jackie's clothing shows demure necklines, short sleeves, and sheath dresses that started from her broad shoulders and skimmed her slender hips. The Jackie suits that she made famous were cut with a narrow angle between the armpit and waist to disguise a darling but unfashionably boyish waist. Her jewel neck suit jackets and tops wouldn't have flattered a busty woman, but they showcased her elegant figure. The strong colors and simple patterns she wore attracted attention without being distracting. She was all about cut and quality, like a Brancusi sculpture, or the best diamonds.

Michelle Obama's style reflects some of this sensibility, although with a more "of the people" attitude. I'm not sure we would have caught Jackie redhanded at J. Crew, and it was only reluctantly that she renounced her favorite French designers (but hired American Oleg Cassini to copy the best of their creations). Michelle, on the other hand, publicly scoffs fancy designer duds, but hides her multi-hundred dollar sports-style shoes in the closet. It all adds up to the same thing, really: they're both women who have the confidence to dress to suit themselves despite the watchful public eye.

For a woman with more of the Italian-styled slender hips but not too much of a waist or bust, Jackie's early- to mid-1960s style is perfect. The Xtabay has a treasure trove of cocktail dresses and suits right now that Jackie would have loved. Fabrics with a real hand, like raw silk and brocade, and in lipstick pink, peony green, and radiant black reflect Jackie's style, especially when made into sleeveless cocktail dresses with necklines begging for bold necklaces. Add a structured black patent bag and a low-heeled pump, and you are the picture of mod elegance. Come into the store, and we'll tell you if you're a good candidate for a Jackie, or if you'd be better off styling yourself after Marilyn.

Michelle might do well to take a page from Jackie's book. Who knows? Maybe she has. We've heard lots of talk about Camelot from the Obamas. A few more fancy dress receptions for foreign dignitaries and we'll know for sure.

What to Wear on the Road

Packing for a trip--especially to a big city--can be rough. What can you wear that is comfortable and stylish? That won't cost you an arm and a leg? That won't make you feel like a rube? You know the answer: vintage.

Let's pretend for a moment that you don't know about vintage clothes (don't worry, it's just a game) and you are packing for a trip to New York City. You open your closet and stare at its contents, your suitcase open on the bed. What should you pack?

You could pack that darling BCBG dress you bought at the mall last summer. No, surely everyone will see that it's mall wear and a cheap imitation of everything chic they picked up at the Barney's Co-op. And how about your purse? You spent a pretty penny on it down at the Coach store. You can hear their laughter now. "Coach store?" they'll roar on the subways. "That's it? A lousy Coach purse? I have the latest Dior bag right here!" 

Let's not even get started on shoes. I once heard two women dissing people who wore Christian Louboutin shoes because Manolos were so much superior. It was all I could do to point to my feet and say, "Check out these. Green patent and suede stilettos with a fetching button detail. Henry Waters 'Shoes of Consequence', and you'll never have them." Yep, vintage, and they cost me all of $12.99.

Clearly, it's no use competing with women in New York or Paris or Berlin. Instead, the best plan is to forge ahead with your own style and dress vintage. I recently spent five days in New York. I brought four 1950s cotton dresses and one 1940s dress, a 1940s rayon nightgown and dressing gown, a 1960s embroidered cardigan, and a 1940s chocolate brown suit jacket with passementarie trim for when it was cooler. I kicked butt. Crammed on an elevator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the elevator operator surveyed me and a scrubbed family and asked the family where they were from. Then he looked at me and said, "But you're a local." In my Xtabay-purchased blue cotton dress with its deep neckline and shawl collar I was better than local. I was one of a kind: Vintage.

Xtabay Brides of March & April 2009

Chelsea and Justina pose in there future wedding gowns. Justina wears a 1960's silk column gown and Chelsea wears a 1960's satin off the shoulder gown with train.

Contemplating the dresses in the Xtabay dressing lounge...

Adorable bride to be Emily models our 1960's lace babydoll mini wedding dress and veil....

How cute can you possibly be? ....dress is still available for 148.

The shoes are 1960's white leather with beaded buckle. Size 8, 38.

Beautiful Bride Sarah models her "new" 1950's satin and tulle wedding gown.

The stunning Joelle models her "new" 1950's organza wedding gown.

Wow!!! Stop by and find your perfect wedding gown....

Xtabay Vintage Clothing Boutique featured in The Guardian!

Hooray !!! Xtabay receives a little international press! Thanks Eva!

Bonnie Cashin, Genius

Liz and I were at an estate sale, in the basement, rummaging through two racks of dresses, suits, and coats. Liz, with her impeccable eye, tossed item after item over her arm. "Bonnie Cashin!" she said in an excited whisper. "There's tons of it!"

The elderly Italian woman who had owned the house had exquisite taste and a generous clothing budget. And she had kept every gorgeous outfit she bought, including a cache of classic Bonnie Cashin designs that would make the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Curator weep with joy.

Bonnie Cashin, who would have been 100 years old were she alive, revolutionized American fashion. Cashin started her career designing costumes for the Roxyettes at New York City's Roxy Theater when she was only 25 years old. She did a little costume design in Hollywood, too--that's her work in The King and I, for example--and did unattributed designs for Hermes and others.

But today she's mostly known for two accomplishments: her design with the Sills company, and taking Coach from an antiquated saddle company to a national name in women's leather accessories.

With Sills, Cashin took fabrics like mohair, jersey, and wool, fabrics that had never got the respect they deserved, and turned them into luxurious coats, suits, ponchos, and dresses. She valued comfort and freedom of movement, so she patterned her designs after Chinese clothing. Many of her coats had kimono sleeves and loose bodies so that they could be layered with other clothing. (In fact, some say she introduced the concept of layering to Americans.) She favored hardware-style closures--closures that she brought to Coach and that, to this day, allow you to i.d. a Coach bag from down the block. Like Claire McCardell, she imbued everyday clothing with a style that came to define American elegance.

Cashin loved working with leather, and her signature pieces often include leather ties or piping. So, her years at Coach were a natural. When Cashin was hired at Coach, Coach was known for making saddles and bridles. Cashin took advantage of Coach's expertise with saddle leather and designed practical but stylish handbags that have since become hugely sought after. Coach is now re-issuing some of her designs, although "cutey-pied" up and at ridiculously high prices.

At the estate sale, Liz snagged several Bonnie Cashin mohair and wool coats and dress/coat combos that somehow manage to look vintage and yet timeless. They are taupe, ruby red, cocoa brown, ivory, and more. They are indubitably American, and yet they are so elegant that they would kick butt in Paris. Even better, they're a reasonable size 8 or 10. When Liz went into the back basement room at the estate sale and came out with some Bonnie Cashin purses, I vowed I'd wrassle her to the ground if I had to for the red Cashin Carry tote, and it's by my side right now. (No wrassling necessary.) I think Liz kept the lipstick pink one. If you're lucky, you can still buy one tote left, in a rich brown-black.

I'm still dreaming about that estate sale. If you like fashion, for God's sake don't miss out on the Cashins!

Prom Season 2009

Get ready for some great advice on what to wear to the prom this year. Why is this advice so great? Because it is based on experience--my experience of what not to wear, that is. My prom dress was a number my grandma whipped up with a little dotted swiss lace, a few yards of yellow calico, and a racy Simplicity pattern. I looked like Laura Wilder from Little House on the Prairie might have if she'd decided to give up being a pioneer and get herself a pimp.

A vintage dress is the way to go. With vintage, you are sure to (1) be chic, (2) be original, (3) save money; and (4) look like a Hollywood icon. Below I've listed a few of the movie stars I'm talking about, along with some suggestions and some inspiration.

The Audrey Hepburn Look: Who wouldn't want to look like Audrey Hepburn? She had it all: gamine elegance, style, and originality. She broke all the rules of her day. She was brunette, flat chested, and girlish. But one look at her in Breakfast at Tiffany's and she takes your breath away. This look is best for the smaller woman. If you aren't particularly curvaceous, so much the better. An early 1960s cocktail dress cut just at the knee, in black, of course, and a chignon will take you halfway there. Add splashy rhinestones at the neck and gloves up past your elbows, and you have arrived. Audrey wore L'Interdit by Givenchy perfume, but that might smell a little old fashioned these days--try something fresh, like Daisy by Marc Jacobs. Xtabay has a whole rack of black cocktail dresses for the Audrey look. For inspiration, watch Breakfast at Tiffany's, Funny Face, and Roman Holiday.

The Molly Ringwald Look: The '80s are back, ergo, so is Molly. Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club are good inspiration. If you like the bold colors and poof of the '80s, you are in luck, because Liz snagged a bunch of '80s prom dresses in all the primo colors--aqua, mauve, silver--in tulle, satin, and a fabric as reflective as mylar. The Molly look is best for the life-of-the-party type. You have to have confidence to pull it off, but if it suits you, you will command the room. Be sure to listen to some Boston and Foreigner while you get ready. Maybe you can pin the corsage in your hair instead of on your dress. Best 1980s perfume? I'd vote for a whopper floral oriental like Opium or maybe Poison. I don't need to tell you to have fun.

The Rita Hayworth Look: If this is your look, I don't even know why you're reading this, because your dad is going to lock you in at home. By all rights, the sultry Rita look should be saved for girls over 21. But if you're determined, who are we to stop you? If you're curvy and have a little wave to your hair and pout to your mouth, you just might be a natural. The Rita is one look that demands a full-length gown rather than a cocktail dress. Something jewel-toned that dips in the back and shows some cleavage would suit Rita well. I think the Rita look would take well to a 1970s jersey dress, too. Add a chunky bracelet and ankle-strapped sandals--minimum three inch heels--and you are Rita all over again. Shalimar would be perfect for a perfume, or Secret Obsession if you want to try something new. Gilda is good inspiration for the Rita.

Wearing a vintage dress to the prom--a dress that fits well and suits you--will do your proud. Come in to Xtabay, and we'll make sure you're in the right dress for your figure and your style. As for what your date wears, well, that's up to you.

Introducing Xtabay Vintage Bridal Salon March 2009

Take  a peek at the new Xtabay....Gorgeous, isn't it? Besides all the beautiful vintage dresses and clothes you're used to seeing at the store, Liz has been stalking her secret sources for dresses that will be perfect for a bride or her bridesmaids, or to wear for a rehearsal dinner.

Planning a wedding is stressful--and expensive--enough as it is. Shouldn't finding the perfect dress be fun? We don't think you should shell out a couple of thousand dollars for a cheaply made dress that you're not wild about when you can have a knockout, one-of-a-kind vintage dress instead. 

Of course we have beautiful, creamy white tulle cocktail dresses that would be fabulous for any bride, but we also have dresses for a more creative approach to a wedding: a pale mint 1950s gown, a rich, vibrant red silk cocktail dress from the early 1960s, or a primrose pink shantung suit, for instance.

Another benefit of shopping for your wedding at the Xtabay is that the store is so relaxing, and you can count on all the personal attention you'll need. We're experts at finding the type of dress that best suits your body or those of your bridesmaids. Gabe, the store's pooch, is happy to adore you, too.

Xtabay is also available for private parties in the evening free of charge. You can invite your bridesmaids over after work, bring in a bottle of Champagne, and have the store at your disposal to put together the perfect bridal trousseau. Maybe you'd like to bring in a manicurist or tarot card reader, too--we can help with that. Your bridesmaids would love one of our delicately scented Volupsa candles as a gift. 

The Xtabay bridal salon is not to be missed, but for those of us who hide in the bathroom when the bride tosses her bouquet, the store still has all the glamorous apparel it ever did and more. Come by and check it out.