CURIO NO.1

OVERLOOKED VIVIENNE TAM, FINDING THE GOOD IN UGLY 2000s BRANDS, COLORED LEATHER, DO YOU KNOW A PRE-STYLISH BABY???

It’s near impossible to time secondhand finds with a concept or story, and I’ve let too many slip by in this waiting! I spend about an hour a day perusing secondhand sites for inspiration, requests, or research-related materials, and recently calculated that this totals to about 3 years over my lifespan. I have no qualms about this, as I really enjoy it. I always learn something, and relish in finding things for my friends, then getting that wedding, work, or vacation text with The Thing saying “thanks again!” or “thinking of you in my [Paul Frank underwear, fringe top, etc]”. I figured I could do more with this for those who aren’t mentally ill enough to check Vestiaire, eBay, Depop, Poshmark, Grailed, The Real Real, Vinted, and Thredup on the regular.

This dispatch details the agony and ecstasy of the present exports from our fickle, though often benevolent mistress (the secondhand economy). Hope you find what you’re looking for.

This post is too long for email, so select “read full message” at the bottom of this email, or open it in Substack to see the full post.

BOUGHT!!!

I’ve had this vintage Hermes dog carrier saved for years. Every year, I’ve justified the yearly spend to carry Pig in this for the rest of her lifespan, and I couldn’t pull the trigger. The trouble with this hunt is that searching “vintage pet carrier” yields a lot of results that are almost aesthetically on the right track, but mostly look like something an evil Disney villain would use to carry a pet to the pound or an animal testing facility.

Pig is just a little too big for my other contenders: ironically toting a vintage Juicy carrier (the use of “extremely rare” here always tickles me) or this worn leather number. Her airport bag is too large for city carrying, and a tote lacks the hard bottom she (and I) need for support.

Heather Hurst, quoting Chris Fleming, “I don’t have an Hermes dog bag because I think something awaits me in the divine for resisting.” And the divine provided something about as close to the vintage Hermes as one could get. Hilariously, when I went to seek the bag’s origin story, the only place I could find it was on a blog penned by FUTUREBIRKINOWNER. Can’t wait to tote Pig in a 2007 Barney’s New York leather carrier for the next 10 years rest of forever.

I also made my first-ever order on Vinted this week. Vivienne Tam is one of about 7 brands I search for “newly listed” on every secondhand platform I open. This tank I screenshotted last year finally surfaced for $35. I can’t wait to sport this when it’s too hot to think about hand-washing my delicate mesh tops.

More on Vivienne Tam: I recently acquired a pair of boots (size 5.5, size 7, size 9, size 9.5) that make me excited about pencil skirts, and I suddenly have a renewed interest in Tam’s shorter offerings.

If you’re a size medium and looking to splurge on a Tam set for under $500, you’re in luck. I found the top on TRR and the skirt on Depop (fingers crossed they’d ship to the US…).

lightning strikes twice

Pieces I own that have resurfaced on the market.

This blue Tam blouse appears to be the cousin of my beloved floral summer shirt.

My Tod’s sequin sandals in another color.

My Rosetta Getty cutout dress. Here’s how I wore it last season.

A vintage carpet bag small enough for every day but large enough for a book.

SLOT MACHINE

Things stewing in my saves; I’m going to let fate handle them.

Betsey Johnson grommet bag. Reminds me of the hard-to-find Miu Miu stud bag X the grommet bags currently available from the likes of Paloma Wool and other independent designers.

I need another long dress like I need a bullet in my left foot, but, stranger things…I put Le Gatte (and its sister brand, Save The Queen) in the same echelon as Cop Copine and Custo Barcelona. They’re regular searches for me, but the results are hit-or-miss, ranging from delightfully Jean Paul Gaultier to tragically Ed Hardy. The brand is Italian, and pieces are made with hand-designed patterns (and often hand-embroidered), so you’ll rarely find multiples of the same item. This dress is a hit for me. Even this top, which, speaking of Stranger Things, is a little Scoop’s Ahoy, but still strikes something deep within…

Still running on Tam-Time. The secondhand market can make you feel as lost as a ball in the tall weeds, and as such, many gems go unfound. This $42 Vivienne Tam top would be heinous as a button-up, which it’s listed as, and which it is NOT!!! Upon closer inspection, this is a double-zip top in what appears to be mesh layered over thin leather: delightfully, Harold and Maude meets Charlie’s Angels. I’m itching to take the gamble on this.

Under $25

Jewelry box hunting is a bitch. This one doesn’t do much in terms of function, but it’s $23 shipped (I’d still make an offer!) and just darling.

One of my (many) less becoming traits is the insufferable smugness I feel when asked about a piece that presents as on-trend but not recognizable, and then answering, “Oh, this? Yeah, so random it was like $11.” This suede clutch, adorned with sculptural mixed metals, is my perfect shade of chocolate and big enough to fit a phone and a small book. It’s actually a whopping $14, but they sent an offer for $11 shortly after I favorited it. GO GO GO

take a chance…

on these $23 size 9 Fendi slides, “in need of some TLC”. I know vintage shoes aren’t for everyone, but I’m a freak, and “rejects” like these are why I have camping cashmere and work out in old JPG.

I’d snap these up, sanitize them, and get some glue on that left toe pronto. Ideal scenario: you have a studio, garage, or lake house you need “kick around” shoes for. echoing yell while futzing around in the green Bisley drawers in your garage “Honey…have you seen my Fendi slippers?”

onto something, or on something

Desires untethered…searches without reason…

A recommendation fed to me during the pet carrier search

DO YOU KNOW A BABY!!! I only know one Real Baby, whom I haven’t even met, but I keep hoarding baby saves. Maybe it’s because every child in Cobble Hill is better dressed than I am.

Vintage AA Milne books, Paul Frank hand-knit beanie, Paddington summer shorts, toddler Paul Frank wellies, a Paddington cross-stitch set for a nursery.

Why did I feel a burning hole in my heart when this Paul Frank baby beanie sold…

FINDS GONE TOO SOON…

I’m an “inbox zero” lady, even in my secondhand sites, so I delete items that sold. I trust that if I really want them, they will find me again. Goodbye, sweet ladies…

A perverted Vivienne Westwood Seditionaries shirt. I’m actually pissed about this one. It was $115. I slept on it to be “responsible” and woke to find her gone. I’m not linking it because it has a sexual rant on the back of it that would make my mother and friends text me belaboring that I never needed this in the first place, which would only be salt in this fresh wound…

These D&G zipper heels. Was I going to impulse-buy these $350 very-season, scenario-specific shoes? No. But it hurts that now the chance of me owning them, to sexily wash a car in, or carry my dog around while wearing a spiky bun, has gone from non-zero to 0. This was an ego-loss, like finding out someone you weren’t even that interested in is seeing someone else. Onto the next…

TELL ME OF YOUR CURRENT FIXATIONS

TIL NEXT TIME <3