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December 31, 2004
beggars and choosers!
lately i've been wanting to add some interesting vintage stuff to my wardrobe. this is difficult and discouraging, because most vintage clothes are too small for me. it's not just a weight issue; my shoulders are usually too wide for the jackets and shirts. this was even the case when i was in high school and was very slim. couple that with the fact that vintage clothes are usually just more difficult to shop for-- they tend to be crammed into racks, in dark stores, with little sensible organization and a poor signal-to-noise ratio-- and i haven't made much of an effort in this direction in many years.
but i was feeling like i'd be up for it this week, and since sarah and i had planned to hang out today, i was hoping she'd be up for a trip down to beggars and choosers in pittsboro, and indeed she was.
i kind of knew they'd renovated recently, but i was amazed at the changes in the store. everything has been cleaned out and organized. the main floor is still a jumble of housewares and furniture (and a kitten!) but it's a bit easier to negotiate. the back room has been fully cleaned out and organized, and is full of patterns (organized in easy to access drawers, by decade), fabric, and a huge assortment of vintage buttons, belt buckles, and other notions. the basement has had most of the junky furniture removed, and is again much easier to negotiate. one long wall is a rack of bargain clothes, and that's where i had the most luck. i also started noticing that her prices are much, much better than they used to be. the bargain clothes are 2 for $5. i found a vintage shirt, coat, blazer, and a 40's era purse for a grand total of $10. the clothes all have some issues, of course, but i think i can work with them. the basic fit of the blazer, in particular, is perfect.
the upper floor is still devoted to clothes and accessories. she has culled the clothing heavily and the signal far outweighs the noise now. the clothes are much less crowded on the racks, and the lighting is better, too, i think. the prices are astounding when you compare them to untidy museum! sarah found two fabulous mod hats, one of which is actually mink, for little more than her similar hat from untidy cost.
(i don't mean to dis on untidy-- y'all know i love that place. their rent on broad street must be astronomical, especially compared to rent in pittsboro. i don't fault them for their prices but it's natural to compare.)
i didn't find anything upstairs but i really did look at everything. i didn't let myself get discouraged. sarah did great, finding the two hats, two pairs of shoes, and some other items from both upstairs and from the basement. (note that the hat you see her in to the right is not one she bought-- i'll let her describe it in her blog though. that's a special hat.)
it was a nice outing and the changes in the store are definitely for the better.
Posted by lisa at December 31, 2004 05:20 PM | TrackBack
Comments
dang, you beat me to it! I had to stop at the store and I'm just now processing my photos.
Posted by: Sarah on December 31, 2004 06:06 PM
someone else was telling me recently about how awesome beggars and choosers had become, especially the basement. i have got to go check it out!
Posted by: alicia on December 31, 2004 07:35 PM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.