This year will forever burn in my mind and heart as the year I felt the most alive. Both my personal and work life was one hell of a roller coaster and I did my best to not fall off the ride even though at times I just wanted to say "To hell with all this!"

I am so grateful, so thankful, and so overjoyed about everything that happened this year. Even thankful for the bad for it taught and showed me that time and time again I stood back up and dusted myself off and kept on going. This year has been a year of forgiveness, of healing, and of love.

And of course it has been an amazing year for Adored Vintage! A few close personal friends know the story behind the name change and why there is now a "D" added to Adore. I won't divulge any details here, but it worked out all right in the end!


In JANUARY I shared the first photos of the studio when I still shared it with my friend, Esther Jean. Throughout the year the studio underwent quite a few changes. Like when I decided to repaint the studio (for better lighting) and when the studio was just for AdoredVintage in the first official tour of the atelier.

In MARCH my downtown vintage atelier was featured on Apartment Therapy: Inside the Lovely Studio of Adored Vintage! I was so honored by the feature! This was my third feature in Apartment Therapy! In MARCH I also participated in A Current Affair: Vintage Marketplace which is the best vintage event in Los Angeles. Great space, great music, an open bar... all for $10! Pretty rad! Um I also met one of my style icons, Clemence Poesy, at my vintage booth!


SPRING was probably the roughest time of the year for me. I was all over the place. I was pretty much hating/complaining about my full time job every moment of the day, working super late (until 11PM sometimes) at my studio to keep my vintage shop running, and was basically just stressed every damn day. I got down to 93LBS at one point and was smoking cigarettes every day.

I really had to get myself together otherwise I knew everything would fall apart. Hesitantly I started attending a new church. I had several reservations as I've never been that religious, more spiritual. But little by little I started to trust and open up to this new community and my life and the way I saw things started to change! It was early SUMMER that my life started to turn around. It was like a rising from the ashes (haha silly pun on cigarettes as I stopped smoking at this point)

During the SUMMER I started working on a new design for a new vintage website. I had debated on changing the name, redoing an entire new logo... but in the end I stayed with the name I really adored. And so came adoreDvintage!


At the end of SEPTEMBER I opened AdoredVintage.com and within a couple of months the site traffic went from an average of 150 a day to an average of 1200 a day! By OCTOBER I had left my full time job to work on Adored Vintage full time and I haven't looked back since!

At the start of the year I had 2 clothing racks in the studio. Now I have 6 and they are overflowing! This DECEMBER, I decided I wanted to open up a shop and also live there and within the same month I had found the place and signed the papers! (God answered my prayers and lightning fast too!)


Also this month I made a rather large investment for my company and it's growth for 2013. I don't want to say too much as of yet, but let's just say my inventory is about to be multiplied by FIVE within the next 30 days.

In 2012 we hit over 1700 daily visits on Adoredvintage.com, over 7,000 Facebook fans, over 4,000 Instagram followers, over 4,000 Twitter followers, and over 7,000 Pinterest followers. A GIGANTIC THANK YOU, thank you, thank YOU for all of your love, support, encouragement, prayers, and fellowship!

As I reflect over the year I am deeply humbled by the grace God has given me. I am deeply encouraged by the support and love from all of you, my friends, and newfound family. And I am so excited for 2013! LET'S DO THIS!!!

At the moment I am rocking out to Imogene Heap's i Megaphone album (basically my album anthem for the year 1999, or was it 1998?) and just musing about the internet particularly on design inspirations for my new apartment I am moving into in just a couple of weeks!

The current apartment I reside in is fairly close to Hollywood and it's a 1920s old brownstone. A teeny 420sq ft studio. It's been my cozy little hovel for the past year and a half and I have so enjoyed living in it. You can see photos of my apartment here: Saturday in my Apartment and in this post: Featured on Apartment Therapy.

So the new apartment I am moving to is much more industrial and modern looking! It's one big giant space with glossed cement floors, a few industrial fixtures, and pretty much just a big giant rectangular box with giant front windows.

The new apartment will definitely have a more masculine feel. I've bought quite a few industrial work benches for my studio downtown and they're moving into my apartment with me. I'll also be incorporating navajo inspired rugs, a little rustic mixed in with french flea market. Ahh... just basically all the things I love thrown in together in a happy mix.

This is the first time ever we've done a sale this big! Everything in the shop is 25% OFF and the clearance section is 40% OFF! In the next couple of weeks I am going to be one very busy little business gal! Move in date for the new retail/atelier is fast approaching and every day I grow more and more excited about the year ahead! So to celebrate we're doing a HUGE VINTAGE SALE until January 5th, 2013!



There's also a brand spanking new VINTAGE CLEARANCE section in the shop where vintage clothing and accessories are 40% OFF! Because I just opened up the vintage shop officially a few months ago, it didn't make much sense to have a sale/clearance section right away. But now that it's been a few months of running the shop full time, it's about time a clearance section is made, eh?

☆ shop VINTAGE END OF YEAR sale ☆

There's a familiar flutter of excitement that fills my belly when I spy a photo booth somewhere. In Los Angeles there are quite a few of them and for a short time I was happy to track them down because of Foursquare (there was a photobooth related badge!)

But more than anything I really love vintage photo booth photos! And as I was perusing some of my favorites over at Vintage Photo, a vintage photo booth tumblr, I started wondering about the photo booth itself? When was it invented, who invented it?

Well, in the briefest history of the invention of the photo booth... the photo booth was invented by Siberian immigrant named Anatol Josepho in 1925 and in 1927 he was paid $1,000,000 for his invention (in today's money that is approximately $13 MILLION!)



One of these days I'm going to wear one of my 1940s inspired outfits and pop into a photo booth. I'll probably liken it to time traveling. Ooo isn't that a pleasant thought! Here are some more gorgeous (and vintage fashion inspiring!) photobooth snaps from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. J'adore!




history source & photo of anatol josepho: wikipedia images from: vintagephoto.tumblr.com

Merry Christmas everyone! I've had quite an amazing year filled with very many things to be thankful for. While we are celebrating the Christmas season, may I suggest this thought?

"What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?"

I'll admit I've never seen Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" but I am so familiar (and in love) with Diane Keaton's trouser/vest/tie combo she wears in the film. I love Menswear and since dating my fella who loves fashion in his own right, I've definitely changed up my wardrobe adding chambray shirts, trousers, grandpa cardigans...and introducing colors other than peach, pink, and cream into my closet.


I love how classic all of these vintage inspired outfits are. Menswear is timeless to me. Have you ever noticed that men's fashion really hasn't changed much at all in the past 100 years? Of course there are trends and fads, but for the most part, menswear is just classic and timeless. You can invest in a few quality pieces that you can wear into your olden days.



Photos from Pinterest.

Normally blue and green aren't my favorite colors to list in the vintage clothing shop which is probably why I have so much of it in backstock! However, I do really love the shades of greens and blues (and violet) in this upcoming shop update and it also contains some of my favorite prints, especially the 1940s floral and 1940s green wavy stripes.

These will be in the shop tomorrow!



I've also found a new way to photograph vintage shoes that I really love! Hooray!

I am going to start by saying last week was one heck of a week! I am aware that I am both exhausted and energized at the very same time. What an odd thing to experience!

On Monday I signed the papers that begins a new chapter in my life. It is official! Adored Vintage will have a store front in 2013! Check out what the space looks like



I am starting to examine what this means. What do I want it to be? What am I committed for it to be? At this point in my life a regular open 6-7 days a week shop isn't in my plan. It doesn't interest me. I'm clear on that at least. I haven't gotten clear to what exactly it is I will be doing in the retail shop. Other than the vague "Oh I'm going to sell vintage and work in it".

Oh man! I do love this part of the process!



The dreaming up. The putting together. The planning. The pinning. Oh yes, the pinning! I am a very visual creature. I will paint myself a picture and from that I will start to derive what this space will be and how I will be utilizing it to move forward with my business.

*excitement all a buzzing*

I listed these vintage 1930s dresses in the shop last week and within moments of listing all three of these babes were snapped up by some very lucky gals! As I package them tomorrow to be sent forward to their new homes I will shed a small sad tear for them.


VINTAGE 1930S RUCHED DRESS WITH BRAID DETAIL


VINTAGE 1930S PLUM STRIPED PRINTED DRESS


VINTAGE 1930S YELLOW RUCHED DRESS WITH BOW

The vintage shop is stocked with quite a few glittery sequined vintage clothes and accessories! If you need some holiday sparkle dare to wear the bold Festival of Lights dress with rainbow palette sequins and feather hem?

Or if you're in need of just a wee bit of sparkle might we suggest this pearl collar or the flapper inspired Wishing Upon Stars headband?



Click on the image above to be magically transported to sequins land at Adored Vintage.

Hey vintage dolls! Tomorrow (Saturday, the 15th) I'll be toting a rack of pretty candy colored frocks to Echo Park's MYRTLE shop (that adorably pink boutique on Sunset Blvd). I've never done a trunk show before so I don't know what to expect. Which I suppose is a good thing that I really don't have expectations. I just want to hang out with some cute gals, help them fall in love with vintage, talk about vintage...all the while consuming more Christmas cookies.

I swear my waistline has expanded 1.5" I am NOT joking on that one, I measured myself this evening after a client asked about a dress.

Anyhow, if you haven't decided on plans for Saturday evening, why not hang out with the pixie haired Whitney (the owner and purveyor of pretty + awesome things at MYRTLE) and myself tomorrow evening!



Adored Vintage Trunk Show @MYRTLE
Address: 2213 Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026
When: Dec 15th, Saturday
Time: 5-9PM

I was having a conversation the other day with a group of friends about where we would like to be and it got brought up that "wouldn't it be nice if..." and it got me thinking about all the times I say "Wouldn't it be nice if..." and nothing ever really comes to fruition because when you say it would be nice if something happened, it's like it's not real.

Anyhow, not trying to be mystic, this was just an odd way for me to segway into my desire to travel to Scotland and Ireland someday (and of course Great Britain) Heck, just make it easier, I'd love to go to the UK!



I don't know why I immediately think of wool, things of the equestrian sort, and grey when I think of Scotland. But I do, hence the outfit inspiration! And I'm just dying over these horse earrings! Really, when one will go to the UK, one must have such dandy earrings!

Where have you always wanted to travel to?

The link/shop list here: Prim & Scot

The VINTAGE SHOP will be stocked this evening with sparkles and sequins galore this week! I've been hanging on to the 1920s flapper inspired sequin dress for awhile hoping I would get a chance to wear it (although it's 2 sizes too big for me), but it's time to let it go so it can be adored and enjoyed by a gal who loves all things sparkly and magical. (Seriously, this dress is killer!)



So if you haven't gotten your New Year's Eve dress yet, might I suggest one of the glittery options above to ring in 2013?

I cannot believe Christmas is only a few weeks away! Actually I CAN believe it given that this entire year has just WINKED-WHOOSHED on by! This winter, once again, my fella and I will be making the trip down to Arizona to spend Christmas.

It's always an interesting time of year to be in Arizona in my opinion. I've always attributed the Christmas season with cold weather and well, Arizona isn't very Christmas-y in my opinion but there is something very all together unique and seasonal about Christmas in the West.



I do love the desert landscape. All the alien looking cacti, the sedimentary stripes on hills, the stunning desert sunsets. Have you seen a desert sunset? It's such a beautiful site since the land tends to be so flat. These stunning purple, red, pink, and orange streaks going left and right on the horizon stretching as far as the eye can see.

It may not be snow, but it's a magical sight for this California gal to see during the holiday season.

Where are you headed off to for the Christmas holidays?

I've been dreaming of a new space and I wanted to share what's been happening with you. It was just about a week ago that I declared I would begin my search for a new live/work situation for Adored Vintage HERE and within a matter of days an ideal place has opened its doors.

So here's the dealio. I had hoped to have a live/work loft where I could schedule vintage visits by appointment only. I looked into other cities, into other states...and by chance happened upon an interesting listing of a retail store with a loft behind it. I must have sputtered coffee at my computer when I saw this and immediately sent an email inquiring about the location.

No answer. No email. No call. Panic sets in. (Mind you this is only in a matter of hours, but in LA if you spot a space, you need to JUMP on it!) Determined as I am, I hitch a ride with the fella to just scope out the space and lo and behold, I was able to see the space first!

And oh yes...it feels so right and better than I had hoped for! I have a separate WORK STUDIO for Adored Vintage right now which I've found really isn't my thing. The back and forth and scheduling of projects and always feeling like I never had enough time and the battle with traffic and parking tickets...it's been really fun having a little workshop, but I'm ready to move forward!

Everything is in the initial stages, but on Monday I find out if my application is approved. I am praying to God I am approved! I have so many plans and ideas for the new space. And it will be nice to use some new pieces of furniture I've acquired that's been sitting in storage (impulse flea market purchases...you know how that is!)

Last Saturday Adored Vintage was once again present at the best vintage marketplace in Los Angeles, A Current Affair! Ok, maybe I'll a little bias since it's the only vintage event I sell at, but it really is the marketplace for the best of the best in vintage (overheard it myself from a shopper!)

Here are some snaps of my booth before the shoppers came! I kept the set up really quite simple this time. Brought a couple dress forms and two racks of clothes and just hung up lace and textiles on the back wall. I always have a fairly small booth so overly decorating it can cause quite the traffic jam!



I've also discovered that with each show I participate in, my wardrobe gets more and more comfortable. Literally this time around I wore pajamas. Pretty lacey ones of course, but pajamas nonetheless. I wore a 1940s slip with a 1920s step-in chemise over it and a crochet Victorian lace jacket. Boots are from the 1970s and the star headband was made by moi. A couple people asked me what I was wearing when they noticed the buttons at the bottom. By the way, I must point out that the buttons were crochet covered buttons, ahh!


Photographed by Histyley for A Current Affair
I love being at this show so much since I get to chat with guys and dolls about the things I adore the most, vintage! When I first started doing the show I would get so nervous talking to people, but once I got over that (and it took a little while) I realized people that shop at A Current Affair are just obsessed with vintage as I am and love sharing their stories and vintage adventures if you ask them.

Can't wait for the next one! Each show gets better and better!