Second Chances

This 80's prom dress was never intended as a 'seeing potential' post (see others here and here...)...

One way that I acquire vintage for the shop is by buying lots. Not lots as in a large amount (though that too...) but 'lots' as in purchasing the whole amount, including good and bad, from one particular seller. This often means I don't see it all beforehand but I take a chance on what I can see and make a judgement call over whether or not the price is worth it. So far this has worked out well for me. It does mean I sometimes get large amounts of vintage that I need to store, sort and then put in the shop or donate back. I probably donate back about 50% of what I get in a lot but it's still a worthy investment. 

This particular lot was about 25 80's dresses and they ran the gamut from being really good to really hilarious (I mentioned and showed an example of this over on my shop Facebook too...).  On the afternoon that the lot came in, I had a friend in the shop and as a joke I tried on a bunch of the worst offenders. Sometimes I love the 80's and sometimes they just had to add another bow and a ruffle and ruin a good thing.

This dress with it's gold lace bodice, giant bow and asymmetrical teal skirt was a tad much. But when I tried it on, it actually fit perfectly. And the bodice had a great sweetheart neckline and maybe I could just make it work? So, it came out of the donate pile and it met up with a pair of scissors where all the teal taffeta was promptly removed. 

And when teal taffeta is swapped with a pair of leather pants, the whole thing suddenly looks quite modern, no? 

And then when the leather is swapped for a 50's midi skirt from my shop and some strappy heels, the look goes from edgy to something much more demure...

This is probably both cheesy and obvious for me to say, but sometimes I just have too much fun getting dressed.