Cheap Thrills in Fayetteville, AR

Dear Friends,

If you're ever in Fayetteville, AR...check out Cheap Thrills, a fine vintage and thrift store. This 5o's fancy gown was just beautiful, but sadly, I left it in Arkansas. Purple lace top, beautiful full skirt, great condition; I just didn't see myself wearing it on stage.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Talk of the Town

Dear Friends,

The woman who owns the amazing vintage store, Vintage Ooollee, in Augusta, Georgia, told me that if on my travels I am ever near Cincinnati, I simply MUST stop at her favorite vintage store, Talk of the Town. Well, on our way home for Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, we just happened to be driving right past Cincinnati and I just happened to remember so to Talk of the Town we went!

This store has a vast selection from the 1920's on up, is organized by size, and labeled by decade. All of the clothes are in very good condition and I would have liked to take home many more tha I did. I took home the lovely yellow 1940's. It buttons up the front and has really neato little round pockets and a matching detail on the top.

The wool 1950's number is totally amazing. I probably should have bought it, but one must curb one's desires occasionally.

Thanks for reading friends.

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Vintage Voyage: Clothing Exchange

Dear Friends,

Our final stop on the Vintage Voyage is Hillsboro Village's finest recycled and vintage store: Clothing Exchange. Here we found three dresses that fit the bill!

1. Blue and white early 50's gingham
2. Sea-foam green early 50's button-up
3. Mauve mid-60's A-line with matching jacket

(The little pink water-color tulip dress is just too good not to put in this post, though it is not in the contest.)

Don't forget: Semi-finalists must be present at my CD release show on Wednesday night, 8pm, at The Basement, to be entered to be a finalist; the photo shoot for Her Nashville magazine is Thursday!

Thanks for reading friends.

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Vintage Voyage: Rowtique

Dear Friends,

One of the three stores on our Vintage Voyage is Rowtique, located on music row. Not only does this store have some of the most beautiful vintage gowns I've ever seen, but it also carries a selection of rockabilly-remakes...which is great beacuse you can pick a dress and a size that fits you!

On our voyage we found three dresses we loved!
-purple seventies lace
-sea foam green early sixties
-sailor girl rockabilly remake

In exactly one week at my CD release show at The Basement (8pm Wed. June 23) the finalists of the Vintage Voyage will be selected! Girls, just remember, you must be present to win! You can visit my website t see the video log from Rowtique :) www.norajanestruthers.com

The pre-sale packages of my record are only up for one more week so check those out while you can!

Thanks for reading friends!

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

VINTAGE VOYAGE

Dear Friends,

It's official. Vintage vehicles are the perfect compliment to vintage dresses! This week I am doing a vintage-themed promotion called the "Vintage Voyage". I will be visiting 3 of Nashville's finest vintage stores: Fanny's, Clothing Exchange, and Rowtique. At each store I will perform 2 or 3 songs, pick out a dress that I LOVE, and find one lucky customer who will be entered to become a finalist in the Vintage Voyage. At my cd release show on Wednesday, June 23rd at The Basement, three of these women will will be chosen as finalists...the prize you ask?

The finalists get to keep the dress AND they get to be a model in a professional photo shoot to appear in the August issue of "Her Nashville" magazine!!!!

Very exciting! Ladies, you must be present to win so tell your friends and come on out to Nashville's finest vintage stores!

Don't miss the voyage:

East Nash-
Tuesday, June 8, 5PM -- Fanny's House of Music

Hillsboro-
Thursday, June 10, 12PM -- Clothing Exchange

Music Row-
Friday, June 11, 2PM -- Rowtique

Thanks for reading friends! I hope to see you this week.

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Fanny's

Dear Friends,

Sometimes, there are too many wonderful dresses. I tried on 6 or 7 of these (all of which fit perfectly) at East Nashville's half vintage/half music store, Fanny's, and came home with only one-- the brown 40's with diagonal white stripes. :)

At least it was one that I love!

Thanks for reading friends!

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Flashbax Part 2: Holiday Red

Dear Friends,

This is one I will remember.

Holiday Red circa 1950

VINTAGE DETAILS
*Fabric: gorgeously rich red corduroy
*Cut: high waist and full skirt
*Hem: just below the knee
*Wow Factor: scalloped, off-the-shoulder neckline with embroidery and sequins

This one stayed in the store too…but I wish it had made it into the van.

Thanks for reading friends.

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Flashbax Part 1: Lemon Drop Sweetheart

Dear Friends,

This past weekend we played shows at venues on the North Carolina coast and I took the opportunity to check out the area’s premier vintage haven: Flashbax, located on Front Street in Wilmington, NC.
Here I’m wearing a lovely, lemon drop yellow 1950’s gem.

VINTAGE DETAILS
*Fabric: horizontally ribbed
*Cut: high waist, full skirt, and darts
*Hem: just below the knee
*Wow Factor: details around the top including buttons, lace, piping, and round collar


Sadly, I did not take this one home with me. Maybe next time!

Thanks for reading friends.

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Brooklyn Vintage: Part II

Dear.Friends,

After a stop at the Bedford Cheese Shoppe to purchase some sundries for my papa’s birthday, we walked down a few blocks to the wonderful, Beacon’s Closet where I could have spent hours and hours, if we hadn’t already made dinner plans with friends in Manhattan.
Vintage shopping in a time crunch requires focus and expertise, especially when you’re hunting for gems of a particular vintage (in my case, of the 1940’s and 50’s). I made a B-line for the dress racks in the back of the store and then narrowed my focus, simply looking at the material of the dresses; more specifically, I searched for dresses made of cotton and linen—the fabrics of the earlier half of the twentieth century.
I found six that looked promising and headed for the dressing room where I found that several of them fit, but only one was a keeper and here’s the shocking part…it was new dress made in 1940’s style. (No, not as good as an original 1940’s, but hey, if the dress fits…)

Vintage Detail:

*cris-cross back with button fastens
*high waist with a strait skirt
*classic 40’s pockets


I took it home with me and secretly planned on wearing the very next day (which is the best part of buying a new old, or a new old-looking, dress.)
Here’s a video I took while wearing the dress the day of my sister’s baby shower/party:

Thanks for reading and watching!
Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Brooklyn Vintage: Part I

Dear Friends,

My sister, Abby, is having a baby girl! Last weekend PJ and I traveled to New Jersey for her baby shower and, since we were making the big trip anyway, decided to go a few days early to catch up with friends in New York City and visit the Brooklyn vintage stores I used to frequent when I was a New Yorker.
We went into New York on Thursday afternoon and made a brief stop at the David Gage Bass Shop in Soho/Chinatown where PJ and I were awed by some truly magnificent instruments and some very kind service.

Then we headed to Williamsburg, Brooklyn—Vise-Versa on Bedford was our first stop. Unlike many vintage stores in Manhattan, Vise-Versa keeps it’s prices fairly low (dresses stay around the 15-25 dollar range and shirts and skirts are almost always $15 or less.) While I was hunting through the dress racks, one of my old students, Mario, came over and said hello. I’d not forgotten that his parents own the store, but he looked so grown-up that I didn’t recognize him.

I didn’t find any dresses that were perfect for me this time, but in the past, I’ve purchased some real winners that have become go-to performance wear. I did find a non-vintage item with a vintage aesthetic—a blue and white gingham button down made by H&M—that was marked at $7, but Mario insisted that I just take it. Thanks Mario! PJ found a rockin’ black western shirt with white fringe. Oh yeah.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Vintage Tampa

Dear Friends,

It's hard for a girl like me to walk out of a store that has dozens of beautifully preserved vintage dresses empty handed, but it happened yesterday!

La France is a very nice store in Ybor Village, a neighborhood in Tampa, FL. They have a wide selection of apparel from the 1920's - 1960's and they even have some brand new dresses modeled after vintage fashions. (This is nice because they are available in different sizes.) They are priced a bit steeper then I like to spring for, so I held myself back. Besides, half the fun is finding the perfect dress at the perfect price.

Hopefully I'll find a perfect one soon. :)

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Nora Jane