I’m very excited to introduce to you bv’s newest intern + shop watcher, Emily! She’ll be helping with Etsy, window displays, DIY projects & other general shop-ness.

To get to know our newest gal, here’s a little q&a we put together. Enjoy! (and please stop by to say hi!)

And, just for funsies, I had Emily pick a page from my fashion coloring book. Pretty dress!

I remember that when the first season of the Rachel Zoe Project premiered on Bravo in September 2008,  Laura and I were so ready to watch it (and subsequently despise it for all eternity).  We were not fans at the time; in fact, we were total haters.

After the first episode aired, I felt guilty. I actually….enjoyed it. Like, legit laughed at the funny parts, got upset during the dramatic moments and coveted every item she and Brad wore. I thought her relationship with her husband, Roger, was cute and her passion and talent for fashion was so evident and inspiring. Later, when Laura and I hung out, we both reluctantly admitted that, “well ya know, it wasn’t so bad, I mean…that one part was funny. Oh, and that one dress was pretty cute. She wasn’t as annoying as I thought she was going to be….”  Of course since then we’ve both turned into full fledged super fans.

And I kind of think that was the whole point she was trying to make doing the show.  She has said in interviews that the reason she finally decided to green light a reality TV show because she knew the best way to put to rest all the preconceived notions the public had about her was to just show everyone what she’s like.  Granted, that could very well still be not anyone you’re trying to listen to talk for an hour every Tuesday (I get it), but you’ve got to at least admit she’s certainly not the raging bitch ice queen she’d been portrayed as for so long.

One of the reasons I fell so fast for her – and the show – is because it allowed us mere mortals incredible backstage access into the goings-on of the insular fashion world. Watching her and her team scramble for gowns for the Oscars (oh, the drama!) and pull archive jewels from all the big name bauble houses was instantly fascinating.  I could watch it constantly and never tire of it (and, to an extent, I do: check out these two YouTube channels for Seasons 1-3 on demand!).

And now, since I’ve opened the shop, I not only still find her fascinating, I also look up to her as a role model and respect her as a business woman in the fashion industry.  Obviously, owning a vintage shop in Fredericksburg is not the same thing as running a multi-million dollar brand and styling empire from LA (not yet, anyway), but I am always re-energized and inspired after watching her work.

She started out in the fashion industry 15 years ago when she got a job working at YM magazine and it wasn’t until 2003, when she began styling Nicole Richie and basically invented the ‘boho chic’ look that she became a celebrity in her own right. Since then, she’s taken on some pretty tip top A-list celebrities as clients (Jennifer Garner, Eva Mendes, Molly Sims, Demi Moore, Anne Hathaway) and started building her own brand with her QVC collections. And now? She’s a designer. And a damn good one at that. Check it:

Last Saturday evening, while enjoying the chill in the air and margaritas in our glasses, my friend Joanna and I were systematically dissecting the lives of all the Bravo reality TV stars and, naturally, found ourselves talking about RZ. We agreed that watching Rachel’s current success play out is inspiring and comforting in that she’s enjoying all this now…in her 40s.  Her success was not instant nor was it easy; she’s worked for it every day since she was in her 20s! It’s way too easy to have that “WHAT am I DOING with MY LIFE?!?” freak out when you’re comparing yourself to someone else succeeding in their careers. But with Rachel, it’s more of a nice reminder that hard work pays off and to constantly stay inpsired.

Hmm, this post took a decidedly (and unintended) sentimental turn! Anyway, as Kanye once put it so well, I’m not a business man. I’m a business, man.  

Photo sources: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight

This is Folake Kuye Huntoon, of Style Pantry.  While I would love to discuss her hair, I can’t, because intense searing jealousy is totes unflattering on me.

Anyway, THIS is how you rock a caftan, ladies! I always try to have a few caftans on hand at the shop since they’re one of my favorite vintage looks.  Often, though, they get scoffed at on the hanger – with girls talking about “look at this muumuu! I wouldn’t even wear this to bed!”  !!! It really is all in the accessories.  And if you are inspired by Folake’s look feel free to pop by the shop to check out her caftan’s baby sister:

It too is floor length and could easily transition to fall with a pair of flats, a jean jacket or printed cardigan, a pair of big gold hoop earring and a bunch of bangles at your wrist.

I have carried the Smith’s Strawberry lip balm since the first day opened the shop.  It’s always been a popular seller but now, with the Brad Goreski stamp of approval? I can’t imagine anyone passing it up.  An added bonus? I sell it for $6 at the shop!

*scanned from September 2011 issue of InStyle magazine

Here’s what: I’m a social media/pop culture junkie.  I love reality tv, I check HuffPo Entertainment and Style sections before any of the other sections and I visit Twitter and Facebook first thing in the morning, coffee in hand, to see what I missed in the 8 hours I was asleep.

That’s not to say I don’t also enjoy the finer things in life, like art (I was an art history major in college) or theater or FILM (not movies, obviously), or any of that other, less brain-rotting, kind of stuff.

I’m telling you all this for a reason, yes. I follow Alec Baldwin and he tweets multiple times a day and yesterday evening he tweeted a photo of a sunset from the Hamptons on Long Island and wrote “The sunsets that inspired de Kooning and Pollack”.  He was referring, of course, to the two abstract expressionist painters Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock who bought homes in the Hamptons after they left the city.

If you know me, you know Pollock is one of my favorite artists and that I’ve visited his studio on Long Island twice; once for my college senior thesis and once more a couple years later (to get engaged and junk).  SO!  When Mr. Baldwin spelled Pollock’s name incorrectly I felt it was my duty to point out is error. I tweeted back to him “Pollock”.  Minutes later I had an e-mail in my inbox reading “Alec Baldwin mentioned you on Twitter!” (which, that e-mail hasn’t been erased yet). He wrote “Yes. That Pollock. Not Sydney Pollack”.

ZING! The pride I feel at correcting Alec Baldwin’s spelling and him acknowledging it on Twitter is probably indicative of the fact that I need to get out more buuuttt I can’t help it! I corrected Alec Baldwin’s spelling! I got a quick onslaught of @ replies from some of Baldwin’s followers talking about “But Sydney Pollack is great!” which makes me think most of em have no idea who de Kooning or Pollock are to begin with but that’s ok.  Because my BFF Alec totally got me.

If you have read this entire ridiculous story, thank you for indulging me.  It was a minor thrill, but a thrill nonetheless.

all images scanned from LIFE by Keith Richards

How sweet were these guys!?!?!

I’ve not always been a Stones fan. Tom is quite proud of the fact that he’s the one who turned me on to the band when we first started dating, 6 odd years ago (He’s still holding out hope Iron Maiden will meet the same fate but it’s not gonna happen!). Since then, I’ve really learned to love their music – from the first blues-y bits to the 70s disco (Emotional Rescue is as hilarious as it is awesome).

I had been wanting to read Keith Richard’s Life for some time (We bought the audiobook on iTunes but never got around to listening to much of it for some reason), so when book club was brainstorming new reads for the rest of the summer, his autobio seemed appro (last August it was Valley of the Dolls, so we’re keeping in the drug-absuing theme). It has been SUCH an interesting, hilarious, enlightening and throughly entertaining read. I recommend it for any Stones fans, 70s nostalgists, history buffs, music lovers — I mean, how can you not love this:

The feeling is worth more than anything. There’s a certain moment when you realize that you’ve actually just left the planet for a bit and that nobody can touch you. You’re elevated because you’re with a bunch of guys that want to do the same thing as you. And when it works, baby, you’ve got wings. You know you’ve been somewhere most people will never get; you’ve been to a special place. And then you want to keep going back and keep landing again, and when you land you get busted. But you always want to go back there. It’s flying without a license.

Half of the fun is looking through the photos in the book, for sure. I always look through them before I get into reading it again and after I finish. I’ve scanned in a few of my favorites for you to enjoy (A bottle of Jack is the perfect accessory to a fedora + unbuttoned shirt). I cannot get over the get-ups. And doesn’t the thought of Mick and Keith’s closets make you weak? The t-shirts, sunglasses… and oh, the leather.

Last night, Betsy and I attended Taylor Swift’s second DC concert on her Speak Now tour. Us and thousands of 12 year olds.  I have to say I began to get more than a little worried (embarrassed?) as the number of  sign-weidling tweens in puff paint shirts and cowboy boots slowly began to rise with every stop on the Metro.  My lowest point was on the Gallery Place escalator —  stationed exactly behind a girl no more than 9, holding her mom’s hand, her love for Taylor written all over her shirt.  Literally.  ”I LOVE YOU TAYLOR”! all over the shirt.

Our pre-show game plan was simple. Watermelon rosemary margaritas and guacamole at a nearby restaurant.   After the liquid courage did its trick, we ducked in to the Verizon Center, took the escalator to our “partial side-view” seats in outer space (err….but first I bought a t-shirt) and waited.  Excitedly, impatiently, waited.

That’s us, excitedly and impatiently waiting.

Once Taylor went on, I don’t think we stopped singing along, yelling with the crowd or smiling once.

The girl who took this video was actually in the same zip code as Taylor during the show, so I figured I’d leave you with this rather than one of my “videos” to get a vibe of the show.  Taylor’s dresses were all so pretty.  Sparkly, fringed, metallic, layers and layers of tulle and rhinestones, sequins….ahh.  I hope some of em were old – I know she digs vintage!

I kept telling Betsy I’d give anything to be able to feel what Taylor Swift must feel every single time she plays a show.  The energy was almost heart-stoppingly palpable…It was such a happy, happy rush even for me, a concert-goer.  I can’t even imagine what all that craziness does to her!  Not to mention she’s a gifted songwriter, a talented musician, is gorgeous, has incredible hair, and has a life sized birdcage in her Nashville condo.

So, lesson learned:  I don’t care if I share my musical tastes with the part of the population whose biggest worry is learning cursive.  Next time Taylor comes back around this way, you better believe Betsy and I will be there…. and will have better seats.

In the midst this unforgiving Southern heat, only two things are necessary.  A fabulous cocktail ring and a fabulous cocktail.

Stopping by bv with $6 can help you secure the first; you’ll have to travel further up William for the second. Or stay put [sucasa]– pour a shot of dark rum over ice, top off with ginger beer — and settle in with Keith Richard’s autobiography (it is the next bv book club selection, after all!)