Shopping in Las Vegas: Glam Factory Vintage

 It was a last-minute online search that lead me to Glam Factory's doorstep and, man, am I glad that it did. Even before setting out on my trip, I had planned on visiting The Gypsy Den and it was only when double-checking their address from my hotel room that I realized they had closed. Right below the link informing me of this was one displaying this name at 211 E. Colorado Street.          

  As soon as  my dad and I pulled up, I knew I had to go in and he knew he had to stay in the car and nap. The first thing I saw upon entering, before all the colours and textures drew me and even before the beautiful, tall redhead who was clearly into pinup culture flashed me a smile and ducked into the change room, was an adorable and inquisitive pug. All of this made for quite the first impression and I happily wandered in to look, and to pet (yes, the dog, too, but mostly the fabrics!).

  I veered off into the store's relatively new expansion and was greeted by Katie May, a pleasant and upbeat woman who loves to talk about fashion, clothing and vintage treasure hunting as much as I do, if not more. While chatting with her, I discovered that she had spent so much at Glam Factory as a customer that the only logical thing for her to do was to start working there in exchange for clothing. With a such regular rotation of beautiful garments from the 1920's to the 1990's coming in and out of there, it's no wonder she's thrilled to be among them on a regular basis!

  While Katie May and I discussed everything from the quality present in vintage clothing versus the lack thereof in fast fashion to finding clothing that fits to life in Arizona to fashion design and while my dad baked in the rental, the shop's owner ran around, assisting the aforementioned bomb shell and moving stock around. I caught up with Stephanie and her mother, who was behind the cash, for a few quick photos and anecdotes.

  Glam Factory Vintage is run by a warm, lively woman who is clearly in her element and loving what she does. She marveled at how small our world is, telling me that she knows Patrick, whose blog is Parka Avenue and who also lives in Montreal. He once posted about her shop, as he always drops by and scores mod gear when he's in Vegas, which prompted a couple in Belgium to check it out when they were on vacation.

  As it turns out, the little miss in Stephanie's arms had belonged to a local homeless couple and had been living in a shopping cart. When she saw the state of the pup, now named Miss Daisy, she couldn't help but take her in, have her illnesses looked after and give her a loving home.

  If you've got time when you're in Las Vegas, and you're looking for something to see that doesn't involve maneuvering your way through throngs of flip-flop wearing tourists slinging margarita bongs, bachelor party ensembles hooting and hollering at passersby and teenage girls in bedazzled spandex wearing heels so high they wobble like Bambi on ice, the art district is worth the detour from the Strip. If you want great quality vintage clothing and a shopping experience that will leave a smile lingering on your face even when it's over, Glam Factory Vintage is for you.

Read more »

Another One Of My Tumblrs: Photos of Montreal, Then and Now

i really want to set aside more time to write about montreal but, in the meantime and for the last year or so, i've been posting photos of la metropole on one of my tumblr accounts. i must admit that the photos are so far all from "then" as opposed to "now" but i cover interesting themes and feedback has been quite positive thus far. check it out!

Read more »

Merci à Mme Arthur Bélair et à Saint-Phil! (Or, alternatively: "Vintage Pattern Score!")

when i had a car, i tried to visit the montreal mega reuse center as often as possible. over the course of one year, i found so many beautiful treasures and i'll be sharing images of them as they relate to my different posts. in a few months, i'll be purchasing another vehicle and the mmrc is pretty much the first place i'm going to drive to. one of my best girls, annie and i have taken to calling the gentleman who works there "saint phil" because of how he clearly guards a subdivision of heaven and because of how helpful and nice he is.

on one of my last visits, i acquired a clear, plastic bag containing several brown envelopes addressed to a mrs. arthur bélair, in laval, québec, in 1959, and three vintage patterns. the envelopes had been sent from pattern companies so i thought, yay! a bag of vintage patterns! and then promptly set them aside with all of the other patterns i wanted to "one day" sort through. at the time, i was working as a relocation consultant and the job occupied my mind from the time i woke up to the time i finally lay my head down and, even though a i often daydreamed about all of the wonderful things i wanted to sew, i rarely got the time to actually do so. when i did have free time, i threw an overnight bag, some water bottles and my kids (if it wasn't their fathers' week-end) in my car and left town in order to properly clear my head. 

in the last few months, i've had more time to dedicate to, well, everything and so i've been organizing my work space, sketching up a storm and finally starting put together a few plans of action. the plastic bag from the mmrc ended up in my hands for the first time in over a year. now, i'm not one to squeal but i must admit that such a sound did escape my lips upon opening the first envelope. 

what surprised me the most was the sizing. i'm a size 10 to 12 so, as far as pattern sizes go, this is something i can work with without having to spend too much time grading. 

behold the contents of pattern number two:

and:

all three of them will be used when i start putting my spring wardrobe together, next week.

i was also quite happy to discover this lovely apron pattern:

in what i presume is mrs. bélair's handwriting, the contents of the next envelope were described to me, "pattern for little girls coat":

and here it is, in need of much love but still relatively in tact:

and how cute is this?? it's from 1957:

for women (or, rather, for me), there was also this one:

this one was also in the bag but i have a feeling it came from elsewhere because i remember bringing it home alone, at one point:

so yes, all of this was discovered right in time for the creation/revamping of my spring wardrobe and i absolutely had to share it with you!

Read more »