Happy New Year and Lots More...

Well, it certainly has been a while since I last posted. Lot's of things have happened since October when I left for Washington D.C. Like...I got back from D.C! It was quite a trip...I probably didn't get to see as many sights as I wanted to, but from what I saw...D.C. is alright. Of course, it is also terribly over-priced and oddly/creepily empty on weekday nights, but it's alright.

I got back just before christmas and reopened the shop! Over winter break, I spent time at home in New York, then at my boyfriend's home in Connecticut, and now I'm back up in Worcester...I had a lovely new year's eve party with some friends and now I'm back at school. Even though the term has become (and I am overloading with my classes), I've been doing tons of things for fancy dress parade.

I did a small photo shoot with some friends (thanks a bunch!), who were absolutely terrific with the whole modeling thing. I've included some of these new photos in the new listings (up in the shop now!) and created a flash website for fancy dress parade to feature a lookbook!!
Check it out HERE!

Pretty soon, I will be doing some major updates to the shop! I have a huge inventory just waiting to be listed and all I have to do is find the time to photograph, measure, and describe each piece....I will find the time!
I will!

Here are a few pieces that will be showing up in the shop soon...in addition to so much more!
(Excuse the heavy editing, haha.)

Time For a Break...

So, some of you might know that I am going to Washington D.C next week for my IQP. While, I am super excited, it's kind of a downer that I'm going to have to temporarily shut down the shop. The shop will be closed from October 20th to December 20th, 2010. If you've had your eye on something, buy it now!

If you are in the Massachusetts area, be sure to drop by the Lancaster Flea Market (see post below) this Sunday (tomorrow), between 8am-4pm! I will have my entire stock with me (including tons of items that I never had time to list in the shop), with no shipping charges and the possibility of some haggling! I'm trying to unload as much as I can before I go to D.C.!

Help me unload my lovely vintage items by dropping by. Once I get back from D.C., I'm gonna get back into the swing of things with a new (improved and awesome) photo shoot and new items (from the D.C. area perhaps?).

Until then, I will still be posting on this blog with updates on my time in D.C.

Hope to see you on Sunday!

Come and See...

...fancy dress parade in real life!! (not just on the interwebs!)

This coming Sunday, (October 17th, 2010) I will be at the Lancaster Flea Market from 8am to 4pm. I'm going to be in booth B41...so if you are in the area and would like to stop and say hi or just buy some great vintage...by all means, please come! I'm going to have LOADS of stuff...not just the stuff currently up in the shop...much, much more.

In the past week or so, I've been trying to create a "brand" for myself...let's just say its been quite a bit of work (especially with finals week fast approaching). But I'm really really excited! 

Hope to see you there!  

The Workings...

Here are the workings of a future update! I have been so lucky lately in that I just been finding fantastic stuff! Here are just a couple of the shoes and purses I have ready and waiting.

Did I update sooner than you expected?
I certainly didn't expect it.

Back to work!

Let the Pictures Do the Talking...

Yup. I'm going to stick to my word.

Check out the shop every few days the next couple of weeks! A lot of things are going to be added...what you see above is just a sampler. YAY!

A Good Haul

Phew!! What a great haul today! I found four dresses, four skirts, and two adorable hats! All in all, it felt like a great day to be out thrifting (though it was pretty hot)...The photo shoot is now officially taking place on Friday, which hopefully will be a little cooler, seeing as I'm going to force my model to be out in the heat in tights, long sleeves, and a coat. All in the name of autumn!

Tons of pictures will be up soon in addition to tons of newly listed items in the shop. I think I will plan on listing a few items every couple days or so. I don't want to overload the shop! (as though that could happen)

Thanks for bearing with me during this slightly boring blog post!

Happy Bastille Day and Fancy's One Month Anniversary

Nobody has really said anything about it, so I thought I would...I know that we already had our Independence Day, but it was our independence that encouraged the French, so we might as well celebrate that, too, oui ou non? 

On a more store related note...I just picked up a bunch of new items for the shop today! (It must be Bastille Day luck!) I'm starting to be more autumn-minded...a direct result of too much online shopping, and so I figured, what the hey! I think I will do a massive fall season update at the end of August. But don't worry! There will be many smaller updates along the way!

Not only is today Bastille Day, but it is also the one month anniversary of Fancy Dress Parade! I think I want to commemorate this achievement by doing some kind of giveaway! I'll have to figure it out how to do one...but it will probably be advertised over at The Etsy Register! 

If you haven't heard of it yet, it's the collective blog of some very lovely ladies and vintage sellers.

You can check it out by clicking the link on the side bar or here.

 

Just the Details...

So, today I attempted to do a model-less photo shoot using a white hanger and a lovely tree. It was a nice sunny day and so the light was pretty good, and overall I think that the results were somewhat successful. Of course I would prefer to use a model to better show the fit of the clothes, but what can you do when all of your friends are busy when you happen to be free? If I ever get the chance to reshoot, I think I will.
I will be updating the shop sometime today with four dresses...three summery light dresses perfect for this summer heat and one very special dress (honestly, if it had fit me, it definitely would not be going into the shop)!

So here are the details:

A Good Day

In fact, maybe it was even a great day! Every Wednesday is family day at my local Salvation Army, which means that pretty much everything is fifty percent off! (You should check to see if your local Salvation Army does this! It's quite a treat!) While, I am not a family, I do feel worthy of taking advantage of such an awesome deal, and let me tell you, yesterday was the day to do it! I found so many great items for myself and the shop and only spent around $25!
So here's a little preview of some items that might make it to the shop soon:

And here are some shots of items I picked up for myself. All I have to do is hem two dresses and voila!

Now, I tried to remember to take photos while I was at the Salvation Army, but of course I got very distracted by all the lovely things I was surrounded by...and so...no pictures.  You'll just have to settle for a single myspacey mirror shot of me trying on the black dress pictured above. I look a bit mad, no?

Dinosaurs, Bad Movies, and More Updates!

On Sunday, which happened to be Fathers' day, I went to a historical/scientific theatrical production called 'Walking with Dinosaurs," produced by the BBC. And even though it was somewhat catered to a younger audience, I enjoyed it very much. Basically, it was 90 minutes of watching huge-huge-huge dinosaur puppets realistically  interact with one another in an arena. It was pretty amazing. The 15 different dinosaur puppets (really an understatement, more like machines) moved and looked pretty gosh darn realistic...you can tell that a lot of attention was paid to the details...you could even see moisture around their eyes, as though they were alive! Several different attack-type scenes were set up and performed according to a kind of historical timeline plot, all the while narrated by a special time-traveling paleontologist named Huxley.
While the dinosaurs were large and great and all that...they thing I probably most enjoyed was the artistic rendering of the various environments the dinosaurs lived in and how they differed throughout the show. There was a point in time when flowers first came into existence, which in the show was represented by the instantaneous blooming of crazy inflatable flowers, which looked positively alien. They were all sort of colors and shapes and were accompanied by large green inflatable shoots and palm trees.  As I was leaving, I couldn't help but look for some kind of souvenir inflatable plant at the merchandising table...but of course there was none.
Afterwards, I left for work (which was quite hectic), and when I got home I found out that my boyfriend had rented Bruno. We watched it. I can't say I didn't like it, because I suppose the content was okay (and the movies I actually really don't like, such as Lake House, are way worse), but there was just something about knowing that some of those situations were real, that was so off-putting.  I just kept wondering how he could stay in character and keep doing what he was doing (poking people doing it at a swingers' party, walking around a city practically naked chained to his gay lover). How? HOW?
Let's just say it was unsettling. If you've seen it, you know.  I won't say I didn't laugh once or twice. It had its moments. Now....Let's move on!
So apart from these two things, my weekend was also filled with creating new listings for Fancy Dress Parade! I added five items on Sunday and another five today, but I still have about seven or eight to go....After that I'm going to start promoting my business to the best of my ability!
I really do love some of the items in my shop and believe with all my heart that they can really make someone out there happy.  It's been such a pleasure shopping and thrifting, trying to find all these great items, without having to worry about sizes! It was really liberating.  I would love to continue to do this for the rest of my life.

Be on the lookout for more updates very soon!

Another Shoot, A Whole Week of Updates

Here's a look at some photos from today's shoot. It was so much fun! Lots of these photos are actually just extras that didn't make the cut for the shop, but some of them are my personal favorites.  We took photos for about 25 items...so productive! My model, Samantha (both lovely and funny, as I said before), was very cooperative and agreeable. You can watch her dance in the video posted below. I can't wait to update the shop and I will probably start tomorrow.  So look out world!

The Shop is Officially Open!

On a whim last night, I decided to upload some items into the shop to try and see what it was like...It actually took a lot longer than I thought (I only uploaded eight of about thirty items), so I am going to have to stay in this weekend and LIST LIST LIST! To lighten the load, I am going to be listing a few items more items tonight, so check back often!

I will be listing two great vintage bags (pictured above) for sale in the etsy shop! They are in wonderful condition and are pretty swanky. Helen looks a little bit annoyed in that first photo, but usually she's pretty pleasant. It must have been my unfair work conditions (she was not paid!).

Also, I created a Facebook fan page for the shop! There really isn't much there yet, but check it out and maybe become a fan? I know I'm just starting out, but I have so much in store! And your support would really mean a lot to me.

This weekend I scored a couple of really great vintage finds that should be up in the shop by this weekend. I got a great 2 piece suit (mostly because I love the blazer), a sheer black hand painted party dress, and two cute blue skirts. These pieces, along with many, many others are going to be photographed this Friday.

My lovely and funny friend, Samantha, is coming over to be my next model. The last photo shoot had a kind of Urban theme (what with the brick and being in NYC and all), so I decided to take this shoot in the complete opposite direction. I'm at my home in Massachusetts now, which has a great big backyard and plenty of outdoor charm....

The only thing I really have left to do, is to figure out how to ship things. I already have a plan in place (so do not worry, if you wish to buy something), but I haven't used it yet. I'm just unsure of the protocol...I haven't mailed too many things during the course of my life. Well, I'm sure once I make my first sale, things will begin to move more smoothly.

First Photo Shoot and Item Preview!

Oooh, is it a time for firsts! Early this morning, my lovely friend and model, Helen, came over to my neighborhood to shoot some of the photos for the shop. I only had about two and a half hours to shoot half of my inventory, so we were certainly on a time crunch (We spent the first half hour eating breakfast at a local cafe, but in any case, we were rushed!). But thankfully, our dedicated and quirky friend, Samson, was there to help along the way: he carried clothes, wore bags, and had about ten clips attached to his shirt. At first we thought it would be okay to keep going from the street back up to my apartment to change...but quickly we discovered this was far too time consuming. We grouped outfits together that were easy to change into and out of in series, and headed to the very sketchy basement of my building. We then proceeded to find a secluded hallway and dress Helen up as quickly as we could. I know that it's a little weird...my building's super even stopped us once, asking us if we needed help...he was pretty confused. However, it was very successful.

Helen looked so freakin' cute it was hard for some people on the street to stomach. She got lots of awkward looks and stares from old people in the park and passersby...and we hadn't even begun taking photos! I think that after seeing Helen's get-up, the older ladies in the park began pining for the olden days of their youth. What a nice thought.

It got a little scary with the weather while we were out there. It drizzled at one point, but we ignored it and it went away (thanks to us and our powers of ignorance!! (heh.)) Anywho, the whole shebang came out way better than I ever could have hoped for. So I just want to take time out to thank my not-awkward model and awesome helpful assistant friend.

I've posted four over-edited photos from todays shoot. These are a little more artsy than the ones that will appear in the shop, but I thought that I might as well have fun with it. All of the products featured will be available when the shop opens....on a date TBA....