Vintage Haul Flat Lay / March 2025

I haven't done one of these for a while and thought this latest haul from last week was fun. Look at those browns, rust red, and bright oranges. Love how they coordinate unintentionally.

This haul was a little bit of everything:

• vintage '70s military shooting shirt (first time sourcing this piece ever)
• vintage '50s blond mink fur stole
• vintage '80s Harris Tweed Hat
• vintage '70s women's leather vest
• vintage '60s men's mid-century "bowling" shirt
• vintage '60s Hawaiian Liberty House dress

Thanks for checking out my latest finds. Everything is headed to the shop this week.♥

-Heather

Vintage ‘40s Dresses in Perennial Vintage on Etsy

Some exquisite 1940s dresses just hit the shop this week!

Several are from my collection that I've been waiting to wear, but never got around to it, or realized I didn't fit. A couple needed repairs and cleaning.

But finally, I've listed all four of them just this week, and they are beautifully coordinated together with their pastel spring colors. Easter dresses are here.♥

Visit the shop for all the details or click on the pictures to take you to each dress. 

Vintage Haul - February 18, 2025

Almost every thrift store within a hundred mile radius was having a 50% off sale for Presidents’ Day yesterday. 

I didn’t go to any of them. 

We were hosting my sons’s birthday party that evening and I really had to much to do. 

So much to my surprise, when I went thrifting today, I still found things I wanted to pick up for the shop. Which goes to show - everyone is looking for something different than you. All the time. 

Found a sweet cardigan, a wonderfully vintage 60s purse, vintage Disney belt, bandana, olive green utility pants… all the usuals that I long to find. There they were!

So be encouraged. Thrift and thrift again even when you don’t think you’ll find what you’re looking for. 

Because as my son - whose birthday we just celebrated yesterday - used to say about everything when he was three years old (mind you, he just turned 24): “Sometimes, you just never know.”

Indeed. Sometimes. 

Dooney and Bourke Handbags

This post should be titled, "Ode to My Mother" because she owned Dooney and Bourke purses and used and loved them as I grew up in my teen years.

It's also why when I see one (particularly in the traditional British tan and navy pebbled leather), I stop in my tracks, have to pick it up, and look at it, nostalgically remembering the "good old days."

Dooney and Bourke was an American leather company founded in 1975 by Peter Dooney and Frederic Bourke. They began designing and making men's leather goods like belts and wallets (very similar to the Coach Leather Co. history) and transitioned into making leather purses.

It's not hard to see why. Leather purses are a lucrative business! And when you make quality, USA-made leather bags, well, it's a no-brainer. This is how Coach did it and it worked. 

I came across this mini tan and navy Dooney purse just yesterday. It is straight from the late '80s to early '90s. It is in remarkably good condition and looks to have been rarely worn. I cleaned and conditioned it and she's ready for another thirty years (she's in the shop.)

She is petite, just 7' by 6" by 3" but big enough to carry your phone and all the essentials for a night out on the town (or a day out shopping - hands-free since the strap is long enough to act as a cross-body bag.)

Have a wonderful weekend.♥

Vintage Libaire Purses

I'm amazed at how much I don't know once I start researching vintage items.

Just discovered the vintage leather brand, Libaire. Created in 1978 in Berkeley (just down the freeway from me in Sacramento), a Swedish man named Peter Libaire started his leatherworks company, specializing in handbags.

And I had no clue who this business was. Why have I never heard of them? 

I read a more in-depth article about them (finding any information about this company is difficult - Mr. Libaire, or family, if you're reading this, please do a write-up on Wikipedia or something so we have an accurate historical beginning and ending of your company. The world needs it!) and it has energized my quest to find more of these beautiful bags. They're comparable to Coach, if not better. Have I really been ignoring them all these years as I source vintage or are they rare?

Perhaps it's a little bit of both.

USA-made, with top grain leather, and handmade - what's not to love? And (for me) the best part is they were made on the West Coast just a short jaunt down the road from me. 

It feels like I'm finding a best friend I never knew I had. I love USA-made and I love local crafters. This is slow living and slow fashion at its finest.

They closed shop in 2016, but it only makes these purses more valuable (in my opinion). They're an understated luxury brand that really should've had more popularity than they did. And if them being shut down is the only way to make that happen, then I'm here for that!

If you want to read some fun reviews from 15-plus years ago, check out these Yelp reviews. It shows how topnotch they truly were. The quality of the materials and craftsmanship makes these bags worth hundreds and hundreds of dollars. You just can't get quality like this anymore and if you do, you're certainly paying for it.

This one is available for a respectable $78. Another reason why buying, selling, keeping and promoting vintage is one of the most economical and sustainable things you can do. It not only helps the world but helps you! Who wouldn't want a bag that in today's terms (make, distribution, and advertising) would cost an arm and a leg?

This bag is a work of art.

I cleaned and moisturized this beautiful custard-colored shoulder bag and she'd ready for another 40 years on the town. In the shop and ready to ship.