Power Dress

So, the potluck was a success. Great food from contributors (though I burned the mac n' cheese), good conversation, hilarity, inexplicable plastic baggies (most likely for sneaking the leftovers into cinemas, theaters, and other places where plates aren't accepted), lots of wine, and so on and so forth. One of the guests was Caitlin, the girl behind Riot Siren and the Quiet Collector. She makes beautiful dresses and skirts out of vintage fabric and reclaimed cloth; all are imbued with a sense of humor and love of dress-up. You can buy them here. She made my Star Wars dress, which I should probably post some pictures of, and her latest endeavors are these amazing A-line, strong-shoulder, puff-sleeve concoctions. Total power dresses.

Clawhammer and Clothespin

I am growing old. Sam actually found a white hair attached to my scalp, like, the real thing. Grey hair. Horrible. And the thing is, I don't even feel like an adult yet. I mean, I have an adult job but I still rent (and have roommates), spend money haphazardly on rabbit-fur jackets, often drink more than a regulation glass of wine in an evening, eat cupcakes for dinner, and laugh at poop jokes.

So it's always kind of shock to me when my friends do adult things like open up a sweet vintage store with a gallery leaning, complete with art openings, bands, and the ability to take a credit card. But that's what happened. Margaux Rust and Lauryn Moore are the lovely proprietors of the relatively new Clawhammer and Clothespin, a well-planned shop with the right ratio of racks to floor space, curios, books, and men's and women's clothing. Clawhammer and Clothespin emerged from the duality of design and beauty, a philosophy you'll see in the clothing : no wolf sweatshirts and kitsch windbreakers, but a well-edited collection of classic clothing from a variety of eras. The shop is located on SE 36th and Division, open from Wednesday to Sunday, 11 to 7. I went home with a few treasures, Jocelyn scored an amazing pair of boots (having medium-small feet kills my vintage shoe luck), and they had some beautiful insect art by Claire Siepser up and a great band playing (I will someday provide the name of this band, but not today).

New to Me

Whoa. Split Pea Vintage. Despite the American Apparel stylings (how awkwardly can I lean against this table? No, really, I'm super comfortable. Yes. Yes, I'm wearing mouse ears) this site has some gems. I just got a one-of-a-kind rabbit-paneled cotton jacket off here for a paltry sum. I'm usually not a fan of paying other people to find me cool clothing, but things are actually reasonable here and this jacket really was a gem. You'll see. And it's based in Canada. Canadians are so nice.

Hot Tip Monday

Denver has the best thrift stores ever. Ever. Last time I went to a Valu-Village in Denver I was looking for a Halloween costume. This was in 2005. I found a blue Dolly Parton dress, the suede fringe jacket pictured above, Dolly spur strap cowboy ankle boots and a bunch of pearl accessories. On Saturday I found one amazing waist-belt after the other (including an 80s Jordache with a gold horse logo buckle), and the crowning achievement of my life: ORIGINAL STAR WARS SHEETS. Two sets. I would use them but they're twin sets. I am not planning on owning a twin bed for the rest of my life, so summer nerd dress coming soon. Sam found a framed print of a kitten hanging out with a bunch of roses. If you don't smile when you look at it, you are a robot.

Love, Kickstand

Let me tell you about Eva. The first time we met, I had just moved to Portland and she was visiting and we were milling around at Last Thursday drinking beers in the street. Her bangs were hanging in her eyes and she had this leather jacket on and I was a little bit scared of her. And then we started talking and she was totally charming and then she moved to Portland and now we are friends.

She is a walking surprise. We’ll be chatting over beers about something or other, girl talk and she will just throw down some words of wisdom that leave me feeling like I’m in the Brady Bunch and I’m like, "Gee Eva, I never thought of it that way," and I want to walk off shaking my pigtails. Not like Eva in any way resembles the dad in the Brady Bunch. She is adorable and is always wearing awesome clothing put together in creative and flattering ways, fringe and jackets and boots and feathers and just when you are thinking that she is so much more awesome than you are, she will give you a sincere and lovely compliment.

And the great thing, for the rest of us, is that she just opened up a booth at the House of Vintage. She has been collecting all this stuff that she thinks is really cool and that she would wear; but instead, she’s going to sell it to you and I. So that’s good news. And she is a skilled shopper. This girl has been thrifting with her grandmother since she was a child. And the name. The name of her shop is Love, Kickstand. I asked her what the meaning behind that was, thinking she’d come up with something typical regarding Portland bike culture or something. No. Here it is, directly cut from an email correspondence with Eva:
When I lived in Bend I started a band called Master Booty-we were a birthday rap band and I was the MC. I would make up raps about my friends and perform them at their birthday parties. We did a couple of shows at bars and at our first gig was a pajama birthday party at my friend’s house. We all made up our "stage names" and I coined myself Kickstand.

So it’s official. My new wish for when I’m a cancer patient is to have a birthday party with Master Booty and my own personalized birthday rap from MC Kickstand. (Old wish: Being thrown into a giant foam pit by a couple of the Portland Trail Blazers.)

So in explanation, Love, Kickstand is a little present from Eva to her discerning customer. It really couldn’t be more beautiful.

Space #1
House of Vintage.
3315 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland OR 97214
503.236.1991.

Apparently they are open from 11 to 7. Also, I believe Eva is opening up an online Etsy shop of the same name, for those of you outside the Portland area.