I am so excited about tomorrow's event at the shop with Virgie Tovar. She will be reading from her book, Hot & Heavy: Fat Fierce Girls on Life, Love and Fashion and having a fat girl pop-up shop from her fabulous wardrobe. I want to share this video of her because you have to see her in action. She is so inspiring for body positivity and self love so please check her out and the event tomorrow evening. She dropped off her items that will be for sale tomorrow at her Fat Girl Pop-up Shop and I already have my eye on some pieces!! Please come by and support!
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Can tell that I am obsessed with bathing suits?? I wanna be on a hot beach with crystal blue warm water, getting bronze in the sun. I shared H&M's summer line for curvy girls recently (Summer, Summer, Summertime!) and here I am again mesmerized by theses bathing suits designed by GABIFRESH.
Gabi has collaborated with Swimsuits for All and she has created the most lovely suits for ladies with curves and I want one of every design. I appreciate how Gabi has shared a blog post going over the fit of suits so that ladies can adjust accordingly. Which one is your favorite? I can't get enough of this woman! Etta James is, or should I say, was an amazing woman! She passed in January :( Every time I hear her voice I melt a little because you could feel the emotion. Her voice was so powerful. She was also a curvy girl so I had to represent for her this week for Tunes on Tuesday! I love her dress in the photo above, so vintage, and what made me love it even more is that she is hugging a dog that is Peanut's twin!!!! I wish that I could have seen her perform live while she was still around... I am so glad that I found this live performance by Etta because you get to see her energy. Enjoy! H&M has brought back their plus-size section and I am optimistic.
Back in the day H&M was one of my favorite places to go because they were tagging themselves, "designer fashion at thrift store prices". I was hooked! They also offered plus-size section that I was excited about when I heard about it...but they must think that anyone who is curvy wants to look ugly. Then one day I went and the plus-size section was gone and I was told the company was rethinking and revamping the plus-size to bring a new and improved one day soon. That day has finally come. H&M+ has been a long time in the works but I approve so far. I think the dresses and swimwear look contemporary and fresh...and not frumpy, that was the problem in the past. I can see myself wearing everything in the slideshow...I hear the green tie-die bathing suit is from Beyonce's collection! What do you think? The Scroogin sisters formed ESG, which stands for Emerald, Sapphire and Gold in 1978. They were way before their time and nowadays musicians are sampling their baselines and beats because they were sooo dope in the late 70's and early 80's! Their mother bought them instruments so that her teenage daughters would stay out of trouble while she was at work. Did I mention they are self taugh?? I love to discover folks who represent where they are from and ESG so happens to be from the Boogiedown Bronx just like me! I was introduced to ESG from a music obsessed friend and am glad they are part of my music library along with being one of my all time favorites. Here is a link to an interview with one of the Scroogin sisters, Renee from ESG on Sfstation. Enjoy the video below of one of their performances! ESG makes me want to DANCE, DANCE, DANCE! Let me know what you think! top: vintage OLD NAVY skirt: thrifted kicks: VANS earrings: vintage H&M I love being creative with my outfits.
I love that I don't wear jeans and a t-shirt to work everyday. I like being girly and wearing dresses and skirts. This is one of my favorite shirts that I've had forever from OLD NAVY. I love that it has a Peter Pan collar and polk-a-dots, two of my favorite things. This outfit makes me feel so pretty. I hope you enjoy it! I am constantly doing research for Halmoni so that I can be as knowledgeable in my field of vintage re-sale as much as possible. One day while doing research I stumbled upon SammyDVintage.com, where the tagline “spreading vintage love” stood out to me right away. I appreciated this tagline because I know that as humans we are competitive creatures and sometimes we hide what we know instead of sharing. The creator of Sammy Davis Vintage is Samantha Davis, and I think she is just peachy. She is so knowledgeable about vintage and shares everything she can. On top of being a vintage expert, Sammy Davis fills her blog with real life topics that remind us to be affirming of ourselves. Some of my favorite topics that she has covered range from self esteem, crying and the experience of having anxiety. Mainly, I am a fan of Sammy’s Friday blog series called “Gratefulness Fridays,” where one of my favorite posts, “How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others,” continues to remind me to never compare myself to others because it “helps you to love yourself.” Because of the daily inspiration I receive from Sammy, I wanted to interview her for the Halmoni crowd and spread more vintage love! 1. I think you are one of the vintage queens in the vintage game. Can you tell my readers who and what is Sammy Davis Vintage? Sammy Davis Vintage is where you’re inspired to wear secondhand style through great vintage finds or thrifty treasures. My website shares how to style, find and sell clothing of the past which inspire the trends of today. Content ranges from in depth articles on 70’s clothes to one-off features on what to buy at thrift stores. My platform of “spreading vintage love” represents my belief that we are all connected on this planet. Secondhand fashion is a vehicle for bringing us together in a positive way as we share the stories of style which inspire us to live and love our lives in unity and peace. 2. I love your blogs. They are so informative and are filled with tons of great information. Has your journalism background played a significant role in SammyDVintage.com? How do you do your research? My knowledge and inspiration comes from 10 years of experience, connections in the industry and a passion for absorbing as much information as I possibly can from experts and established thought leaders via brick and mortar vintage stores, online secondhand clothing sellers, clothing/costume designers and even fashion museum curators! I believe that we are one another's teacher on this planet why is why I feel confident asking for the know-how of others to help create great content for the readers of my site. And yes, my journalism background plays a large role in my motivation! I moved to New York City with dreams of being a fashion magazine editor. Now, I am the Editor-in-Chief of my own online publication! 3. I know that you have big plans for your brand. What are some strategies you use to promote and grow your business? My number one growth tool at this stage is social media. My audience has taught me so much about how to shift my own goals so that they are based on service to others. That is why it is important to use social media outlets like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest: These are opportunities to communicate with “followers” whose likes, questions and knowledge will help you to stay on the path which grows your business in the most service-focused direction. 4. As I mentioned above, I appreciate your spiritual approach to feelings of inadequacy we all struggle with. How do you keep your personal feelings from clouding your business decision making? The reality is that I doubt myself everyday. But just because I see that doubt does not mean I need to be that doubt. There have been plenty of times where I’ve wanted to jump on board a project simply because I think “I need to be doing this to have the same success as others” or that “it’s what’s expected of me in this business.” The hardest thing is not in saying yes, but in saying no. Self-love -- which extends toward love for all others and whatever unfolds in our life -- is made possible when we refuse to bend against our beliefs and our priorities. I write daily affirmations of the person I know I am and the beliefs which keep me centered and feeling good so that when new business opportunities emerge, or a decision must be made, that I can feel confident taking the best action for me. My favorite quote is truly one to remember for all, whether you are an entrepreneur or working from a cubicle. Remember that when “You change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Sure, I have done and said things that I regret. But each of these obstacles is just a reminder for me to re-center and hold strong to my beliefs. There truly are never regrets so long as you see them as opportunities. 5. When I was in college I had a professor who stressed the importance of sharing and networking in class because in business, sharing is very rare. How do you continue to share in such a competitive vintage market? You had a great professor, Natasha! I recently published an article on where to buy cheap vintage clothing which was received with a few remarks from my audience of surprised gratefulness. The same can be said of a post on how to date clothing by the era. They believed that I was sharing “secret” sources and information with them which anyone else would have kept hush-hush. Competitiveness in the vintage market has never truly bothered me. I believe that there is an energy to the discovery process of vintage clothing that even when shared between people, is still an individual experience with a unique story to you. So no matter how many of my “secrets” I share with others, I refuse to believe in the scarcity complex of “not enough to go around.” There will always be an abundance of opportunity to succeed by remaining open, loving and joyful toward whomever crosses your path. So whether you buy your vintage from private sellers or thrift at the most competitive stores, you are destined to attract the energy of your finds differently than anyone else. By maintaining faith that abundance is just a shopping trip away, your opportunistic point of view will expel all fears of “the competition” and help you to come out on top with great pieces no matter what. 6. I am from NYC and left because I was over the hustle and bustle. It seems like living in NYC and high stress levels go hand in hand, how do you deal with it? Are you in NYC for the long haul? There is stress in every corner of the earth. The key is in finding the balance for you and recognizing to remind yourself that you need not absorb the negative energy around you. For some people, not feeling the stress of an environment is literally to not be in it. I think that your decision to leave NYC after having lived here validates this point. You do not have to stay in your circumstances just to “prove” that you can overcome them. However I do believe that in moments of stress, fear and uncertainty -- emotions we are faced with everyday no matter where we live or how successful we are -- we can release ourselves from the sickness associated with believing that reality. It does not have to be true because most of the time we are creating it for ourselves anyway. Exceptions are obviously conditions of terrible poverty, abuse and health hardships which are real situations with dire conditions. But when stress is considered our boss yelling at us, nags from our significant other or sitting in rush hour traffic, the only reality in these moments truly is the peace we have ready to tap into at all times. We just have to habitually remind ourselves that it is there in order to feel it during stressful times. One way I remind myself of my inner peace is by sharing personal affirmations for peace through social media, and also in answering these very questions! It reaffirms the true reality of my life by sharing what I know. In other words, a good teacher is also taught by his student because in teaching we are always learning, too. While it’s not right for everyone, New York City carries an energy that is right for me at this stage in my life. I dreamed of moving here permanently after my first internship at a NYC-based magazine the summer of 2006. I hope that my six years in the city grow into 12, and 24, 48 and more! 7. I read that you are writing a book--I am so looking forward to it! What inspired you to decide to write it? Every single person on this planet inspires me to write my e-book, which carries the working title of How Vintage Fashion & Thrift Store Shopping Make Us Better People. The book highlights how the secondhand fashion industry empowers you to live your life in a positive and peaceful way. Through stories of gratitude, giving, growth and inner guidance, we can be vintage lovers and thrifters not just for the obvious reasons of achieving great fashion for less, but for the experience of self-discovery and connection to others thanks to what it teaches us about life. The chapters are tentatively titled unity, celebration, awareness, gratitude, beauty, forgiveness, fearlessness and letting go. I’m so grateful for my inspiration and the many people supporting me on this new venture -- including you, Natasha! Thank you! You can also find Sammy at her Youtube channel www.youtube.com/user/sammydavisvintage and on twitter @sammydvintage I was browsing one of my favorite blogs the other day, Sammy Davis Vintage, and she was blogging about 3 Ways to Spot Vintage at a Thrift Store. One of the 3 ways to identify vintage is by looking at the garment's tags. Union tags are the "golden ticket" when it comes to vintage. Seeing union tags in garments, usually means its a sure thing when digging for your treasures. Thanks Sammy! (Stay tuned for an interview with Sam coming soon!) Unions were a big deal back in the day as union workers pretty much made all the garments except ones that were handmade at home or by a private tailor/designer. The International Ladies Garment Workers Union was founded in 1900 and was one of the first and largest unions with a predominately woman membership. Yay women! As we all know outsourcing is huge now in countries outside of the USA. Garment unions organized strikes to demand better wages and better working conditions instead of the sweatshop environments they worked in. ILGWU at one point had their own university where they offered courses in union leadership skills, citizenship and English. ILGWU also had their own health clinic and developed housing for workers. So make sure to keep your eyes peeled and "look for the Union label". Check out this commercial from the 70''s done by the ILGWU to advocate buying ILGWU garments. Over the years I have found two things that I can't ever live without. I think they rejuvenate and clean everything, except ink...still trying to figure that one out. Seriously and for real, Resolve gets like everything out. It is a Godsend! It comes in a huge bottle like this or in a stick or even in a handy pen size. This here is the Clothes Shaver. My mom bought this way back in the day to shave the uniforms I wore to school. I snatched this up the last time I went home for a visit. They come in different sizes for your convenience.
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