Philly's Best Vintage Boutiques and Thrift Stores

 1. 1600 Below Vintage, 1600 E Passyunk Ave (267-974-8801)

 2. Antiquarian’s Delight, 615 South Sixth Street (215-592-0256)

 3. Bargain Thrift Center, 5261 Germantown Ave (215-849-3225); 4530 Germantown Ave (215-843-1300)

 4. Briar Vintage, 62 North Third Street (215-627-1990)

 5. Carousel Vintage, 234 Arch Street

 6. Decades Vintage, 739 South Fourth Street (215-923-3135)

 7. Jinxed, 1050 N Hancock St in The Piazza (215-978-5469); 611 South Fourth St (267-858-HELL)

 8. Malena's Vintage, 145 West Gay Street, West Chester (610-738-9952)

 9. Philly AIDS Thrift, 710 South Fifth St (215-922-3186)

 10. Retrospect, 508 South Street (267-671-0116)

 11. Sazz Vintage, 60 North Third Street (215-923-7299)

 12. The Second Mile Center, 214 South 45th St (215-662-1663)

 13. Wilbur Vintage, 716 South Fourth Street (215-413-5809)

 14. Wistaria Vintage, 6375 Germantown Avenue (215-789-9953)

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Inside Knit Wit's New, Chestnut Street Location

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Knit Wit store owner Ann Gitter, who gave me a tour of her shop's new location at 1729 Chestnut Street.

The designer boutique was previously on Walnut Street, where Athleta is now located. 

The shop is huge; Gitter uses the upstairs space to store and photograph apparel for online sales.

It's the only shop in the area where you can buy the women's line of Levi's Made & Crafted.

The back of the store is devoted to basics (jeans, tees, tanks) from contemporary labels like Michael Stars and J Brand.

You'll find the latest designs from Stella McCartney for Adidas, Alexander Wang, Blugirl, Jil Sander Navy, 3.1 Phillip Lim,  A.L.C., and Paul Smith on the racks.

"Big deal. Feed me." —my daughter

Paul Smith dog tsotchkes.

Vintage jewelry.

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Philly's Best Clothing Boutiques

 1. Adresse, 1706 Locust Street (215-985-3161)

 2. Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 116 North Third Street (215-922-2600)

 3. Joan Shepp, 1616 Walnut Street (215-735-2666)

 4. Knit Wit, 1729 Chestnut Street (215-564-4760)

 5. SA VA, 1700 Sansom Street (866-960-9800)

 6. Smak Parlour, 219 Market Street (215-625-4551)

 7. Sugarcube, 124 North Third Street (215-238-0825)

 8. Third Street Habit, 153 North Third Street (215-925-5455)

 9. Vagabond, 37 North Third Street (267-671-0737)

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Duross & Langel Soapmakers Breaking into the Salon Biz

If you stalk a store's FB page closely enough, you'll eventually get a lead on a good story. That's how I got the scoop on Duross & Langel's soon-to-open hair salons. Steve Duross will open two salons—one for men, one for women—ideally above Duross & Langel's current location in Midtown Village. The salons will provide hair services only (no spa/skincare) and will make use of the store's handmade bath and beauty products. Not sure of an opening date yet cuz the store's landlord has yet to green-light the project. 

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Valentine's Day Gift Ideas from Philly Boutiques

Here's a sweet Valentine's Day gift guide I made for Racked Philly. Oh, I guess I should mention that Racked launched in Philly in December, with yours truly as the editor. Yay! Anyway, I'm a sucker for a good gift guide, so this was fun, and I actually bought myself the "Us" sign from Three Potato Four. Still, I don't know what to get my husband for Valentine's Day. This morning, I asked him what he wanted, and he was all, "Huh, what, I dunno, whatever," like a total butthead, so I'll probably just bake him something. Yeah, Jordan I know you're reading this! Tell me if you want banana bread or peanut butter cookies!

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Vintage Children's Encyclopedia Images: Ballet and Sports

I'm the lucky recipient of a full set of 1959 Golden Book Encyclopedias, which in my opinion, have the BEST illustrations.

Click each image to download the full size, and check back soon for more!

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Free Printables: Vintage Children's Tale Images, c. 1933

Here's another one of my mom's childhood books, A Patchwork Quilt of Favorite Tales. This thing's been kickin' around for a while; it has a copyright date of 1933.

My mom is adamant that I point out she didn't receive the book until 1953, lest readers think she's older than she actually is. The title page is proof.

This illustration is on one of the first couple pages, but doesn't seem to go with any of the tales in the book. Anyone know what story it's from? Click each illustration for the full sized image.

One of my favorite stories, "Peter Rabbit."

The wildly offensive "Little Black Sambo" is also part of the story line-up.

Meow!

These pigs kind of look like something out of a nightmare.

Is it just me or did children's stories used to be a whole lot scarier?

Enjoy!

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