I love it when a vintage find sparks a bit of mystery. Take, for example, these lovely dark navy suede shoes. I found them on a thrifting hunt several weeks ago in San Francisco and was immediately drawn to their beautiful shape and soft and supple leather. Truly a vintage gem I was thrilled to find.
The style is very classic 40s and, although the shoes are in amazingly good condition, on close inspection you can tell that they are pretty darn old. I listed them as 1940s in my shop but then, on a lark, googled the name inside of them, Silvia of Fiorentina.
It ends up Silvia Fiorentina (without the of) is a high fashion Italian shoe designer whose shoes currently sell for between 200 and 500 dollars at places like Nieman Marcus. I tried to find out when she started designing shoes (and when she dropped the "of" to better date them...) but all I could find was that she helped influence design in the 1960s. How long she has been designing shoes or if she was designing shoes when she still had the "of" was some information I simply couldn't find...
I'm still listing them as being from the 40s with a huge disclaimer. You can take a closer look here. I would love if someone could help solve the mystery though, so if you have the answers, please let me know. As a side note, I also love the shoes still have the name of the original owner, Aida Ducata. Hmm....If I google her, who knows what I'll find. ;)
Anyone else have some vintage mystery stories? I'd love to hear them.
Most people come to San Francisco for cable cars and the Golden Gate Bridge, for fabulously fresh California cuisine, for the ocean and sunshine (though many are surprised they get mainly fog...) But when I was in the Bay Area the absolute first thing I did besides say hi to my family was hit the thrift stores.....Hard....I realize to some this would make me seem as strange as this vintage cat lady, but anyone who reads this blog knows all too well the thrill of the vintage hunt. Anyway, we've been back for three days now and all four of us have the worst jet lag of our lives. It's 1:30 in the morning and the babies are in full on toddler party mode even though I've pointed out repeatedly that the sun is "no longer awake"....What better time to do a bit of etsy vintage window shopping? If my PayPal account were full I would probably do some real shopping but, alas, it's not. But maybe some of my finds will inspire you.
Every vintage loving gal has got to have a bit of Czech pressed glass and this lovely necklace is my favorite shade of lipstick red. Actually, it reminds me of a similar necklace that got literally bought right from under my nose (had it in the shopping cart and everything...) Hmmm. Maybe I should see how much money I do have on my account.....Available here at Stiletto Girl.
Gotta love this set of children's classics (though I think The Little Lame Prince has probably gone out of fashion....) Just the thing for my daughter's oh-so-fabulous vintage childhood. Available at Little Dog Vintage.
For such a Bakelite junky as myself, it really is a crime that I actually don't own a Bakelite bangle. Maybe I'll pick up this beauty once I'm more in the flush. Available at Mybooms. (I did, however, buy a lot of Bakelite jewelry supplies when in Cali, so do come by the handmade jewelry section of my shop soon to see what I've created.)
Gotta love Mid-Century Danish Modern, especially when it's actually made in Japan. These lovely leaf tray are also available at Little Dog Vintage.
I love these plates. They look like Fiesta Ware decided to take a long holiday in Mexico. Apparently they are part of the much sought-after Riveria collection, though I've never heard of it. Get them for a song (16 bucks) at Bird In Hand.
And last but not least, these gorgoeous ruby red 1940s suede pumps which are just my size (9 M). They remind me of a pair of dark blue suede 1940s shoes I found while thrifting in San Francisco that are in near-mint condition. Can't wait to post them! These lovlies here are available at FabGabs. p.s. as an extra little thrifting note, I found the best vintage finds were to be had at thrift stores in Oakland (and maybe Hayward) rather than in San Francisco, the exception being the Salvation Army on Mission. Vintage is big in San Francisco so, while I'm sure there are still fab pieces out there, most places are picked over and the choice items have higher prices then they would in Wayard Hayward. ;)
I love it when a vintage find sparks a bit of mystery. Take, for example, these lovely dark navy suede shoes. I found them on a thrifting hunt several weeks ago in San Francisco and was immediately drawn to their beautiful shape and soft and supple leather. Truly a vintage gem I was thrilled to find.
The style is very classic 40s and, although the shoes are in amazingly good condition, on close inspection you can tell that they are pretty darn old. I listed them as 1940s in my shop but then, on a lark, googled the name inside of them, Silvia of Fiorentina.
It ends up Silvia Fiorentina (without the of) is a high fashion Italian shoe designer whose shoes currently sell for between 200 and 500 dollars at places like Nieman Marcus. I tried to find out when she started designing shoes (and when she dropped the "of" to better date them...) but all I could find was that she helped influence design in the 1960s. How long she has been designing shoes or if she was designing shoes when she still had the "of" was some information I simply couldn't find...
I'm still listing them as being from the 40s with a huge disclaimer. You can take a closer look here. I would love if someone could help solve the mystery though, so if you have the answers, please let me know. As a side note, I also love the shoes still have the name of the original owner, Aida Ducata. Hmm....If I google her, who knows what I'll find. ;)
