What Do Each Of These Dresses Have In Common?

The answer? Each of them spent some time in my vintage shop before I decided I couldn't part with them. Ever since I opened the shop, I never have to buy clothes for myself anymore. I go thrifting or to flea markets and buy whatever catches my eye without thinking about if it will fit me or not. What often happens is that great clothes literally falls into my lap.

I think I posed for only one picture in this gray-green vintage 1960s dirndl before I realized "Uh-Uh. That one you are keeping for yourself!" Oktoberfest is still going on but any parties that they have here would only be in the touristy areas because, well, Berlin doesn't really "do" Oktoberfest. I'm planning on taking the Alps out of it by combining it with a simple blouse and cardigan topped off with my very favorite Puss In Boots-style vintage brown leather 1970s boots (which, by the way, I bought from the vintage shop my sister runs out of San Francisco. Yes, she did cut me a bit of a deal, but not much of one. Can you say, "shrewd businesswoman"? ;) The necklace is one of my handmade pieces and is still available for sale in my shop, though I'd hurry if I were you. I love it with the dress and so it might just be disappearing from the listings soon....
This vintage 1970s sheer black dress has a pearly, Victorian collar and is patterned with fireflies. It was actually in my shop for a while and got some attention, though I listed it in the summer (the day I posed in it it was sweltering outside so yes, that is a glisten of sweat on my brow...) It will be great for fall and I have a thing for fireflies since they feature heavily in a story I made up for my daughter called When Lights Were Born. I think I'll wear it with the buttons open though because I find it a bit extreme with them closed (not to mention, a little bit hard to breathe!)
This dress was also in my shop for quite some time, though it was modeled on my friend Erica. I've lost some weight recently so I thought I'd pose in some of the older dresses and found myself liking the funky school marm appeal of this one. Erica also probably won't be modeling for me again. Although a really beautiful woman, she actually doesn't like to have her photograph taken (the exact opposite of me, Miss Self Portrait ever since I can remember...) The clothes she modeled in also have barely sold for some reason, maybe because people can sense she is actually uncomfortable? At some point I may try to find a model for the size small and medium clothing, but for now I'll stick with the wall and dress form.

Chaos Ensues

Sometimes I'm not sure being a hobby photographer is actually any good for the branding business side of running my vintage shop, Curious Knopf. Most of my favorite vintage clothing shops on etsy have a simple, neutral background, usually gray or maybe white. I guess the closest I got to this kind of a feel were the original photographs I took in my stairwell. I liked them because the light was so beautiful and the gray color on the wall so warm.


But views were generally pretty low, though I don't really know why. Perhaps because all the photos were close-ups, something that can not really be changed since I work primarily with a macro lens.

I recently took some photographs in a parking lot across the street from my apartment which has this funky green wall with peeling paint. Above the green is a tacky mural of what looks like the Golden Gate Bridge, though it is probably a bridge in Istanbul that looks similar (which would make sense since this is Kreuzberg, Turkey's third largest city...)


But people kept on walking by from the Gewerbehof in the back, and although they didn't say anything, I still found it distracting and therefore not much fun. Though I had the benefit of natural light, I don't think I'll be taking photographs there again.

I've also taken lots of photographs in several of the crumbling old graveyards in my neighborhood (though, come to think of it, the last photograph is actually the outer wall of an art deco public toilet on Chamisso Platz.)



Although I like these photographs they do take a bit more "Aufwand" since I have to carry the clothing to said graveyards and said art deco public toilets...

A large majority of my photographs (both modeled and on the dress form) I've been taking between the doors of one of our front rooms, the one that serves as a library/dining room/office, better known as "the Grafen Zimmer" after my husband's particular heritage.



Not a bad background really, but a bit tricky sometimes with the placement and most definitely with the lighting.

My newest love is the light green wall of our bedroom.



Lovely color and with the added benefit that I can use one of the walls near a window.

And then, there are also the handmade jewelry photographs, most of which are definitely in the spirit of Schaufenster.


Yes, I definitely spend a lot of time on my photographs (come to think of it, quite a few of my posts here on this blog have been about them), albeit in a rather impractical way. Then again, I'm a bit of a chaotic creature myself so I guess this fits. Perhaps chaos does ensue, but chaos indeed does also rule. What can you do in the end other than just be yourself? ;)

The 10th Day...

So today is officially the 10th day since I had my last sale. And there were probably about ten days between the sale before that. I've decided to take things easy at my shop. If everyone else is going to the beach, why shouldn't I?
I recently poured a lot of energy into my shop, Curious Knopf. I worked on the photos, made lots of great vintage finds, posted, renewed and posted. But when you are doing all this work, but not making any sales and only having a few hearts trickle in, you can't help but get frustrated.....
Of course, I have been having some fun along the way. I've liked posing in some of the larger clothing (modeling is harder work than one might assume....) And, of course, I love going on the vintage hunt. But I'm not buying anything new for a while. I have about 20 odd things to photograph and post, and I will gradually get them into my shop....
....or I might just sell off the entire stock on ebay and call it a night. But if I do, I'll at least stop by here again to say so long folks! It's been swell. Sayonara. Ciao ciao. ;)

Photographs Schmotographs...

Sales have continued to be pretty much non-existent at my shop this week. Although I'm pretty relaxed about it and have come to terms with the fact that it is (hopefully...) just a stroke of bad luck, I've also decided to try out some new things. I recently asked people on the forums if they prefer a dress form/mannequin or a live model for clothes and people overwhelmingly said live model (something I found kind of surprising since I definitely prefer a dress form.) A chic friend of mine has volunteered to model the size mediums next week, but I thought I'd also give it a go with the larger sizes.


Although this vintage navy blue pleated skirt with white art deco style z's is actually too small for me (as is all the clothes I model) I pull it off for the picture I think. But I guess that's the question I have: Do I just pull off the modeling or does it actually make the clothing more interesting?


Do you prefer something like this?.....


To something like this?.....


Non sequiter I know, but isn't this vintage 1960s dirndl adorable?


Anyway, in the end I'll probably just end up mixing the different type of photographs together, including those on the Berlin walls, but any critiques, personal preferences or insights would be most appreciated. :)