I am always always willing to spend money with small businesses. Especially in the fashion world - the retro/vintage fashion world, more specifically - where gals with mad sewing skills are creating beautiful garments that I could never dream of creating.
That's why I love going to weekenders like Viva, Nashville Boogie, and Viva East. Often vendors at these shows are small businesses found on Etsy, all their home made dresses or skirts lined up for us to peruse and hopefully buy.
At Viva East in July, I met one of these talented people. Andrea from Andrea Makes Things had a stand outside in the car show area, a rack full of circle skirts blowing in the breeze. She had a handful of prints to choose from (and even had some matching hair scarves to go with them!).
She was lovely and so were her skirts! I loved two but knew I should really pick one and not go too crazy. So I chose this gray and black gingham skirt covered in tiny daisies. It was so darling - a bit of a 90's vibe mixed with a classic vintage circle cut. Then I rocked this very outfit a few days later at the Panic! at the Disco concert with some friends in the city. It was my 3rd time seeing him live and it's never a disappointment. Though my feelings are mixed about his new album, he is still a fantastic performer with an amazing voice and I love seeing him live. You can tell he is 150% in his happy place when he's up on stage.
I plan to keep an eye on Andrea's Etsy shop for more as the skirt fits well, is made of a light material that is a breeze in this insane humidity (OK NEW ENGLAND, IT'S SUMMER, WE GET IT!), and well, as I said before, I'd so rather give my money to these adorable shops than big brands. I mean, most of our wedding plans/purchases have been from either Etsy shops, small businesses from the area, friends we hired, etc. I am always looking out for the little guys!
Speaking of wedding - guess what we did this weekend? Our invitations! They arrived on our door step Saturday morning from our fantastic designer, Amy Weiss. We bought ourselves a couple bottles of wine, put on some tunes, and spent Saturday night putting together all the pieces.
It was kind of (lol I really mean INSANELY) fun and it felt a lot more REAL to have the actual invitations in our hand, ready to go out to our friends and family. I can't wait for them to see them - they're gonna love them!
We are now less than 100 days away, which sounds close but is still 3 months out. Oh well. I will sit here, twiddling my thumbs anxiously, waiting for it to arrive. I mean, my dress still has to be completely altered so I suppose the 3 months is necessary. But still. I just can't wait to see it all come together.
What's on your excitement list? Got anything coming up that you're pumped for??
