Cute New Brooklyn Store Alert! Black Bear Vintage & Handmade

Guys! Yay! Listen, listen! There's a brand-new vintage boutique that just opened in Windsor Terrace. (That's in Brooklyn.) It's called Black Bear, and it's adorable. Now I'm not just writing about it because it's my best friend's store (but it helps). I'm writing about it because it's awesome and it's worth going to Brooklyn for if you don't already live there. (And if you don't live in Brooklyn, you really should). And it's even right off the train! And there's an ice cream place next door! See how easy they make it for you?

Anyway, Black Bear is a brand-new vintage boutique that sells vintage clothes, shoes and accessories at prices that are totally fair and reasonable since someone has actually WORN said clothes before. In other words, it's a great vintage selection at prices that aren't Manhattan's idea of vintage. So most everything's around $20. (!!!)

To prove to you that I'm not making this up, here's what I bought last Sunday on the first day they opened (because I like to stay on top of my vintage):


I got these two tops, a cute little handmade soap (more on that in a second), and a vintage mood ring, and it all came to just under $40.

AND they have super cuters little handmade pillows made by Black Bear's co-owner, Julia. Pillows of dachshunds with cones on their necks! And pillows with centaurs on them. And more locally sourced handmade goods. Like sweet little soaps in the shape of GUINEA PIGS! They're scented (but not like guinea pigs)! Can you even? I'd go on but I'm like braying with excitement and I'm starting to embarrass myself. Oh yeah. And the store, which occupies what used to be an old liquor store, feels like the basement from "That '70s Show." In the good way. (In the no-Ashton-Kutcher way.) And, they buy vintage too! Again, making things easy for you.

Come for the great vintage selection, stay for the bear wearing a party hat in the window.

Black Bear is located at:
469 16th Street @ Prospect Park West
Brooklyn, NY, 11215

Phone: 718.768.0250

Tues - Sun: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

Closed Monday

Black Bear on Facebook.

Seriously.

To-Die-For Vintage Wedding Dress On Etsy!

($300, VonlenskaVintage.Etsy.com)

Granted, you'd definitely be flipping the script a little, but if you're looking for a super non-traditional vintage wedding dress, then seriously? Yes. This cream-colored, beaded drop-waist dress has more potential than Lindsay Lohan circa late 2004 -- like, right after she did Mean Girls but before she slid down the coke ladder and into the anorexic abyss.

I love how it's sorta '30s-meets-'80s but not overly either, which makes it still sort of modern without screaming "I THRIFTED THIS AND THEN WORE IT TO MY WEDDING!" Because there's a time and a place for yelling about thrifted stuff, but maybe your wedding isn't it.

Anyway, this could also be a lovely end-of-night dress, if you're so inclined. I'm not, but if you are, then go for it.

Beacon's Closet Scores: Leather Motorcycle Jacket & Redonk Heels

Dropped some stuff off at the Park Slope Beacon's Closet today and exchanged some old stuff for some new-old stuff, including... these ridiculous...LY AWESOME brown leather studded heels from Italian brand B&H or Bag-Het or something. They're studded but not in a super on-trend way, which I kinda like. They were $15.95 and in perfect condition.



And, for some bizarre reason, this PERFECTLY fantastic old-school black leather motorcycle jacket from Bona Drag (seriously!) was just sitting there! Waiting for me! For just $29!

It's currently available at Bona Drag for $95. For real.

+ Past Beacon's Closet scores...

Mackage And Housing Works Want You To Donate Your Coat During Fashion Week!

Outwear brand Mackage -- think slim but warm jackets that evoke European ambiance and post-Soviet pathos, if jackets are capable of doing that; Jessica Biel, Eva Mendes, Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Halle Berry, Hilary Duff, and Penn Badgley are fans -- is not only the sole outerwear brand to show at Fashion Week, but they've also partnered up with Housing Works to accept your gently loved coats.

Donate your coats between February 13 and February 22 at any of the following Housing Works:
143 West 17th Street
157 East 23rd Street
306 Columbus Avenue
1730 Second Avenue
245 West 10th Street
202 East 77th Street
122 Montague Street, Brooklyn

Additional Drop-Off Locations:
Warren-Tricomi Salon @ The Plaza Retail Collection – 1 West 58th Street, 2nd Floor
Algonquin Hotel – 59 West 44th Street
Joe’s Pub Public Theater – 425 Lafayette Street
Zampa Wine Bar + Kitchen – 306 West 13th Street
5 Ninth Restaurant/Bar – 5 Ninth Avenue

And, should you feel like it, you can bid on one (or all) of three Mackage coats donated by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Lindsay Price. The coats will be auctioned online at Shophousingworks.com until February 19th at 7:00pm. You can check out the coats in the windows of the Housing Works at 17thStreet.

And, by the way, not only are the Housing Works thrift stores some of the best thrift stores in New York, but their proceeds benefit homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS. Housing Works is also the largest community-based AIDS service organization in the United States, and the country's largest minority-controlled AIDS service organization.