Magic Summer Dress Collection Takes an Etsy Turn

Me with my 80s toys vs. Me with my Dress Collection
Circa 1999 

In college, I was a very busy music major. I had time for very little other than classes, doing work for classes, and rehearsing/performing. There were only 3 other things I made time for in my schedule.

One was Friends. By this I mean both the TV show and my actual friends, simultaneously. I went to college in the late 90s and early 2000s, so it was the heydey of my very favorite show. My week was scheduled to the minute, so I religiously blocked the 8-8:30pm Thursday night time slot for Friends viewing parties (and often the 11 o'clock slot for reruns). I don't think I need to say that this was an outstanding choice, and one of the highlights of my college years.

The other two hobbies led directly to my recent decision to open an Etsy shop. One was that my best friend from high school and I, who were obsessed with toys from our childhood, started hunting thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets (etc) over the summers to rescue our beloved 80s toys from oblivion (or worse, mistreatment at the hands of children who thought of them as just toys and not the collectible wonders they are). We sold them on eBay at first, but annoyed with the fees, opened our own website and sold toys together on 80s Twilight.

There was a thrift store near my college that was called Neponset and I visited there almost as faithfully as I watched Friends. Most of my college wardrobe was purchased there, and I also began collecting what I referred to as my "Dress Collection" (yes, I thought of it in capital letters). My goal was to buy as many dresses in as many styles from as many time periods as humanly possible. This was both for costuming purposes and to wear in public for general merriment. I may have forced others into participation in this (see below). Neponset did not survive (thereby breaking my heart), but photos of us in the dress collection did, and happily, some of the dress collection itself is still in my possession. More importantly, the friendships with the kinds of girls who will willingly put on a dress and take crazy pictures with you are still going strong.

Dress collection dress, gloves and...

Dress Collection-worthy hair (thanks, Elise!)

With the cape. Which is my favorite part, and I definitely still have it.

No idea what this was from,
 or why I thought I needed a tiara....

....but I'm guessing it had something to do with this.

Apparently I made the ever-tolerant @thesnugbungalow model all of my dress collection with me one magic summer....

A spot of tea.

German girls!

Actually my mom's prom dress (left, on me)
and her bridesmaid's dress (right, on Sarah)

Gwenne and I dressed up for an in-the-dorm photo shoot...

More tea, obviously.

And then the tea cups go on your head.

While these excursions happened where only we and the photographers could see, Gwenne and Heather were braver still. We wore these in PUBLIC. To the holiday dinner in our school cafeteria, and then yes, oh yes, we wore them to the mall.

At the foot of the stairs to the cafeteria.

Seemingly willing participants....

Modeling our style at Abercrombie. Proud moments.

All of this left me with a lot of good memories, and a love of thrifting and retro/vintage items. As my closet cannot accommodate any more dresses, and my 80s Twilight partner Sarah (@thesnugbungalow) keeps singing the praises of Etsy, my Etsy shop Magic Summer Vintage has been born.

In case you were wondering about the name, Magic Summer has been the title of my blog because it's what Sarah and I always called our college-years summers that we spent thrifting and being generally awesome. As a teacher, I've been able to continue my deep adoration of the summer months, and the thrifting tradition has clearly continued (see previous posts for examples). I'm excited to see where the shop takes me!

Thanks, @thesnugbungalow, for the magic summers, the 80s Twilight days, the Etsy inspiration (and graphic design), and for forcing me to do this blog in the first place. Somehow, nearly 30 years later, you still have the power to make me do stuff and convince me that it's a brilliant idea.

Please visit me at my new Etsy Shop Magic Summer Vintage! 

And at Instagram @magicsummervintage