…helped me add more vintage, boho styling to my palette. i’m a boho girl at heart which i almost hate to say because it usually conjures up a very narrow idea of what that term entails. for instance, the clean, prep with the funky twist tone of the prada spring ’11 line is a favorite of mine and stripes of all kind coupled with bold prints are definitely woven throughout my wardrobe for the early season. for me, boho is in the prints themselves and how they’ve been applied, add the right styling and it takes it right over the edge:

prada on the cheap: b&w tee, zara;  jaguar ring, noir; hot pink patent clutch, hobo international; damask bangle, juicy couture; combo pencil skirt, milly; multi stripe tee, h&m; neon pink skirt, free people; button down shirt, vintage; high waist shorts, h&m;

left: prada earrings, right: vintage personal collection

saturday’s spring edition of a current affair was a complete boon! held on the 11th floor of the cooper building, it kicked off at six with delicious cocktails hosted by pama + izze, a live dj laying down vibes for the shoppers and a vintage exhibit curated by david zyla. some of the creme de la creme of vintage retailers and private dealers were on-hand to showcase carefully curated collections that spanned from the early 1900′s through the 80′s. beautifully maintained finds by geoffrey beene, lanvin, chanel, commes de garçon, yves saint laurent, etc. sat side by side with lesser known names in both fashion, jewelry and other accessories. the admission was $10 but gilt city hooked it’s subscribers up with a $5 fee to the event.

i shopped with print and styling in mind for projects i’m working on this spring and summer and this little collection of color and print began to coalesce around a couple of pieces i purchased:

straw fedora, jcrew; creme floral blouse, joie; sheer floral kimono cardigan, vintage; floral scarf, vintage liberty of london; rhinestone swallow bracelet, miss ellie; czech glass button ring, vintage; brass geometric earrings, vintage; nautical themed necklace, kate spade

the blue kimono cardigan was a lucky find at $58 considering nicole richie’s winter kate collection features vintage inspired kimono’s for $200+. another treasured item was the liberty of london silk scarf. more people than ever are familiar with the name since last year’s collaboration with target put them in american households at an affordable price. the reality is, these scarves tend to start at £95 ($150) and go upwards from there and the proprietary prints are exquisite and highly sought after:

2009 liberty of london silk shirt: personal collection

while not exactly vintage in the traditional sense, alkemie jewelry makes their mark by being an environmentally and socially responsible enterprise that uses 100% reclaimed metals in their jewelry line. their eclectic range of jewelry is driven by a passion for natural curios featuring nautical shells, bees, flora and fauna, textures, etc. the piece that stood out and made it’s way into my collection is the spiky conch ring that was featured in women’s wear daily:

the beauty of this entire event was the fact that all of the items had been pre-screened and cleaned beforehand. it can be a hassle digging through grubby thrift stores chock full of clothing that is questionable in it’s cleanliness and woeful in it’s range. although one would argue that vintage boutiques increase the mark up on the item to a considerable degree, it’s still worth it to designers when time and travel are tight. there are exceptions with estate sales and forays to flea markets but when you just want to cut to the chase, pop up markets like these are valuable and worth signing on to their mailing lists.

vintage silk scarf tied kimono, ostrich feather chandelier earrings