Zola's Everyday Vintage

Coming soon!

Holidays!

The great State Fair of Texas is about to wrap up, capped off by the annual "Red River Shoot Out" between The University of Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma University Sooners at the Cotton Bowl.  It's literally a sea of burnt orange and white and red and white at the Fair!  Hopefully, we will have good weather for the big game!  Oprah was here yesterday and taped part of her show at the Fair, showcasing some of the crazy foods on the Midway.  She looked like she and Gayle were having fun and she was a big hit with fairgoers.   The Fair is the official kick off to the holiday season and it begins with :

1. HALLOWEEN!!!!

The holidays are upon us!  October is ALL about Halloween.  Folks are already scouting out fun vintage for costume ideas.    Zombies are big this year and deconstructed or goth clothes seem to be particularly enticing.  I'm also seeing a quest for 80's and 90's power suits, jump suits and parachute pants.  Disco and the 70's are still very strong, too. Mad Men style is still a winner.  Zolas has vintage patterns if you are inclined to whip up your own costume, too.   Any decade, if you do it right, is perfect for Halloween!  Doing it right means taking it over the top, spilling irony all the way!  It's not done 'til it's overdone.

2. THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is kind of the forgotten holiday.  The stores already have Christmas on full throttle and poor little Thanksgiving is an afterthought, it seems.  The turkey's and cornucopias are stuck between Frankenstein masks and spooky ghosts on one side and Santa Claus and wreaths on the other.  I know it's retail suicide, but Zola's doesn't get our Christmas on until the DAY AFTER Thanksgiving.  We just feel it's the vintage-y, old school thing to do!   It's time to get out your fall fashions for Thanksgiving!  Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

3.  The big one:  CHRISTMAS!

Even though we wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate and "do" Christmas retail-wise,we do it right!  Our inspiration for our "Christmas Windows" is Neiman Marcus and NYC Macy's.   Lights, movement, sparkle, and lots of love.  We will post some pics of our Windows this year and, while we are certainly no Macy's or Neiman Marcus, we (on a very small scale) like to do our bit for the festivities!  

Zolas is a great place to shop for one of a kind gifts, and groovy stuff for your holiday house.  Shopping vintage is green, too!  We noted that about 90% of our inventory was made in America many years ago and you can't get much greener than that. Just because it's "old" doesn't mean it ain't got that bling!  Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling is what vintage is all about but with a lot of style thrown in for good measure. 

4) NEW YEAR'S EVE:

Ok, what needs to be said about this holiday?  This year, is everybody going to be all austere or let loose?  Zola's can cover your wardrobe choices either way.  We have sequins and beads or a little black dress.  We have vintage tails or an understated tuxedo.  Do you need cocktail wear?  Zola's has it.  Fur or faux?  Got it. 

5) HOLIDAY WEDDINGS:

Zola's has you covered for any occasion including weddings.   We have put together a collection of dresses that range from simple sheaths to 1940's extravagances.  Little cotton beach dresses to a beautiful Mollie Parnis jersey gown with a little flair at the bottom and everything in between.   Zola's also does bridal showers for the girl that wants something a little different.  We have tuxedos and period suits (60's-70's primarily) for the guys.   Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue....Zola's has it!

CHECK OUT THESE LINKS FOR LOCAL FLAVOR AND FUN FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

bishopartsdistrict.com

dailycandy.com/dallas/

visitdallas.com

The Maxi Dress is Back!

Zola's is the home of the authentic maxi dress. Don't settle for a new knock-off of this great fashion idea, get the real thing at Zola's Everyday Vintage.

The maxi is the new hot look for the end of Summer and on into the Fall. Only the maxi dress isn't really new. Gaining popularity in the early to mid 1970's it was the dress to wear....everywhere. Hemlines were all over the place, mini, midi, and maxi....short, mid-calf length and long, ankle or floor length. We had such great fun with these dresses then and you can have fun with them now.

At Zola's you can take your pick of any style or color, for any season of the year, of the real maxi dress. We have so many to choose from, you might want to get two and Saturday and Sunday, they are 25% off. See you this weekend at Zola's!

 

vintage never gets old

I have to say it, I just love older clothes.  They are made differently and are often as nice on the inside as on the outside.  Metal zippers, covered buttons, pinked edges, lacy hem tapes....just the norm for vintage.  I love seeing handmade and one of a kind outfits too.  Back in the day, most everybody sewed.  I would spend a whole weekend picking out patterns and fabric and sewing my hands off just to have a cute, new outfit to wear to school on Monday! 

Zola's has always promoted wearing vintage for it's uniqueness and quality but it's also an eyeopener for people to see the difference between today's off the rack and those from yesterday.  That attention to detail is just missing today unless you are buying super high end designer clothing.  Next time you shop vintage, look at the unseen bits and check for the little things that make it special inside and out.

In keeping with this focus on quality and one of a kind-ness, Zola's will be adding vintage patterns, fabrics and sewing goods to our website over the coming weeks.  If you sew or are just intrigued by the idea of it, check out our listings. 

Vintage never gets old, it just gets better!

Bold, Beautiful, Braniff... Pucci!

Whether you are an airline memorabilia collector or a lover of Pucci, Zola's has the perfect fit! In the 1970's Braniff Airlines collaborated with Emilio Pucci to design uniforms for their stewardesses. This was one bold move for the up and comer, Braniff, and the dynamic duo single handedly put an end to the "Plain Plane".  

The uniforms were signature Pucci. Psychedelic bold prints with matching accessories. Serving dinner and drinks down those slim isles became a fashion show extrodinaire giving the catwalks of Paris a run for their money. It was an exciting time to travel and together, Braniff and Pucci made it memorable.

Zola's is fortunate enough to have acquired several pieces of this nostalgic fabric. We have a small number of 48X48 uncut squares in Pucci blue. There are also a few cut remnants in the pink, along with some border pieces and one extremely long 240X16 (approximate) piece. Let your imagination run wild and you'll think of all sorts of wonderful things to do with this one of a kind fabric.

So come in to Zola's and grab your piece of Pucci history while it lasts.

Brides and bridal wear for any season and every style!

  Are you looking for something out of the ordinary for your wedding?  Zola's has a small but fun selection of vintage wedding dresses and non-traditional wedding wear for you to check out.  Our dresses range from 1940's post-war years to 1970's back to the earth granny gowns and everything in between.  We also have a wonderful selection of lingerie for your honeymoon if you love that old school look!    Little beaded 60's evening bags can complete your look and Grooms, check out our vintage tuxedos, too!

Vintage hankies make wonderful bridesmaid's gifts (and for those teary-eyed mothers of the brides!) and are a thoughtful little gift your bridesmaid's can actually use.  These little gems won't break your bridal bank, either. 

Going Vintage can help make your beautiful wedding an affair to remember!

Fashion and the economy....

What do fashion and the economy have to do with each other?  Back in the day, it was thought that the health of the economy was reflected in the length of women's hemlines....the longer the skirt, the worse the economy.  So what does that mean now?  Hemlines are all over the place for spring!  The runways featured hankerchief hems, minis, maxis,midis, and more.  Looking into my crystal ball, I see.... well.... nothing except there are lots of options for spring, thankfully!   I love the high/low of mixing vintage with something new and coming up with a fresh take for your own fashion look.  THAT is recession-proof style at it's best!  Why shouldn't we be able to look and feel good during these trying times and break out of the doom and gloom web the media is spinning?  We're all for it!

The surge in home sewing, knitting and other creative endeavors are encouraging, too.  Everybody is doing their own private Project Runway and they seem to be happier for it.  I meet people everyday Iin my shop who are wearing fabulous jewelry or jeans they embellished or a handmade sweater.   I marvel at the endless imagination of people.  These aren't "make-do" patching a hole with some left over crap material or stringing together safety pins for a necklace.  What I see is FASHION! CREATIVITY! STYLE!!  Simply STYLE for days!    Our customers see the value in vintage, the craftsmanship and the use of wonderful fabrics, trims and buttons that set it apart from department store wearables.  It is the POSSIBLITY vintage that is interesting!

Green Living and living GOOD!

While reading President Obama's push for development of green jobs and how that will stimulate the economy I started thinking...I already have a green job and own a green business!  Vintage is certainly green! 

The clothing and other items we have in the shop and on our website are decades old and are NOT in a landfill somewhere!  We didn't start out thinking green it just sort of morphed into that idea.  We started out just loving the quality of the clothing and stuff and realized over time that these things would have been thrown away or sent to the ragman in India and ripped to shreds.  Do you know that most vintage ends up in landfills or in bales sent to Mexico or overseas? That's not green on so many levels!!  Most thrift stores won't sell much vintage because it is seen has having little value to their customers for everyday wear.  So it goes away...far, far away!    

 We shop for our vintage primarily from individuals who are collectors or from estates.  I love having the story of each piece and sometimes even get original receipts or photographs of someone wearing the item!  Saving fashion history one dress at a time and every single piece, whether it's furniture or a guy's 1940's tuxedo, is given new life and is not waste somewhere. 

THE PROCESS OF GOING GREEN!!

Our shop is converting to long-life bulbs (slowly because they are expensive!!)and  we have very little waste in terms of paper, glass or other landfill cluttering stuff.  We even reuse our drycleaning bags rather than buying new ones.  Our shopping bags are recycled kraft paper and we urge folks to use them again for their lunch or something.  We didn't buy any new fixtures when we opened preferring to use interesting furniture and used fixtures to get started.  Our largest display case is from the 1930's and was originally owed by a drafting company!   Even our building is recycled!!  Zola's is in a 1920's building with much of the original flooring (wood) and walls.  (check out bishopartsdistrct.com for some pics of the area).  I think the wonderful old building is a perfect setting for our wonderful vintage.

So being green is a state of mind and getting started is as simple as shopping vintage.  Why go to a big box store in the mall and buy something shipped all the way from China that will be out of style in 3 months?  Vintage is vintage next year and the next and always looks good!

SO, the message here is shop vintage and start your green journey!!

Vintage to the 2nd power!

Do you ever wonder why we have vintage? How is it that clothes from 30, 40 and 50 years ago are still around and still wearable? It's simple. they were well made and they had great style. Fifty years ago, women sewed. They had to. Wealthier women had their clothing custom made by their own tailor. Unfortunately, those days are gone. Everything is mass produced and made in China or some other foreign country. But not at Zola's!

Zola's not only has geat wearable vintage clothing, we also have hundreds of fabulous vintage patterns. Various styles, sizes and decades are covered in our collection. We have been gathering and collecting patterns for years and we've got everything from pajamas to panchos, trousers to tops, diva to disco, swimsuits and shorts to skirts, halters, and hats......everything conceivable!

So if you can't find exactly what you want or maybe we don't have your exact size, Think about purchasing a fab pattern and having something made for yourself. Believe it or not there are still people who sew. And Zola's also carries vintage fabric and buttons.

You too can live our credo....be unique, be one-of-a-kind, be vintage!

Shopping Tips!

Shopping tips from a pro! 

1) KNOW YOUR RECIPIENT!  If you are buying for a friend/family (not a boss or co-worker) you should look for gifts that go to the heart of who they are.  Are they a reader? Sporty? A cook? Love their Ipod?  Just think and shop accordingly.  Sometimes a gift card, as impersonal as they can seem, is just the thing the Ipod junkie is wanting!  $50.00 goes a long way on Itunes!  Now, a note to the guys......

2) DUDES, KNOW YOUR GIRL'S SIZES!  Take a few minutes and peek at the sizes in the dresses,blouses, undies, and shoes in her closet. Write them down and put them in your wallet for future reference.  What colors predominate in her closet?  Does she wear vintage, hate wool, or love the color blue?  Pay attention to that!  Take her sizes with you when you walk out the door!  It will save you untold grief when you have to explain that you bought the wrong size undies because you didn't know the right one.  I promise you, she knows your sizes and probably your mother's too.  Ok, hint number 3 is.......

3) THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!  The malls offer quick (sometimes) shopping but it tends to be so much of the same ole same ole.   Try shopping vintage, half-price books or artist's galleries.  Fun and one of a kind gifts that will be sure to please IF you have referred to Step 1, which is knowing your recipient's likes and you.....

4) PAY ATTENTION!  Listening to your friends and loved ones throughout the year gives you a good idea of the things they admire and desire.  Make a mental note of that and it should guide your gift giving.  I pick up Christmas gifts all year long just because I see something that I KNOW a particular person would like.  Paying attention is another way of saying I care for you!   The last thing about shopping is to.....

5) HAVE FUN!  Always shop with a giving heart, year round.  Donate some ducats to the Salvation Army, it does you good, too.  Shopping doesn't have to be last minute, heart pounding, torture.  Go slow, savor the experience, get a good meal while you're out!  Have a glass of wine.  Get all Zen about it.  It's all about attitude!  

Gift ideas from Zola's

Zola's has linen, calendar tea towels that are great for the kitchen. Find your special year, birth year, anniversary year, graduation year, and frame them for great kitchen art or display them on a beautiful glass towel bar. Either way, a colorful conversation piece. $9-$16.

Guys, need something special for your wife or girlfriend? Don't be afraid to stroll through our lingerie section. Zola's is known for having beautiful slips, silk and satin gowns, and fluffy, warm robes. There is still something very sexy about a 1940's silk gown or a 1960's lace slip. Every woman loves a nice piece of lingerie no matter what her age. $23-$175.

And ladies, what about the man in your life? We have vintage cufflinks, ties from the 40's, 50's, and a Mad Men must have, skinny 60's ties. Of course, there is a pretty swell rack of mens shirts and sport coats. Zola's also features hand-turned acrylic ink pens made by a local artist. Refillable and one of a kind. Range of prices.

Vintage hankies are always a welcome addition to any womans make-up bag. Colorful, washable, reusable...more durable than a tissue. Save the envionment, use a hankie! $6-10

Girls, want to treat yourself? Peruse Zola's vintage coat rack. Famous for beautiful fus, wool and cashmere, over coats, car coats, swing coats and ultrasuede, Zola's has winter wraps for everyone! 

As always, Zola's is the home of the ultimate gift idea. Jewelry Art. Hand made from vintage jewelry, no two are the same. Painstakingly put together like a puzzle of jewels, these Christmas trees, crosses and butterflies are truly works of art. If you love jewelry. it is the perfect gift. Framed and ready to hang. Several sizes. $75-$275.

For the moderninst...A set of 4 Eames fiberglass chairs with the Eiffel Tower base. In excellent vintage condition. $1295.

And the kids? Zola's has vintage baby clothes, cutie-pie kids room lamps, a very vintage high chair, Joan Englund books, little girl gloves.

So as you can see, gifts and gift ideas abound at Zola's. And remember, if you see something you like, get it....because at Zola's there is only one. See you soon...shopping at Zola's!