13 July 2008

one man's trash is....

Another Man's Treasure.

Since quite a few of you asked just where the hell to shop in Jersey, I hopped to it and headed to one of my favorite spots in dirty Jersey, Another Man's Treasure. It's actually quite close to New York City for all you City Kids--it's a block north from the Grove St. PATH stop. You have no excuse not to come.

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I love Another Man's for several reasons: 1) it's a walkable distance from my school (for all your stalkers) 2) it's gorgeous, and the owners did everything themselves, from the display windows to crossing state borders to buy the clothes. It's also my first vintage store, and everything I've purchased here I've worn religiously. My Three Stooges Tee? Here, in the sales rack. My Brown and White heeled oxfords? Here.

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The Designer and Couture rack, pretty prices for gorgeous pieces. I wanted to buy the whole damn thing; Chloe, Tibi, Betsy Johnson, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Pucci dopplegangers can I take you home with me?

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She's going to count to three, open her eyes and the dress you wanted in your dreams will suddenly be hanging on the rack before you. It's not Jesus work, it's just her thing.

Meika is somewhat of local fashion icon, with good reason. She's always been what you'd classify as a cool kid: previously in the music industry, she's shopped at thrift stores and been in the industry all her life--she's been in trade shows with her family since she was 12. Her experience is evident in the presentation and pieces in the store. Oh, and she's probably the nicest person you'll ever meet. Plus, she has pink hair. Hello, people. Get to it.

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Whenever I'm in the store I automatically gravitate to the shiniest, shaggiest things; it's kind of like moths to a flame. Here are some of my favorite things in the store at the moment. All very affordable to everyone other than negative bank balance me, so you should hop to it so I can borrow it the second you fork over the ridiculously inexpensive amount everything is. All you Brits coming to NYC with your money..... you know what to do.

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Are you eyeing that odd shag cape and blue butterfly sweaters? Yeah, I am too....

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I really like the Beach bag peeking out. Meika pointed it out and it's positively delicious. It has sand, a mini coke bottle and it's just the right amount of cheek.

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It's like a magical column of every bag you didn't know you wanted.

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If I were a 3 year old this would be my dig. I want the mary janes.

I also saw a cousin to MY DRESS, the pink tiered lace. This didn't have the tiers, but it was still pretty sweet. Here are my dress favorites, though.

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I adore the color and paneling. This would be perfect for Mary, I think.

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I actually had about 3 other yellow or acid green dresses on the sofa but I think all the acid colors would induce people into seizures. These are absolutely gorgeous though, aren't they? Stam for Patrick Demarchelier, I see you in that yellow dress...

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It practically has your name on it, Jones. Oh wait. It does.

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My favorite shoes in the store actually happened to be the mens shoes.... And that blazer is looking better and better the more I look at it.

In most instances, for vintage stores, you're paying for the location AND the clothes. By that, I mean in NYC, you're going to pay inflated prices you wouldn't see in a hole in the wall rural thrift store. It irks me when I hear people ask, "I'm going into the City, where do I shop???" It's understandable to want to shop in the city because it's the City, but you're not going to get any deals, really. That's why I like Jersey City for thrift more so than NYC--you get the location and the quality clothes without sacrificing anything. Another Man's is probably the best example of of the balance between location, price, and quality. Me likey.

All this good stuff, so little time... I tried on a purple denim high waisted pencil skirt and that odd pink knit cape and magic happened. I apparently grew wings of a hummingbird and this happened.

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After that, I flew away.

*Many thanks to Meika and her husband for allowing me to interview her and generally attack the racks! You can read more about AMT at their website. They also have an EPIC dressing room with an amazing collage of inspirational pictures and style icons. If you can name 100 of them, you'll get a gift certificate. Of course, I won't show it to you, you'll have to go and try out yourself...