Toni's Vintage Trips

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Shopping For a Mannequin at Mannequin Madness

Since deciding to sell used, beautiful clothes online, I have wanted a mannequin. Clothes just look better on a real body as opposed to a hanger. But since my house is rather small, I couldn’t figure out where I would put it or if it would freak me out. I started looking for one causually online and discovered, a mannequin was not an easy thing to get. There are no mannequin stores, at least in the Bay Area. I looked for a while and then found Mannequin Madness (2020 Dennison Street, # 15, Oakland, CA, (510) 444-0650, mannequinmaddness.com), which is in a brick warehouse-type building near the Oakland water front. It is by appointment only, so I made one for last Sunday.

On Sunday, I visited Mannequin Madness to look at dress forms. I had decided that a dress form in my house would be easier to find a place for, etc... I took along my friend, Joey, who has a truck and was interested in seeing the mannequins for his own reasons. We were a little early, so we found a Starbucks near the water and had some coffee. Then we drove back to the warehouse and met Jay, the owner of Mannequin Madness. I really didn’t know what to expect, but the space was very artistic though packed tightly with mannequins. Many of them had come from department stores and were all shapes, sizes and genders. There were children and adults and pregnant women. Only one of them wore anything, so the affect was very surreal.

And looking for a dress form, I actually found a mannequin-like dress form for only $85, which was a great deal. I wanted to post some photos of my trip there because it’s the kind of place that most of us never have the chance to visit. Also included is a photo of my mannequin wearing one of my Betsy Johnson knit dresses.

Oakland water front near Starbucks

Joey in a crowd of mannequins at Mannequin Madness

British mannequin at Mannequin Madness

Men & more men at Mannequin Madness

Mannequin with brown wig and heavy makeup at Mannequin Madness

Who is she looking at??

A view of Mannequin Madness

Pregnant plant at the door of Mannequin Madness

Pregnant mannequin & friends at Mannequin Madness

Lace dress form rental at Mannequin Madness

Mannequin dress forms at Mannequin Madness

Little impish boy mannequin at Mannequin Madness

Male mannequin and flower dress form at Mannequin Madness

Male mannequins checking out female dress form at Mannequin Madness

My mannequin dress form from Mannequin Madness

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Alamo Square Flea Market in San Francisco

Every summer in August, three sides of Alamo Square park in San Francisco hosts a huge local flea market that draws people from all parts of the city and the Bay Area. It's a mixture of antiques, vintage clothes and accessories, art, books, crafts, furniture etc. My good friends Summerlea and Nathan live only a few blocks away, so I've been lucky to visit this happening two years in a row. This morning, we started off at a local cafe, The Bean Bag, and had breakfast and then headed to the flea market. Along the way there were garage sales where clothing was very reasonable. Many people were shopping at these sales and I even got a pair of shoes for only $4.

Alamo Square park is in the center of the city and on a hill. From the park, the view of the city is incredible. And of course, it is bordered on one side by those famous victorian homes that we call The Painted Ladies. They aren't those wild pastel colors any more, but beautiful just the same. I've included some photos of the ladies and the park.

What's really crazy about the flea market is that on two sides (Fulton & Hayes Streets), the vendors and shoppers are crowded on narrow sidewalks. It reminds me of being at an art show on opening night. It is hard to look at stuff because there is such a crowd. Luckily one street (Steiner) is closed off for two blocks, so it's easier to look at things and shop. I know you will enjoy the pictures, as I've included a little bit of everything.