Esther's Introduction to Society

One thing you should know up front: this is not a love story. This is a story about love.

I'm Esther.


WARNING: Tendencies to ramble on about all things vintage and Bohemian.

I won't say too much about myself right now... I'll let you become acquainted with me through various bloggaging. But I want to say HELLO MY NAME IS Esther, and I am very pleased to meetchya.

Let's start at the very beginning.

Why hello there!

It's about time Esther and I introduced ourselves, isn't it?

tank top & cardigan: Target | boots: Shi | skirt: BB Dakota via ModCloth | belt: Charlotte Russe | necklace & headband: gift

I don't believe I've yet had the pleasure of making your acquaintance properly. I'm Laura, and sometimes I throw a "q" in my name for fun.

You'll be getting to know me quite well as our humble little blog gets off the ground, but you should probably know right off the bat that I am quite enamored of pretty much anything vintage. I really love the 1920's, Art Deco and Art Nouveau, Shakespeare, hippies, and Arrested Development, and I adore the Beatles almost to the point that it annoys those around me. Almost.

I'm going to cut this short before it starts to sound like a personals ad. I will simply say that I'm glad you've stopped by. Esther and I hope to be getting things together for our little store soon, so if you like vintage or vintage-inspired clothes and accessories, stick around. It's our goal to incorporate something recycled into each and every one of our little designs. We bought tons of fabric and goodies today - we are beyond excited and can't wait to share with you!

Be well,

Laura

So this is the new year.

[wedding dress, circa 1963 - modeled by Esther]

Hello once again, blogging world! I do apologize that Esther and I haven't properly introduced ourselves - the holiday season has been a little crazier than usual - but I do promise that we will be doing a proper introduction post soon, full of pictures and random facts and more than you ever wanted to know about us.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some pictures. These are from a preliminary photoshoot for the vintage wedding dress rental business my mom hopes to start. We're trying to test the waters, see if this is a viable business idea, and we wanted to see what the dresses would look like on actual people. So we headed over to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids (my former church, before my dad started a mission parish), armed with two cars full of dresses, and went picture crazy! In some ways, I guess I never grew up - playing dress-up is one of my absolute favorite things to do. My sister Vera took the pictures; Esther, my brother's fiancee Darcy, and I were the models. I haven't included any pictures of Darcy because when she gets married, she's going to wear one of the dresses she modeled. Can't have my brother seeing that!

These pictures were originally supposed to be just for us, for reference, but they turned out so nicely I couldn't resist sharing. (Picture-heavy post ahead!) Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

[ wedding dress, circa late 1800's/early 1900's, I forget! Modeled by me ]

[ Circa 1930's, modeled by me ]

[ I forget when this one is from, oops! Beautiful draping, no? Modeled by Esther ]

[ Circa 1880's - isn't it incredible?! Modeled by me ]

[ This is the same one from earlier - the pictures got all out of order, sorry! ]

[ Circa 1930's - technically not a wedding dress, but it could certainly be used as one! Modeled by Esther ]

[ Art Deco wedding dress, circa 1920's or 30's, modeled by me ]
I'm in love with this dress!

[ Circa 1930's, modeled by Esther ]
Doesn't she look positively regal?

xoxo, Laura