Today was our first Summer Shop Local, Support Local $1 Sale and it was a big success! Tons of people turned out to snap up terrific deals on vintage and name brand clothes – and raise money for Basic Rights Oregon. Thank you to all who came out!
If you missed today’s event, don’t fret…We’re hosting $1 Sales all summer. Every second and fourth Sunday, June – August.
Our next $1 Sale benefiting local Portland charities will happen Sunday, June 26, 11 am – noon.
There’s a strong ’70s influence in the look of spring/summer 2011 so it’s no real surprise that Betsey Johnson pieces are getting a lot of attention in our Hawthorne shop as well as online.
“But Betsey’s not a ’70s designer!,” you cry.
Well, yeah, but she was going strong in the early ’90s which, not coincidentally, also happened to be a big ’70s flashback moment. All flowy and floral, but with that punky punch of color which makes Betsey Johnson Betsey Johnson! Check it:
If you’re in Portland, we’ve got tons of vintage floral dresses for you – including more than a few Betsey pieces.
And if you’re anywhere else, or you just have your heart set on the dress above (which will look amazing with some granny boots and a giant sunhat!), you can buy it from our online shop:
http://redlightclothingexchange.bigcartel.com/product/1990-s-betsey-johnson-cherry-dress
Over the weekend, the usually swell New York Times ran a nice little piece about the always swank Mick Jagger, lead singer of the Rolling Stones and sharp-dressed man for at least the last four decades. The photo above accompanied the article. Total cost for his NY Times ensemble: $2,338 (plus unknown thousands for the antique brooch, price available upon request, from Fred Leighton). Sir Mick’s outfit breaks down thusly:
- Junya Watanabe Man Comme de Garcons jacket, $1,440
- Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt, $188
- Lanvin scarf, $710
Well, guess what? You can recreate Mick’s dapper, rock ‘n’ roll look for a helluva lot less at Red Light. It took us about 10 minutes to put together this outfit with pieces we found on our racks:
- vintage velvet blazer, $14
- vintage shirt, $10
- tie-dye scarf, $9.95
- vintage brooch, $6
Total cost for Red Light’s Mick Jagger style redux: $39.95 That’s a difference of $2,298.05 (and that’s not even including the cost of Mick’s brooch!).
(Thanks for being our impromptu Mick, Jen!)
If you find yourself in The Red Light this week, you’ll likely notice something new: a plus-sized section in the women’s department! We listened to the many customer requests and now have racks exclusively dedicated to ladies’ larger sizes…and they are packed with cool contemporary pieces (Torrid, etc.) as well as lots of glam vintage (50′s cocktail dresses, etc.)!
We love getting feedback from customers, so please let us know what you think of this new section – or if there is anything else you’d like to see at The Red Light!
And if you have larger size clothes but haven’t sold to The Red Light before because you thought we might not buy them…well, now you know! We do, and we’re looking for more so be sure to stop by our buying counter soon!
This week’s Red Light Radio playlist comes from that evil mastermind, Ryan, our visuals manager. Red Light Radio #3 is a mix of Ryan’s semi-obscure favorites…the songs customers always ask us about! Cazwell, Ssion, Leslie Hall (who you might spot shopping at The Red Light when she’s in town), ELO and more all make it onto this week’s Radio. Check it out here, on The Red Light’s Grooveshark channel (where you can find a host of playlists curated by Red Light staff)!
Want to see new arrivals as soon as we get them? Then become our friend on Facebook! The Red Light gets hundreds of new items in every day and dozens of them are posted to our Facebook account (where we also post special sales, events and other fun stuff)…Men’s and women’s, contemporary and vintage!
According to this recent New York Times article, major retailers H&M and Wal-Mart both slash and trash unsold goods – making them unwearable and fodder for landfills – rather than simply donating or otherwise responsibly disposing of unwanted inventory.
The fashion industry is one of the world’s major polluters just through it’s manufacturing process. It is extremely disheartening to learn that major retailers are compounding this waste by simply throwing out their leftovers.
Patronizing The Red Light and similar stores, whether as a buyer or a seller (we hope you’re both!), is one of the best ways to reduce fashion industry waste. The Red Light doesn’t throw out any clothing; everything we can’t use is donated to a local charity.
(Picture courtesy of the New York Times.)
Some of us really like the cold weather. Some of us don’t. Still, even those of us who hate winter chill have to admit that cold weather brings out some fabulous fashion. Like ultra long scarves…
We’ve got loads of long, silky, vintage scarves in every hue. Coiled around your neck, these scarves are just as warming as the chunky knit varieties but they are much more versatile. Plus, they are an easy way to add glamour to any outfit. Many of the scarves in our current selection are 4′ or longer, and the average price is just $8!
Cropped, furry jackets are another one of our winter fashion favs…They are totally warm yet sleek (unlike so many winter coats), and they bring the lux to punky outfits (think jeans, leather boots, chunky jewelry) and 20′s flapper looks (think silk dress, high heels, long, delicate necklaces) alike.
We’ve got a number of great vintage jackets in both faux and real fur, dark and light colors.
Normally we’re not into dolls, but these soon-to-be-released Barbies are something special…Sure, they don’t look just like the pop icons they represent but we’d still be ridiculously excited to find one under the Christmas tree next month!
The dolls don’t hit the market until December 10, but you can preorder them on Amazon and other websites. Surprisingly, they aren’t that expensive…The average price is $44.95 (which qualifies for free shipping on Amazon!).
Pre-order Joan Jett.
Pre-order Debbie Harry.
Pre-order Cyndi Lauper.
