I love Gina. She’s a Hukilau friend. But right now, I kinda h*** Gina. Because she was #22 at the ginormous Rochester estate sale dress sale — and I didn’t go — and she scored some amazing dresses. Paradise Hawaii sarong dress, made in Hawaii, sold at the Walt Disney World gift shop? I die.
Okay, but Gina deserves it — she got an early start — so she paid her dues and earned her treasures. She told me that everyone at the sale was very civilized, “There was just so much stuff!” I’m happy for her! Meanwhile, I stayed home, recovering from my trip to see the Vladimir Kagan exhibit just two days earlier. And, the weekend before, I scored my own estate sale coup o’ the decade — up at 5 a.m., at the sale by 5:45, #8 in line — and raced buy about 30 boxes of very vintage, very gorgeous Christmas ornaments. So I’m not doing too bad these days when it comes to my own treasure hunting:
Follow me on Instagram to see some of my adventures in real-time.
Oh, back to Gina and her haul. Here’s what the back of her car looked like packed with her purchases, along with some of a friend’s along for the hunt:
I saw the photo on Facebook, and asked if she would share some of her finds with us. She graciously did! Prepare your eyeballs:
The Hawaiian / tropical wear, because we are Tiki People:
Tip to viewing photos:
On a desktop computer, wait for the entire page to load, then click on the photo and it should enlarge on screen so’s you can get a better look at all the details.
Other vintage fashion:
Gina, my fashion idol:
Gina Santucci and Paul Roe were literally The First People I met heading to my first event at The Hukilau in 2014. Her Hukilau costumes are always highly anticipated. Paul’s, too. “The shopping takes place all year,” I remember Paul telling me. Well, Gina’s likely all set for The Hukilau 2017 now!
Won’t she look fabulous in the dresses she chose from the sale?
Link love: Gina and Paul recently relocated from Washington, D.C. to Syracuse, New York. In Syracuse, they purchased a dilapidated house that could have been owned by one of the Addams family. Paul has relocated this thriving tattoo business — now rechristened The James Street Parlour — into the ground floor. Oh, and in their spare time they are renovating the house top to bottom inside and out. These two are neverendinggobstopper FUN!
Finally, an update on the clothing sale:
50% is still available: Vintage clothing dealers invited!
I talked to the sale organizer, Tim, on Wednesday. He said that about 1,000 people attended the sale, and estimates that a bit more than 50% of the inventory sold. Now, he is taking one-on-one appointments — through the end of next week only — with vintage clothing dealers who want to come buy lots so that he can clear out the rest. If you are a dealer and are interested, give him a call at 585-647-9320.
- For more info on the sale see our original story: Breaking news: Details on the 4,000 vintage — including mostly new old stock — dresses, blouses, skirts, sweaters, jackets going up for sale in Rochester, New York
Beth C says
Do you think Gina will share more photos with us? I would love to see what other little things she got plus see some of those fab dresses on her!
Cynthia Bohli says
Thanks so much for sharing the fantastic dresses that Gina scored, & your Christmas ornaments!
My parents were going to donate their old Shiny Brite ornaments, and I immediately adopted them! Nothing fancy…just solid colors. But, ohhhhh, the nostalgia!
Glen H says
That green cheongsam is amazing! My sisters had brocade ones back in the day.
Pat in PA says
I am breathless at the first dress, and the oriental teal is gorgeous! Pam, you mentioned the waists of vintage clothing being high–I always had that same problem with some of the older patterns my mom or I made back in the day. Speaking of whether people were smaller back then…I was watching a documentary some time ago where there were thousands of people converging in a stadium back in the 60’s and many were walking to and from their seats. I froze the picture and studied it, thinking, “What’s different about this crowd?” I was amazed that 95% of them were slim, unlike the crowds that you see today.
Kylllikki says
When I saw the first story, I thought – my goodness that lady had a zillion dresses! But in the tag sale person’s photos, the clothes did not look that fantastic – I thought $30 – that’s steep… But the ones Gina found are amazing!!! What details, and fabrics! The like of these won’t be seen again in one sale! (If the fellow had shown these in his photos, I might have gone, too – only an hour and a half from my house… 🙁 )
Phyllis Craine says
Gotta say…LOVE the way Paul accessorized with that choke…and those pants! #bringit
tammyCA says
Just such gorgeous dresses! Lovin’ the sarong the most. Those low prices are unbelievable. I want to mention that I once found a fun colors mod ’60s Hawaiian dress at the Goodwill in the Halloween costume section..it’s good to check there at this time of year for any real vintage that might slip in.
Oh, and what a cool Gothic house! Would love to see the interior.
carolynapplebee says
i have got to go back to sewing, because i’ll never find anything around as awesome as these dresses. and i need a man that will wear those pants!!!
Marilyn Watson says
The fuchsia with pink flowers is right out of an early 60’s movie…and I can see a young Angela Lansbury or a lot of the movie stars in it from that Era…gorgeous…
Susan says
I love the first three. The big pockets in front! My favorite is the blue one.
And the quilted skirt is SO Bette Davis!!
If anyone else bought some I hope they post photos, so we all can drool a bit more!