San Diego Finds
Well, we are home from San Diego! What a trip! It was lots of fun, but I’m certainly glad to be home. I was planning on my “haul” post to be my last post about San Diego, but it seems y’all are just too impatient to hear about this vintage shop I’ve been hinting at on my Facebook and Twitter pages! So here we go!
I was delighted to find out that San Diego had a decent number of vintage shops and antique malls to visit during my stay. Three out of my four full days in San Diego I spent shopping with Carla of Tiny Angry Crafter. When shopping out of town, I have to be pickier, especially as we were flying back, and I loathe checking bags, but being pickier was a little bit easier as my wallet was on the slim side after two days at Expo, so I really didn’t come home with much, but boy did I want to! I wasn’t finding too much on day one and two, but on day three I fell in love. And let me tell you, if I had a bottomless pocketbook and drove to San Diego, I would have bought basically the entire store. What is this shop you ask? It’s The Girl Can’t Help It.
The Girl Can’t Help It is quite possibly the best vintage clothing store I have ever been to. It really encompasses everything a vintage shop should be, and carries items some of us only dream about. We’re talking novelty print skirts, amazing tiki dresses, true felt circle skirts with fabulous appliqués, adorable shorts, western wear, even showgirl outfits! Of course there are frocks galore, and they are stunning. There is also a plethora of Bakelite and jewelry, jaw-dropping hats and purses. There’s even a men’s section that is spectacular. Nearly every piece in the shop is a showstopper! And all of it is real vintage. Most (like 99.9%) being from the 1930s through the early 1960s, with the occasional 20s piece, 60s mod dress or 70s band tee. All of the items are in immaculate condition and the prices reflect the condition and rarity of the items in the shop.
I chatted with Gail, the shop owner, for a bit, as she shared her passion for vintage that spans the decades. Before opening the shop in San Diego, she had her business in London for 25 years, then relocated to California and has catered to some of the Hollywood elite among the avid vintage lovers and collectors.
Also noticed the shop were some of Vivian of Holloway items, including dresses, tops and shorts. Talk about a brilliant business move. I can’t tell you how often girls unfamiliar with vintage come into vintage shops wanting that perfect 50s sun dress with a full skirt, only to realize that very few still exist, and if there is one, it’s not in their size. Having vintage repro at the ready is super smart.
While I would have loved to have walked out with the entire rack of western wear, including the two gorgeous sets on the wall and much more, I instead walked out with only a (much needed) black blouse.
I especially love this black blouse as it has puff sleeves, which means it will pair well with some of my Mexican and western themed pieces.
If you aren’t in the San Diego area, take a peek at the shop’s Etsy page, where you will find over 200 items! You can also like The Girl Can’t Help It and find out more on Facebook.
So what else did I buy while in the fair city of San Diego? Here is the haul!
I scored another much needed piece – a red peasant blouse! I also found an extremely comfortable Hawaiian (that was $8!). Buffalo Exchange on 5th Avenue.
I picked up this wooden sombrero and metal charm bracelet at Ms. Vintage. Which I simply had to purchase as it matches my wooden sombrero necklace!
I found this Disneyland Hotel shot glass at Newport Avenue Antique Center. It’s a little worse-for-wear, but I love it.
I also picked up a tie for Patrick. This hand-painted hula girl, with fringe skirt was too good to pass up, even with its issues, at $15! La Mesa Antique Mall.
There are a few more posts about San Diego headed your way in the next few days!
That shop looks AMAZING! Heaven clearly exists in San Diego….who knew?!
Lisa.
Nice blouses! And my love is anything hawaiian vintage, beautiful dress. And great tie! I love San Diego, it would be my choice of the the one city to live in CA. Would have loved to see you in those couple western sets you mentioned ;).
Wowza, that store is amazing. I follow her on Etsy so am familiar with her prices….if only I were rich! Patrick’s new tie is absolutely fabulous! Fantastic score!
I’m so glad you enjoyed my hometown of Ocean Beach! I live a few blocks away from The Girl Can’t Help It. I’ve yet to go in there because I assumed it was vintage repro stuff. I’ll head in there next time I drive by.
What a great shop! I’ve liked them on FB:) Thanks for sharing your pictures. They look like they also had some wonderful novelty skirts:) The Hawaiian dress looks just lovely on you and is perfect for your features. Love this:)
I love the shots you got from the shop. I had such a blast exploring it with you. I’ll be making a stop there after SDCC for sure!
That shop looks like heaven! Love your blouses and that hula tie is crazy fantastic.
Oh I love the peasant blouse and maxi dress! Both perfect for summer!
That charm bracelet!!! I have the matching necklace and brooch but had not seen the bracelet! Such great finds. I hope to make it down to San Diego one of these days. Looks like you had a blast!
Great finds-those tops are perfect. Great basics!
Great finds! I’m so happy we got to meet up while you were town!
Wow, love that hawaian onesie!
That shop does look like a treasure trove, but I just checked out their Etsy page and their prices are wayyyyy out of my budget!! It would just be window shopping for me there. Love the things you picked up, it certainly helps to get the basics like a black shirt when you have such a vast array of colours and patterns in your other separates I’m sure x
The Girl Can’t Help It always has the best items!!! I went to their store when it was in London, and it was like a treasure trove – I wanted to buy everything, but many items were a little out of my price range, unfortunately! My husband also has a hula girl tie with a fringe skirt, but in a different colour – I LOVE it!!!! 🙂
*Swoon!!!* What a sensational shop and array of item they stock. I hope to no end I get to pay it a visit one day, too. Agreed completely about the importance of stocking at least a little repro, too. I’ve long said that if I ever have a bricks and mortar (vintage shop), I’d want to do the same as well.
Love the fun items your purchased – that tie is just too much! 🙂
♥ Jessica
Ohhhhh my word, everything on the West Coast just seems so much better! I would like to buy everything in that store, and PRONTO!
-Holly
Veronica Vintage
Dear Janey,
Thanks for the great read! I just wanted to point out something that you’re probably Not aware of. The bracelet you purchased looks to have been gold-filled originally but is now composed of just the base metal. If you look closely at the saddle and the spring latch you’ll notice black marks. This isn’t enamel or natural oxidation, it is infact actual burn marks. The burn marks are caused by extreme heat from a process called: Reverse Electroplating. It’s basically a way that greedy people steal gold from antique and vintage jewelry. This process uses an electric current to remove the outer layer of gold on one piece and redeposit it to another. It ruins the quality and look of beautiful vintage jewelry. The thief steals layer by layer and usually resells the jewelry afterwards. Ebay is full of vintage jewelry that has suffered this horrible abuse. There’s even YouTube videos demonstrating the process. I hope this info helps you out in your vintage jewelry shopping. I know it would have helped me in my early days of collecting charms. If you’d like more info feel free to email me.
Best of Luck,
-Andrea