Alligators, Old Mink, and New Money

It always happens, you're shopping for something on Amazon, and you're literally $3 away from getting free shipping.  Every.  Single.  Time.

It's very frustrating.

In one of these trips, I was looking for something, and I decided to type in the word, "vintage," into the search bar for books.

I came up with Alligators, Old Mink, and New Money by Alison Houtte.  It was only 6 bucks, so I thought, "What the heck."

At the time, I was standing in as the concierge at the Hilton DeSoto and spent my downtime (which, being the off-season, was a lot), reading the book and basically devoured it in a few days time.

I read it at just the right time, too, to really appreciate a lot of the words Houtte wrote.  She talks about how she transformed from her days of modeling into opening and running a successful vintage shop in New York.

Though I wasn't going from being a model to a vintage shop owner, I was going from a 9-5 to being an independent business owner, so I really enjoyed her life anecdotes within the covers.

She covers vintage clothing -- finding it, evaluating it, and cleaning it -- as well as shares stories of devoted customers and crazy encounters.  There's a great one in there about a woman wanting a vintage alligator head bag that made me laugh, though I hope I never have to go through the same scenario.  Plus, she throws in personal stories and writes about her family and how they eventually influenced, though some-what grudgingly, her love of vintage.

So, if you're ever in the same bind I was in or are simply looking for a good read, look up the book and add it to your cart, you won't regret it!

And, if you're ever in the Park Slope area, check out the Hootie Couture Store!  (I've never been, but it's on the list)
321 Flatbrush Ave
New York, NY 11217