I prefer to shop vintage or handmade, so I was delighted to find Tron Kirk Market while in Edinburgh.  Then I was equally disappointed to hear that it would be closing. As usual, I was vocal about my feelings.  This time, someone was listening.....  How do you feel about the small businesses in your community?  How can we help keep them open (so I can go shopping ;) )?
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/traders-shock-at-sudden-closure-of-tron-kirk-indoor-market-1-4707364

Since the Summer of 2014, I have been hosting a quarterly event at my house for lovely ladies in Rome.  They arrive with gently used items to trade and we drink wine while we shop from each other's closets.  It's my favorite event to host because the theme gives us a prompt to tell each other travel stories about the pieces that our suitcases have outgrown.

My recently acquired collection of Regency Jackets (think Jane Austin) has quickly become a personal favorite.
Rejects from the Rome Opera costume closet, these ostentatious jewels are surprisingly wearable.
The train of each jacket falls far beyond the floor, so a little bustling work made them more practical for the city.
I have found many reasons to wear these statement pieces:  a Costume Party, an Antique Shopping Tour in Paris, and a launch party and networking event in Rome. 

I have convinced myself that I can wear these until the day I die and that they look good with almost anything.... you cannot change my mind.

It seems 2018 will take me back to one of my favorite cities in the world : Paris.  Working for The Antiques Diva certainly has it's rewards.  I have made many a fashion mistake in this city, and so will begin my packing early.  As I pull out my vintage suitcase, I am reminded of a particular lesson learned.  Maybe, I am lucky to be visiting the city in Winter, so I am certain to not repeat mistakes of the past:


I knew better than to wear flat, open sandals for a day of walking in Paris.  My time there had introduced me to a new kind of film that only a big city can provide and I made the choice to wear flat open toed sandals anyway.  It was a normal touristy day that had me headed to visit the Eiffel Tower.  I stepped off of a curb to cross the street and I landed in a small river of water, headed toward the famous sewers.  I felt worse about the situation when I looked upstream to discover a half naked (you guess which half) street person washing his unmentionables in said river.  The film that coated my feet that day was sticky and black and served  as reminder to me that when you walk the streets of Paris you may collect a great deal more than culture.