Spirits of Fashion

Hello World!

My name is Karen Antonowicz, and I’ve procrastinated long enough!  It’s time to start my adventure in blogging.  Why am I starting this blog, you might ask?  My husband, Mike and I opened an antiques and collectibles store, called Nostalgia, 3 years ago.  The store is on the east side of Providence, RI and contains three floors of diverse merchandise.  This location housed the This & That Shoppe for 30 years and, although we kept the same business model, the store looks quite different now.

Although much of  my work life is spent enjoying our store, my true purpose for starting this blog involves my passion for all things vintage, especially fashion.  I received a Masters Degree in Historic Costume & Textiles from the University of RI, then proceeded to teach at the college level for 13 years.

However, I’ve discovered that what I enjoy most is presenting fashion era lectures to audiences at our store, at ​libraries, senior centers, historical societies, schools, and other venues. These presentations revolve around television shows in some instances (Downton Abbey Fashions, for example) or on a particular time period, such as The Gilded Age.  I use a slide show, video clips, and extant clothing & accessories, whenever possible.  I found that my audiences show up, because they truly are interested in the period, the fashion, etc.  Unfortunately, this often was not the case when teaching undergraduate students at the college level.  These presentations make my heart sing, not to be too corny about it.

Finally, I must mention that I have a great deal of fun helping others with styling, particularly mixing vintage with newer items.  I am an accredited Style Coach with the International Association of Style Coaches, and I love to assist in coaxing out a client’s authentic style!  Thus, in addition to my Fashion Era posts, I occasionally will include posts about vintage style in dress and in life.

I welcome readers to my new blog, Spirits of Fashion, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading as much as I’ll enjoy writing.  So long for now, dear readers!