Vint Condition and the Matter of Choice

Vint Condition is a pro-choice business because I am a pro-choice business owner. I support the right to access abortion services, sexual health education, reproductive health care, and birth control options. I believe access to these services is essential and transformative to the men, women, teens, and families who need them.

That is why as Vint Condition, I have donated a $50 gift certificate to my local Planned Parenthood's online auction. This auction raises critical funds for Planned Parenthood of the North Country New York so they can keep providing necessary services to my local community.  PPNCNY never turns down patients based on their ability to pay or their insurance status and doesn't tell patients that they just can't take on any more clients at the moment.

In the current political climate, many businesses donate to organizations like my local Planned Parenthood quietly and anonymously. I've chosen to write about it here because I believe that it's important not to be intimidated by a small yet vocal group of individuals. I've seen patients walk past picket lines just to get to their health care appointments, and if they are brave enough to do that, then businesses should be brave enough to show their support.

So if you'd like to support an organization that does amazing work in keeping my local community healthy and informed, head on over to their online auction and bid not just on the Vint Condition gift certificate, but on the other amazing items they have to offer.  Many are for upstate New York businesses, but there are quite a few other items.  If you're a local, consider heading on over to their amazing gala with none other than Cecile Richards (president of Planned Parenthood) as their speaker.

Going to the chapel

While the months of June and July seem packed with weddings to attend, the actual height of the wedding season is considered to be from May through September. But the planning stage begins, for the most part, a year or more in advance. Being engaged apparently means being flooded with time schedules informing me at what time I need to complete each task. Most of the items outlined seem unnecessary for a frugal or uncomplicated bride, but these lists sometimes include useful information. The wedding planning task can be daunting, but there's one thing that I of course truly became excited about, buying the dress. Buying a vintage wedding gown can be a bit of a different process. While some traditional wedding stores carry vintage dresses (see Sewly Yours & Once Upon a Bride in Burlington VT) most of these dresses can only be found online or by scouring the racks at vintage clothing and thrift stores. This often means that vintage dress buyers don't have the same experience of trying on multiple gowns. Many brides don't stop to consider the vintage wedding dress, perhaps envisioning froths of degraded lace, puffed sleeves, and high necklines, but the truth is there's some beautiful dresses out there.

Current wisdom states that a wedding dress is a one time use garment. The idea of keeping a wedding dress for a future child is now also out of fashion. I do whole-heartedly advocate for the donation of wedding gowns and other formal dresses to women in need (see the amazing organizations Brides Against Breast Cancer and The Bridal Garden for wedding gown donation; see The Glass Slipper Project, The Ruby Room, Operation Fairy Dust, and The Fairy Godmother Project for prom and formal wear donations). While there's the growing Trash the Dress movement which creates some admittedly stunning photographs of brides well, trashing their dresses, the donation route seems to be the better path to head down in terms of feeling great about what you've just done. Still, I sometimes wish I had a passed on dress from my mother or grandmothers. None were the wedding dress type, in fact if I remember correctly my mother wore a pink mini skirt suit ensemble to her court house elopement.

Left to my own devices, I've already purchased a dress. In an uncharacteristic move, I ended up buying a much more "bridal" dress that wasn't vintage. It's a gorgeous Christos gown I got at a deep discount and certainly has a vintage tone to it. Although I love the dress, I am second guessing my decision. Is it the right one? Should I have waited to find a vintage gown? At the same time, I know it will work. But still, I can't seem to break myself from the habit of dress shopping. So here's some things that I wish I would have bought:


Early 1930s Maison Doucet gown constructed out of beige lace. Available at Antique Dress for $1,885.

1950s fully lined chiffon dress with streamers. Available at Posh Girl Vintage for $325.

Late 1960s/early 1970s polyester lace dress. Available at etsy seller GoodEye for $165.

1950s Ceil Chapman dress with open work lace waist lined with brown. Available at ebay store Mission to Mod for a starting bid of $299.99 and a Buy Now of $650.