I love researching the Glamour Girls Guide to Boston Project! Yesterday the Glamour Girl Team (meaning me and my assistants, Rosemary and Coco) hit Charles Street in Beacon Hill. Aside from the fact that everything we saw on Charles Street was overpriced (one does not go to Beacon Hill for deals!), we couldn’t beat the Glamorous Shopping Ambience of walking down the streets surrounded by gorgeous brick buildings with black shutters, flowers spilling out of window boxes and old fashioned streetlights. Squint your eyes and you could be walking in Victorian Boston! So here’s a few interesting shops where we found unique treasures and met some fabulous charming people along the way.
Bridge Antiques at 99 Charles St.
Coming from extra-friendly New Orleans, I found Bostonian shopkeepers to sometimes be, how shall I say… challenging. (Not to say there’s not grumpy shopkeepers in NOLA–there certainly are–but it’s more the exception than the rule.) But I consider it a personal challenge to try to make them laugh, break the ice so to speak, and get them smiling. (I don’t know what it is about me, but I really really want people to smile and be joyful.)
So, when we walked into Bridge Antiques at 99 Charles St., I made the lovely salesperson my “cheer up” project. It wasn’t long before the beautiful “Claire” was showing us around the shop with a great deal of laughter. We even exchanged beauty tips! (Claire was lamenting her “too pale” skin while we told her to look at Coco, who is extremely fair by choice and looks stunning. I also encouraged her to look up Dita Von Teese who has flawless porcelain skin, but Claire didn’t know who Dita was.) So, Bridge Antiques has pretty cool stuff for your home, but what we really loved (besides the bronze statue of a belly dancer as you walk in) was the gorgeous jewelry.
If you are looking for stunning one-of-a-kind unique earrings or rings, this is the place! They vary in price, around $200 and up, and you won’t find anyone else wearing the same pair. Whomever curates this shop has an excellent eye for earrings.
Vintage Taste at 103 Charles St
Owned by Heli and Paul Labadini, Vintage Taste is the shop to explore if you’re looking for Chanel, Louis Vuitton, or Hermes. They even have a Birkin bag! Although I didn’t see it as it was hidden somewhere. Paul told us a harrowing tale of a gang of thieves who came into the shop and two distracted Heli while one ran off with the Birkin! Heli, who must be an Hermes Wonder Woman, chased the thief down, was aided by a skateboarder who collared the criminal, and the Birkin bag is now safely hidden. So Dickensian! So if you’re looking for a unique pair of Chanel shoes or you just want to meet the brave heroine, Heli, try Vintage Taste!
Helen’s Leather at 110 Charles St
You may be wondering why a cowboy boot shop has made it onto the Glamour Girl List. Well, that’s because I attended a museum event the other night and the best dressed woman there was wearing Lucchese Sparkle cowboy boots with her dress, along with a massive hat on her white hair. She looked beyond FABULOUS and she single-handedly renewed my cowboy boot passion. Plus, I was born in Arizona and raised in Utah and California, so I have street cred when it comes to cowboy wear. And this led me to Helen’s Leather. This is an Old West shop and I felt like I was stepping into a shop in Texas or Colorado. Boots, holsters, belts, even cap guns adorn this shop. The owner was warm and friendly (I didn’t have to dance around to get him to crack a smile), Greg, and when I told him I needed boots with sparkle, he said he had catalogs in the back and he could size me and order whatever I wanted from the right place. I have since learned this means: when you buy cowboy boots you want them made in America, which of course makes sense since this is where cowboys spring from. Apparently boots will last forever so you invest in a great pair and they’re yours forever in holy matrimony. So glamorous? Not really, but it still deserves a shout-out for its unique store design, customer service, AND for everyone who might want to sass up their gala outfits with a little cowgirl attitude…
