Amelia V.B. Shull

I showed up at the Armory in downtown Durham on May 20 right at noon. I’d spent the night before sifting through my closet collecting a grocery bag full of clothing that I didn’t want or didn’t fit in anymore. Usually, the thrift store would take my clothes and resell them to benefit their cause, […]

As a photographer, I have enjoyed dressing up people in portraits to depict a fantastical world, but when I read about high-end couture fashion as depicted in magazines or in commercials, I’ll often note that a malnourished girl has fallen down in some extremely expensive high heels. Increasingly, that becomes too big a price to […]

My backyard may be somewhat small, but lately it feels like a nature conservancy. Squirrels are busy making mischief, the occasional rabbit bounces around the garden, and the birds sing songs all day long, fluttering from feeder to feeder. It’s the birds that really make me feel like spring is on its way, and I […]

Love always lends itself to fine-crafting a work of art. We think of romance as something between two people, but romanticism is an exciting and mysterious quality that can describe a look or a sound. In ruffles and feathers and makeup, effeminate glamour defined The New Romantics in the 1980s. This spring, many designers are […]

In late 2005, Durham resident and graduate student Capri Rose launched a home-based business that would fund her research and allow her to continue to stay in her pajamas until mid-afternoon. Thus, Capri Rose Sleepwear was born. Rose’s motto is “sleep well, sleep modern,” and as a Ph.D. candidate in art history, her love of […]

My parents recently told me that they didn’t want anyone to buy them anything for the holidays this year. I decided the best thing I could do would be to spend money on their behalf by doing my shopping at charity-based thrift stores. This way, I will not really be “buying” my parents or anyone […]

Handmade Market Vintage 21, Raleigh Saturday, Nov. 11 The diner display is just a sneak preview of the craft bonanza later this month at the second-ever Handmade Market, a Handmaidens event that brings together dozens of independent designers from across the region to sell their waresnecklaces, notecards, baby clothes, hats, handbags, skirts, belts, embellished T-shirts, […]

When I walk into Za Za Zsu, a boutique at 1918 Perry St. just off Ninth Street in Durham, I realize there are many other things here that I will want to wear. The clothing in this clean, modern space rivals any magazine spread I’ve recently drooled over. Every piece is high quality and unique, […]

School kicks back in and students everywhere, of every age, think about what to wear on their first days of classes. Ads in magazines let you know what’s expected of your wardrobe this fall, and back-to-school sales rage like forest fires throughout shopping malls all over America. To the core, figuring out what to wear […]

I’m usually quite proud of myself when I make a drawstring skirt or a headband. But while at my friend Nora’s house recently, I noticed a deconstructed leather sandal on her work table. It was a shoe she was designing for fun in her free time, while she wasn’t busy making banjos or belts. This […]