behind the scenes.

new shop collections • part one.

In honor of A Wild Tonic's 2nd birthday, I decided to give my shop a little makeover. That's what you do to human two-year-olds anyway, right? I put together a collection of outfits using mostly vintage from the shop. I tried to limit any other clothing and accessories to sunglasses and five pairs of shorts/skirts. It was so much fun! I was amazed at just how easy it was to put together creative and beautiful outfits only using one garment rack full of clothes. The update is a work in progress, but I'll be sharing bits of the collections here on the blog every so often. You can also check out the shop for more. I organized the first few pages by "outfit" and I linked all of the corresponding items in the item descriptions. Here's my sister modeling a classic 1970s summertime ensemble. What do you think?

ps. Thank you all for your birthday/congratulatory comments/tweets/emails/etc. Means a lot! :)

Vintage 70s Blouse - Cream Plaid Grid Pattern Top - Adrianne Ross - Size Small/Medium


Vintage 70s Beaded Necklace - Vermillion Orange Red Bead Necklace


Vintage Wedges - Wood Heels - Basket Weave Buttercream Wedge Sandals - Size 6.5


Vintage High-Waisted Bright Red Shorts - Size Small - GAP


Vintage Patchwork Satchel - Dark Brown, Red, and Black Shoulder Bag

the print shop • veronika of tick tock vintage!

Back when I was a sponsor of her blog, I sent Veronika of Tick Tock Vintage one of my prints as a thank-you for being so great to work with. The other day she posted a tour of her guest room/craft room and I spotted the print on her bulletin board! So exciting!

Photo by Veronika of Tick Tock Vintage.

a wild tonic turns two! + a sale!

A Wild Tonic is 2! We're celebrating with heart-shaped (thanks, Valentine's Day) cake and three candles, two for each year and one for good luck! I cannot believe how quickly time has passed. Two years ago today, I decided that selling vintage on Etsy is what I wanted to do. Never did I think it would become such a huge part of my life. I've made so many new friends and got to interact with so many interesting people. I've learned so much about business, marketing, branding, advertising, than I ever did in college. Heck, I even changed career paths and life goals. Needless to say, A Wild Tonic is a part of me, and I'm so happy to celebrate her birthday. Especially with some red velvet cake. ;)

Thank you all for your support, encouragement, help, and friendship. I'd be lost without you!

To celebrate this milestone, use code "TWOYEARS" to save 25% on all items in the shop from now until 2/29. Thank you!

love me, love me.

I decided to paint my nails in celebration of Valentine's Day. I went with red, grey, and silver glitter, with two little hearts on my middle fingers. I'm mad that I didn't clean up the extra bits on my skin before I took these photos, but oh well! What do you think? Did you do your nails for the occasion? Frank and I are going to have a few drinks, then go out to dinner (it's a surprise!). What are your plans?

Also, enjoy the lovely sounds of The Cardigans like I have been doing all day. What a great song for Valentine's Day! :)

tonic tuesday 2/14: valentine's day.

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends! Tonic Tuesday this week is dedicated to this day of love. Click the links below to go to the Etsy listings.




column one
1 • vintage lingerie set: panties and tunic / black with red lip novelty print / valentines day
2 • Pair of Passion Potion Glasses. Valentines Day. 4 Sets Available.
3 • 80s Red Lace Bodysuit - Red Bodysuit - Valentines Day - Floral Top - Sexy Top - Stretch Lace Top - 2 4 6 XS S
column two
4 • Vintage black and red HEARTS print sweater women's S / M / L for Valentine's Day
5 • vintage 50's Be my VALENTINE charlie brown Snoopy Tote Bag, Canvas Bag, Retro Snoopy Womens Purse, SMAK and kisses
6 • Vintage 1980s Sundress Scarlet Red Fashion Cherry Red Dolly Valentines Day Sweetheart
column three
7 • red tin valentine's day plate
8 • Vintage Greeting Card Baby's First Valentine's Day Teddy Bear Hallmark Card
9 • VALENTINES DAY SALE Vintage Red Suede Leather Ankle Boots // Slouchy Pull On Short Booties / Size 5
10 • Valentine Flower Brooch Vintage Enamel Jewelry Bright Cherry Red Wedding White Large Pin (Free Shipping USA)

music monday: The Beach Boys - "Surfin' USA"

Check out those pants. Also, is it summer yet?

vintage reshoot sneak peek!

Here is the second addition to the a wild tonic video channel! My sister and I reshot some of the vintage inventory in the shop today. Here's a little video I made by scrolling through the images on the camera. It's just like a long gif, isn't it? :)

Untitled from A Wild Tonic on Vimeo.

music monday: The Doobie Brothers - "Black Water"

"The Dark Secret Behind Quirky Romantic Comedies"

There have been many debates lately about the Manic Pixie Dream Girl stereotype and whether or not Zooey Deschanel is too twee. I admit that some of the blogs I follow can occasionally give off this kind of vibe, and I'm sure I do it too sometimes. I think it's good to laugh about it every now and then, though..

The Dark Secret Behind Quirky Romantic Comedies -- powered by Cracked.com

polka dots and velvet wedges.

This is a typical outfit that I wore when I was on the nannying job last week--comfortable, but still presentable. Even though I was essentially a single mother of three for the week, I didn't feel the need to dress like a scrub. I don't know if I could've pulled off a dress and heels or anything like that, but I thought jeans, a fun vintage top, and platform wedges do the trick.

vintage blouse: thrifted, goodwill | jeans: gap | velvet platform wedges : urban outfitters

shop crush • arminho

I have a major crush on this shop, ARMINHO. I stumbled upon it while doing some basic Etsy window shopping, and just fell in love with it. I love everything about it--from the vintage posters to the dedicated notebooks ("Shopping"). I especially love the cohesion, styling, and photography. Finding this shop has definitely inspired me to work on my shop's photos next week, and you can bet a bunch of those items are in my shopping cart just waiting to be bought! ;)

sunbathing • vintage style.

Okay, this might be one of my favorite parts of my trip to Florida last month. When my mom and her siblings were younger and lived in Brooklyn, a popular thing to do was to go up to the roof and sun tan. They called it "Tar Beach" back then. They would slather on baby oil and literally no SPF, and use sun visors to get nice and tan. Of course, these days we know that is incredibly unhealthy and unadvised, but it's an activity they all remember fondly. My uncle, partially as a joke, partially for memory's sake, and only slightly seriously bought this vintage "Bazaar" magazine sun reflector (actually, two of them) from a lady who used to be a model. She told him that they would use the visors to reflect light onto her for photo shoots. She also told him that he couldn't use it for actual sunbathing and he agreed (although he, my sister, and I all used it for just a bit, just to try it). I have to say, it was brutal. I felt like I was in an oven and I only used it for a few seconds. My eyes had blue dots in them for the next few minutes, too. That lady was not joking around!

Please take a look at the close-up photos of the visor. It's hilarious! "For best sun tan results" and suggesting you tan "in the office!"

bathing suit: target | vintage bazaar sun reflector: my uncle's, via ebay (I believe)