Here Comes Santa Claus....

Confused about where to shop this year, or what to buy?

Why not shop local and support our local economy?

Mad Hatter General Store supports local artists and artisans and has well made, unique handmade gift items that you won't find anywhere else, at a great price point. Let's face it, no one has a lot of extra cash to throw around right now, so we are keeping our prices as low as possible, without sacrificing quality. Here are a few ideas to help kick start your shopping list....

How about a Mad Hatter Gift Certificate presented in a fun & funky Mighty Wallet?

Beautiful accessories at reasonable prices will make you and the recipient smile!

Old time candy make great stocking stuffers.

Handmade belt buckles and leather straps for the individualist on your list.

This versatile poncho is the perfect weight for Florida and comes in many beautiful colors.

Up Up & Away...

Have you ever dreamt of flying an F-18, or just wished you had the opportunity of being a passenger? We acquired this video from a young ROTC student who had the privilege this summer. He was flown to Bahrain and then transported to do his Summer Cruise on the USS George H.W. Bush. This video gives an inside look at life on an aircraft carrier, with a touch of Midshipman humor   :  )

 Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vG4HvEE1fo

Why Vintage?

There are many who view vintage clothing as just old clothes, or clothing for costume dressing. But vintage is more than that. Wearing vintage clothing is a reaction against the ubiquitous uniform of Western culture. It also breaks the boundaries set on us as woman, who are expected to wear what the large multinational clothing chains dictate as fashionable. I am looking at the Fall Fashion Special in Elle Magazine. Lace dress $4,300, lace clutch $1,200, patent boots $1,605. REALLY? Are these the prices we are now expected to pay to get an item of quality? 


Vintage clothing was made of quality fabric that had lasting value and was made to fit real women....women with curves! Realistically, we will never look like the ultra skinny runway and magazine models, and we shouldn't have to feel bad about ourselves because we don't. Nor should our young daughters. Most of the vintage pieces in our shop still look brand new, even though they were made decades ago, and were worn and loved by others. 


I suppose the greatest attraction for me to vintage clothing and accessories has to do with my vivid imagination. I can't help but wonder about the life the garment had, where it was worn and by whom. Did someone fall in love the night they wore this glorious silk ball gown? Was this elegant swing coat worn to welcome a WWII veteran back home? Did he propose? I'm a romantic fool, I know, but when clothing is uncommonly beautiful, something equally as beautiful must have happened to the woman wearing it!


Above all, wearing vintage gives us the opportunity of being unique. That is, after all, what we are.  Why not express your personality by what you wear? A comment that we often hear in the shop is "I'm afraid of dressing too young". Too young in my view, is wearing mini skirts with wrinkly knees, and exposing wrinkly breasts in mini tops. That is mutton dressed like lamb! I don't think wearing something lighthearted and fun is dressing too young. I think it just shows that you are young at heart. There is nothing more attractive than a woman with the confidence to break the norm and wear what she likes... with class of course! 


Lastly, wearing vintage clothing is recycling at its best. We have become such a disposable society that we don't even expect clothing to last beyond a few washes before we have to throw it out. Interestingly, the fashion focus is on vintage right now, because of TV shows like Mad Men and Pan Am. But what you will get in the department stores is reproduction Made In China-wear that won't last.


If you have never purchased a quality piece of vintage clothing you are missing out. Many of the vintage clothing items in our shop sell for $9 - $49. You will never again have to worry that someone else might be wearing the same outfit. You are assured of being unique!

GRAND OPENING SATURDAY AUGUST 27TH, 2011!

We believe in finding the solution, not complaining about the problem. We believe that Americans make better quality products with lasting value. We do not want to support Wally Walnut and his Made In China garbage any longer. We want to see the re-emergence of small business and the foundation of hard work that this country was built on. In our small way we want to contribute to supplying jobs to US citizens by selling US made products and promoting local artisans.

SHOW US YOUR STUFF.

The following is quoted from the MadeInUSA.org website:

“If the government won't help, then the people must do it themselves. Let's say 300,000,000 Americans each simply reallocated 1 dollar per day, spending 1 dollar less on foreign-made goods, 1 dollar more on American-made goods. (That's $30 per month, per person, and it is not an extra $30 per month, but just where you spend it!) After a year, this would add up to $109,500,000,000. What could the real, productive American economy do with an extra $109.5 billion? How about 2,737,500 new jobs paying $40,000 per year?

The greed of us all wanting lower prices is also cutting our own throats in the process. The government and businesses, as well as the consumer has forgotten what made this country the greatest in history. To just flush it all away, and end up just another poor socialist country is a tremendous waste of our divinely inspired founding fathers vision, and the lives of all those that fought and died to keep us a free nation and a great Republic. “