By Stephanie Smartschan
JFLV Director of Marketing

You remember that blouse that Julia Roberts was wearing in the poster for “Mona Lisa Smile?” Stacey Winnick does. She bought it at a tag sale for $2.50.

“I can’t really watch a movie anymore because every time I watch a movie, I’m looking at what people are wearing,” said Winnick, an appraiser, vintage fashion stylist, blogger and the featured speaker at this year’s Jewish Federation Women’s Division Spring Event on May 4.

Specializing in vintage clothing and jewelry, Winnick’s pieces have also appeared in the movies “Titanic,” “Riding in Cars with Boys” and “Cider House Rules.” 

At a vintage sale once, Winnick met Patricia Fields, a designer for the hit HBO TV show “Sex and the City.”
“She came to my booth and ransacked my booth and just bought everything,” Winnick said.

Winnick’s passion for antiques and vintage began as a 10-year-old girl traveling around to tag sales with her mother, who owned a store in White Plains, New York, called “Auntie Mame.” She started her own career in fashion PR, but then sold her business to work with vintage clothing, jewelry and handbags and sell to TV and movies.

She pursued her appraisal certificate and started one of the most popular Facebook sales groups for luxury items, Chappaqua Moms Sales. The group has nearly 7,000 members and nearly 2,000 on the waiting list. 

These days, after 25 years in the business, Winnick can be more selective about the work she pursues. She helps set prices for church and synagogue tag sales, including at her own synagogue, Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains. She blogs on her Facebook page, helps sell some luxury items and is called in for appraisals frequently.
 “I love when I go into someone’s house and I can help them find their treasures,” she said. “There’s such joy in that and putting a smile on someone’s face that they’re going to be able to sell something and make money.”

It’s that talent that Winnick will bring to the Lehigh Valley. At the spring event, she will give an oral appraisal of some special antiques from local families and help the items’ owners tell their stories.

The Women’s Division Spring Event, “Heirlooms from the Heart,” will be held on Thursday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m. at the St. Luke’s Center in Allentown. A minimum gift of $365 to the 2017 Campaign for Jewish Needs is required to attend. To learn more or register, visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/women.