Books For the Vintage Lover

I know I said that I would be reviewing David Sedaris's book next, but I did want to get these two gift giving recommendations out first.
If you are looking for a gift for the vintage clothing lover in your life (or yourself) here are 2 of my favorite books.

First off is The Seductive Shoe by the wonderful Jonathan Walford of Kickshaw Productions.
The book has all the shoe eyecandy one could ever ask for while exploring the effect of historical and societal changes on footwear . Organized chronologically, it includes an illustrated appendix of designers and shoemakers. Really, the pictures in this are just some of the best I have ever seen, clear and crisp.

The next one is Fashion, The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute: A History From the 18th to 29th Century. This is, of course, just a lovely book with beautiful garments and a nice heft that makes it also good for self-protection since one could wack an intruder with it. While the scrumptious photographs take center stage the small amount of text is rich with details. This has been re-issued a few times, the last being 2006 when the book was split into 2 volumes.
Loses the protection aspect, but may make it easier to handle.

If you are going to buy from Amazon, please use this link that helps support the Vintage Fashion Guild. Better yet, forget about Amazon and support you local bookstore.

Asshats and Tears

Normally I can just ignore that part of the American public that exists just to make me feel all shouty and stabby.
Not today.
After having spent some time in the annoying Target store avoiding all manner of asshattery I come out to my van to see that the lady who pulled in next to me did so at the diagonal.
So close that I had to go around the front of my vehicle to get in the door.
I sat there for a few thinking of all the things I'd like to do, like scrape her car door as I got out of the space or let the air out of her tires.
Instead, for once, I wrote that note that I always think of too late:

Dear Asshat Target Shopper.
Hi.
Awesome parking skills you have there. Thanks for allowing me to practice my mad driving skills by getting out of this parking space without scratching your craptastic van.
Merry fucking Christmas!

No not very nice, but damn it, it would have taken her 2 min to straighten her van in the parking space. I wish I had a camera with me so I could have taken a picture and posted it here.

After that I got to be annoyed at the library, Lowe's and then WalMart.
While waiting in line to pick up my prescription there was a gal with a little guy.
Maybe 2ish.
He was just being a little guy, but mom was tired and bitchy and I felt sorry for her.
He really was not being bad, but you could tell her day had already been long.
What I wanted to tell her was that they go from this:
to this:
in a nano second and there is no going back.
I wanted to tell her to lighten up and enjoy the silliness and the little kid-ness and just let things go. How many times did I scoff at folks who told me to enjoy my son while he was little, the time goes by so fast.
I was a fool, they were right.
and while I was thinking this I began to CRY.
Seriously, in WalMart, standing in line waiting for a prescription.
Jesus, I'm such a sop.

Vintage Blow Out Sale

Just a reminder, there is a sale going on right now on eBay.
The Vintage Blow Out Sale or VBO.
Four times a year some for the best sellers on eBay get together and list tons of vintage
clothes at $19.99 or less.
Buy it Now or Fixed Prices, no auctions.
Go to eBay and use VBO as your search.
Here are a few of the items I have listed that have not been snatched up yet.

Bitter

Got a bit of a Battlestar Galactica fix tonight which helps rid a bit of the bitterness I am feeling since noticing that Pushing Daisies (the BEST new show on TV...sweet and funny and cool and smart and odd and I cry at the end each week, I'm such a sap) is going to be pre-empted* by a freaking razorback basketball game.
Do I care about a basketball game?
No I do not.
I must see what happens next to Chuck and the Pie maker.

Of course Tivo could be wrong....I can only hope.


*Yes I know that in the big scheme of things missing a favorite tv show ranks pretty low, but with the dreck that passes for tv (what with BSG not coming back till march and no HBO for The Wire, Pushing Daises and Dexter are about the only really entertaining shows out there) these days I feel a bit bitter and I can't tell if it will be shown later or on another night.
And I don't trust myself to write a nice email at the moment to inquire.

Battlestar!!!!!!

Ack.
I almost forgot, Battlestar (best show on TV, besides The Wire) Razor is on tonight.
It is the bone that ScFi is throwing us BSG freaks to keep us happy until the new season next year.
Enjoy.

ETA:
Harbinger of the freaking Apocalypse!!
WTF?

Caturday Quick Post

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris came in the mail today so it is next up for a book review.
My 1st order from Roger That! also came!
They really are "all that" folks.
Me so happy.
Go buy some.
Now.

Here is a funny LOLcat from icanhazcheezeburger ya Trekkie Geeks out there:

Why I Love Ellen Green

More YouTube stuff, sorry.
But I have just loved Ellen Green ever since I saw her in Little Shop of Horrors.
If you only know her as Aunt Vivian on Pushing Daisies here are a few clips from LSH.







The movie is worth a look just for Audery's and The "Greek chorus" of Chiffon, Crystal and Ronette's costumes.

and yes, I did try to find a clip of Herbert on Family Guy singing "Somewhere That's Green" in his special pervy way.

Why I Love Pushing Daisies

Besides the sweetest stories with snappy dialoge, they let Ellen Green and Kristin Chenoweth sing.
Sing They might be Giants and Cat Stevens and "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from GREESE, for heaven's sake.
With dogs and Pagoda hats and Swoozie Kurt's crazy ass eye patches.
Totally delish and really, Morning Has Broken (you would have to have been watching for a bit to know how important it was for the Aunts to swim again) made me bawl this week....and go to itunes and download songs from Little Shop of Horrors so I could enjoy Ellen Green a bit more.
I love the aunts.

Now watch these clips and fall in love.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Eat till you bust, drink some good spiked cider, try not to fight with your family and then go take a nap....hopefully your dreams will not involve turkeys armed with knives.
Good times....

Is Your Best Friend a Psycho

My friend Ang thought I needed to take a look at the cards over on Roger That! Laboriously Handmade Cards.

How did she know (except she knows my sense of humor and has spent many hours laughing at the LOLcats with me over on icanhascheeseburger whilst talkin' on the phone) I would find them so LOLROTFLOMG!!!1111!!!!!! and all that.
She was right.
I dig 'em.
Seriously, they are right up my alley with cards like "Happy Holidays from ASSHOLEVILLE!"
and "Is Your Best Friend a Psycho?" and a ton of cards with MCM furniture* on them.
There are boobie! cards, and glam vintage gal cards and bizzare "what the hell does this mean" cards and oh, yes Jesus cards.
And most of them have little gems written next to them, like this:

Here’s where reading all these damn card descriptions actually pays off. The police use the following test on suspects to see if they’re dealing with a psychopath. It’s a REAL TEST. REALLY.

Call your best friend and casually tell it the following anecdote:

Maggie is at her mother's funeral. She meets George. They go out a few times, and she falls madly in love with him, but George seems indifferent and finally stops returning her calls. Maggie kills her sister.

Now here's the test: ask your potentially psycho best friend, "Why did Maggie kill her sister?"

If your friend retorts, "Well, OBVIOUSLY because she wants to see George again," then your best friend is, indeed, a psycho.

See.
Jesus, that is brilliant!

So I ordered a set of "Glam" cards for a "Secret Santa" gift and also picked up some of the Xmas cards to give to my bitches (they know who they are).
I'll let ya know what I think when they get here, but I'm pretty sure that the Roger That! folks will be raking in more of my money in the near future.


*A category that has a long paragrah explaining just "why" there are so damn many furniture cards. Who cares? Cards with Danish Modern Furniture on them are made of awesome in my book.

Serendipity

ser·en·dip·i·ty (sěr'ən-dĭp'ĭ-tē)
n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties

1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.

I got this vintage 1940's velvet evening dress the other day.


Today I was playing on eBay and found this 1947 vintage pattern.



Like I said....Serendipity.

Good Times

As Carol, over on Life of a Jersey Girl has already blogged, it is that time again.
No not the holidays, sweetie, but Project Runway.
Once again we get to watch Tim Gunn walk around with this

and This:
look on his face whilst a designer does something craptasticlly idiotic.

So far I think Chris and Steven will be my favorites.
Yes, Rami is hot.
I can't wait to see Ricky cry more.
and I am so glad to see Mango is on the show!
Check out my favorite PR blog:
Project Rungay

Good times!

On the Watch List

So I love Bes-Ben hats.
Who dosen't?
Crazy ass, wild, quirky and sometimes just down right chic.
What a sense of humor Mr. Green-Field must have had.
I love this little tid bit:

The prices for Mr. Green-Field's creations, which originally ranged from $37.75 to $1,000, tended to exclude women on a budget. However, every summer he would clean out his inventory for the new season at a midnight sale, marking down the hats to as little as $5. At 2 a.m., he would begin to toss the rest out the front door to waiting bargain-hunters.

I would have stood outside every year for a chance to be thrown an awesome hat like this:
Or This:

Or, dear GOD(!) like the Creepy Owl Hat!

You could not be meek and wear one of these hats.
There is even one with two freaking pineapples sticking out on either side of the hat.
Awesome.
These come from a large collection that will be auctioned on Sunday in Chicago.
They are also doing eBay live auctions for the hats along with various other vintage garments, purses, hats and textiles.

The Brief History of the Dead

I read about 2 or 3 books a week.
Mostly mysteries, mostly forgettable.
I begin a number of books each week, but I do not
finish all of them. Life is just too short to read a sucky book.
I have been meaning to discuss the better ones, the ones
I took the time to finish.

Last night I sat down to begin The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier.
Last night I finished it too.
Once I began I could not put it down and at only 272 pages it was a fast read.
The book alternates between Lara Byrd, a researcher stranded in the Antarctic after a virus has killed everyone on earth and the City of the Dead.
That's really all I want to give away.
Except that it was a lovely little book about life and death, memory and love.
Get it on Amazon, or better yet, support your local independent bookseller.

Whaaaaaa.....

My parents are moving.
Far away....well 5 hours away.
I am now for all intents and purposes a orphan.

Not really, but it is hard to imagine what it will be like.
I've gotten used to having them around for the last 9 years.
We are now back to how it used to be when we lived far away
from any family.
So it will be just the 3 of us again.

I was kinda counting on the "lousy" housing market to keep them around, but
instead there ended up being a bidding war for their house and they ended selling for just $1000 less then what they had asked for when the house 1st went on the market.
I think it was on the market for maybe 2 months.

Right now it sucks to be me.

New Stuff at My House

I got some new (at least to me) pieces of vintage furniture in the last few weeks.
First off is my new 50's vintage kitchen table.
This is what it looked like when we got it home:
This is what it looks like now:
Hubby cleaned it it up very nicely.
I really like that "cracked ice" top.
Found it at an estate sale in the storage shed they had were not gonna clean out.
I got it for 10 dolla!
That is my kind of price.
This weekend I got this awesome 50's Kroehler chair
from what I assume was their "Galaxy Designs" group.
It is in just great condition, very comfy and the perfect "reading" chair for me.
I got it from a friend of a friend (which probably makes him my friend too) who sells Mid Century Modern furniture.
I looked all over eBay for an ad, but found none, there were tons of Kroehler ads, just none for the "Galaxy" line. I need to go though my vintage magazine stash and see if I can find one.
Maybe someday I'll run across one of these sofas.

Vintage Bias Cut Negligees

Sigh.
Bias Cut Negligees
They are so lovely.
I got these the other day and just had to share.
The one above is a golden hued 30's silk charmuse.
Below a yummy 1940's vintage peignoir set of rayon slipper satin, another 30's gown and a sweet 40's gown with a lace peplum.



These items and more will be available soon from Damn Good Vintage.

Last of the Summer Flowers and an Auction

We are going to have a killing freeze tonight so this morning I went out and cut the last of the summer flowers that are blooming.
Zinnias and lilacs.
Yes, lilacs.
The lilac bush re-bloomed late in September when we got lots of rain and the temps cooled down from the 100's.
So here in Arkansas is finally fall and the best kind of weather. Cold at night and in the low 70's during the day.

Sunday I attended a "Ladies Tea Auction" with a vintage seller friend of mine. They had lots of vintage jewelry and vintage dresses, shoes and lingerie. I was focused on the clothes and had missed the 50's 3-D picture of the last supper until it was up for bid.
OMG, I love me some Jesus Kitsch!
Had to have it.
Got it.
Here it is on the wall by the altar.
I also got a pretty celluloid comb with rhinestones for my hair and a "Cable Car" Enid Collins purse, which like all EC purses I get is missing stones, but I love the pink of it.

Of course I got clothes.
The best is the vintage 30's and 40's bias cut nightgowns that will be listed in a few weeks on Damn Good Vintage.
It was a fun day and a nice theme auction from the auction company, there was even a finger food buffet. They also had wine, which was quite a smart move on their part as I would think a drunk bidder is a bidder with no control.
No, I did not partake precisely for that reason.

Now That is a Skirt

I have a habit of going back to the same vintage sellers over and over again. Partly because I know them or are friends with them, but also some sellers just have the most amazing vintage clothes.
Ang at Dorothea's Closet is one of them.
Angie of Capricorn Vintage is another.

Do you know there used to be a time when all women had a full length dress in their closet?
They would wear them to nightclubs and out for dinner and dancing or
to a monthly local dance.

We really have become too casual.
(writes the woman who is still in her jammies at 12pm....one of the perks of working at home)
These days it really has to be almost a BALL for a woman to have need
of a dress like this...or she has to be a movie star who is on the red carpet a few times a week.

What a vintage 50's dress!

An attention getter, great bodice.
The color combination on paper would sound crazy,
but in practice is a statement and very lush.

I agree with Angie that it does remind one
of a Fred Perlberg.

Oh and that skirt?
Get a load of the back!

As Angie says:

The back view is just marvelous.
The colors from the bust in front head around to the back.
Where it is inset into the HUGELY full skirt.
So dramatic and what an exit! Wonderful when dancing.

Can you imagine dancing in a dress like this?
Can you imagine what a Diva you would feel like in it?
This is the kind of dress that will make other women feel bitter that they have sniffed at "vintage" dresses before and rue the day they snubbed you.

Now don't you wish you had a formal occasion on the horizon that you could wear this creation to? So if you are one of those gals who are lucky enough to show up in the "society"
pages of your local paper and what to stand out and make all the other women sigh
with jealousy, this dress is for you.

Vintage 1940's Suits

Today I got an amazing 40's suit.
Nipped waist, curvy with an white ermine collar.
No I have no pictures yet.
But it is sweet.

These "Noir" suits are one of my favorite types of vintage 40's clothes and I happy to see that the fitted, curvy look is slowing showing up again in modern fashion.
It makes me think of women who were "dames"
Gals who could drink whiskey and smoke and curse like the guys, but were still feminine like Hepburn or Bacall.

The suits are stern and military like, a "take no shit" look with the huge Joan Crawford shoulders, but also sexy as hell.

My friend Lisa of The Wiggle Room Boutique on eBay sent me a link to this sharp Ted Stein vintage 40's suit she has listed at auction.

"The 40s were known for their classic ladies' suits, and this is a wonderful example. The jacket is nipped in the waist, to create an hourglass effect, and to balance out the shoulder pads. The tabs you see are not pockets, they are simply added detail......"

The three vintage 40's suits above are available at Damn Good Vintage.