Neil Love

Ya'll know I have much love for Neil Gaiman.
Stardust is a favorite of mine from Neil.
Stardust is now a movie that will be out soon.

Nice interview with Neil on BBC radio.
Better interview with Neil up on Ain't it Cool News.

PLUS I looked at the Harry Potter counter and it is only
25 MORE DAYS till Order of the Phoenix is released.
Gotta get ready for that midnight showing.

Promote Yourself

Part of running an online business is the whole shameless self promotion that one has to do to get noticed.
This is something I suck at.

I've got great vintage clothes to sell, but have a hard time being noticed amongst all the other sellers out there, so it is nice when sites like the Vintage Clothing and Accessories Sellers Registry comes along to make my job a bit easier.

Stop by, sign yourself up (it is free) and get more links to your great vintage out there.

Speaking of great vintage clothes here is some more of that shameless self promotion!
I was on Dress-A-Day last week, or at least my fun (now sold) vintage 50's sun dress made with a great snail print.
It was too cute!

Patriotic Vintage

Red, white and blue is always fun to wear, but there is no better time then in
the next few weeks as we get closer to the Fourth of July.....and
if you are gonna wear RW&B you might as well make it vintage.
Here are a couple of things I have listed
right now at Damn Good Vintage.

Super vintage hipster set. Cotton flares and a cute sleeveless top which is mostly open in back. The vintage pants have a insert of red at the bottom. Cool.

Great silk Nat Kaplen vintage dress in red and blue, add a white necklace or shoes and you will look perfect.

I love this pair of vintage mod sling back flat shoes.
Awesome square toe box, nice and chunky.

End Shameless self promotion.

06/07/07 Newman, William N.

06/06/07 Sutton, Greg L..

06/06/07 Gajdos, Shawn D

06/06/07 Soper, Matthew

06/06/07 Cole Jr., Timothy B.

06/05/07 Kuglics, Matthew J.

06/05/07 Balmer, Ryan A.

06/05/07 Higgins, Andrews J.

06/05/07 Verdeja, Justin A.

06/03/07 Christopher, Caleb P.

06/03/07 Gagarin, Greg P.

06/03/07 Akin, James C.

06/03/07 Kritz, Tyler J.

06/03/07 Surber, Robert

06/03/07 Watt, Kimel L.

06/03/07Brown, Joshua D.

06/02/07 Dressler, Shawn E.

Yes, I should be working on my listings for ebay, I've got
stuff to move outa the house. Nice vintage slip lot.
But I am not....
Why not?
'Cause I have been watching the scariest Dr. Who evah.
"Blink"
Scary, very scary....in that not gory kinda way with stone
angels who do bad things.
I so love Dr. Who when it has been as good as the last few
weeks. First the 2 Family of Blood episodes and now
this one.

God, I love YouTube and folks who are willing to say
screw BBC and their copyright.
If not for them then those of us not fortunate enough to have
BBC on Demand would be stuck waiting around for the SciFi
Channel to get around to running the episodes.

Don't worry SciFi, I'll be watching them all over again
beginning next month, but a girl has gotta get her Doctor fix.
Now just make sure you bring back Dresden Files and I'll be a
happy gal.

Don't turn around and don't blink.....

Sad

Requiem in pace

Today one of the best women I have ever known in my life
passed away after a 2 or 3 year battle with cancer.
Peggy Adams was an amazing friend, mother, wife, lover of life and human.
She had a huge heart, a fantastic laugh, a generous spirit and
a hell of a sense of humor.
This world is poorer for her absence, but our
lives are SO much richer having had the honor of knowing her.
From Peggy I learned that one could drive with a big ass rabbit in their
lap and that a sofa did belong in the kitchen and that life is too short
to fuck around worrying.
So tonight I'm raising my G&T in her honor.
Here's to you Peggy.
Cheers....

ETA: Peggy's Myspace page has some great pics of her.
Here is a write up on the Arkansas Times Blog.
And here is a bit of her obituary:

PEGGY LOPEZ ADAMS was 36 on May, 27, 2007. Although she left this life on June 8, 2007, following a two-and-a half year battle with cancer, her spirit will remain with us forever. She is survived by her husband, Steve; daughters Chloe, 11, Simone, 9; and son Loic, 5. All three children were home schooled by Peggy.

She was preceded by her father, Edwin Lopez, of Orlando, Fla. Additional survivors are her mother, Elba Lopez, and the families of her sister, Maxi, and brothers Edwin, Steven, and Clyde and 15 nieces and nephews, all of Orlando; and her mother and father in-law, Gay and Tom Adams and brothers-in-law Jason and Bryan Adams.

She leaves countless friends, many admirers, and many more who, when reminded of her, will warmly recall their vivid first impressions of a tough, beautiful woman who never suffered fools. Though it’s too often said of others, it was indeed true that Peggy transformed the room just by being in it. Her energy and charm were infectious; they sweetened a strength of character driven by a stubborn honesty. It was easy to envy Peggy. She kept her whole family on their toes and had the respect of everyone she knew, whether she intimidated them or loved them or both. Peggy will be missed, and she will be celebrated.

So Sad.
Still

"Sisterhood of the Travelling Dress"

I have been asked numerous times why I sell vintage clothing by friends and family members who know how much work is actually involved and how little money I make. My husband is constantly trying to get me to work PT at a "real job".
This story on the Bangor Daily News which comes by way of Couture Allure
is one reason why.
It made me tear up, stories about vintage clothing and their previous owners do that to me. Vintage and Pre-1980's clothing, shoes, purses and other accessories such as
sleepwear and lingerie are links to the past. It connects us to the women
who went on before us and their daily lives.

By buying and collecting vintage you and I are preserving our history everyday.

I wonder what is the story of the dress above.
It is from Horrockses in Great Britain. Did the original owner purchase the dress on a trip to London? Maybe she was on her honeymoon? Was she a transplant from the UK who married a Yank after the war. I love thinking about how it got here to me so I in turn can pass it on.

That is why I sell and collect vintage clothing and sewing patterns.

My New Sofa

I picked up this vintage green MCM naugahyde sofa
the other day when I got all those great shoes.
(Ignore the ugly carpet, I pretend it does not exist.)
$50, it was a deal and almost what I have been
looking for. My dad said "looks like a $50 sofa".......
It is the most comfy sofa I have ever had.
That round pillow came with it.
Sweet.
So happy.

Vintage Shoe Orgy
Hot shoes, bad pictures.
Went on a buy last week.
Got lots 'o shoes.

Couple pair of Spring-O-Lators, some Delisio Debs......

All are sling back stilletos.

requiem in pace

06/02/07 Crouch, William J. DoD Confirmation

06/02/07 Catalan, Romel DoD Confirmation

06/01/07 Horner, Bruce E. DoD Confirmation

05/31/07 Domino, Chadrick O. DoD Confirmation

05/31/07 Baylis, Matthew E. DoD Confirmation

05/31/07 Bean, Matthew A. DoD Confirmation

05/30/07 Cuellar, Bacilio E. DoD Confirmation

05/30/07 Moore, Joshua M. DoD Confirmation

05/30/07 Lundin, James E. DoD Confirmation

05/29/07 White, Doonewey DoD Confirmation

05/29/07 Liggett, Robert A. DoD Confirmation

05/29/07 Correa, Richard V. DoD Confirmation

05/29/07 Weiglein, Joseph M. DoD Confirmation

05/29/07 Markham, Jonathan A.DoD Confirmation

05/28/07 West, Kile G. DoD Confirmation

05/28/07 Ewing, Anthony D. DoD Confirmation

05/28/07 Baker, Zachary D. DoD Confirmation

05/28/07 James E. Summers, III DoD Confirmation

05/28/07 Alexeev, Alexandre A. DoD Confirmation

05/28/07 Sanchez, Junior Cedeno DoD Confirmation

05/28/07 Church, Theodore U. DoD Confirmation

05/28/07 Heidtman, Keith N. DoD Confirmation

05/28/07 McFall, Thomas M. DoD Confirmation

05/27/07 Villarreal, Emmanuel DoD Confirmation

05/26/07 Hester, Charles B. DoD Confirmation

05/26/07 Smallwood, Erich S. DoD Confirmation

05/26/07 Trussel Jr., Francis M. DoD Confirmation

05/26/07 Blodgett, Clinton C. DoD Confirmation

05/26/07 Bailey III, William Lee DoD Confirmation

05/26/07 Dunn II, Clayton G. DoD Confirmation

05/26/07 Jaurigue, Michael J. DoD Confirmation

05/26/07 Millard, Gregory N. DoD Confirmation

05/26/07 Walsh, Nicholas R. DoD Confirmation

05/25/07 LaForest, Mathew P. DoD Confirmation

05/25/07 Rosa Jr., Alexander DoD Confirmation

05/25/07 Lindsey, David Paul DoD Confirmation

05/24/07 Caguioa, Mark R. C.

Vintage Video







Over on The Vintage Fashion Guild's Blog we are directed to
VIDCAT:Fashion Media Archives, a wonderful website FULL
of fashion videos. Fashion shows and newsreels from the 50's
and 60's are available for you to view.
Be warned I spent a few hours over there.

requiem in pace

LaForest, Mathew P.

Zylman, Casey P.

Ashley, Benjamin J.

Dembowski, Robert H.

Uruo, Iosiwo

Pulido, Victor H. Toledo

Winterbottom, Jonathan D.

Shoemaker, Russell K.

Dunham, Robert E.

Anzack Jr., Joseph J.

Cagle, Daniel P.

Higdon, Kristopher A.

Worthington, Robert A.

Kuehl, David C.

Montgomery Jr., Robert J.

Sauceda Jr., Oscar

Butcher Jr., Steve

Desilets, Benjamin D.

Woodall, Julian M.

Weaver, Shannon V.

Ardron, Brian D.

Davis, Michael W.

Wisniewski, Justin D.

Moore, Christopher

Medlin, Jean P.

Behrle, David W.

Gilmore, Joseph A.

Varela, Alexander R.

Haslip, Travis F.

Schumann, Jason A.

Collins, Ryan D.

Baum, Ryan J.

McCants, Marquis J.

Brown, Scott J.

Nash, Casey W.

LOST

DUDE!
OMG!!!!!!!!
and squee...
Jack, I hate you so much, but even I felt sorry for you at the end....though I did wish John had just shot you right between the eyes.


WHAT a way for a show to come back. Before last night I was really getting all "Jesus, get on with it" and thinking I might give up on the show....except no one on tv is as hot as Sawyer.
Now I can't wait for next season almost as much as I can't wait for Battlestar* to come back in FUCKING January.
Much Love to you Lost.


*BEST show on TV, if you are not watching it you should be.

SAVE GAS













Just a reminder to SAVE GAS and
shop online. Your favorite vintage
seller will love you for it and so will
the environment!

requiem in pace







Wright, Thomas G.
Walker, Jeffrey D.
Packer, Steven M.
Gautier, Aaron D.
Hamm, Jonathan V.
Martinez, III, Anselmo
Romero, Joshua

New Vintage Patterns at Sew-Retro

So I'm listing new vintage patterns at Sew-Retro as a way to get over my sadness that no one ever offers to sell me a box 300 vintage patterns (you know who you are) or heck just gives the damn things to me.
Where are my FREE 30's and 40's patterns?
Where I ask you.....
Yes I am bitter, why do you ask?

I do have some nice ones:


So 80's it scares me.

Pretty 30's Frock


This 30's ensemble came with a "free" Vogue Cape pattern
inside that I'm going to include cause I'm so wonderful.

40's Swing Dress Pattern


I really love this "Sabrina" dress that I have had a few times.



When did women stop wearing long skirts
in the evening? Very Pretty.

So that is my shameless self promotion for the next week or so.
Carry on.

requiem in pace

Hartge, Nicholas

Self, John T.

Bacevich, Andrew J.

Klasno, Rhys W.

Murphy, Christopher E

Connell Jr., James David

Happy Mother's Day to Me!!!!!





The PURSE has been discussed below.
The PURSE now belongs to ME!
The PURSE is FAB and so over-the-top in a "skinny rich woman with a great big head" kinda way that I will love it forever!





















The PURSE has bunny studs......
















and the PURSE has poodle studs....








and the purse came with a creepy lamb pin!
I am satisfied. and now I can tell you where it has been hiding low these last few weeks.
It was at Dorothea's Closet's real brick and mortar shop in Des Moines, Iowa.
Ya'll need to go buy some good shit from her now.
OK?

You know, I'd like to make this blog just about vintage clothes.
I'd like to just discuss fun stuff....lots of people do.
I'd like to not piss off potential customers.
Really I would.

But I just can't.
Everyday, in my name as an American citizen, more people die.
Solders die.
Civilians die.

And everyday the Bush administration sounds more and more like the Johnson administration during Vietnam.
They are lying to us and they are wrapping the American people in the flag and patriotism and "supporting the troops" that we will not see what a mess Iraq has become.
The press is complicit in this.
Where is the nightly body count? (for those too young I can remember watching it go up on the nightly news as a child during Vietnam.)
Where are the pictures of the flag draped coffins? (who cares what the Bush administration says. Only by showing their sacrifice to we actually honor and support our troops.)
Where is the outrage that the lives given are not being acknowledged or honored.

So from now on, amongst the fun stuff and the great vintage I'll be including the casualty count for both the military and civilians at the top of the page in the right hand corner.

• American Military Casualties in Iraq: 3,387 as of 5/10/07

• Civilians reported killed by military intervention in Iraq: 63,373 min.

I'll try to honor the fallen by at least making sure we know their names each week.

In WW2 the sacrifice was spread all around. Rationing, even in fashion, was an everyday sacrifice made by everyone. Now there are huge sacrifices being made by just a few while the rest of us go on as before. War is not fun and it is time that we Americans stop and think about what is being done in our names.

I hope this will not make me loose any customers, but if it does so be it, it is the least I can sacrifice for the sacrifice they have made.

Why I'm Broke









All last week I was buying vintage clothes from one of the BEST estate sales I have ever been to.
Tons of lovely vintage all in this small bedroom.
It was like walking into a vintage boutique except the clothes were all the same size.
Some of it needs work, but here are a few items that are going up in my store, Damn Good Vintage, this week.



A NOS Van Raalte Nightgown:












This snazzy 40's Linen Jacket:












A sexy Floral Silk Cocktail Dress with a Twist Bodice:












and this cool Pinup Tiki shirt:












I also got the most amazing 30's patchwork housedress frock that I have not gotten pictures of yet.

Vintage Shoe Porn

Go check out this animated homage to Salvatore Ferragamo.
Amazing!






Picture; "orthopedic wedge" 1935, Ferragamo

They Let Me In

I can't believe I forgot to mention that I am now a member of The Vintage Fashion Guild.











How cool is that?

Dude, the Republicans in Utah are NUTS

Not just nuts, but batshit crazy.

Don Larsen, chairman of legislative District 65 for the Utah County Republican Party, had submitted a resolution warning that Satan's minions want to eliminate national borders and do away with sovereignty.

In a speech at the convention, Larsen told those gathered that illegal immigrants "hate American people" and "are determined to destroy this country, and there is nothing they won't do."

Illegal aliens are in control of the media, and working in tandem with Democrats, are trying to "destroy Christian America" and replace it with "a godless new world order -- and that is not extremism, that is fact," Larsen said.

It must be some fun to live in Utah.
The whole story can be found here.

Personally I think my cat Nico is one of Satan's Minions....

Everyone Needs Bunnies and Poodles

So, I am not into cute.
Normally.
And though I like purses and have a nice little collection of vintage ones, I usually like to buy very utilitarian black bags with no style for my everyday use.
That is why it is so strange that I am actually dying to own this purse:













Not only that, I am thinking about spending money I DON'T HAVE on a damn purse.
I'm sure the purse snobs out that are all "what? it is not a Fendi or Gucci?"
Or whatever is the cool purses now.
Who cares? Do you see those gold rivets?













Bunnies and freaking poodles!
Bunnies and poodles on a great navy leather satchel bag.












I'm dying.
I refuse to tell you who has it or what vintage shop in Iowa it might be residing in.
Not.
A.
Word.

There Might Be Patterns

The other day I got a call from my friend who has a brick and mortar Vintage shop here in town.
She was going on a "house call" to a home where a woman had passed, her brother was trying to clean the place out to sell while caring for his elderly Brother-In-Law.
"There might be Patterns" she said.













So of course I said "yes"!
The deal is that she gets most of the clothes on these trecks, but she does share the pickings with me nicely and I get first pick on the patterns and sewing notions.
The gentleman's sister was a compulsive shopper.
Lots o' clothes that had NEVER been worn, I got a few items.
Not only was she a compulsive clothes shopper, she also was a compulsive pattern one. She saved everything from about the time she moved into the house in 79'. If only she had never moved. Who knows what we would have found.













And she bought almost ONLY Vogue.
And she did not use them.
AND she remembered to get the tags!
So there were about 300 patterns.
A number were too new, some had been used and the patterns just balled up and put back in the envelope (I weep at the loss of a Pucci and a YSL Russian) and they could not be saved.
In the end I have about 100 large format Vogues (Vogue Paris Original and the like) most uncut and with tags from the 60's-to late 70's along with about another 80 or so small vogue and other maker patterns.
Lots of Dior, Lanvin, Molyneux and more.













I've started listing them at Sew-Retro Vintage Patterns.
Stop by and take a look.

I Love The Pope

I love his red shoes, I love his cool hats, I love that has name is actually Ratzinger, I love that he was head of the Office of the Inquisition (how cool is that?), I loved Cardianl Ratzinger so much that I have a coffe mug that says:
The Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club "putting the smackdown on heresy since 1981."
I love bizarre "Pope Facts".




I'm a good Catholic...luckily I have a sense of humor since I just read this over at mimi smartypants:

DISAPPOINTING TESTICLE RESEARCH

I recently read a book about transgendered teenagers on the West Coast, and one of the chapters gives some superficial background on transgender history, mentioning the "Pope Joan" myth specifically. It also states as fact that Popes used to sit on an open-seated chair during their elevation while a cardinal felt around for testicles. You do not know how sad it makes me that this is probably not true. However, in the course of my fact-finding I did learn that the Camerlengo used to have to job of hitting a dead Pope in the head with a special ceremonial hammer. Which is so awesome it almost makes up for the lack of papal ball-handling.

Reading that gave me one of those "laughing without making noise" moments where you can't catch your breath and tears are running down your face.

(I guess I could have said ROTFL and LOL, but except for OMG! I really don't get into netspeak and I'm over 25.)

*
An OPEN LETTER
Dear Ebay Seller:
I'm a great buyer. I pay right away, leave gushing feedback and am not hyper picky so will not freak if you missed a flaw and demand a partial refund. Unfortunately I did not bid or did not win your item for the reasons below;





Seller #1:
That is a lovely set of 40's PJs you have there.
I would LOVE to buy them except I can't.
Why? you may ask.
Well I refuse to pay $10 for an item that will cost you $4.50 (less if you go 1st class) to mail. I'm more then willing to pay a bit of a "handling" charge. We all have those built into our shipping costs, but that is a bit much. Plus you do not say how you actually plan to ship..."flat shipping rate" does not tell me anything.
Sorry you missed out on a sale.

Seller#2:
Wow what a coat! I would LOVE to own it, but you don't have a shipping charge listed and there are only 10 min left in your auction.
There is not enough time for me to "email me if for a shipping quote".
Sorry 'bout that.

Seller #3:
I am so happy with the cool leopard cape I bid on and won. I have taken a chance on you even with your crappy feedback AND no shipping cost listed
'cause I only bid the opening $4.99 bid and won.
$14.00 for shipping is a bit high, but that is still cool as long as the
cape is in the "excellent" shape you have said it is.
What really chaps my hide is the lack of response from you.
I emailed to ask you if that cute swimming suit had a metal zipper.
I emailed to ask you how much extra that dress would have been over the cost of the cape to ship together.
I emailed you from both of my ebay IDs.
Nothing.
Nada.
No peep. Just my invoice.
Guess what?
I did not bid on your other items.
They pretty much sold for the opening bids too.
THAT is sad. If you had just emailed me back you would have made more money.
Pity.

Seller #4
I wanted that dress soooo bad and even bid on it though your $10 shipping cost required me to go do all kinds of brain gymnastics to justify the purchase. Luckily you started the bidding at .99. The sad thing is if you had just started the bidding at a reasonable amount and NOT tried to make your money back on shipping I would have gone higher and YOU would have made more money.
Your Loss.

Sincerely,
A "just want to spend my fucking money why do you make it so hard?" ebay buyer.

ETA: I just came back from getting the mail. Today I got a lovely 40's sheer nylon dress folded in a manila envelope and mailed for $1.75 (I paid around $6.50 for priority shipping) and another dress rolled into a ball and stuffed into a way small box for which I DID pay $10 for shipping.
Sigh.

If you are a buyer do NOT take this as an indictment of all eBay/vintage sellers.
I never ship like this.
I have a ton of friends who sell on ebay and/or have websites and NONE of them ship like this. I hate, hate, hate that there are sellers out there who give the rest of us such bad names. And these items with the high shipping and crappy packaging could just as well been books or buttons or patterns or any number of items I have shopped for or bought on eBay.

*I just put Lucius up there cause he is so pretty and it makes me giggle thinking of Mr. Malfoy shopping on eBay for a new pimp cane.

For the War Effort

A few days ago I got this WW2 era booklet in the mail:

During the years for World War 2 it was considered your patriotic duty to sacrifice
and make due. There was rationing in food, gas and even fabrics for clothing.
One of the ways women could help with the war effort, besides having Victory
Gardens, was to be frugal with their clothing. Taking an old item and making it
new was all the rage and this pamphlet is one of many produced during that time
as a guide to help the home seamstress remake her boring clothing into
up-to-date fashionable garments.

The First Day Of Spring

This was just the perfect spring day here at Goddess central.
High 70’s, low humidity, sunny.

My husband buried his father today.

James S. Woolfolk, SR. passed from this world Sunday evening.
Tuesday Mr. Goddess and The Boy headed to Kentucky for the
funeral.

I, on the other hand had to stay behind to hold down
the home front due to an overabundance of pets (4 dogs, 3 cats) and
no one to watch them. (We used to have some great neighbors who would come feed
and make sure they got to go outside, but they moved a few years ago.) Just
a hint, if you like to take vacations and trips with your spouse an
over abundance of pets are not a good idea…some day The Boy will be old enough
to stay behind and we will travel the world.

An obituary can only tell you so much about a life.

When I was 19 my the fiancé took me from St. Louis to Kentucky to meet
his family. My future father-in-law went out of his way to make me feel
welcome and one of the family. He had a keen sense of humor, was intelligent
and widely read and a Southern Gentleman in ever sense of the word. I remember his
smile, the way he would drive my then toddler son around on his tractor, the words he would use to describe Republicans.
No, they were not for polite company.
He went to bed too early for his wife and would stoke the fire too high.
Four fine sons and five grandsons.
He read mystery novels and historical biographies and did the New York Times crossword puzzle.

My husband said that the men he worked with that came to the viewing all praised his
ability to impart his knowledge to others, willing to share what he knew and that they could trust his word.

Alzheimers stole his sharp mind, the memories of a Grandfather from my son and ultimately Jim’s life.

Requiem In Pace

My mother-in-law said it was a beautiful day in Kentucky too.

*and yes that is the freaking cutest dress and purse, did you think I would not
make a comment about the clothes?