Friday, January 28, 2011

For the Love of Vintage Clothes...



I have had a passion for vintage clothing since I
bought this very nightgown 
out of the 25 cents drawer at the old St. Vinnie’s
in Sheboygan, Wisconsin...


 The year was 1971...



This was one of the best I ever bought and the
fact that it has my mothers name on it only adds
to its appeal



tiny little stitches applique this lace onto the gown..
the monogram is the most delicate stitching...
unheard of today.


Since then, the allure of silk and handmade
lace has caused by heart to skip a beat when
I spot things like this at an Estate Sale...

this one was a recent find...found at the
bottom of a box with 3 others...
one with a matching bed jacket.





This exceptional nightgown is sewn on the bias with a halter top
and cut out back...



The fabric is a beautiful, flowery, rayon print...
circa 1930’s.


Vintage clothing gives you the opportunity to stand out...
to not look like anyone else
to be unique.
and for the most part
if you are very diligent
you find these things at a fraction
of what it costs to buy new...

The quality is incomparable...

hand sewn seams

tiny, tiny stitches

sometimes made by hand with the utmost care...



Through out the years I have bought and sold many
beautiful antique clothes...


some I wish I still had.




The days of finding these shirts for 5o cents is long gone.

This one was $195 at a vintage clothing store on
Melrose Avenue in Hollywood.





why oh why didn’t I buy these shoes?







You can still find beautiful things.  I do it all the time
and it’s for that reason I’m up tomorrow  morning at 5:30,
gulp down my coffee, jump in the car map in one hand,
the morning paper in the other with all the garage and estate sales
circled,as I do my rounds in the dim morning light 
searching for the next best thing...

Here’s to all you fellow hunters...
Happy Hunting this Weekend..




Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Sunny Afternoon...In Riverside


This exhibit at The Riverside Museum
showed different ways in which we 
decorate ourselves throughout history
and in different cultures.



Tattooing in Polynesia




American Indian tribes used  beads to decorate
their shoes, clothing and household goods.










Glorious 1920’s  Frocks decorated with
beads, sequins  and embroidery





Glamour and elegance is just a frock away.






The  early Victorian period used corsets
and elaborate and painful methods including rib removal
to get the hourglass shape.   Give me Spanx anyday.






I never tire of looking at clothing from the 1920’s
and if given a chance would time travel back to that
era, but of course, I would want to be rich in order to
wear dresses like this.





Through out history, jewelry was used as a way to
show wealth and status.




1800’s silk dress.



The wonderful Riverside Museum is  a 
tiny little treasure just across the street from the
fabulous Misson Inn


About an hours drive east from Los Angeles



A pretty little town that provides a full day
of things to see and do and if you are lucky
and have been a very good girl....




you can sit in this courtyard at The Misson Inn and have a lovely lunch,





a nice glass of Champagne....




While gazing upon this fab view.
A rare and wonderful, clear, sunny afternoon
in Southern California.



Take care to enjoy and stay warm and cozy wherever you are in this last week of January...          


Friday, January 21, 2011

Friday night photos


Just some photos


On a Friday night...



with





 Pink Floyd on tv...













don’t use any flash ...


Try to get Ginger



to do as he’s told.



Yeah, good luck with that.




a mere blur of a cat


This  January evening in the new year of 2011
when that big old moon
is shining so bright and I’m feeling a little
creative( and draging my husband along with me).





get out and do 
something daring and bold
something wonderfully unique
  something you’ve never done before.


Do it different this time.
Experiment
Have fun
Live Large
Larger.


don’t let convention stand in your way.

and don’t copy anyone else.



Tuesday, January 18, 2011

FLEA MARKET HIGHLIGHTS 2010

Meeting my first Blogging Buddy in The Flesh at Elkhorn.
 The pretty Jan from "Gracie's Cottage”.  I look beat from
the plane trip and getting lost driving to my hotel plus
getting up mega early to get first crack at all that cool stuff.




Tom from “American Pickers”  selling at
Elkhorn.  Wow...I was blown away and
couldn’t believe my eyes.









Everyone’s favorite hippie

 Tom was unbelievably funny on the show
and comes across like a true gentle 60’s soul.  I thought
people like him didn’t exist anymore.
I was so proud he was from Wisconsin.






I wish they had a female version of A.P.
Two women in search of the finds.  Heck yeah,
we can compete with the dudes and instead of all
the motorcycle stuff we’d be digging out the old dresses,
and hats and jewelry, the chippy dressers and chairs..




Elkhorn, Wisconsin.  I plan my trip back home around this flea market.
And now, through blogging, I actually know some of the
dealers and follow them.  It just adds more enjoyment
to the trip and makes you feel part of it all.






This would fly out of my booth at Wertz Brothers...
but a shipping nightmare.


I wish I could have brought this baby home...
You need to see the beautiful varnish crazing up close
to appreciate this piece.  It was a beautiful quarter-sawn oak
with amazing hardware.   I love workhorse pieces like this.



Wisconsin memories



Came real close to buying this but what a
hassle it would have been to pack and ship it.



Cedarburg, Wisconsin Maxwell Street Flea Market has been a favorite of mine
since the early 1980’s...



  I love these old Edwardian leather purses


so much...


So I bought all three.


This one’s a keeper for my own stash.



  Pricey but fab.   Did I want it...oh yeah.




What’s my dream trip for this year?    One word....Roundtop.
 I Want to go real bad so I’m putting it out there to the Universe... I would love to take a big trunk,
load that baby up with the loot, meet a lot of bloggers there,
 party down with them and have a first hand taste of Texas hospitality.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Practice makes Perfect?



I am not a natural...
I have a lot of fear and self-doubt.
I censor myself and think too much.
i hold back.


thinking too much




I have to practice and repeat things over and over.
And my memory isn’t too hot.









But the enjoyment I get from it and the
feeling that I get from playing music,  writing songs
and performing them...





 makes it all worthwhile.


The Ukettes


Sometimes you just have to conquer the fear and
dive in head first.  You get people who are telling 
you that your crap...but you just have to carry on
anyhow.





Playing with good friends, the ones that support you
and believe in you and help you on your path makes
things less painful.      


 




and when the party is over and 
another year is upon is...
it’s back to the practice room with
new ideas, bigger plans and setting my mind
to be more focused, more accommodating and
forgiving of myself for not being perfect..I’ll
never be that.  I’ll never be famous or fabulous.
I’m
just trying to be authentic to who I am and
finding my own voice.


NO ONE IS GOOD BY IMITATION...





Fab neighborhood Party ringing in 2011
Thank you Mauna & Lee...



I don’t have the voice of an angel.
I sure wish I did but it’s very ordinary...
but I do love to sing and I love to play,
and I know that by doing it I can overcome alot of
other stuff that is standing in my way.


So in this New Year...

I want to conquer all that stuff and I want
to do it just for me...and not to please others.
and stop worrying about what they think about me.


Because the only thing worse than failing
is never trying at all...


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