Bridal shower

Saturday afternoon my Tia Gail threw me a wonderful bridal shower. It was set up under a gazebo that is across the street from where we are getting married, and it was the perfect day for it! There was blue sky, swallows were flying all around, and that weekend a car show was in town so about a dozen of the most amazing 1950s cars drove by all in a darling line. I kept saying "I want that one!"

Of course there was lots of great food, and yummy cake, and a table full of the best gifts. Among other things, I received lots of blue kitchenware, the cutest apron, and my great grandmothers pyrex mixing bowl. I'll have to do a little kitchen photo shoot soon, it looks really cute!
Such a fun afternoon, thank you everyone who set it up and attended!

Oh the little drawing is what my cousin Pearl drew. It is a picture of me as a princess, too cute!

Let them eat cake.

THIS is why I haven't made that hat I've promised for a giveaway, or cleaned my house, or listed barely anything in my shop. I was busy making fabulousness :)
Saturday I had both my bridal shower, and a costume party to attend, but I couldn't wait to show off the costume, so it comes first.

About a moth ago my mother and I were invited to a party and her friends house, I had gone to parties there before with her, once it was circus themed, such fun! The theme for the party was 18th century, and as soon as I heard the hat was the first thing that came to my mind. I have often seen drawings of entire ships in 18th century hats, and thought that would just be a dream. My mothers friend was kind enough to lend me one, and from there the costume was inspired.
I went to Johanna's 18th century blog for tons of insight and inspiration, it's full of beautiful photos, costumes, and authentic clothing from that period. I wish I could have been more authentic, but time and budget were scarce.
Actually, almost everything for the costume I already had. The main fabric is a vintage upholstery, I have no idea where I got it from, and the base of the sleeves are old curtains. The only material I purchased was the blue and white trim, the buckram for the hat, and the big blue feather.
Everything, including the hat, is made from scratch, and I did use a bodice template I found online, but had to alter it quite a bit since it had no sleeves, and was way too short. After I made that structured part I draped on my dress form, over a petticoat and homemade panniers (they were like hip pillows, hehe).
The absolute best part was the hat. If you can believe it this was the first time I had ever made a hat from scratch, I'm pretty proud of myself. I shaped the buckram over a foam head, and covered it with fabric. I wanted the ship to look as though it was caught in a storm, and the feathers were giant waves about to crash down. The pink tassels were just for giggles ;)
Near the end of the party they had a "best costume contest" for men and women, and I won!


On the left, a couple that reminded me of "Pirates of the Caribbean", her hair was so high! On the right myself and the host of the party, Brian, complete with sword!


I embellished my mothers dress a bit, she bought it at my work, it was one of those 80s prom dresses that looks like a princess would wear it.
The party was bundles of fun, there was music, dancing, food, a scavenger hunt, and sword fighting of course :)
Chris, on the right won best mens costume, he reminded me of a cartoon, hehe.


There were such fabulous costumes, and I was really happy to see some hats as well. I especially love the top hat with the big jewel in the middle.


I think that was the most grand I have ever felt, and the biggest fire hazard...

A bit of nostalgia...

This was one of my first vintage dresses, given to me from my aunt Nichole when I was around 10 (ish). It was originally a dress up frock for me, but I remember one warm summer day I decided to wear it for a walk around the neighborhood. I completely loved it, the way it draped, the pattern, the way the light fabric caught the breeze. Something about it just felt really grown up and dreamy. And the rest is history....

Well, ok, it took some more time to realize there were more dresses like this one, but, you get the picture.

The necklace is one of my favorite costume jewelry pieces, it was my great grandmother Lois's, she was a master sewer and her backyard always smelled like warm tomato plants. I know those are unrelated, but it smelled really good!

The shoes are actually 70s, looking 40s and despite having a wooden sole are really comfortable. They make me tall :)

Does anyone remember their first vintage?

Today I was a nurse... Not really though.

When I found this 50s nurses uniform at work I was so excited. I have been on the lookout for one for a while (along with many other vintage uniforms) and this one fit perfectly! I wish the photos didn't turn out so bright, because the details and closures are really unique. Honestly I've always disliked white, cream is nice, but white is very stark on me. For some reason I love it as a nurses uniform. Last night I embroidered "Sunny" on it, my name means sunshine is spanish, and that's what my mom calls me. I paired it with a brown felt 50s hat (I didn't realize the camera cut it off, oops!) and leopard shoes. The glasses were a must, as well as matching white gloves. At work a woman came in and asked if I would be interested in buying a nurses cape. Since my boss is the only one who can buy at the shop, I had to tell her to come back, but I sure hope she does! A matching cape would carry this dress into the fall ;)

Photo found here.

Blue feather day

Today my friend Kendra and I went to Fabric Depot to find her some pretty material for her bridesmaids dress, and me some material for a honeymoon dress. Whenever I go there I get flooded with ideas, and just want to buy everything and make everything, and try not to think of the amazing circus outfit I could create with the pink striped sequins textile. I got away with some plain pink cotton for my dress, buckram, and some pretty trim and this giant blue feather for a project I'll show you this weekend. If you know don't tell! It's turing out quite well, and I'm having a lot of fun with it.
I wished I could have bought all the big bright feathers, they looked so amazing. Feathers as just plain fun.

40s Blouse and shoes-Buffalo Exchange.

Skirt and purse-The Urban Eccentric

Flickr woes and blog love.

As much as I like that my readers can have access to blog photos via flickr, I just can't get over how many creepers are lurking on there. On the bright side, easy access for people who want to do features and interviews, but on the dark side: Creepers.
Plus flickr says that I have to upgrade to a Pro Account ( I would have to pay for) otherwise only my latest 200 photos would be visible. I'm just kind of sick of the whole thing. It was causing me much more stress than enjoyment, and guess what? I'm getting married in less than a month, so any un-needed stress is being thrown out the window. So I deleted my account, and now if you need photos for something just ask and I will send them to you, its no problem at all. I will most likely open an account back up, and was thinking of just not tagging any of the photos, that way I wouldn't show up in searches. Any thoughts?

On a much brighter note my friend Shayla is having a Fantastic giveaway!. A vintage hairstyling book I have been pining after, as well as hair accessories she has personally put together to go along with it.

Sandra D of Debutante Clothing has featured me in an interview this week! She's so much fun to talk to I wished the interview could have been face to face :)

I was featured as a style muse a few weeks ago on the visually scrumptious blog Pugly Feet. Since then an interview has been added, complete with yesterdays to-do list. Unfortunately not all on the list got done....

A modern touch.

I keep forgetting I have this dress. It's a Dian Von Furstenberg I found at Buffalo Exchange about a year ago. She is a modern designer I like, partially because her prints are so amazing. And she is credited with making the wrap dress popular in the 70s, which is pretty cool. This dress is very comfortable and flattering, I think it would be a perfect dress for travel, and to put a vintage spin on it I paired it with a hat and 50s sling backs. And gloves of course, but I forgot to wear them for photos :)

Dress-Buffalo Exchange

Hat-Unknown

Shoes-The Urban Eccentric

By the way, the shop I work at has opened an Etsy shop! The Urban Eccentric will be selling vintage clothing as well as accessories and sewing supplies. I actually picked out the buttons to be listed, there are some really cute ones. So check it out, there will be lots to choose from!

Did I mention I love photobooths?

On of the wonderful things about working for yourself is that you can pick your days off. Usually Tuesdays are when I take photos for Etsy and clean everything, but instead Sam and I went to Portland with friends. Our friend Ian is back from Collage, so we gathered a little group and went to Powells books store. All the books I wanted were double what my store credit was, but oh so great. There's a book just with photos of vintage sewing patterns! And a 40s book I fell in love with, that had amazing photos. So I left empty handed.

We had dinner at Henry's, mine and Sam's favorite downtown restaurant. They have a really good veggie burger, if anyone ever goes there I highly recommend it.

Our last stop was The Ace Hotel, where we took three sets of photos in the vintage photobooth. Silly times.

Dress: The Urban Eccentric

Hat: Yard Sale

Dress?????

Yesterday Shayla and I tried to make sense of a 1930s dress pattern she bought. The pattern itself has some pretty odd pieces, and trying to translate the instructions to something understandable was quite an adventure. We spent HOURS on this dress, actually we were each attempting our own, and spent waaaaayyy too much time on one piece that just would not fit. We figured that having two sewers would make this easier, which I honestly think it did, and I try not to think of attempting such a monster alone. After working all day, and screaming at the instructions, and asking them "What does this mean?!", we decided to call it a day just as we were about to strangle the dress form.

Oh, and Shayla got stung by a bee. Yeah.

New 1930s topper.

Yes, I got another 30s topper from work, and it's so adorable! I actually got two, hopefully the other one will be posted soon. I fell in love with this one as soon as I saw it, such a pretty color, and full black netting all intact. That is so difficult to find.
I wore this today when I went with my dad to buy a suit for the wedding (five weeks away!). I suppose the outfit looks more early 40s than 30s.


Hat, purse, and skirt-The Urban Eccentric

Blouse-Thrifted

Shoes-Nordstrom Rack

Ships ahoy!

Like many vintage girls, I'm a sucker for nautical things. And leopard print. Together they sing.

Today was my nephew's and cousin's kindergarden graduation, which just happens to be the same school I went to when I was a little girl. It was really cute, and I not only got to see them graduate, but also a lot of children I had known from working at the school when they just started. Seems like yesterday they were all little babies.

It took me a long time to get dressed, because it was one of those "nothing looks good" kind of mornings. But I pulled this pretty little dress off the shelf, and decided to take a chance with a leopard pillbox instead of something matchy, like a cream topper. I really liked the result, one can rarely go wrong with leopard :)

Later Sam and I met my mom at a local Mexican restaurant. I dressed more casual, in sailor denim and a little jersey summer cardigan I got at an estate sale. To make it unique I accessorized with a beret and a fantastic plastic charm brooch my mother got at an estate sale. Yes, my whole family goes to estate sales, we cover more ground that way, hehe :)



First photo

Dress: Rummage sale

Purse: Antique mall in Solana Beach

Hat: Buffalo Exchange

Gloves: Estate Sale

Second photo

Cardigan: Estate sale

Pants: Thrift store in Solana beach

Brooch: Estate sale

Shoes: Thrifted

Hat: Thrifted

It's about time.

I'm thinking I should do a giveaway, don't you? How does a hat made and trimmed by me sound? I feel like making a hat from vintage materials, probably a topper, what do you think?

xoxo

Uh-may-zing.

I love this dress. It has a hood! I know I'll regret selling it, but hopefully it will go to a good home.

And a fabulous party :)

Beauty Salon

Saturday my mother and I had an appointment at the Salon, I just got a much needed trim, my bangs were past my eyes!
Whenever I go there I indulge in reading fashion magazines and tabloids, and this time I flipped through the home decor magazines too. I took photos of some things I'd eventually like to do when we get our own house, like the color of the wall in that Kate Spade ad, and the lived in feel of the bedroom. I'm always attracted to Kate Spade ads because of the use of color, she has an amazing way of using just the right amount on just the right things, never overwhelming, and never dull.

Here is a little photo of my pink bow shoes I got last year in California. Cute huh?



Before our appointment we had a few minutes to check out a new vintage store on 23rd in Portland. And the next time I go to Pop Up Shoppe, I'll need more than a few minutes to look around. It's like a pretty little daydream, at least mine, with every nook and cranny filled to the ceiling with vintage clothes, accessories, and decor. Think of going into an attic and everything in there is fantastic. Only the shop is kind of in the basement...
The prices are fair, and there were plenty of 40's dresses I would have purchased had I not been saving up for the wedding/honeymoon. There was a surprising amount of children's clothing, something I always find missing in vintage shops, but love. So if you are in the area I would recommend getting lost in my vintage daydream.

Well, one of them.

Things that are too small but I want anyway.

This seems like an ongoing segment in my life: Things that are too small in one way or another, but I pine over anyway. This week a pair of shoes came into work that are sooooooooo adorable! Black and white scalloped with bows, but a size too small. I tried, but my toes were begging me not to wear them more than 30 seconds.

The next thing is the most darling play kitchen set at target. How come five year olds get all the pretty colored appliances? I mean, a pink oven?! If I had a pink oven I might make more of an effort to bake (even though it makes me cry).

So there you have it.

The writer of the adorable blog Pugly Feet has featured me as her Style Muse! I just love the way that sounds ;) Make sure and check out her blog, it's decor makes me want to wallpaper all of our walls. But I don't think our landlord would approve...

And on another note:

My Aunt called me this morning while I was getting ready for work. Ok ok, thinking about not wanting to get ready for work.
But anyway, she was at an estate sale where there were a bunch of vintage square dancing dresses there. She called my grandma who would come and pick me up in five minutes. So I threw on my candy striped Swirl (I love those dresses), slapped on some makeup, and grabbed my gloves.
We got there and I seemed to be the only frantic one, grabbing everything I could since I didn't have much time before work. I got 14 adorable square dance dresses, some with matching mens shirts, lots of 60s blouses, some Jantzen deadstock blouses, and an armfull of pretty lingerie. Oh, and a 30s coat that I was going to keep, but its too big :(

Needless to say I was a bit late to work, but am exited for the frills and thrills going in my shop next week :)

Cracker Jacks

I haven't had Cracker Jacks in ages, but when I saw them at the store I figured they would make a good little sweet snack, plus be really cute ;)
And we all know that cute food is very important. Too bad I wasn't wearing red white and blue. I have the perfect shoes to go with Cracker Jacks. Maybe next time.
The prize was kind of disappointing: a piece of paper with a bird picture that when you folded it certain ways it would open and close it's mouth. I was hoping for some sort of cheap plastic animal figure or something, which was what used to be in there long before I was born. Things just aren't what they used to be kids.
I wore this outfit to the grocery store, and like always got stares like I'm crazy or something. Honestly, if you are going to stare at someone, be subtle about it at least. But then again I was the only woman in the store wearing a dress, let alone a hat and gloves. Most women opt for the 'dirty pajamas' look. Seriously? What happened to make that acceptable?

The Birds.

When I got this hat about a year ago I had no idea how I would wear it. It looked so odd with my hair down, just these weird little bids that seemed to sprout from the top of my head.
But today after pinning hair atop my head I put it on and it looked just fab. I just wish my bangs would stay curled under. Never buy a $10 blow dryer, IT DOESNT DO ANYTHING.
The hat does remind me of the film "The Birds", only cuter. Because really there was nothing cute about that freaky movie.

I've been hanging up all my hats this week and think I can rightfully be called "the crazy hat lady". And yet there are so many more to be had...

Blog love.

Toady I'm sharing two scrumptious blogs that have been sweet enough to include me in them.

First off is Swedish blogger Linn. She posts about blogs that inspire her, and last week she chose Vixen Vintage! I hope you will give her blog a look, it's really darling and she just did a hair tutorial with step by step photos. You can check out my feature here.

Thrush has been a shop I've been admiring since it's opening, I think the name suits it perfectly. I didn't even know the owner, Anne, had a blog until I was told I was mentioned in it! It's a very flattering post on staging, with some amazing photos other vintage sellers have. I love ones that actually look like old faded photos.

Thank you very much to the both of you, I'm enjoying your blogs as well!

Victory curls and red lipstick.

When Shayla and I saw each other today we burst into laughter. Not only did we both have victory rolls, but also were wearing 40s outfits of navy, white, and red, and had black 40s crocheted purses. What silly girls. It's vintage telepathy. We felt as though we should have gone somewhere together for a vintage twin day.

This was the first time I had tried my hair this way, I've wanted to do it since Casey posted photos of her styling. For the back I just held it down with a comb, but no hat would go with the hair, so I tied a big bow from a red scarf and pinned it in. Shayla on the other hand did fantastically cute pigtail braids with little red ties at the end. Next time I will try that.

I went to Wallgreens and saw they were having a "buy one get one half off" sale on Revlon makeup, which made me justify buying a red lipstick and lip liner even though I knew it wouldn't work. If all of the department store lipsticks didn't work on me then this would would be a bust. But I got the color "Really Red" as it looked matte enough to maybe be ok. When I got home I tried it on and its so perfect! Not too pink, not too orange, not too sheer, not too dark, just what I wanted ;)