Disneyland’s 58 years old today! To celebrate, here’s the Barstow family’s 1956 D-Land adventure! One of the kids won the trip – a dream vacation to the then-one-year-old theme park – through a 3M cellophane tape contest.
The film – titled “Disneyland Dream” – is a great record of early Disneyland, but it also includes glimpses of old school Knott’s Berry farm and 1950s SoCal in general. These days, it’s hard to imagine northern O.C. covered by anything but pavement and buildings… Continue reading “Happy 58th, Disneyland! and the Barstow Family’s “Disneyland Dream””
Her pinup-inspired fabric hairflowers, hairscarves, 1940s-style snoods, bows, fascinators, and other fashionable frills are beautiful, filled with personality, and totally original!
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The wide variety of vintage-inspired, retro, rockabilly, and pinup-style fashions available online is both a blessing and a curse, especially if you like to wear dresses. There are literally hundreds of options available at a variety of price points, from slinky and elegant pencil dresses in work-perfect, subdued colors to frothy tulle gowns in bright tones. It’s fun to check out all the pretty clothes, but it’s also really easy to get overwhelmed.
If you’ve never done business with an internet clothing seller, how can you be sure of fit, color, quality, and service? Will the dress that comes to your door be as beautiful as the dress you saw on the web page? And perhaps most importantly, is the sense of dresslust you sate by clicking that order button really worth the money you spend? If you’re wanting to jump into the online vintage-inspired clothing world but you’re afraid of making decisions you’ll regret, Pinup Girl Clothing is a wonderful place to start. In fact, I have six versatile, high-quality, American-made dress choices pulled from the Pinup Girl house brands to get you happily on your way in the world of retro-fabulous fashion! Continue reading “Must-have dresses from Pinup Girl Clothing”
Kali by Holly West. Makeup and Hair by Rockwell DeVil.
Most of you probably know that I’ve lost around 150 pounds over the last several years. I’ve battled with crappy body image for much of my life, and medically influenced massive weight gain in my mid-twenties certainly didn’t help. My goal has never been to get “skinny” or hit some sort of arbitrary weight goal. I’m happy just to feel comfortable with my body again, and the photo shoots in which I’ve participated this year have definitely helped with that. My most recent shoot happened this September at a custom car shop in Sacramento, with the superlative photographer Holly West. Continue reading “Outfits of the Year: Pinup fun with Holly West, Deadly Dames, and new friends!”
I was kind of avoiding this because I thought it might’ve been a bad case of necrolink, but apparently it’s true: Anne Sharp’s presentation copy of Jane Austen’s Emma is indeed for sale…again. It last sold at auction in April, 2010 for the then pounds sterling-equivalent of $271,294.
The set of three volumes is one of twelve special first edition copies – “presentation” copies as they’re called – reserved for Austen’s family, friends, and her highest-profile fan of the period, the Prince Regent (care of his royal librarian, James Stanier Clarke). Anne Sharp is often noted as the only “friend” among the bunch of recipients. Miss Sharp had served as governess to Austen’s beloved niece, Fanny Knight, and by most accounts is the logical model for the Woodhouse girls’ dear former governess, Mrs. Weston, in Emma. Continue reading “Presentation copy of Jane Austen’s Emma for sale…again!”
I’m a Christmas nut. I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but I freaking love everything about the season – the lights, the food, the festive mood, and maybe most of all, the amazing holiday music. My favorite Christmas tracks are nostalgic, particularly the ones from the 1950s through the early 1970s that remind me of my early childhood. This is why I love the original WPIX Yule Log, a Christmas Eve television tradition since 1966. Originally conceived by WPIX General Manager Fred Thrower to bring old-fashioned holiday hearth experiences to New Yorkers, the “classic” WPIX playlist – like the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom Main Street Christmas loops compiled by “voice of Disneyland” Jack Wagner – brings many of my absolute favorite Christmas recordings together in a single, quirky package.
Being a West Coaster and a child of the 1980s, my first TV Yule Log experience happened care of KOFY TV-20, the legendary independent station in the San Francisco Bay Area known for its crazy dog bumpers. I remember hours of Philadelphia Brass, but I’m fairly sure the playlist was similar to the following WPIX playlist, which features everyone from Percy Faith to David Rose:
