Outfits of the Season: Black & White

 

The Darling Dames dress
The Darling Dames dress.

Black and white is (are) in this spring. While I’m not really a trendy person (loving vintage style runs kind of counter to the idea), colors, color combinations, and retro-revivals are trends even I can do!

My response to the Spring, 2013 black and white trend includes the Deadly Dames polka-dot wiggle dress and Unique Vintage’s Lovely Lady in Lace reproduction prom dress.

The Deadly Dames polka-dot wiggle dress is designer Micheline Pitt’s answer to the white-with-black-dots dress worn by Traci Lords in the movie Cry Baby. In my opinion, it’s even better than the piece that inspired it! The removable skull brooch and vinyl patent belt are nice little badass touches to an otherwise elegant midcentury-style cocktail dress. I bought the XL, which is my usual Deadly Dames top size. I’m in between the XL and 2x sizes at the hip, but I can normally squeeze into the smaller size.

Unique Vintage reproduction prom dress
Unique Vintage reproduction prom dress.

The Unique Vintage Lovely Lady in Lace dress is kind of a departure for me. I wouldn’t normally spend money on a poofy tulle prom dress, but since this one’s based on a real 1950s prom dress, and it’s on clearance for $48, I figured it was worth a try. I ordered the 2x on the advice of the size chart, and it was a good fit.

Overall, I’m happy with the dress. I love the colors. I love the floof. I love the two layers of tulle and two layers of satin lining. I like how the skirt looks with my white Malco Modes crinoline petticoat. I adore the rows of tulle rufflework on the double-layered bodice.

My measurements are 43-32/33-48.”

Outfits of the Year: Pinup fun with Holly West, Deadly Dames, and new friends!

Kali by Holly West
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!”

Holiday Fashion: Lilian and Monica

Lillian Dress Detail
Lilian Dress Detail: Trashy Diva’s Lilian Peacock Dress plus vintage sunglasses.

People tend to create longstanding relationships with the clothing brands that fit their bodies and their lifestyles the best. Two of my most meaningful fashion relationships have developed with New Orleans-based, vintage-inspired Trashy Diva and Los Angeles’ Pinup Girl Clothing. This holiday season, in true fangirl fashion, I’ll be wearing pieces by both Trashy Diva and PUG! Continue reading “Holiday Fashion: Lilian and Monica”

UPDATED! Pinup and Plus: Black Friday (Week) Sales!

But wait! There’s more! Edited on Wednesday, November 21 to add more sales!

Kiyonna Luna Lace Dress
Kiyonna’s Luna Lace dress, available in sizes 0x-5x (plus sizes 10-32).

For those who love clothing, shopping on the internet, and epic sales, Thanksgiving week is your dream come true! Here’s a smattering of online retailers offering excellent sales on plus and retro styles this week:

 

The WPIX Yule Log and classic Christmas music

Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!

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:

Continue reading “The WPIX Yule Log and classic Christmas music”

A 1930s Halloween

Halloween Kit
Halloween kit cover.

‘Tis the season for spooky festivities! While some current Halloween traditions have roots that stretch back to antiquity, our contemporary children’s holiday activities – like parties, games, costume parades, and even trick-or-treating – were actually devised in the 20th century as ways to keep kids from partaking in the destructive and dangerous pranks that plagued the season in the 1920s and 1930s.

The following Halloween party ideas come from a wonderful Halloween Program Kit distributed by the Cooperative Recreation Service in Delaware, OH, in the 1930s. My copy is stamped as the property of the Fresno, CA, Works Progress Administration. The kit – marked #28 in the series, revised – was edited by Lynn & Katherine Rorhbough. Continue reading “A 1930s Halloween”

Seasonal Fashion: Fuzzy vintage sweaters, perfect for fall!

Pink Vintage Sweater
Beaded pink vintage sweater.

I know I beat you guys over the head with my cardigans all the time, but having just acquired a new one, I thought it might be handy to remind everybody what a super accessory a vintage cardigan can be!

Not only are they practical – they tend to be well-made, warm, and competitively priced (beaded vintage is almost always a better deal than the contemporary alternative, for example) – they’re adorable! My latest is a pink wool, Angora, and nylon blend from Hong Kong. It’s lined and profusely beaded, which makes it perfect for work or a fancyish event of some sort. Continue reading “Seasonal Fashion: Fuzzy vintage sweaters, perfect for fall!”

Vintage Home: Ideas, linens, and holidays!

Bedroom
Corner of my bedroom.

So y’all know by now that I have a cute jack-in-the-box house from 1963. My goal is to decorate every room in as vintage a style as possible; not necessarily all-early ’60s, but in a way that blends the various eras my current furniture already represents.

My bedroom is 1930s-1960s, featuring my Yiayia Lois’ painted bedroom set from the late ’30s or early ’40s, my cousin’s 1960s white wicker shelves, my dad’s 1940s floor lamp, and a 1940s sewing machine table that I like to use as a night stand. My dining room features Lois’ late ’30s-early ’40s dining set, and my kitchen – which looks like it could’ve been constructed anytime from the late ’40s to the ’60s – showcases my Yiayia Sally’s wonderfully grotty old stencilled kitchen table from the 1940s. Continue reading “Vintage Home: Ideas, linens, and holidays!”