Pinup, vintage fashion, vintage home, Jane Austen's Emma, and Miracles from Molecules!
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”
Lately, a lot of my friends have been talking about pants. For me and for many others, pants are a touchy subject. My crazy waist-to-hip ratio makes it hard for me to find pants that fit comfortably and attractively. As I’m roughly 42-32/3-48″, a pair that fits in the hip is almost always too big in the waist. Sometimes, pants are fine in the thighs and WAY too baggy in the knees/calves. Continue reading “The wonderful world of PANTS: Part Un”
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”
‘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”
I don’t get a ton of email from readers, but I do get enough useful questions to merit an irregular feature on the subject. Since a large part of the blog involves fashion, fit is an obvious concern. To consider how an item or style might fit you, it’s important to know the circumstances of my photos and reviews. With that in mind, I’ll address my first two questions: Continue reading “Q & A: Readers ask about size and shapewear”
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!”
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!”
With the holidays fast approaching, you may find yourself in need of a fancy new frock or two. Yes, I realize that technically, a frock is just a dress that buttons in the back. But let’s suspend that reality for the sake of my prose. Anyway. I have some spiffy suggestions for what to wear for your Christmas parties, New Year’s Eve shindigs, spruced-up goings-out, and maybe even a Thanksgiving dinner or two.
Continue reading “Outfits of the Season: Fancy Fall Fashion”