Tag: retro crap

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Fall fashion color review & wishlist: Because Labor Day is OVER!

As usual, I have many plans for my blog and never enough time to realize them properly. This week, I’ve resolved to clear my bloggy-do list and set some new web log goals that I can stick to:

To get things rolling, a look at this fall’s Pantone Color Report palette and the clothing and accessories I’m angling to buy this autumn!

Continue reading “Fall fashion color review & wishlist: Because Labor Day is OVER!”

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Outfit of the Day! Birthday Edition Part One…

Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday with my parents and my good friend Teri.  We went to Trader Vic’s in Emeryville, my favorite restaurant in the whole world!

I wore my Bettie Page Clothing “Surprised” dress from their Gil Elvgren pinup line, pearl necklace and screwback earrings that my mother and grandmother purchased in Japan in 1966, a hairflower I made from a Sally’s banana clip and a Michael’s silk special, my suede-and-patent Sofft bow pumps (which you can’t see here), and my beaded 1950s Saks Fifth Avenue clutch purse (which I blogged about last year).

Surprised! Birthday dress!
Surprised! Birthday dress!

Next weekend, another party!  I’m not sure what I’ll be wearing, but I’ll definitely share here after all is said and done!  😀

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Outfit of the Day!

For some time, I’ve been wanting to share “OotDs” (Outfits of the Day) on this blog.  The trouble is, it’s usually really difficult for me to get a good enough quality photo to post.  Lack of a decent full-length mirror (in a spot with enough light) is the main problem.  At any rate, today I managed to get a workable shot while out and about at Ann Taylor Loft.

I wore a 1940s-style print dress by B&Lu, a red belt by Bettie Page Clothing, vintage carnelian jewelry, Claire’s hairflower, Sofft sandals on mega clearance from ShoeStation, and shades by Juicy Couture.  It was a comfortable ensemble for shopping on a hot day, and it looked cute, too!

Outfit of the Day
Outfit of the Day

Yes, I realize that my purse – which happens to be powerfully cute and cost me only $14 at TJ Maxx – doesn’t match my oufit.  I can deal with it, and so can you.  😛

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Disney Theme Park Audio: Adventureland Veranda Loop Take 2!

So the talented and dedicated Michael Sweeney  just notified me that he was able to finish reconstructing the late 1970s-1993 Walt Disney World Adventureland Veranda area loop!  You may remember that two years ago I purchased and ripped  a copy of George Bruns’ Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii album, the source of several of those generation 2 Veranda loop tracks (I’ll just call it version 2/generation 2, because we’re only aware of one other area loop presumably used for this restaurant area, complied in the early 1970s by Jack Wagner, voice of Disneyland/WDW and curator of the Main Street Christmas area loop).

Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii - Front
Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii – Front

Anyway, Michael obtained a live recording of this later Adventureland Veranda loop from Mike Lee of Widen Your World and went to town.  Find the updated Adventureland Veranda tracklist here:

  1. Ua Haav Arve Are – South Sea Serenaders, Beachcomber Serenade: Mood Music of Tahiti and Hawaii
  2. Blue Hawaii – George Bruns, Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii
  3. Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii – George Bruns, Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii
  4. Now is the Hour – Arthur Lyman, Pearly Shells
  5. Harbor Lights – Duke Kamoku & His Islanders, Golden Hawaiian Hits
  6. Song of the Islands – Duke Kamoku & His Islanders, Golden Hawaiian Hits
  7. Moon of Manakoora – Duke Kamoku & His Islanders, Golden Hawaiian Hits
  8. Lovely Hula Girl – Duke Kamoku & His Islanders, Golden Hawaiian Hits
  9. Hawaiian Paradise – George Bruns, Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii
  10. Moonlight and Shadows – George Bruns, Moonlight Time in Old Hawaii
  11. Whispering Sea – Henry Mancini, The Versatile Henry Mancini

Groovy Adventureland Veranda area loop links:

 

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Fashion Crap: And I do mean CRAP – recent costumes…

October was kind of a sewing nightmare. I really, really hate sewing. Like, I’d rather stab myself with a rake than have to deal with the cutting, the pinning, the seamripping, the rumpled fabric (right, I don’t even OWN an iron)…yeah, can’t stand it.

Well, since none of my beautiful Regency wardrobe fits (still), I had to pull together an 1814-ish evening gown out of my trusty-dusty purple silk sari (not a very period color, I know) for the Bay Area English Regency Society’s Congress of Vienna Ball. I had a role – Princess Bagration, the White Pussycat and Naked Angel – so I needed something that looked lush. At any rate, the job’s not TOO bad for a rush. I didn’t have time nor a proper pattern to make period stays, so the silhouette’s not the best. Oh well.

For Halloween, I made myself a Patrick Nagel “Rio” outfit, perfect for “dancing on the sand.” This image was apparently the alternate cover image considered for Duran Duran’s legendary sophomore album.

More images in my photo album.

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Fashion Crap: Vintage beaded purses, anyone?

So nearly a year ago I promised to piggyback my antique jewelry post with a look at some of my spiffy vintage beaded purses.  Most of these purses came from my grandfather, the king of pawns and master of the Bay Area flea market.  It’s also possible that one or two of them belonged to my great-aunt Alice.

But FIRST, my awesome silk shawl from the 1920s.  This is the famous Shawlhead shawl, ifyouknowwhatImean.

Silk 1920s shawl.
Silk 1920s shawl.
Shawlhead
Shawlhead.
Shawlhead by Lani
Kali in 1920s silk shawl. Photo by Lani Teshima.

Okay.  So onto the purses.  First up is a cute, cream-colored purse with machine embroidery and white beading.  It has a sparkly clasp and metal chain, and looks to be from the 1960s.  There’s no maker or shop mark on the lining to identify it…

Continue reading “Fashion Crap: Vintage beaded purses, anyone?”

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It’s crunch time for the SS United States

The SS United States Conservancy is raising funds to save the Big U from the scrappers.  Their SSUSPlankOwner.org fundraiser site reads:

Friends of American Maritime History: our national flagship, the legendary ocean liner SS United States is in grave danger of being sold for scrap — an unacceptable fate for this great symbol of American achievement. From 1952 to 1969 the ship was the fastest, greatest ship in the world, transporting American presidents, movie stars, business and military leaders, and foreign heads of state. Sadly, she has fallen out of the limelight and has passed through the hands of a variety of owners, all unable to restore her to a rightful place of dignity.

The SS United States Conservancy, a national non-profit organization, has been working hard to “Save Our Ship” for the past five years. We are rapidly running out of time, however. We have been in touch with the ship’s current owners, The Genting Group/Norwegian Cruise Line, and know they are unable to maintain the ship in her current berth in Philadelphia. Please help us establish a public-private partnership to re-purpose the ship as a stationary attraction while we continue working with government officials to homeport the ship in a large U.S. city.

Here’s the Conservancy’s latest fundraiser commercial – please pass along the good word, even if you don’t have money to contribute.  If you loved “Bon Voyage” with Fred MacMurray…if you think Hotel Queen Mary was a great idea…if you give a crap about human history and technological milestones and all that is good and right about civilization…help the Big U!

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San Francisco’s Market Street, then and now…

Compare this footage taken from a Market Street cable car just days before the 1906 earthquake with a similar perspective from 2005!

From Flixxy:

This film, originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out exactly when it was shot. From New York trade papers announcing the film showing to the wet streets from recent heavy rainfall & shadows indicating time of year & actual weather and conditions on historical record, even when the cars were registered (he even knows who owned them and when the plates were issued!). It was filmed only four days before the quake and shipped by train to NY for processing.  Amazing but true!

So much is different, yet it’s amazing to think how much the area hasn’t really changed.  There aren’t cable cars on Market anymore (unless you count the Powell turnaround), but Muni still operates vintage streetcars!  There is the Ferry Building, too, still acting as the beacon at land’s end.  And the modern bike rider who waves his cap at the photographer evokes some of the ebullience of the earlier footage.  Amazing how a simple, timeless gesture can echo the mannerisms of ages past.

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