Vintage All Over Again

It always cracks me up when I see a very vintage design crop in in a modern story or store.  Not even an "inspired by" design but one totally reproduced from a vintage piece they must have gotten a hold of.

For example, I was browsing a Who What Wear article on "9 Style Secrets That Bloggers Know (and You Don't)" and saw this purse featured from Gaia.

Oh wait!

 I know that purse... because I have it!

And mine was not $98. It was like $20 and is an actual vintage piece bought from an vintage accessories dealer at a show in 2011.

Maybe I'm a blogger in the know.

At least I know to buy the original vintage piece for a much better price and quality than a reproduction!

Changing my Spots

It sounds crazy but I think it worked. A vintage leopard coat, teal v-neck and fishnet-y tights, red skirt an a House of Holland double necklace in tonal crystals.

I love to pair the tonal tights with the girly scallop edges of the Manolo Blahnik Erratic Mary Janes. 

Subtle it is not. 

On The Fringe

I have been wanting a particular dress for ages.

I loved all the costumes in Down With Love but I particularly loved the red fringe-y dress worn in the date montage scenes.

I finally found a similar dress and feel ready to wear it.  I got it yesterday and it looks spectacular!

I've been planning this FOR YEARS, because I have a pair of vintage red velvet Joseph La Rose heels, just like the ones worn in the movie that have been panting to be paired up with that dress.

They look so good together I can't stand it!  Now… where shall I go to shake my fringe?

Antique Treasures

Over the weekend we went to my favorite antiques festival.  There are some amazing vendors and there are always a million things I want to bring home with me.

But while I'm identifying trends, I try to limit myself to just a few special items.

This season it was a vintage clutch with gold metallic threads and squares.  Very modern and glam.  I had been needing a gold but not all gold clutch and this was perfect.

The other item just jumped out at me.  It's a very dreamy 50s-60s babydoll nightgown with black mesh over a pink satin-y base and a long pink satin ribbon, edged in lace.

I've already been lounging around in my new nightgown.  I can't wait to take the clutch out for a night on the town.

Ensemble du Jour - Graceful in Greenery

I am so excited to be wearing my Spring/Summer dresses. I'm sure I'll be complaining about the heat soon, but as of right now, the weather was balmy and the sun was bright.

I paired my ModCloth Graceful Greenery dress with a lavender cardigan and for shoes, I wore it with chartreuse Manolo Blahnik Sedarabys (for work) and then lupine Converse Chucks (for play).

I love the photo print of a cool floral-filled and wooded glen...

A vintage purse goes perfectly with this dress...

I hope you had a great holiday as well!

Spring Has Sprung

The weather was so gorgeous this weekend that I went a little Spring floral crazy.

I wore the Scene and Believed Dress that I bought from ModCloth last year and paired it with a bright pink cardigan, my vintage white wicker purse and gold sequin flats.  We were doing a ton of errands from grocery shopping to the Farmers' Market, and everywhere I went, the dress got compliments.

It is pretty adorable, I have to admit.  I also did the Sally Hansen "Not A Peep" decals in honor of Easter.

It's going to be high 60s and sunny all day today.  I think I'll drive home with the car top down!

Pretty and Good and Things

I always love a new sweet hair accessory. Especially the ones I get from Mary at Pretty Good Things. She has such a talent for creating cute and quirky fascinators and bands and pins that I simply must have!

Plus she's super fun and cute herself...

This time around (I think I now have 8 of her pieces!)  I had to have this whimsical donut...

and this headband made with vintage deer figurines. It can be dressed for the holidays, as shown, or just a cute string of little deer.

As soon as Spring really makes an appearance, I will pair these with woodland print dresses and all the pastels in my closet!

Check out all of Mary's items on Etsy!

Ensemble du Jour - 9-28-12

On Friday, I took off work to go to my favorite antiques show. It's twice a year and each time I go, I find something great.  Past purchases have included structured bags, great hats, linens and gold cases.  I don't always go with a plan in mind but I usually end up with something great.

The show is held in a big farm field so boots are necessary.  I went with a bit of a "modern Victorian" look wearing my ruffly Betsey Johnson knee-high boots and a mini-straw hat headband.

''I should have brought a parasol as I usually do, because it was warmer and sunnier than I had anticipated.  But it all worked out for the best, because I found a darling French flax (I think) parasol which I promptly put to good use.

I also found a beautiful ladies English boating hat and two Fall hued table cloths which I will be using in my bakery booth next month. 

I'm always excited to wear my new purchases and we had great weather on Sunday, so I paired my new hat with white and coral Zara dress which I topped with a navy blazer from Anthropologie.  I also wore white wingtip oxfords and another previous show purchase, a white wicker purse.  It was perfect for a bookstore visit and stroll outside.

(I have got to set up my good camera with the timer and tripod!)

I hope I don't have to put these away until Spring.  Maybe there are a few more warm Fall days ahead.

Why Photography Works

In the world of online branding and shopping, visuals are key.  Since you can't see or try on the product, we the customers are placing a lot of faith in the descriptions and how the products are visually presented.  So we need good clear imagery and multiple views.

But don't forget the romance.

What's going to catch my eye first is a gorgeous shot.  Let's use these two images of the Freya Rose "Ennis" gold rose peep-toe heel as an example.

I saw this shot from Naomi Kenton on I Heart Wedding Dresses and was instantly entranced...

The shoe practically glows. Who wouldn't want these molten gold heels on their feet.

But then I went to the Freya Rose site to order them.  And then I saw the site's images.

What happened???  Where did my lovely dreamy feeling go?

I was no longer entranced.  In fact, I was a bit turned off by them.  It could be the different view of the shape or the harsh lighting but now I'm not as smitten.  I still love the rose element but now I wish it was on a different shoe.

If the brand's site had used the first image above, I would have bought them.  Now, my money will probably stay in my pocket.  Sure, it's good to get a straightforward view of the shoes but don't forget to romance the customer a little bit too.

"A Peanut Shell on a Lamp" - The New York Shoe Conspiracy

This is why I love Twitter... When a random tweet sent my way captures my attention, illuminates a by-gone era and yet still resonates with issues today.

Today, Forgotten Stories asked me if I'd heard of the Vast New York Shoe Conspiracy.  Apparently, even in 1909, women wanted to be known for having dainty feet and the salesmen knew how to play against that.

Here's the story:

For years, a vast conspiracy existed between the women of New York and their shoe salesmen. From the doughtiest matron to the slimmest debutante, shoe size 13A or 1 were considered ideal, and anything up to a 3 acceptable; and women struggled to fit into them, much to the consternation of the salesmen.

The best conspiracies are the simplest, and footwear specialists came up with a solution; label each and every pair of shoes a 13A or a number 1. The smallest feet around…size 1. Feet like toboggans…size 1. Give the shopper a shoe that fits, label it a size 1, and she’ll be happy.

And so began the legend; “Feminine residents of New York have held to themselves for lo! these many years the flattering belief that they have the smallest feet of the women of any large city. They have prided themselves especially upon their superiority in the matter of small neat tootsies over their sisters of New York’s deadliest rival, Chicago” said the New York World.

Women showed up to buy these:

and all who wanted went home with a size 1 or a 13A.

The charade fell apart during the week of January 13, 1909. First, The National Boot and Shoe Manufacturers’ Association, holding their annual convention at the Hotel Astor, condemned the practice. Association President J. Hanan stated on the record, “The subterfuge ingeniously arranged so a dealer can give a woman any size to fit no matter what she may call for is manifestly unfair.” J.D. Smithers, shoe dealer from Detroit, disagreed, “You tell a lady with a No. 9 foot that you are giving her a No. 9 shoe,” said Mr. Smithers, “and watch her whisk out of your store! What you need in trade young man is discretion.”

Then the other shoe fell (pun completely intended). Mat Grau, theatrical booking agent, was in town to pick out a chorus line for the new Broadway play A Stubborn Cinderella. Advertisements were inserted into newspapers invited the small footed young ladies of the greater New York area to call upon Mr. Grau for an audition; to sweeten the deal Grau offered twice the usual chorus girl salary.

The special nature of the play called for the chorus girls to fill a size 13A shoe. “Out in Chicago, we had no difficulty of a serious nature in picking a chorus of girls – adults – who could wear a 13A shoe” said Grau, and so he expected it to be easy. ” One thousand women came from Newark, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, each trying to squeeze into a size 13A. Said Grau, “Putting [the test shoe] on most of the feet I have run across in a week was like trying to fit a peanut shell on the end of an incandescent lamp.” 

Grau’s heart fell like a pair of arches with each failure. He’d been testing the feet of chorus girls for years, “I remember the time, when I was younger, that this test shoe I have – a 13A – would slip on the foot of possibly every fifth girl who applied for a chorus position.” But no more. Out of those 1000 women, Grau found only one who could wear the 13A. Miss Rita Harris.

But the illusion was gone; the Achilles heel exposed. The women of New York, Brookyln and Newark had big feet.  And now the world knew it.

Vanity sizing in 1909.  Who knew?!?

Check out more Forgotten Stories here.

Red, White and WhooHoo

I love finding gorgeous vintage shoes but you know what I love even more?  When other people find gorgeous vintage shoes and think of me.

The lovely Ashe Mischief spotted these vintage Frederick's of Hollywood 1960s heels on Etsy and I immediately snatched them up.  I can not resist a good curvy 60s heel.  It's my favorite heel shape of all.

So yep, I've bought these beauties.  Not sure how I'll wear them yet, but who cares!  Look at that sexy heel!

Big Banding and Swinging the Night Away

I just got back from yet another trip. This one was pure fun.  My favorite hotel, the Grove Park Inn, was having it's Annual Big Band Weekend.  We had never gone but we got a great rate and we love Asheville and it was a chance to dress up, so heck yeah.

Being January, it was great to snuggle in front of the Great Hall fireplace for a while.

This even was so much fun.  It's a formal event and the Saturday night dance has the Glenn Miller orchestra playing.  So amazing music in a beautiful setting. It is tied in with the USO which really added to the feeling of stepping back in time a bit.

And, there were some serious outfits and some seriously good dancers.  Of course, the age range skewed mostly older but these people know what they are doing on a dance floor.  (Fun Fact: I grew up traveling on cruise ships and have done a fair amount of dancing to Big Band over my life).

The fashion was formal but was interpreted all along the Big Band/Swing timeline.  I saw some great 40s fashion, beautiful ball gowns and some slinky backless numbers.  I went a bit more 1920s inspired in a beaded Vivinne Tam dress, while the husband wore his tux, red plaid bow tie and vintage owl cufflinks that I found for him.

I wore my Oh, Deer! Jamocha art deco-y t-straps along with black fishnets.

Here are some better shots of the shoes and dress details.

I definetly want to go back next year, but I think we need to take a few dance lessons first.  I did not get to dance nearly as much as I would have liked to.  I also think I want to go for more of a long swirly dress next time.  They played a number of waltzes and I think the music and a long 30s "Thin Man" era dress would be great.

And while our trip was brief, we did manage to eat at two of our favorite places in Asheville.  For lunch on Saturday we ate at Chai Pani, which is this casual India street food (or chaat) restaurant.  It is a savory paradise.  We got samosas, an uttapam with masala potatoes, okra fries and bhel puri (a snack mix with puffed rice, cilantro, onions, tamarind and more).

Then for dinner we went to Plant, our new favorite restaurant in the world.  I'm totally serious.  It's amazing and so good we were back there 15 hours later for brunch. Between the pumpkin seed crusted seitan, the amazing soup (always get the soup), the best cinnamon roll I've ever had and a cannoli, I'm stuffed. 

Oh.  In addition to getting a huge scramble and home fries (SL got the biscuits with homemade sausage and gravy) I got a big bowl of cheese grits. And did I mention that all of this is vegan.  Yeah.  It's amazing.

So now it's time to unpack and meals we have to make ourselves.