Dream of Socks.

This Christmas I got some cash to go shopping with, and while I considered buying some business supplies (Steamer, storage containers), I realized I was in need of some warmer legwear. I had never bought from sockdreams before, but my boss, Chris had on a great pair of legwarmers the other day from them. So I got on the site and had a tough time deciding what to buy, there's so many great socks! I decided on a lovely pair of purple stockings, and two pairs of long legwarmers, burgundy and black. They are wool blend, so really warm, and I'm hoping they will last a long time since there is no toe or heel to wear out. The stockings are great too, actually called thigh high socks, but to me they are the cotton type stockings worn pre 1930s. If only they had a seam up the back :)

Dress-Buffalo Exchange.

Cardigan-Target.

Legwarmers-Sock dreams.

Shoes-Nordstrom Rack.

Spirit.

I've always liked superhero films. I don't know why, I didn't grow up with them or read comic books, but I really like that this generation has a lot of superhero movies in it. I suppose its a combination of having either the femme fatal, or damsel in distress aspect, and many have taken a loop back to their original time period costume-wise. The other night I saw "The Spirit, and was very impressed. From the beginning it feels like you are watching a comic book in motion, and of course, I love the red and black based color scheme.

Scarlet Johanson played the villain sidekick "Silken floss" and had the best outfits. Rhinestone boots, cat eye glasses, two piece kimono, she was a knockout. Eva Mendez was the real femme fatal though, always after anything that sparkled, and went through husbands like I go through stockings. The costumes were a combination of late 1930s early 40s, with a little modern twist. The Spirit actually wore high top converse with his classic ensemble. Makes perfect sense for building hopping.

New coat.

"Hi. I'm Solanah, and I'm a coataholic."

Everyone: "Hi Solanah."

Its red, cashmere, and has a bow. You would have done the same.

Engagement pictures (The real ones).

Here are our engagement photos, taken by my Mother in law to be . I'm really glad we chose to go with black and white outfits, this dress is a vintage one my aunt wore when she and her now husband went on their first date. It's so cute, I always seem to pull it out for pictures. Sam decided to go with all black, topped off with a vintage fedora. What a fella.

The weather outside is frightful...

Its been snowing all week, which means the world stops around here. I wasn't able to go thrifting at all so I'm a little lacking on items for the shop, but that's given me a reason to get all the mending done and even make things, like another bustle skirt I've been working on. I've been enchanted be a 1930s coat at work, so in order to consider buying it I've been going through my own coat closets and seeing what I can part with. So far I sold one, and have two others up for sale in my shop. But loving this coat has made me look closer to 1930s fashions. Flipping through the 1930s Sears Catalogue book I can see just how amazing these outfits were. The waistlines and hemlines are in a love hate relationship the entire decade, moving closer together and farther apart with each year. The detail not only on dresses, but on the sleeves of the dresses is what amazes me most.
I pulled out a beautiful 1930s two piece dress my friend gave to me that was her grandmothers, and mended a bit of the smocking on the sleeve. This dress is silk and the only flaw it had in 80 years was some stitches loose. I've bought new shirts that barley last a week. As I told a friend recently, these sleeves have more character in them than an entire modern formal gown. Simply stunning. I plan on wearing it to my families brunch on Christmas Eve, and attempting on finger waving my hair. We'll just see how that goes...

Coat-Estate sale. My first vintage purchase years ago.

Hat-Goodwill.

Gloves-Discovery shop.

Wish list

A far fetched wish list.

Reproduction 1920s shoes from Re-Mix. Soooooo cute.


Cashmere silk tights from Walford. As if Cahmere wasn't enough, they added silk for that added "I'm never taking these off" feel.


A skirt from necessityisthemother.


Some cashmere slippers from J.Crew

Snow day

Winter is here, there is snow on the ground, and I am forced to switch my bird hat for a fur one. With pom-poms no less. Collecting wool skirts all year and tights to prepare for the colder months has been a success, today instead of my usual winter wear (Jeans) I put on some cotton tights, my green 1950s wool skirt and newly repaired boots. Warm as a bunny.

Jacket-Forever 21
Skirt and scarf-Goodwill
Hat and mittens-The Urban Eccentric

Here are some photos of the windows this week.

Couch

Found this couch at the bins with matching love seat. Coolest couch since that embroidered one Anthropologie had a few years back.

O christmas tree.

So I've been really excited to decorate the window at work in Christmas themes. This week I hadn't planned anything in advance so I was a little unprepared when I got to work, just brought a few ornaments, some wrapping paper, and a little vintage raindeer I bought for $1.50 at the Discovery shop. When in these type of situations I think of what I would do if I could to anything at all with whatever I want. And a Christmas tree dress came to mind. Why not find a full green dress and decorate it like a Christmas tree? I found this perfect green 1970s dress and layered it in three full petticoats and just wrapped a string of lights around it with ornaments hanging here and there. Then I wrapped some hatboxes and glass blocks in wrapping paper and finished them off with silk scarves and silk flowers. A little merchandise here and there, and voila!

Warmunky.

Here is an exclusive interview with graphic designer Warmunky. Greeting cards with a vintage flare.


Where did the name "HandmadebyWarmunky" come from?

A few years back, while partaking of Hot Toddies and watching the annual James Bond marathon on TV (Sean Connery preferred, of course), snow bound on a farm in a small town in Idaho, the Warmunky was born. My one year old niece, who couldn't yet say "uncle", could only say "unky". The blue eyed angel spent the whole day prior napping on my warm self. As I was discussing this with my sister-in-law, her husband and my wife were giving us quizical stares. Convinced we were speaking a foreign language, they finally had to ask what a War Monkey was. Laughter erupted as we explained, not "War Monkey" but, "Warm Unky"... Thinking this a good name, I've stuck with it.

In your Etsy shop profile you mention collecting pretty much anything with a graphic appeal. What is the most interesting item(s) you have right now, and why did it catch your eye?

There are a couple of items. The first is a produce box full to the brim with matchbooks collected by my father between the late 1930's and late 1940's. The illustrations and typography are fantastic. It's too bad most of the locations they are from are long gone. I'm planning on visiting some of the local spots and photographing them and then posting the picture along with a picture of the matchbook. Sort of a "then and now" story.


The other item, probably because the holidays are foremost in my mind right now, is a quirky booklet of holiday crafts, recipes and activities. I picked it up at the Portland Expo Antique and Collectible Show. It's called the Golden Circle of Holiday Ideas and was put out by Oster in 1963. It's just crazy. The cover is avocado green as are many of the pages inside. Many of the crafts use hot pink and orange color stories with gold and cyan. The foods are hard to describe. Lots of chopping, molding and saucing. Lots and lots of garnishes too. Most everything is pureed or blended. Of course it is, it's from Oster! The thing which caught my eye however was the cover. Not so much the spool of ribbon cutting out and gluing on her own cheek but rather the Santa cutting out his own head from plywood with an electric jigsaw. Another Oster product I assume?


I get asked a lot what my favorite era is for fashion. What time period do you most admire for graphic design?

That's a tough one... I equate it to ordering a favorite dish at a certain restaurant. For example, I only order Pad Kee Mao at a certain Thai restaurant, a particular hamburger at another and only the French Onion Soup at another. It's like that for me with design. I may admire the colors from one period, the typography from another and the illustration from another. If I have to be pinned down though, I would say I am currently very fond of the design from children's books of the 1950's and 1960's. They were so whimsical and fun. They just make me smile.

What can we look forward to in the future for your shop?

Cards, cards and more cards. More pillows, some "art" and more cards. Thank You cards and New Year cards. Also, some cards based on my "SIT A SPELL" pillow (currently on Etsy) and probably some... well, you'll just have to check back on my shop and see.

Tweet.

I am on Twitter now. Now you can know when I am thinking of hats. Which is always.

click here.

Sgt. Pepper.

An ensemble fit for thrifting. I got some great items I'll be listing all week. A few cute sweaters, skirts, some dresses and fabric. Ya'know, the usual ;)

Band jacket-Antique mall
Skirt, purse, and shoes-Discovery shop
Cardigan-Buffalo Exchange
Tights-T.J. Maxx

Something different.

I'm always getting inspired by bloggers of Pandora and Liebmarlene vintage. Always with beautiful photos of their own great style, I've seen these girls constantly wearing all kinds of tights with vintage dresses and bold prints. I usually switch to pants in the winter, for some reason I never caught on to the wonderful world of tights. So when I was in california I bought a bunch of pairs, and have started to pull out what I already have. On Pandora there is a lovely photo -taken by the photographer from The Satoialist- of the french darling with ripped black stockings with knee socks bunched down and ankle boots. It looked so stylish I thought I would try the look for myself since I just got those little black shoes that would make the look seasonal. Plus they are so comfortable l spend more time in them than not.

Fur trimmed cardigan-Mothers.
Skirt-Dolce and Gabbana
Hat-Goodwill
Stockings and socks-T.J. Maxx
Shoes-Discovery shop.

One coat down...

A while ago I mentioned selling one of my four leopard coats, and I finally brought it up from storage and photographed it. I'll be listing it soon, I hope it goes to a good home! Its just fabulous!

Some shopping...

So yesterday I went to the American Cancer Society thrift shop and was told they just received an estate and there may be items I would be interested in. They brought out a fantastic 60 wedding gown I snatched up on the spot (Its listed in my shop already) but they still have tons to go though, so I've been lurking around there more than usual to make sure I get the goods before anyone else ;)

Today I didnt find anything for my shop but got a few things for myself from the estate collection.

I have a small pink christmas tree that I dont have any ornaments for, I usually just stick all my rhinestone brooches and necklaces on it. Actually turns out very pretty. But today I couldn't resist these darling little birds, each of them hand painted and very beautiful and unique.

I found these cute shoes and they are sooooo comfortable! And look really cool with these tights...

A black fake alligator skin purse big enough to hold everything (including my gloves).

"Beauty is a thing of the past"

I always seem to stumble onto great blogs while searching through google images, and while browsing for a photo for the 1940s hairstyles post, I came across a blog all about vintage beauty methods called "Beauty is a thing of the past", that is full of images of authentic salon instructions for hair, nails, makeup, masks and even some fun videos. The site is so easy to navigate, and although I have yet to try out one of the hairstyles, the instructions with illustrations seem easy enough to follow. I was going to buy a vintage hairstyling book on My baby Jo, but with shipping it came to over $40 and well, its christmas season so my funds are a bit stretched. Plus, really? $10 shipping? Come on.

So thank you Beauty, you've enlightened me at no charge. I love no charge.

How to fill a vintage compact.

Gather all materials. You will need: loose powder, rubbing alcohol, new powder puff or sponge to fit in compact, spoon, small bowl, scrap of fabric, and an item such as a knife or thick paper for smoothing.

First thing to do is wash out your vintage compact very well. Bacteria can spread through the leftover makeup so make sure it is washed with soap and let to dry.


Scoop some powder into a small bowl.


Add about a cap full of liquid to the powder.


Mix to a thick paste. You will need to add more powder and liquid as you mix to reach the correct consistancy.


Scoop the paste in and spread the paste around the dish and press a little to make sure there are no empty bubbles hiding.

Smooth out the top with a flat item such as the back if a knife or strong piece of paper.


This step is optional, but I like it because it feels more finished.
Take a scrap of cloth (a woven cotton will work best) and lay it on the powder. Press gently onto to cloth with your fingers, making a mark in the powder. If the powder is of the correct thickness, then it will not stick.


Now you have that professional "woven" look.


Set it in a safe dry place for about 24 hours and after that you are ready to go! As with any other pressed powder compact, be careful not to bang it around in your purse, or drop it as the powder will break. But if that does happen you can just do the process over again reusing the broken powder.

A few simple 1940s hairstyles.

So I'm not really up with my generation as far as youtube goes. I'm not always watching the latest and most popular video. My friends know if they send me something chances are I wont watch it (aside from the occasional funny cat video). But today I googled "1940s hair" to try and get some styling tips for Thanksgiving and was suprised to find a few youtube videos listed as tutorials. Since I am a monkey see monkey do kind of girl I gave a few videos a try and found a couple that inspired me. "Victory curls in under 5 min" is a great way to do your hair in those upswept tubular curls in a very short time, but would be better suited for costume purposes than what I would use for everyday wear.
The Pin up updo is something I experimented with today, and it was so easy and quick, with such dramatic and authentic results.
I was lucky enough when I had a bob to have a natural perfect fingerwave, so as my hair gets longer I'm having to actually style it so I dont look like a madwoman. With a fair amount of hairspray and bobby pins the second technique held up very well, pictures of that soon.

*coming this weekend*
Some more "New looking vintage" and a way to fill that lovely vintage compact with pressed powder so you can actually use it! And if you dont have one yet, once you see how its done you'll want to get one, just to looks so cute while powdering your nose :)

New dress.

So there was a tiny hole on the back strap and this was my solution....I'll list it soon, along with a red Lili Ann coat I relined with matching leopard fabric.

Yeah. Its pretty hot, I'm trying not to like it as much as I do...

Inspiration

I was checking one of my favorite style blogs The Satorialist and came across this amazing photo (They are all amazing) with these vintage dressed girls. The the gal on the left is the look I most relate to, and I've been on the lookout for the perfect fur coat just like that, I love the color. It's been a little difficult to find a good vintage fur coat because, well, I live near Portland and everyone is anti-fur so the fur coats people inherit from their grandmothers get thrown out. Since Christmas shopping is over (thank you Etsy) maybe I can save up for one this winter and hope I find the perfect coat before the season is out.

Dressing gown.

Here is the dressing gown I found yesterday for my shop, and decided after ironing the mile deep wrinkles out that I couldnt let it go. Could you?
?

Saloon Girl.

I always forget I have this coat until its too late to wear it, so luckily I remembered before it got too chilly. It came from the Portland Antique Expo a few years back, and its a 1970s dress/coat, works perfect for full skirts. Sam and I went apartment shopping and then he took me thrifting (what a darling) I found some great stuff for my shop, but one thing I cant let go of, a 1940s dressing gown, pictures of that later. I love this hat, its pretty beat up (felted wool), but I love the bonnet style and fluffy plume, I'm constantly looking for hats like it, but they are always expensive. I bought this from a woman who was closing her B&B and had a trunk full of hats at $5 a pop. I got some pretty ones.