Mad Hatter

I'll bet no one has a hat as awesome as this one! It is the work of me six year old nephew Oliver who surprised me with it the other day :)
We obviously have a budding milliner here, so well thought out, complete with the string to keep it on. He's such a sweetie, and so funny. Especially if you get him talking about Star Wars, the kid knows his stuff ;)

Speaking of Mad Hatters, you can see the trailer for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland here.

Merci!

I know I did a thank you post what seems like a year ago (ok, I haven't been blogging that long, so not quite), but I wanted to thank everyone for your kindness and encouragement. Sometimes I look back on posts and think "why do they keep reading when I'm just rambling on about little old lady dresses?". But then I realize that there are more people out there like myself who take more interest in an old plastic button than in the latest runway show. Those who gather here like to know that there are others just as silly and different than they are, just as I visit your blogs for the same comfort. The comments for our wedding day post were overwhelming, such wonderful wishes, and even some of you lurkers came out to say something! I admit I am guilty of lurking on many a blog, and you inspired me to comment more on those wonderful blogs I read but say nothing. It reminded me how good it feels to know someone is enjoying something you love and put time and effort into. I just wanted you to know that I read and appreciate every single comment you leave, in the morning it is my alternative to coffee, perks me right up!
Since starting this blog there have been people as kind as can be offering help and lovely surprises, and I hope that I can return such kindness in some way.
Yesterday I received a gift from Madeline, a reader who just celebrated her 29th wedding anniversary. She enjoyed my postings, and shared my excitement for marriage, and wanted to pass on some of her vintage wedding collection to me. She collects vintage wedding cake toppers, which I think is such a wonderful and romantic item to collect, and had some things in her collection she thought I might like.

Which of course I adore.

In the box of romantic vintage lovelies was an antique embroidered silk frame, pocket mirror, hand grooming set (in a little glove pouch!), vintage card, Victorian guide to happy marriage, pretty printed fan, unused loose powder (in Bridal Pink), a little lovebirds cake topper, and an intricately cross stitched linen.

Unwrapping each item was like Christmas, most things I have never come across in vintage hunts, and she even included a little history of the items to add extra sentiment. So thank you so much Madeline! And thank you everyone who reads, comments, keeps coming back, or simply stops by for a peek :)

xoxo

New listings

I think this is by far my favorite bunch of listings for my shop. I've got a 50s wedding/prom dress, a fantastic 30s dress that looks as though it should be in an old film, and layers upon layers of ruffles. All of these will be up this week in my shop, just let me know if you would like a reserve ;)

I'm hot. But not in a good way.

Right now it's over 100 degrees fahrenheit outside, and not much cooler inside our non air conditioned house. Today Sam, his mother and I headed over to a mall to cool down and spend some gift cards we received for the wedding. At the Fairmont we kind of became addicted to down pillows, so we found some really nice ones, which differ greatly from the pancakes we were using ;)

The rest of the day was spent finding places for all the wonderful wedding gifts we were given. They were all so marvelous, I wanted to display everything, even the pretty food processor, but then we would have no counter space, hehe. I'll just use it all the time :)

Later I'll take photos of everything, but really, it's so hot! I don't really want to get up.

Anyway, since I'm not doing an official wedding post until I have loads of photos to share here are some pre-wedding shots. This is the merry widow my mother bought me at the antique show a few weeks back, as well as the stockings. Both were purchased from the lovely Julie and Lisa, local dealers and sellers. And vintage eye candy. I'm not sure if then have a site or flickr, so if you are reading this girls, let me know!

You can also see a few amazing photos in our wedding set on Vorpal images Flickr.

These photos were taken by Lisa right before the ceremony. Being a photographer she couldn't help but take photos, I could see her clicking finger twitching all morning before she finally caved and brought out her camera ;)

Honeymoon bliss

I'll have more on the wedding later when we get some more photos, but meanwhile here are photos from the honeymoon!
We left Sunday morning from PDX and arrived at SFO to wonderful weather. The shuttle rides to the hotel and back to the airport both rivaled driving in Italy, but thats another story all together. My mother booked us a room at The Fairmont, which is such an amazing hotel, the exterior itself is so grand, right at the top of Nob Hill, and the lobby is stunning. Upon learning we were newlyweds the hotel clerk moved us up to a room with a view! How nice, actually the entire staff there was super, they were really fascinated by our clothing, hehe. We had one of the simpler rooms, which was anything but. The decor had vintage touches, and the bed! The bed was like a cloud, you know one of those huge memory foam mattresses with a down comforter and perfect pillow. But anyway, you don't want to hear about me rant about a bed.

The evening we arrived we changed and decided to have dinner at The Nob Hill Cafe, recommended by my mother. It was delicious and surprisingly affordable. I was in need of some new makeup so we walked to the Union Square Macy's where we then realized it was much cooler and windier than anticipated. It's 80-90 degrees at home, so I packed 50s sundresses, which was a big mistake because the wind was being mischievous and blew up my skirt at every hill. Oops.

The second day we thought it would be a good idea to walk to the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. It would have continued to be a good idea if we didn't take the long way. But after sore feet and spaghetti legs (I am so out of shape) we made it! The walk actually wasn't too bad as there was so much to look at, the architecture is so amazing. Especially Grace St Cathedral, it's amazing!
The neighborhood is filled with little shops and cafes, and I did find a few vintage shops with amazing things but not so amazing prices. Seriously, after going there my wardrobe just doubled in value :)
We did stumble upon a costume/vintage shop with some great deals, where I found an amazing navy 40s coat I wore the rest of the vacation.

I really wanted to bring back a hat, but even the hat prices were outrageous. Luckily I found a killer gray Austrian hat at a Buffalo Exchange thrift store, and the price was in my comfort zone.
The walk back to the hotel was nice, Sam spotted a comic book store we spent a while in while he read Captain America and I read a 50s comic book that was so cute but I can't remember the name. It's about an average women who lives with her sister and father, if anyone knows what I'm taking about I'd really appreciate it!
Japan town was another stop on our trek, where we found a $1.50 store with tons of fun treasures. Everything, even the plastic spoons were cute.

Day three took us to Fishermans Wharf, which was pretty much tourist central. We didn't stay long, but walked out on a pier to get a better look at some of the ships and a gathering of seals. There was the cutest cable car there, so 1930s I wish it would come to Portland!
After the Wharf we headed to Union Square, and went into all the fancy stores :) Prada, Burburry, Tiffanys, and Armani. Tiffanys was my favorite ;)
Dinner was at Calzone's which was adorable and had the best garlic fries ever.

Our last day we were pretty exhausted from the hills, so we stuck around the hotel and visited China town and Union Square again. In China town Sam bought me a pretty Jade necklace, and silk dress. For lunch we went to a restaurant in the neighborhood, and while we were eating a kitten jumped out of a nook in the wall! It was very cute, trying to play with its reflection in the mirror.
On our way back to the hotel to catch our airport shuttle the famous San Francisco twins were walking down the street. They have been a fixture of the city for years, and dress alike everywhere they go. I was so excited to meet them, especially in matching leopard coats! They really are funny, and I love that they are famous for being eccentric.

So there you have it! The wedding and honeymoon were delightful, and it's good to be home again getting back into the swing of things. More pictures on Flickr.

First kiss.

Ok, I couldn't wait, the photographers got a few photos up on flickr and I had to show this. Thanks to everyone, it was the most perfect wedding. Ok, off to pack!

Photo by Vorpal Images

How I found the wedding dress I will wear tomorrow.

Tagging along to garage sales with Josh, Amy, and Oliver usually results in Legos and Star Wars picture books. But over a year ago, one stop at a church rummage sale proved an unbelievable find.
I got armfuls of vintage goodies like hankies and a Stetson hat for Sam, but while I was waiting for everyone else to finish looking, I thought I'd take a shot at the glum looking clothing rack, full of dresses too new to be vintage, and too old to be interesting. I had passed it about a dozen times, but it looked so pathetic that the effort to stop and browse seemed like a waste of time. In the middle of the rack I came across an awful looking gray garment bag with a torn piece of masking tape stuck to the side that had “Old wedding dress” scribbled in sharpie. So I unzip it a few inches expecting an 80s monstrosity and instead get a preview of beautiful vintage cream lace. Although I had only seen a few inches of it, I grabbed the garment bag, threw it over my shoulder and waddled over to the payment table with everything in my arms, and Stetson on head.
It seemed like it would be an old dress, all torn up from age and poor storage, but at least I could salvage the pretty lace for a project, right?
The two old men at the payment booth were obviously put up to being at the sale by their wives, and looked as clueless as could be. I dumped everything on the table which they added up, but then came to “Old wedding dress.”
“Oh there was no price on that” I said. They looked at it, then squinted at a piece of paper tapped
to the table that had price categories listed.
“Well…here it says: Dresses, 75 cents.”
“75 cents?”
“Yeah is that ok?
“Um, yeah…”
We paid and loaded up the car, with Legos and old stuff, and kept on treasure hunting at other garage sales. A few hours later when I got home I was eager to see more than five inches of this dress. Taking it out of the bag did not reveal the tattered mess I expected but something stunning and flawless. Layers of tulle and lace, rows of covered buttons, and even a matching veil and armlets. But would it fit?
I slipped it on, and realized that it must have been somehow made for me 60 years ago, because it fit like a glove. Upon inspection I could not find a single snag in the tulle, or hole in lace. It was perfect.
And that is how I got my wedding dress for 75 cents.


This will be my last post for about a week, tomorrow is the big day, then off to San Francisco for our honeymoon!
Today we gathered Hydrangeas from friends and families yards, my mother took me to get a manicure and pedicure, we had a rehearsal and fabulous rehearsal dinner, and now I am choosing what to wear to and from the venue. So that's all for now folks! I'll see you when I get back, with so many photos you will be sick of them ;)

I won a dress!

A few weeks ago I entered a contest at Frances Baker for this adorable floral dress, and couldn't believe when I won! The blog is one of my daily reads, and since the writer, Josie, resides in Australia I get some early winter inspiration. She's always posting really pretty photos, and links for great blogs and designers. Make sure and check her out!
I was surprised when I picked up the package as it was too large for a dress, and when I opened it a pretty blue hat was sent too! It was all wrapped beautifully with a sweet note, and I adore both the hat and dress. The hat will even be pretty with vintage silk flowers pinned at the side.

Thank you so much Josie!

You so rock Audrey.

Yesterday I received and email from Audrey of Housewifery: For the little woman in you. She bought me a Flickr pro account! I really am still stunned someone would do something so generous, it was a rather sweet surprise. So thanks to the fabulous Audrey, you can now see all of my Vixen photos in one place on my fancy Flickr account.

xoxo

Antique show finds.

Last week I was pretty down in the dumps about not being able to go to the Portland Antique Expo, which is over 700 antique and vintage vendors all in one place. Since we're going to San Francisco next week I was saving up for that, and decided that the temptation of unlimited vintage clothing would be too overwhelming ;)
But Saturday morning my mother surprised me with the proposal that we not only go, but she'll give me the money to shop that was going to come after the wedding. Happy day!
So I rushed and got ready, and since I usually plan my outfit all week I just threw on an outfit I put together for the photo shoot and didn't wear.

The expo was amazing, and we could have spent all day there if we didn't have a hair appointment at 2:00.
My goal was to find a Merry Widow to wear under my wedding dress, and not long after we got there my mother found the perfect one! And some awesome seamed stocking to wear Saturday also.

I also picked up an amazing pair of spats for the cooler months, I've always wanted some, and these look brand new.
Tucked at the bottom of a bin was a adorable little red caplet I wore yesterday when visiting our wedding venue.

In another bin was a little cream knit dress (I love knit dresses so much). This one has a 30s look to it.

There was a booth with four boxes of vintage patterns, 2 for $5. Surprisingly most were 30s, 40s or 50s, and my size, I would have bought more but these two were my all time favorites. I made the pants already, pictured in the first photo. The date said 1933, and I adore them, but Shayla and I will have to tackle the dress as it has more pieces and steps.

I couldn't resist a couple of things for my shop, which will be listed in a couple of weeks, but are sooooo amazing. A 50s wedding dress/prom dress that is all ruffles and lace, and the most fantastic 30s dress, I swear you'll go ga-ga for.

Ok, off to do wedding stuff!

It's gonna be a crazy week.

I had planned on a post today about the antique show this weekend, but today my mother, cousin Ruth and I ran on wedding errands, and when I got home I became engrossed in a slacks pattern from 1933. On the bright side they turned out really cool!

Speaking of vintage sewing, the more than lovely Casey has featured an interview with me on her blog! Since her blog was one of first I started reading, and inspired me to start this one I was more than honored she asked to do an interview. She's always such a doll whenever I talk to her and her sewing posts are very inspiring.

Here is a photo in front of our wedding venue. Cool huh? We went there today to do some last minute layout planning, and it's always prettier every time I go.

Dress: The Urban Eccentric

Caplet: Portland Antique Expo.

Hat: Buffalo Exchange.

Shoes: Retro Renegade Vintage

Purse: Ross

New pictures!

Friday my mother in law to be, Lisa, threw me a lovely bridal shower with the help of her fantastic friends. She wanted to have some pictures of me for guests to look at so a few weeks ago we did a photo shoot on a perfect warm evening. Needless to say the shower turned out wonderful, as did the photos!
In the above photos I'm wearing a pink novelty playsuit with matching open front skirt from the 1940s. I got it at work in the winter and couldn't wait to wear it!

When searching for a fresh backdrop for this outfit the local post office popped into my mind. I spend so much time there, I may as well have some nice photos! It is a really cool post office, it's old and has giant pillars in the front and carved moldings.
I bought this black strapless dress in Encinitas California back in October, and the pink petticoat underneath made the entire outfit. Sweetheart necklines are my favorite, but they are difficult to find (unless I wanted 80s prom dresses...I don't.)

This silk dress is another one from work, I love the shape so much, I wish I could have more like it in cotton.

I'd love to tell you that you can see lots more on my flickr, but they tell me I am up to my monthly limit. And I considered getting a pro account, but I can think of many more things I want to spend money on right now, so more photos next month, or if I cave and pay the fee sooner :)

Meanwhile you can see all the photos in this slideshow, and if you need any sent to you, feel free to ask :)

Teaser

I'm so sorry for the lack of posts, I've been a little busy with wedding stuff (and yet it seems like I should be doing more...), and will probably be slightly absent from blogging until we get back from the honeymoon. It's only a week away!

Anyway, I've got tons to post about, so hopefully I can get some postings in this weekend. Here is a little teaser photo, lots more to come!

xoxo

hope everyone had a good week!

Back on Flickr

Ok, so I opened up a flickr account, still in the process of uploading photos, but it's there.

You can become my contact here

Soon there will be an icon at the side of my blog.

btw, please excuse the plain collages lately, I'm trying to spend more time working so I can have some money to spend in San Francisco!

Oh and I snapped this picture of a little tweeting bird the other day, he sounded so sweet!

Colorful morning

I love the amount of color in our house, especially in the dishes. I've collected vintage china for plates, and found about half a dozen tea cups and saucers at a thrift store, all mis-matched, but somehow go together perfectly. I can't wait to be in a house where we can paint the walls!

xoxo

Hot lady.

At a rummage sale years and years ago I was drawn to this photo. The seller saw me looking at it and said "She didn't know how cool she was."

And she was right. The well done hair, the little tie blouse, the perfectly plucked eyebrows, the clip on earrings. But best of all the glasses. So began my love affair with vintage glasses.

It took years to embrace vintage glasses as an accessory, but now I have such an obsession I feel I should make up for lost time. In the past I have owned four pairs of glasses, but sold two because I could never wear them thanks to the insanely nauseating prescription lenses. Then a few months ago Sam and I were at Magpie Vintage looking at the amazing selection of frames and I noticed all the lenses were popped out. The owner and salesgirl assured me it didn't look weird, in fact, the owner was wearing a pair of glasses that was sans lenses and I didn't even notice! I passed up a bunch of gorgeous frames, but did buy some sunglasses. I figured I should wear the pair I had before purchasing any more. So I took my 50s cat eyes to an optometrist who kindly removed the lenses for me in just minutes. And Voila! Now I can wear them all the time.

I was recently made aware of Vintage 50s Eyewear on Etsy via the Retro Ways blog and want the entire shop.

There's just something about vintage glasses that make me feel so glamorous. And a good quick fix if I can't do eye makeup :)

4th of July

Saturday was the 4th of July here in the states (aka the post office is closed, everyone flocks to the beach, and the view of the moon is blocked by firework smoke). Sam and I met up with our family at my brothers house for a backyard get together, and it must have been the hottest day of the year! Fun was had, and popsicles were eaten, all under a giant magnolia tree. After a cat nap and going with my mother to The Cheesecake Factory, we went back to my brothers for fireworks. For nearly 50 years the city I live in has held "The biggest fireworks display west of the Mississippi". This year though they ran out of money for it, so it seemed like there were more people than ever setting off their own fireworks, the sky was always lit up. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Dress: Betsey Johnson, via Buffalo Exchange.

Cherries: The Urban Eccentric

I like color.

This dress is my perfect red dress. It's from Vivien of Holloway and is sooooo pretty! I've been craving a 50s sarong dress lately, as they are so flattering and summery. I searched for a Hawaiian one last night on Etsy and Ebay with no luck, they were either not my taste, or hundreds of dollars. I actually sold one in my shop a while back, but it was too big. It was also in my shop a total of two minutes, I have a feeling I could have asked a bit more than $56.00 for it. But the buyer was really excited, so thats great :)
Perhaps I will find one like it at a thrift store, you never know!