Roadtrip!

Sometimes there's nothing better than a roadtrip. Or in this case, a roadtrip with the promise of vintage!

Today I tagged along with Twila Jean to Redmond Oregon, about three hours from Portland. We were on a buying trip, well, for her it was for her shop, and I can say she got the most amazing 20s and 30s dresses. The woman she bought them from was so sweet and opened up her collection just for us! It was like our own personal estate sale, she even had 20s music playing as we shopped. I of course couldn't leave without buying two hats, one a stunning 30s/40s rose topper, and the other an AMAZING 20s cloche made from horsehair! Isn't it cool?
We also stopped in some thrift stores, and while there wasn't any vintage clothing I did find a bunch of orange and cream striped fabric and metal zippers (I only use metal zippers, can't stand nylon).
The drive was so beautiful, we had to stop on the windy side of the road in the canyon and take a picture together. We realized recently we always claim to hang out together, but never show any proof of it, our pictures are always solo! So there you have it. We actually do know each other.

Since we drove through a lot of farmland there were some beautiful old abandoned houses on the side of the road perfect for pictures, but in the end we spotted this fantastic old apartment building with a spiral staircase! It was very cool.

Here's some random things I saw in one day:

Snow
Rain
Desert
Llamas
Deer
Sheeps
A bear eating a cheeseburger
Tumbleweeds
An outhouse
An elephant statue
Canyon

KITTY DRESS!!!!!!

I know, I know. Kitten overload.

You've probably seen Miu Miu's spring 2010 collection, which used a fabulous kitty print in lots of designs. Needless to say, I loved it. Also needless to say, it's expensive. What's a girl to do? Make her own kitty dress of course!

Sam took me to the fabric store and in the back, with all the quilters cotton was this darling pink and white kitten fabric. Kittens playing with balloons, I could not resist. There was a teal, and I think a purple and yellow too, but pink is where it's at for me.

But I couldn't just stop at kitten fabric. I mean, it's really cute, but you only see the kitties if you are close up. And I want people to know I'm a crazy cat lady from a block away.

Giant kitty pockets are the answer!

So I cut out and embroidered little happy kitty faces, to hold secret notes and candy wrappers.

But it needed something else.....hmmmmm...let's see....oh I know!

"Meow!

And there you have it. My kitty dress.

:)

What is it about gingham...

I found this dress at work the other day and had to get it (wow, I feel like a say that exact sentence way too much). I have a pretty black and white gingham dress my auntie gave me, but it's a sleeveless summer dress, and I save those for warmer weather. For spring I paired it with a fluffy pink petticoat, and black beret, but I think it will be nice in fall too with a wooly sweater and boots!
I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, I took a little break from blogging and finished my kitty dress (it's as cute as it sounds, or awful, depending on how much you like kitties, hehe), baked some yummy bread, cleaned a bit, and watched I Capture The Castle, and Penelope. The former had nice 30s inspiration, and the latter was just darling, I recommend it, especially if you have young girls, it has a nice "moral of the story".
It's been raining a lot (my hair got a bit wet when I was taking pictures), and tonight when my family met up for dinner, there was a huge, full rainbow right outside the window, nice view huh?

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The Royal Tenenbaums

I can't tell you enough how much I love this film. It's just perfection, in every way. The Royal Tenenbaums has just enough of everything, and the main female character Margot (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) makes me want to wear tennis dresses with mink coats, and smoke in a clawfoot tub. All of the character are so individual, with a slightly eccentric style, and generally wear the same thing throughout the whole thing. It makes me wonder what my "uniform" would be if I were portrayed in such a way, perhaps next week I'll gather all the items I use/wear more than anything else and share them with you, however unglamorous they may be :)
If you haven't see the film you MUST, even if just for the visual feast. The pictures above are some of my favorite moments, although there are so many more!

All images from here

1930s dress for sale

A lot of readers asked if I would be making any 30s dresses to sell, so I went ahead and made one with some fabric I had lying around. It's a pretty little print with yellow roses, a very thin and light fabric, I think it's a cotton blend, but it's very cool :)

It's trimmed in cotton eyelet lace, and has mother of pearl button detail. The side closes with buttons and button holes like this one, all hand finished. I think it will need a belt to make sure the side closure lies right, I always have to wear one with my side button dresses. If this one proves popular I'll make another one in heavier cotton, and hopefully draft the pattern to make it in a larger size.

If you would like to buy the dress, or have any questions just email me at solanahraquel@gmail.com

Measurements

Bust-36" (91.5 cm)

Waist-27" (68.5 cm)

Hips-38" (96.5 cm)

Bodice length-16.5" (41.5 cm)

skirt length-26" (66 cm)

Shoulders-15.5" (39.5 cm)

Price: SOLD!

Shipping: U.S.A. $6.00, Everywhere else email me for quote.

Seamed stockings

Last week I ordered a box of seamed stockings from Weirdee Girl Vintage, three pairs! I was pretty excited since the only pair of seamed I have are the ones I wore when I got married, from Fab Gabs. I love them, but save them for special occasions as they were, well, special.
When I opened the box I almost couldn't bring myself to slip the stockings out of the tissue paper (I didn't dare rip off the tape, so I carefully slipped them out). Don't you love the gold ribbon around them? It took me a bit to realize they were stockings fluttering in the breeze.
As much as I want to wear them right away I'll need to find a good garter belt, which may have to wait for the lovely tax return since I have my eye on this one. But maybe I can find one at a vintage store before then ;)

It's Slovly!

As you can see I have a wonderful new blog header, completely original and personalized. Isn't it perfect?
Well the artist who created it is just as sweet as her work. Sabrina of SLOVLY.com paints the cutest little ladies and gents (and the occasional pet), for sale on Etsy, and even does custom work! So if you need a portrait of you and your sweetheart, you and your pet gerbil, or just the darling you, Sabrinas your gal. She's a dream to work with, not only did she do my blog header and pretty business cards, but she also painted her interpretation of my rag curl tutorial, which I just love! Don't you want her to make all those mundane bits of life cuter?
Above are a few of my favorite paintings, she has such a knack for representing a persons interests and passions so well, the results are amazing!