For the Love of Vintage Clothes...

I have had a passion for vintage clothing since I

bought this very nightgown 

out of the 25 cents drawer at the old St. Vinnie’s

in Sheboygan, Wisconsin...

 The year was 1971...

This was one of the best I ever bought and the

fact that it has my mothers name on it only adds

to its appeal

tiny little stitches applique this lace onto the gown..

the monogram is the most delicate stitching...

unheard of today.

Since then, the allure of silk and handmade

lace has caused by heart to skip a beat when

I spot things like this at an Estate Sale...

this one was a recent find...found at the

bottom of a box with 3 others...

one with a matching bed jacket.

This exceptional nightgown is sewn on the bias with a halter top

and cut out back...

The fabric is a beautiful, flowery, rayon print...

circa 1930’s.

Vintage clothing gives you the opportunity to stand out...

to not look like anyone else

to be unique.

and for the most part

if you are very diligent

you find these things at a fraction

of what it costs to buy new...

The quality is incomparable...

hand sewn seams

tiny, tiny stitches

sometimes made by hand with the utmost care...

Through out the years I have bought and sold many

beautiful antique clothes...

some I wish I still had.

The days of finding these shirts for 5o cents is long gone.

This one was $195 at a vintage clothing store on

Melrose Avenue in Hollywood.

why oh why didn’t I buy these shoes?

You can still find beautiful things.  I do it all the time

and it’s for that reason I’m up tomorrow  morning at 5:30,

gulp down my coffee, jump in the car map in one hand,

the morning paper in the other with all the garage and estate sales

circled,as I do my rounds in the dim morning light 

searching for the next best thing...

Here’s to all you fellow hunters...

Happy Hunting this Weekend..

Sunny Afternoon...In Riverside

This exhibit at The Riverside Museum

showed different ways in which we 

decorate ourselves throughout history

and in different cultures.

Tattooing in Polynesia

American Indian tribes used  beads to decorate

their shoes, clothing and household goods.

Glorious 1920’s  Frocks decorated with

beads, sequins  and embroidery

Glamour and elegance is just a frock away.

The  early Victorian period used corsets

and elaborate and painful methods including rib removal

to get the hourglass shape.   Give me Spanx anyday.

I never tire of looking at clothing from the 1920’s

and if given a chance would time travel back to that

era, but of course, I would want to be rich in order to

wear dresses like this.

Through out history, jewelry was used as a way to

show wealth and status.

1800’s silk dress.

The wonderful Riverside Museum is  a 

tiny little treasure just across the street from the

fabulous Misson Inn

About an hours drive east from Los Angeles

A pretty little town that provides a full day

of things to see and do and if you are lucky

and have been a very good girl....

you can sit in this courtyard at The Misson Inn and have a lovely lunch,

a nice glass of Champagne....

While gazing upon this fab view.

A rare and wonderful, clear, sunny afternoon

in Southern California.

Take care to enjoy and stay warm and cozy wherever you are in this last week of January...          

Friday night photos

Just some photos

On a Friday night...

with

 Pink Floyd on tv...

don’t use any flash ...

Try to get Ginger

to do as he’s told.

Yeah, good luck with that.

a mere blur of a cat

This  January evening in the new year of 2011

when that big old moon

is shining so bright and I’m feeling a little

creative( and draging my husband along with me).

get out and do 

something daring and bold

something wonderfully unique

  something you’ve never done before.

Do it different this time.

Experiment

Have fun

Live Large

Larger.

don’t let convention stand in your way.

and don’t copy anyone else.

FLEA MARKET HIGHLIGHTS 2010

Meeting my first Blogging Buddy in The Flesh at Elkhorn.

 The pretty Jan from "Gracie's Cottage”.  I look beat from

the plane trip and getting lost driving to my hotel plus

getting up mega early to get first crack at all that cool stuff.

Tom from “American Pickers”  selling at

Elkhorn.  Wow...I was blown away and

couldn’t believe my eyes.

Everyone’s favorite hippie

 Tom was unbelievably funny on the show

and comes across like a true gentle 60’s soul.  I thought

people like him didn’t exist anymore.

I was so proud he was from Wisconsin.

I wish they had a female version of A.P.

Two women in search of the finds.  Heck yeah,

we can compete with the dudes and instead of all

the motorcycle stuff we’d be digging out the old dresses,

and hats and jewelry, the chippy dressers and chairs..

Elkhorn, Wisconsin.  I plan my trip back home around this flea market.

And now, through blogging, I actually know some of the

dealers and follow them.  It just adds more enjoyment

to the trip and makes you feel part of it all.

This would fly out of my booth at Wertz Brothers...

but a shipping nightmare.

I wish I could have brought this baby home...

You need to see the beautiful varnish crazing up close

to appreciate this piece.  It was a beautiful quarter-sawn oak

with amazing hardware.   I love workhorse pieces like this.

Wisconsin memories

Came real close to buying this but what a

hassle it would have been to pack and ship it.

Cedarburg, Wisconsin Maxwell Street Flea Market has been a favorite of mine

since the early 1980’s...

  I love these old Edwardian leather purses

so much...

So I bought all three.

This one’s a keeper for my own stash.

  Pricey but fab.   Did I want it...oh yeah.

What’s my dream trip for this year?    One word....Roundtop.

 I Want to go real bad so I’m putting it out there to the Universe... I would love to take a big trunk,

load that baby up with the loot, meet a lot of bloggers there,

 party down with them and have a first hand taste of Texas hospitality.

Practice makes Perfect?

I am not a natural...

I have a lot of fear and self-doubt.

I censor myself and think too much.

i hold back.

thinking too much

I have to practice and repeat things over and over.

And my memory isn’t too hot.

But the enjoyment I get from it and the

feeling that I get from playing music,  writing songs

and performing them...

 makes it all worthwhile.

The Ukettes

Sometimes you just have to conquer the fear and

dive in head first.  You get people who are telling 

you that your crap...but you just have to carry on

anyhow.

Playing with good friends, the ones that support you

and believe in you and help you on your path makes

things less painful.      

 

and when the party is over and 

another year is upon is...

it’s back to the practice room with

new ideas, bigger plans and setting my mind

to be more focused, more accommodating and

forgiving of myself for not being perfect..I’ll
never be that.  I’ll never be famous or fabulous.
I’m

just trying to be authentic to who I am and
finding my own voice.


NO ONE IS GOOD BY IMITATION...

Fab neighborhood Party ringing in 2011

Thank you Mauna & Lee...

I don’t have the voice of an angel.

I sure wish I did but it’s very ordinary...

but I do love to sing and I love to play,

and I know that by doing it I can overcome alot of

other stuff that is standing in my way.


So in this New Year...

I want to conquer all that stuff and I want
to do it just for me...and not to please others.
and stop worrying about what they think about me.


Because the only thing worse than failing
is never trying at all...