Antique Shopping Trip

Well, I picked up quite a few vintage goodies over the last week! I visited a ton of antique malls on Vancouver Island and saw some amazing items. My favorite would have to be a 1920's stove for $150! Obviously there was a big "SOLD" sign on it.
Anyhow, I posted a few pictures of my purchases.
First is a pair of gorgeous 1950's vintage shoes. They are covered in rhinestones and have lucite heels! The best part though, is they're a size 8 and fit me perfectly!
Next I found the cutest 1950's lamp. It has a green shade, a frame with a leaf design, and comes with a removable ashtray!
The last photo is of my prized art deco purse. It's a good size with 3 pockets inside, and has a beautiful lucite clasp.
I don't even have a photo of my favorite purchase though! It's a silver cracked ice 1950's arborite tea cart. So unique! I also picked up a classy looking 1940's black velvet hat.
I think it was my most successful vintage shopping trip yet!

Vintage Lucite Purse

Well, I'm back from almost a week of antique shopping! It was so much fun, and I found some amazing items. I will post photos and details tomorrow! Today I wanted to talk lucite. Does anyone have a lucite vintage purse? Strangely enough, I had never seen one before. But I came across one yesterday near the end of my shopping trip, and it was absolutely stunning! It was a lucite 1950's purse without a handle, so it was technically a clutch. So beautiful. Unfortunately I had already spent more than I planned to on vintage treasures, so I couldn't take it home with me. I can't stop thinking about it though! Here are some similar vintage purses that I found on Ebay.

Vintage Starlet of the Day

I'm finally back from my camping trip! Wow, and it was so amazing. Living in the city for so long, I tend to forget about the woods, the lake, and campfires etc. I did not want to leave! But here I am, and now it's time to focus on more glamorous things, like Marlene Dietrich.
I had never actually seen any films featuring Marlene Dietrich until I watched Alfred Hitchcock's "Stage Fright" quite recently. It was interesting to see how she seemed to be filmed quite differently than anyone else in the film. She had all this glamorous lighting and shadowing effects whenever the camera focused on her. Whenever the camera turned to any of the other actors, there would be nothing. I wonder if she demanded this? I think it's a good possibility.
Did you know Marlene was already a grandmother when this film was made?

Vintage Camping Trip

Well, I'm off to go camping for a few days! Although I don't know how vintage our camping trip will actually be! I will be wearing my 50's swimsuit, and vintage clothing....but we did just get a new tent, cooler and chairs, so it won't be a completely retro trip. Anyways, hope everyone gets to enjoy the sun this week! See you soon!

My Vintage Treasure

Some have called it tacky, weird, original or unique. These are all reasons why I love my little vintage foot stool! I had been looking for one forever, and now I finally have one. I'm not positive when this little guy was made, but they're supposedly from the mid 1950's to early 1960's. I guess they were some kind of fad or something during that time. Does anyone have any more information of these inflatable foot stools? I would love to know more about them!

In need of another Vintage Sundress

Wow, it's been so hot lately and I just haven't been prepared with my vintage clothing. I swear I've been rotating the same two 1950's dresses for the last week. All my other dresses are great, but they aren't as lightweight or they have sleeves, and right now I need as little fabric as possible! I've posted pics of some cute vintage dresses for enjoying the hotness this summer!

1930's Swimwear

Yes, another vintage swimsuit post! But how could I not brag about the 1930's bathing suit I just got! This is my oldest one yet! It's black, and it basically looks like a long tank top made out of wool. Here are some photos of Joan Blondell, Claudette Colbert, Carole Lombard and Jean Harlow, in the swimwear of the time. I must say, Jean's suit is pretty scandalous compared to the other ones! They're all pretty cute though. I love the little belts that were worn with them! Which swimsuit is your favorite?

Vintage Starlet of the Day

Lauren Bacall. Did you know Lauren was only 19 when she was given her famous role in "To Have and to Have Not"? (Shown in the 2nd photo) I never would have guessed she was that young in the movie. Maybe it's the way women used to dress, but to me she just looked so much older. Lauren also married Humphrey Bogart the following year. She was 20, he was 45.

"Find me a man who's interesting enough to have dinner with and I'll be happy." - Lauren Bacall

Oh My Vintage Shoes

Check out these beauties I just got! The first pair are satin 1940's shoes, or could be very early 1950's as well. Apparently they're boudoir slippers, but theres no way I'm gonna keep these in the house! The second ones are 1930's shoes, and luckily they're in excellent condition for their age :)

Another Vintage Swimsuit

Wow, I scored again! My vintage bathing suit collection could never be big enough. Actually, I only have 4 so far, but I'm working on it! I won this gorgeous red suit on Ebay a couple days ago. The description said it was a 1950's swimsuit, but I'm thinking it could be early 1960's as well. Either way, I now have my red suit just in time for summer!

Vintage Decor

When I finally have a house one day, I plan to have it fully decked out in vintage decor. So for my kitchen I'll need vintage appliances of course! Well, all it took was a little searching on Ebay, and I found my 1950's blender and toaster. It was perfect timing too, since I currently don't have a toaster and I had just gotten rid of my last blender. These chrome beauties should work out quite nicely!

Vintage Starlet of the Day

Anita Page was one of the beautiful, and very popular film stars of 1920's and 1930's. In 1929, Anita was receiving over 10,000 fan letters a week, second only to Greta Garbo. The craziest part is that over 100 of the letters were from Benito Mussolini! Apparently he had a bit of an Anita obsession. Who could blame him?

Vintage 50's Dress - Hawaiian Style

I can't get over these halter style vintage dresses! Drop dead gorgeous. If only they were affordable. I made the mistake of finding one of these 1950's dresses at a vintage store last year and not buying it! It even had a matching bolero! Silly me. Since then I've only found them online, but for a lot more money. I will continue to look though...

Vintage Treasures

I went on a little trip recently to visit my boyfriends family. Of course no trip is complete without a visit to the local vintage clothing and antique shops. I don't know what it is about small towns, but they are overloaded with vintage goodies at low prices! I wish it was like that in the city! But it's not:(

Anyhow, I started off by finding a beautiful 1940's fur coat at a little thrift store. To keep with my decade of choice, I then found a gorgeous 40's cream colored suitcase in perfect condition.

Next we found this huge antique mall. I checked out their vintage automotive section which was filled with old car parts, books, etc. I picked up a couple of cool 1960's car magazines which looked like they had never been read. The highlight of the trip however, was finding an early 1960's hairdryer! It's the most unique item I've seen in awhile. It basically looks like a mini vacuum cleaner with a comb attached to the hose! Hillarious! Of course I had to have it.

1940's Vintage Purse

I won this gorgeous 1940's purse on Ebay a couple weeks ago. I just received it the other day, and it's even more beautiful than it is in the picture. It's made out of this elegant silky corded material, and has three different areas inside to store things. Plus, I love the fact that black will go with almost anything!

Vintage Makeup Style

Jean Harlow or Marilyn Monroe? Which vintage make-up style do you prefer? The 1930's thin eyebrows and rosebud lips? Or the 1950's full eyebrows and luscious lips?

Vintage Sunglasses

One thing I don't own is a pair of vintage 1950's sunglasses. For some reason I have a bunch of replicas, but none that are authentic. Maybe it's because I know that all the sunglasses I have ever owned have a life span of about 2 months. I either leave them in a restaurant, sit on them, or they somehow just disappear. So my new mission is to find the cutest pair of 50's sunglasses that are still in decent shape, and take extra special care of them. I posted pictures of some nice ones I found on Ebay, but I'm gonna keep looking for the perfect pair.

1950's Clothing - Easier than you Thought

I watched Rebel Without A Cause the other night. I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of Natalie Wood's hairstyle in the film, but I do like her clothing. I always forget about the more casual, teenage girl 1950's clothes. I tend to focus more on the glamorous prom dresses and evening gowns, when the casual look is so much more accessible. All you need is a knee length skirt, sweater or cardigan, and a cute scarf!

Viva Las Vegas!

Got back from Las Vegas not too long ago, and let me tell you it was a vintage clothing girl's dream! I went for the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly festival, so obviously the city was full of vintage clothing, classic cars and great music! I finally had somewhere to wear my vintage dresses out to every night! Not that it ever stops me at home, but I actually fit in for once! My favorite event was the all day tiki pool party. The vintage bathing suits were to die for! I just wish I had taken more pictures!

Cute Vintage 1960's Dress

I was lucky enough to score some cute vintage dresses off a lady I met a while back. This is my favorite. She purchased this black party dress in the 1960's, and only wore it a couple times. It's in perfect condition except for a weird stain on the back of the dress. Lucky it's not that noticeable since the dress is black. The stain is almost a burgundy color, and I can't figure out what it's from. Strange. Anyhow, this vintage dress is absolutely adorable. It has a cute little matching belt, and I love the way the skirt puffs out. Unfortunately, it's a tiny bit too big for me so I may have to sell it. Or I could just add it to my collection of beautiful pieces that I can't wear, but can't bear to part with!

Vintage 50's Halter Dress

I haven't had much time for thrift shopping lately, so I headed straight for the vintage clothing store the other day. I'm glad I did, because I found the most perfect 1950's dress! It looked exactly like the vintage dress pictured above, except it was green with more of a hawaiian print. Very summertime pin-up girl. It wasn't quite the bargain thift shop price that I like, but it was definitely something I couldn't pass up! It will go perfectly with a pina colada this summer!

Vintage Bathing Suit Score

I kid you not, I found the black Marilyn Monroe 1950's swimsuit pictured above. The only difference is that mine has a cute halter strap around the neck. My hairstylist sent me the tip last week. She was chatting with the owner of the vintage store beside her salon, when he mentioned he just got a bunch of 1950's bathing suits in. She knows about my obsession, so she called me right away and let me know. Of course I went there right away, and there it was! My dream vintage swimsuit is all mine now. Although I still want an animal print one like Connie Francis is wearing below.

What's Your Real Name?

It's interesting that so many classic Hollywood starlets changed their names when they got involved in film. Here are just a few examples of some of the beautiful ladies who were not satisfied with their birth names.

Stage name followed by real name:

Carole Lombard - Jane Peters

Joan Crawford - Lucille LaSueur

Rita Hayworth - Margarita Cansino

Lana Turner - Julia Turner

Marilyn Monroe - Norma Mortenson

Barbara Stanwyck - Ruby Stevens

Bette Davis - Ruth Davis

Veronica Lake - Constance Ockleman

Lauren Bacall - Betty Perske

Ginger Rogers - Virginia McMath

Carole Landis - Frances Ridste

I wonder how different their careers would have been if they had kept their original names...

Vintage Swimsuit

I haven't seen anything this cute in awhile...probably because it's still winter! I just won this little 1950's bathing suit or sun suit on Ebay. Actually I don't know that I would risk wearing it in the water...I think it's one of those play suits thats just made for looks. You know, for lounging around by the pool and looking gorgeous.

Vintage Kitchen

Talk about the ideal retro kitchen! I thought these were replicas when I first saw them, but no, they're authentic 1950's kitchen appliances. And pink of all colors! How perfect is that. This is seriously my dream kitchen. I might even cook if I had decor that looked like this.

Vintage Starlet of the Day

The legendary Jane Russell. Here's an interesting couple facts. In the early 1940's, Miss Russell was turned down a contract with Paramount because she was too tall, and 20th Century Fox said she was too unphotogenic! Excuse me? Unphotogenic? Too tall? Howard Hughes then took over and the rest is history.
In the later fifties Jane scored a sweet deal with Hughes. He gave her a million dollar contract for 6 more movies, but it was right around the time Howard was losing interest in making films. Jane ended up not having to make one of the six movies, and basically scored a million bucks for nothing. Nice.

Vintage luggage set

I've been so behind in my vintage blogging lately, forgive me! Anyhow, I need this! I'm in desperate need of some cute vintage luggage, and this would suit me perfectly! I love the blue. The set is from the 1950's, and it's satin lined inside. Gorgeous.

Vintage Hats for the New Year

Happy New Year ladies, I'm finally back. I thought I would start the year off with a collection of gorgeous vintage hats I found on Ebay. They range from 1930's to 1950's, and are all quite unique. I think I'm gonna go with the 3rd one as my favorite, that ivory satin is irresistible!

Vintage Christmas Eve!

Happy Christmas Eve from the lovely Vera Ellen, and me of course! I love this vintage pin-up picture of Vera in her pre-anorexic days. She actually looks healthy!

Beautiful Vintage Coats

Well it is the season for coats, so I thought I'd post a few pics of some lovely ones I found on Ebay this morning. Apparently all these vintage coats are from the 1940's. Which one is your favorite? I can hardly decide because they're all such different styles! It's almost like morning, afternoon and evening. Three coats per day would definitely work for me!

Vintage Dress Oops

Please tell me I'm not the only one who has accidentally ruined/ripped or destroyed a beautiful vintage clothing piece! I was actually doing pretty good for awhile. There had been a period about a year ago, where a few of my items had been damaged accidentally. Usually I am extremely careful, but what can you do if you touch the lace on a 1940's dress and it disintegrates before your eyes! Then I go to try on my beautiful bias cut satin slip, and what do I hear? Tearing! No! I just bought it! I hadn't even worn it yet. It's only a tiny rip in the back, but still!! I guess sometimes theres nothing you can do. Of course I will try to replace these items as best I can, after all its a good excuse for more shopping!

Vintage Starlet of the Day

Joan Bennett's glamorous style has peaked my interest lately. She was the younger sister of Constance Bennett, and also had her fair share of movie parts. Joan appeared in films throughout the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's. I've only seen her 1940's film noir parts, but I would love to see more. She was one of the actresses who actually gained more stardom and better roles when she dyed her hair from blonde to brunette. Which is great I thought, because it usually seems to be the other way around. She has two completely opposite looks. Do you like Joan better as a blonde or brunette?