Wednesday, December 29, 2010

From the frozen tundra comes a message...



Finally got a moment to upload some photos and do a quick vacation post. Been frolicking around in the 20 degree weather and seeing all the family and drinking lots and eating more. I love coming back here because it reminds me that large families actually cook dinners. I've been trying to get in an outfit photo everyday but it's been tough.


 I'm convinced those are moose tracks in the snow.


 Mama holding baby cousin Jackson.


 My beautiful Italian cousins.


 Trying to stay warm and fashionable.

 Belherst Castle- we went to a wine tasting here. Just beautiful.


 Pretty wine themed jewelry that I may or may not have bought.


 Food!


 Being a nerd and taking vineyard photos.







Friday, December 24, 2010

The only way to Fly

This is it! Countdown: 1 day til New York!

Clothes, shoes and such are packed away in the giant checked suitcase and now all I have to concentrate on is my carry-ons. United airlines has new policies for carry-on as the must measure less then 45" total. So, I had to go out and fight the Christmas crazies to pick up a new case. I found a rather cute houndstooth one that fits the specs and my undying need for all my accompaniments to have a vintage feel. I'm hopeless.
Anyway, the carry-on gets all my accessories like scarves, gloves, jewelry and makeup plus a change of clothes and toiletries on the chance that the airline looses my luggage.





My other carry-on is my purse and I took a cue from the venerable Super Kawaii Mama    in regards of what to pack for the flight. She's got a wonderful Travel Essentials Post   full of helpful tips. I also used her What's in my bag? post   as a guideline for the perfectly prepared without being overstuffed purse. 



 Hand lotion, BB Pomegranate lipbalm and my cute little pillbox. Full of drugs! Kidding, just excedrin.

 My phone and ipod for in flight amusements.

 Passport, wallet and a little Thomas Pynchon.

Sunglasses and an umbrella. Cause lord know what weather will be waiting for us. Un-pictured is my camera for obvious reasons. So, that's it. Aside from running up to Golden Hill to pick-up a carton of cigarettes, I'm completely ready for my trip. Now, I wanna nap and get ready for another Christmas party which I will probably end up regretting. Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

ReVamp; The Art of Changing

Ok, so since my vacation started, I've been lagging on preparing for the trip. Been too preoccupied with drinks and parties and days spent recovering from drinks and parties.
But now it's countdown: 3 days and I gotta get on this shit. Washed all my laundry last night and set out the clothes I'm planning to take. Got a hair trim and found another silver hiding within my coif. Which is good for two reasons.
1. I love silver hair.
2. Loving silver hair means not dying since it will cover up lovely sliver hair.
So, the dye job I was planning to do is off which means one less item to tick off my list. And now I am currently killing time (and dealing with a flooded back room!) until the shops open so I can buy things. Suitcase and books for the plane and maybe some new makeup.

Ah, segway. Another little thing I needed to do was figure out how I was going to take along my Airspun loose powder, that time tested holy grail for vintage ladies. The best face powder on earth (and also maybe the cheapest) doesn't travel well so I decided to press it. With a little help from some makeup blogs and The Fedora Lounge, I was surprisingly easy.

 You need cosmetic powder, mixing bowl, something to press your powder into and alcohol (I used rubbing alcohol or surgical spirit) I've read use of vodkah and other drinking alcohol but why waste good liquor?

 Throw your powder in a bowl. I ended up using about half the powder in the container because once you add the alcohol, you lose a lot of volume.

 Add the alcohol a bit at a time and mix until its at a pasty consistency. At this point, I got a little nervous because the color changed so darkly. No worries, it dries back to it's original color.

 Scoop the paste into your pressing pan. I'm using my Stratton compact (with a broken mirror!) Goop it in, then wet your finger with the alcohol and use it to smooth the paste into the corners and even out the top.

It took mine overnight to dry. Halfway through, I took some scrap fabric and pressed it into the pan and applied pressure to help even out the surface. I added a little stamp of a Fleur de lis cause I'm corny.

Voila! Instant pressed compact. This works for any powder make-up and is especially helpful for eyeshadow or blushes that have busted and crumbled to dust.

Edit!
I don't know how I missed this post by Vixen Vintage but she has a tutorial for pressed powder that rocks. It looks like I just copied hers photo for photo (promise I didn't!) but her post is much prettier and more detailed then mine. Check it out!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

All new accessories

Recently bought some new accessories and have been wearing them around town.

Vintage bird pin is making the rounds- on my sweater and on my beret.




Beaded  feather headband from the Bethany Lorelle etsy shop.


And some new acquisitions from Urban Outfitters.

Monday, December 20, 2010

On a jet plane...

Countdown to New York trip: 5 days!
It's been weeks since I've posted and those have been filled with many stressful happenings. Between birthdays, car trouble, expired licenses and a sexual wrench thrown into the works, there's been no time for fun vintage blogs. But now things have calmed down considerably and I've got a whole week free to post and bore you all to death.

Today's will be all about the fine line between traveling smart and staying chic. I am a notorious over packer. If I'm going on a trip, for some reason I get it in my head that a situation will come up where I will absolutely need my white petticoat (or all 3 Trashy Diva dresses. or my paper parasol.) I never do end up needing these things on the trip but it's one of my weird traveling phobias. Which leaves me trying to lug around two suitcases, a hat box, makeup bag and a purse more often then not. Well, not this year so says I.

This year I've planned ahead and developed a clever (and a bit lame) strategy for my Christmas trip this year. Rather then bring enough clothes for every day of the week I'll be gone, I'm bringing enough for 3. Rather then bring a bunch of favorite pieces that on their own look great but end up clashing, I'm going with a theme and color palette. And I made up little collages on polyvore cause if we are already at "a bit" lame, why not really swing for the fences?


Packing Guide

As you can see, sleek and space saving. I'll be wearing onn outfit on the plane (including the jacket) so I can stick to one checked bag and one carry on. Most is from modcloth, all fit into the color scheme of blues, browns and rust. And I'm able to mix them to have a different outfit each day. Fewer clothes means more room for accessories, which is where the variety will really come in. I can bring along as many necklaces, tights and gloves as I want without taking up a lot of suitcase space.

And since I'll be there for the holidays and NYE, I want one fancy dress celebrating outfit.

New Years Outfit

I hadn't notice until right now that I've got quite a little flock of birds going on in my travel wardrobe. I must subconsciously really be into feathered friends right now.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Sometimes people can be such buggers

I've come to realize something in the 4 odd years since I first started dressing vintage. It's 2011, we are the rulers of this little planet of ours and we've made technological, social and cultural advances that are mind boggling And yet, we humans still don't like different
Different from us, different from what we know. Deep down on some primal level, people hate the uncommon.

I'm a member over on The Fedora Lounge and in the ladies section, there is a whole thread about comments you get from people when you wear your vintage. And sadly, most of the posts there are from gals who have been taunted and even harassed. People see a lady in a 50's dress or a gent in a suit and hat and out come the snide comments, the giggles and the rude behavior. I've encountered some of this myself;  last night I was just telling a guy that at least half of the responses I get to my clothing are chilly if not downright negative. 
Most of it is from people who aren't trying to be mean but just can't understand why I look the way I do. 
Am I in a play?
Do I work at the Corvette Diner?
Or Disneyland (of all random places)
I've been yelled at by passing cars, called Lucy/Betty/Dorothy/Rosie, asked if I'm a space traveler (?), laughed at and one time been called a bitch by two girls on the street as I was walking by.

This I tend to indulge (for the curious folks) or ignore (for the rude ones)- but I can't help being baffled that such a reaction is garnered from something as honestly superficial and meaningless as clothing. And the answer I keep coming to is people don't like you to be different and sometimes they're just mean about it.

I follow the blog of a lovely and inspiring woman in England who does vintage far better then I ever could. Her blog, Diary of a Vintage Girl  is mainly vintage related but occasionally has some personal posts. And she's been attacked in her comments by random crazies for either being a vintage snob or for not being vintage enough in regards to the personal posts. This has happened at least twice and it's just disgusting to me really. Another example to people not liking different.

It's just clothing folks. Let's get some perspective.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Adventures in Birthday Parties

Another year bites the dust and I was lucky enough to have some good folks to celebrate with last night. What started off as an innocent gathering at the Bamboo Lounge turned into a drunkfest at El Dorado, complete with champagne, missing friends and a set of busted knees. Yeah, I fell. Really hard. Also lucky that I left my camera in the car for the second half of the night. That way, all we have a nice, proper photos for the blog and the unsavory moments of the night will live on only in memory.

 TB showed up, most unexpectedly. It was great to see him.

 My new jumper from Nudeedudee on etsy.



 I'm thinking this would be good for their wedding photo.


 Some of these photos I look very angry in. I'm not but I look like I am.



And honestly, I don't think I've hard a better birthday since the great "Catch 22 Years Old" house party. Yow!