A sea shells song.

When we were young my mother had a large conch shell on display in my room. She would tell me to put my ear to it so I could hear an ocean song. This made me rather upset because I thought what I was hearing was the sea shell missing the ocean so much, its brain was recreating the memories of its old home. I would day dream about taking it from my room and hiding it in my Gumby travel bag and returning it to the beach. A girl’s room was no place for a shell that was sad. I would imagine kissing the shell, saying farewell, and waving goodbye as the waves soothed its once lonely heart. I would be depressed that it would no longer be mine to admire, but I knew I would be at peace with the decision I had made because now it could be happy. 

While listing this pin today I thought about that. I was having a rather hard day, because anniversaries of things can be hard, and saying goodbye is hard, and letting people leave your life is hard, but ultimately sometimes you have to, so they can be happy.  And sometimes memories will have to be enough, like the ocean’s breath, replaying in a sad shells heart. 

A brooch, blogged

I listed something very special to me today.  This was one of the first vintage things I ever purchased. Bought with my left over allowance money (I donated most of my allowance to the humane society, because jeez I couldn’t get past those sad postcards they kept sending me) I found it at a booth in a flea market with my dad when I was 10. It was the kind of booth that was run by a little old lady, yes, most likely a hoarder, who loved and cherished every last little nik-nak in her crazy crammed booth. Of course she had stories about EVERY THING she had. She told me this pin was a very special prize awarded to school children in the 1930s to promote good attendance and behavior.  She ended up allowing me to have it for 10 cents, because she could tell by my shy little face that 25 cents was going to be a no-go for me and my penny pinching 90s neon wallet. And while I can’t confirm her story to be 100% true what I can confirm is this is probably one of the cutest novelty brooches out there. 

Spring Sweaters

Every year I tell myself to just pick up “a few” spring sweaters for the shop. They aren’t the most popular item, and they surely don’t fly off of our cyber shelves, but somehow, every year, the mountain of spring sweaters grows. Oops. I’ve come to the conclusion I just can’t say no to them. Their pretty colors and knit textures always make my heart melt. Here is the first batch. All have been listed, and all are eagerly awaiting their news homes. Please stop over and pick one up, PLEASE.

The Real Life Betty

While there are a couple of girls who are said to have directly influenced Fleischer Studio's Betty Boop, Helen Kane remains supreme. While most flappers and entertainers of the time were long and lean in appearance, Kane was short, curvy, and had that innocent doll face - making her an instant sex symbol. And that voice! Nothing quite like it. She quickly gained cult following. Little girls carried Kane dolls, grown up girls emulated Kane's appearance and voice. Soon her caricature was created by animator Grim Natwick - a puppy dog - later turned girl - which turned to be who we know as Betty Boop.

 

Charting number 5 in 1928, “That’s my weakness now” completely embodies that suggestive flapper we all now recognize today as Betty Boop. Isn’t this song just the best!?! 

Check out our pintrest board for photos of Helen and to find original sources!

90s Minis have arrived!

It's no secret that 90s mini dresses are some of our favorite kind of vintage. Some for the northern hemisphere and some for the southern hemisphere. Even though it's snowing outside my window right now, ya'll know how much I love you kittens in Australia. And boy oh boy, you sure are going to enjoy this batch! In store now! 

Color Theory : Stying with warm greens, yellows, and browns.

Lately I have been finding myself drawn to the olive and moss greens, the mustard and goldenrod yellows, and both cool and warm toned browns. They seem to suggest both a moody autumn but embrace the future of spring, wouldn’t you say? What I of course enjoy the most about this color palette is that it pays homage to so many eras of vintage fashion. I can see all eras represented with these colors, but the 60s and 70s is strongly present here.  I have a photo shoot for the shop at the end of this week, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of these colors trickle in to the styling!

Click over to our pintrest board to see more yellow and green looks and for original sources.