Bronze and Brass

I carried this purse at the wedding I recently attended. Finally, after a long childhood of it lurking in the dress up box, I put it to real use! It was my grandmother's, circa the '70s, though it could pass for the 1940s. I love its metallic beading and bronze satin interior.

Liberty Scarf

Loving the pattern and flowy hand of this Liberty scarf! Also the blue and orange contrast is so cheery. I dug it out of a scarf pile at the local thrift store and was not surprised to see the name. That iconic illustrative style!

Strawberry Pin

A freshly picked pin straight from the ripe fields of the local thrift store...on William Morris' Strawberry Thief, naturally. 

Luna

The past week I have been attacking my pile of sewing projects, and the completed pile is rapidly growing at a satisfying rate. It's a bunch of wardrobe maintenance--stray buttons, loose seams, and the like, mixed with refitting and reinventing of thrifted items. Luna, my mannequin, stands nearby as a sentinel of all things frilly and couture. Also yesterday I watched Coco Avant Chanel, so, you know, I'm living the couturière life! It's amazing what chic results can come about from hacking off a sleeve.

Festive Fleece

This is my Christmas gift (project) to myself: I ordered my Nordic, Chunky Knit, and Bubblegum Calico designs on Fleece to sew up into some cute neckwarmers. Time to use the snowy weather to get to my pile of sewing!

Gatsby Glasses

Now I'm all set for any costuming event from the 1800s through the 1930s with these glasses! They are so fine and dainty. The ingenious local optician happily ripped the black tubing off this vintage pair that he had sitting on his shelf in order to polish them up to their round golden glory for me. Gotta love small town service!

Carpet Bag

This pouch was an IDS 2016 freebie from carpet manufacturer Jan Kath. Check out their stunning styles!
It makes me chuckle that I use a mini German area rug to keep things tidy in my purse.

What I Wore: Pink and Black

Here's the wedding outfit of the summer, featuring this bright pink moire dress and various black and gold accents. The best part is that the retro glam number was only $0.30 from a recent thrift haul plus a half hour of easy peasy tucking and sewing on the bodice! Amusing note on moire: that fabric thoroughly repulsed me until this dress came into my life. It is strangely, satisfyingly crisp and water-repellent, and rather makes me feel like I am wearing an umbrella. The main new positive association is that now moire has been mentally transformed from dated drapery to sashaying like Barbie. Much classier! Oh how I love whipping an outfit together!

Frankenstein Cat Eye

I have been looking for gold cat eye frames for a looong time. While trying on my other new pair of glasses at the local glasses shop I was lamenting that fact, and the ingenius optician proceeded to dig out three boxes of vintage glasses parts. Creative people unite! We rummaged through the boxes and found two arms, the body, and the tips to create my dream pair of pearly and golden tones. I affectionately call them my Frankensteins. 

While putting the tips on the frame there was an accidental hole punched, so we filled it with a rhinestone. Nothing like covering up a mistake with a little sparkle!

Pssst! You may have noticed that the arms cross in a funny way. That's because they are actually two of the same side of arm! A little bending fixed that problem, and now the glasses have some (inconspicuous) quirk.

I'm so thankful for this fellow outside-the-box thinker! Ta-da!

Hot Fudge Cat Eye

Alas, my thrilling thrifty find, my $3 cat eye glasses have cracked. Their acetate frame was weakened by the cold winter so it was only a matter of time. Sad as that is, they have been replaced by these retro beauties!

They are vintage, made of tortoiseshell, and look like hot fudge.

They even have striped layered edges, a pearly pink undertone, and tiny Deco fan details on the tips.

Swoon!

Grandma's Strawberries

As I mentioned, my grandma, a painter, was a big fan of strawberries. These are some of her personal projects. The strawberry pendant has a twin--it used to be a pair of earrings she wore often. The strawberry pin is actually from my great grandma, so really we're spanning 5 generations of strawberry adoration!

Golden Treasure

I love the incised floral on this golden locket, a family heirloom. Inside it I have written Romans 8:38-39: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." That fact is my greatest treasure, as it was for St. Patrick!

Vera Scarves

After reading about surface pattern designer Vera Neumann I went through a period of discovering oodles of her scarves at every thrift store I went to! I always chuckle at how that kind of thing happens, and clearly I started a collection. The bold stripes and such on these slender pointed scarves are so eye-catching, and I love to see her name on the corners. Vera scarves are fun and functional to tie in my hair when swing dancing!

1930s Felt Brooch

This is my great-grandma's floral brooch from the 1930s. It reminds me of Vogue covers of that decade.

Green Thumb

I was inspired by Ron Isaacs' Sprout, and created this shadow box with linen, cardstock, and a vintage glove.

Robin's Egg Necklace

These beads are leftovers from a ceramics experiment with minty glaze...now reborn as a robin's egg necklace!

Cat Eye Glasses

I found these fabulous cat eye frames at Value Village for (wait for it) $3, had my prescription lenses put in them, and may have also taken a brush full of gold paint to the tips...hello, bespectacled '50s secretary joy!

Love Laughs at Locksmiths

I bought this vintage handkerchief for $2 at a vintage clothing store for it's romantic, whimsical illustrations. It's probably from the 1950s. I did a little research about the verse and discovered that it is a proverb meaning love will find a way. It is derived from Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis, "Were beauty under twenty locks kept fast/ Yet love breaks through, and picks them all at last."

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lipstick Handkerchief

I found this embroidered handkerchief, likely from the 1950s, at a garage sale. I guess it exists so as not to destroy a white handkerchief with lipstick!

Vintage Striped Vera Scarf

The other day I was in the changing room at Value Village and my mom, who was thrifting with me, was apparently entertaining herself by flipping through the scarves. As I opened the door to show her a shirt I had on, she tossed a scarf into my hands and said, "Look what I found--it's very cute and French-looking!" I agreed. She added, "And look at the nice logo!" My jaw dropped and heart leaped. After babbling about the fact that it is a Vera scarf, I looked at the price tag--$1.99--and babbled some more.

Judging by this article about how to date a Vera scarf by the logo, I'd say it's from the '80s or '90s, so it's not incredibly old, but I love it anyway!