Mail Call!

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One thing I truly love about the vintage community is that we look out for each other in the sense that many of us have a niche style and when we see something or have something another gal might be interested in, we offer it up, link to it, or, thanks to the 21st century, snap a picture and send it via text message.  Another thing about vintage girls is that we don’t really like to let things go.  Even if an item might not fit anymore.  We just kind of hoard dresses and such until, one day, you meet someone who you know will love the dress just as much as you did, and you know they’ll fit into it.  And recently, this fabulous dress was bestowed upon me due to my love of novelty prints…

Can’t quite tell what’s all over the dress?  Take a closer look…

Yes, those a tiny little postmen and itty bitty letters!

I was simply giddy over it.  It was just so silly!

And did I mention my grandfather was a mail carrier? My mum’s dad spent the majority of his years after the war delivering mail in Nampa, Idaho.  So, I think the dress will hold a pretty special place in my heart. And closet for that matter.

Vintage Must Have: Bullet Bra

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Alright, ladies. Let’s talk about your boobs. Your “yabbos”, the girls, breasts.  For vintage girls, we live in a very different bra state than the rest of the ladies out there.  When I first started shopping for vintage on a heavier scale I came across a common problem.  The darts in the breast region were not where they were suppose to be. Not even close.  At first I thought “Oh, this must have been made for someone who was built different than I.” No. No, it happened way too often for that.  Then it dawned on me as I was rewatching the film Ed Wood for the millionth time. It was my bra. My bras were all wrong!

Vintage bras, especially those of the 1940s through the 1960s, were built in more of a cone shape than rather a round shape, like those of today.  They are more commonly referred to as “bullet bras” for their shape.  So, what’s a vintage girl to do? It’s not like you can go to Target or even Victoria’s Secret to get yourself one of these.  Now and again you will run across bullet bras at vintage clothing shops or thrift stores, but not all that often.  So, that’s when the internet becomes your friend.  If it isn’t already.  Vintage bullet bras are available on Etsy, simply by searching for “bullet bra” in their search bar (with “vintage” selected, of course).  In fact, fellow Pacific Northwest vintage gal Twila Jean sells deadstock, dyed-to-order bullet bras in her Etsy shop!

However, if wearing someone else’s bra makes you feel uncomfortable, there are a handful of websites out there that are making bullet bras new.  Including Secrets in Lace, a sultry website specializing in glamorous underthings, and many girls I know favor What Kate Did and their selection of vintage inspired lingerie.

“Isn’t This Suppose to Be Scary?”

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Due to the Hollywood’s hosting of the H.P. Lovecraft Festival, our weekly screening of Mad Men moved venues for the evening over to Sam’s Billiards, thankfully just one block from the Hollywood Theatre.

The evening’s dress was made by my mum in 1970 during her senior year at college.  I paired it with lots of blue accessories, since I think yellow and blue (in lighter sides of course) are a wonderful color combination.

Outfit
Scarf: Thrifted
Dress: Made by my mum, circa 1970
Brooch: Antique Alley, Portland
Bangle: ?? Antique show I bet
Shoes: The Clothes Horse, Eugene
Purse: Gift

Other Episode Outfits
501/502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507

For more on the episode… Continue reading →

Vintage Beauty: Hairstyling

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Ready for some more vintage beauty tips from Hollywood’s Ern and Bud Westmore?  Last time we covered face shapes, and today we’re covering hairstyles to compliment your face shape.

  

  

There is a lot of great 1940s hair inspiration here too, along with some tips to compliment your facial structure.

I know doing vintage hair can be complicated and frustrating, but nothing perfects like practice, practice, practice.  YouTube is a great resource for video tutorials, just search for “vintage hair”.  Additionally, there are many books on the subject including the hair volume of the Style Me Vintage series (my personal recommendation) as well as Vintage Hairstyling, which I know many gals who have enjoyed this book, I however did not have much luck with it.  But nothing can replace a personal interaction with a person who knows their stuff.  Portlanders have the luxury of having the amazing Kristen Behlings as a resource who frequently does hair workshops.  She has done my own hair for several fashion shows, and I have attended two of her workshops, the most recent last March.  Also, don’t be afraid to ask if you see someone who has their hair done up or even at a vintage clothing shop, they may know some tips or know someone who does.

Eye make-up next time!

Mission Dolores

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My last stop on this trip to San Francisco was Mission Dolores.  It was on our way back to the airport, and so Patrick and I met up to visit the location together.

In Vertigo, Madeleine leaves the flower shop for the mission, and Scottie follows.  She enters through a side door, goes through the chapel and into the cemetery where she stands over a grave, one which we later discover is marked as Carlotta Valdes.

Today, Mission Dolores is maintained as museum (actually, the door which Madeleine enters through is the very one visitors now enter through), and you can stroll through the chapel and the cemetery.  Although over the decades, the cemetery has changed greatly.  In Vertigo, it is much more lush, with walkways edged in neatly trimmed hedges, and other vegetation making it appear almost oasis like.  Throughout the Mission’s history, the cemetery had to be reconfigured and some graves moved.  Footsteps in the Fog notes that the Carlotta Valdes headstone, created for the film, remained as a popular tourist attraction, but has since been removed, deemed not authentic enough to remain in such a sacred place.

I love Missions and cemeteries in themselves, so I enjoyed the stroll through the area, in my grey suit of course…

View my entry on other Vertigo locations here.

Well, that wraps it up for my San Francisco trip!

In Search of Vertigo

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San Francisco has certainly changed, that’s for sure.  I thought that locating many of the filming sites would be rather simple, heck I had a book to tell me, didn’t I? Well…think again.  As I walked the streets of San Francisco on the hunt for what remained of Hitchock’s “tortured Valentine” to the city, I couldn’t help feeling like Vertigo‘s villain, Gavin Elster, when he has Scottie in his office, “Well, San Francisco’s changed.  The things that spell San Francisco to me are disappearing fast.” Yes, Gavin, yes the are.  I chose a select few locations for my short stay.  Ones that were easy for a girl on foot to get to (sorry, to Palace of the Legion of Honor or San Juan Bautista – although if I track down my photos of my last visit there, I will be sure to post them!), as well as places that had changed the least.

My visits to each location were scattered throughout my journey, and not in the order as seen in the film, however for simplicity’s sake we will go through them in the order they appear in the film.  Except for Mission Delores that is, which will be covered tomorrow.  Please note, this entry is full of spoilers for Vertigo.  However, I would assume that you would only read this if you’ve seen the film…

Ernie’s

In the Vertigo, Scottie visits Ernie’s to catch a glimpse of Madeleine, we first see an exterior shot of the restaurant.

What is so very surprising is that, although Ernie’s was an actual establishment, and Hitchcock had a very close relationship with the owners, he chose not to film at the location.  Instead, both the outside and the inside of the restaurant were recreated on a sound stage.  Hitchcock went to great lengths to recreate Ernie’s perfectly, which included art work and table settings borrowed from the actual restaurant.

The real Ernie’s closed in 1995, and was replaced by the Essex Supper Club, which apparently kept much of the original decor of Ernie’s.  However, Essex didn’t last long, and closed in 1998, the original furniture and fixtures went to auction, according to Footsteps in the Fog.

Today, the location of the real Ernie’s is now a place called Carrots, “a luxury emporium” (according to their “about” page). The page also notes that they are indeed located at where Ernie’s once was, and claim that Ernie’s closed in 1999, contrary to Footsteps. Sadly, the outside maintains none of the original glamor of Ernie’s.

Continue reading →

25 Cent Entertainment

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What a trip! While I had loads of fun, I can say I am certainly glad to be home.  The main reason I tagged along on Patrick’s business trip to San Francisco was to visit the various filming locations of Hitchock’s Vertigo.  And honestly, I didn’t have much interest in other things.  However, the lure of In-n-Out on Fisherman’s Wharf lead me to what I can consider the highlight of the non-Vertigo related visits… The Musée Mécanique.  Located along Fisherman’s Wharf, it is a museum dedicated to coin-op amusement machines!  And it is simply amazing!

Most machines are from the 1930s and 40s, with later ones scattered about.  There is everything from simple musical entertainment with marionettes, to pinball, to movies, to photobooths!  There was hours of entertainment to be had!  I dropped lots of quarters to interact with various machines, including a fab fortune teller machine that you placed your hand on only to have little things move under it! I gave a slight squeal of surprise before my palm reading popped out.

There were also just downright morbid ones! Including multiple execution ones! Such as this French Execution…

And what girl can’t resist a good photobooth?  After all, I got proposed to in one!

I highly recommend this place is you ever make it to San Francisco.  There is no admission cost, and most machines only cost 25 cents!  Still cheaper for the whole family than visiting the tacky wax museum (which costs $14.00 a person, I might add)!  Heck, it may be the most fun you have in SF!  And don’t worry about packing loads of quarters, there are plenty of change machines!

Stay tuned for Vertigo entries!

 

“But You Said Grey, Sir.”

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If you’ve been following me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook, then you will have fallen victim to my endless ramblings about my daunting search for The Grey Suit from Vertigo for my upcoming trip to San Francisco.  Yes, I am that much of a film geek that I feel that I simply cannot go to San Francisco without the grey suit!

I searched Portland high and low and visited many shops I don’t often go into (for reasons mentioned in my stagecoach skirt post).  Sure, I found a grey suit here or a grey jacket there, but they were not it.  I had friends posting links to Etsy and Ebay listings, and all I could respond with was “No. That’s not it.”  I felt like Scottie in the film when he is attempting to buy the suit for Judy in the salon…a model glides across the salon floor,  Scottie says, “No. That’s not it.  Nothing like it.” The shop girl says “But you said grey, sir.” and Scottie responds with my same exact feelings, “Now look, I just want an ordinary grey suit!”  I had been finding daintily accented suits with cord detailing, or adorable bows, but nothing simple and plain enough.  Just like Scottie said before the shop girl remembered the suit, “No, no.  None of them are right.”  Finally, with a mere two days left I stumbled upon the closest I’d found at Bombshell Vintage.  And while I feel like I settled a bit (don’t get me wrong, it’s a fabulous suit in itself!), I knew I may not find another suit as close as this one, or if I did it would be some horrendously high price.

Then came the blouse troubles…when Scottie follows Madeleine she is wearing the grey suit with a wrap blouse under.  I have yet to find one of these, however I did have a Dickie pattern that would work just perfectly.  So, I was off to my second home; Fabric Depot.  Cotton and ribbon in hand, I returned home to knock out the Dickie.  I’m happy with the result, and it will make good use with many 20-some odd collection of 40s and 50s blazers.

Since I feel this outfit is so iconic, I am hesitant to post images of the full suit or look prior to my trip.  For now, here’s just a peek…

And, yes, I will be doing my hair as well.  I have already mapped out all the locations I intend on visiting, thanks to the book Footsteps in the Fog, and am eager to see all that I can see while in San Fran.  I hope you all have a lovely weekend, I will be blogging with loads of photos upon my return next week!

Getting My Mad Men On

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Last night we enjoyed yet another lovely evening at the historic Hollywood Theatre to watch Mad Men on the big screen.  This evenings outfit was brought to you mostly by my grandmother.

I took home this dress (and necklace) during our period of cleaning out her things after she passed away.  Sadly, she didn’t keep much of her clothing from the past.  You can actually see her wearing this dress (and belt!) in this family photo from 1965.

Check out all those nifty glasses everyone is rockin’! My mum is the one on the right in the red sweater.

And guess what! This girl won Best Dressed! I competed against some very lovely gals and one gent, actually! One girl had a marvelous mod coat that I would love to have in my closet one day! Last night’s prize was not just two passes to the Hollywood, but also a jar of Pink Slip Jam!

Okay, I am not joking at all when I say that this is seriously the best jam I have ever had grace my lips. And you want to know what makes it so yummy? The fact that it is made with organic strawberries, cane sugar and lemon juice. Yes, that is it!  It is perfectly sweet with a slight tang due to the lemon and is simply delightful.  I could eat it all day.  You can get your hands on some of this deliciousness (which is Naked Fraises, along with many other flavors) by purchasing on-line using the above link.

I will not have an entry for next week’s episode, since Patrick and I will be up in the air, flying back from San Francisco while the episode is airing, and will have to catch it on OnDemand later in the week.

Outfit
Earrings & Bracelet: Gift
Necklace, Dress, & Belt: Were my grandmother’s
Shoes: Yeah, yeah, I know you’ve seen ‘em before! I simply don’t have very many pairs of 60s (or 60s style) shoes…Anyhow, Hollywood Babylon, Portland.
Purse: The Clothes Horse, Eugene

Other Episode Outfits
501/502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 509

Read about the episode (spoiler alert!) after the cut!

Continue reading →

Pasta & Shopping

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This afternoon I had the great pleasure of spending time with Marjorie Mink herself and her husband.  In my typical fashion, we arrived downtown early for our lunch, which offered perfect chance for a photo op.  Spring has officially arrived in Oregon.  Trees are in bloom, we are having a a perfect mix of sunny days and rainy days, and the fountains once again have water in them, making my otter pals appear a little less sad.

We had a perfect pasta lunch at Pastini where we gabbed to our heart’s delight.  It was a pleasure to meet Marjorie’s husband who was quite fashionable, bow tie and all!  We later left Portland’s bustling downtown for the quieter area of Sellwood for a bit of antiquing.

Currently I am frantically trying to find Madeleine’s suit from Vertigo before I trot off to San Francisco for my Hitchcock weekend, but the only grey suit I came across in our search this afternoon was not right, and too big. Sigh. However I did not return empty handed, I came home with a girdle! Making that a grand total of five for me.  A girl can never have too many girdles.  Marjorie came home with a darling angora bolero.  She’s such a doll and I look forward to future get-togethers with her.

Outfit
Hat: Red Light, Portland
Bolero: Christmas gift from Patrick
Blouse: Nobody’s Baby, Eugene
Skirt: Antique Alley, Portland
Gloves: Gift
Tooled Leather Purse: Thrifted
Shoes: Guh, I don’t remember. Maybe Payless?

Patrick’s Outfit (Because Men’s Clothes are Important Too!)
Jacket: Red Light, Portland
Shirt: House of Vintage, Portland
Levi 501s: Portland Outdoor Store
Awesome shoes not pictured: Living Threads Vintage, Portland