Tag Archives: skirt

Swingin’ Stagecoach

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There are a handful of shops in town that I tend to avoid.  Either because the customer service is poor, if not downright terrible, or the shop is simply too…difficult (read as: chaotic and has way too much 80s for me to handle).  But every now and again I will allow myself to enter into such shops, especially if I’m on the look out for something really specific or I’m with a friend who actually enjoys the shop in question.  And recently, the latter happened and what did I find? This…

I love me some circle skirts, especially novelty print.  This skirt appears homemade, is quilted and has a fabulous print of stagecoaches all over.  Recently The Vintage Traveler blogged about circle skirts, sharing how annoyed she was with the poodle skirt cliche (something I am quite annoyed with as well) and included a wide range of other circle skirts that existed in the 50s – several of which I must either track down or create myself.  So, I’d like to throw my circle skirt to the ring as another prime example that not all circle skirts from the 50s had poodles on them!

Outfit
Umbrella: Thrifted
Headband: Errr…don’t remember.
Blouse: Bohemian Vintage, Portland
Skirt: House of Vintage, Portland
Shoes: The Clothes Horse, Eugene
Knott’s Berry Farm Charm Bracelet: Gift
Earrings: Antique Alley, Portland

Howdy, Partner!

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For the most part, my wardrobe can easily be split up into three sections…dresses & skirts, WWII working girl/Kathrine Hepburn, and cowgirl…today I want to highlight a favorite piece of mine from the last category there, my Mexican blanket skirt.

The skirt appears home-made and I’m dying to try and make one myself.  My dad gave me a 70s blanket to use, since there was no way I’d cut up a nice older blanket.

Blouse: H Bar C, Expo, Portland
Skirt: Buffalo Exchange, Portland
Hat: Disneyland
Boots: Bohemian Vintage, Portland
Cowboy charm bracelet: Gift
Cowboy earrings: Antique Alley, Portland

One-Twenty at Disneyland

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During our visit to Disneyland, we didn’t just take pictures with our phones and digital cameras, but with our vintage Kodak DualFlex II, which dates to 1950-1954, using 120 film.  The camera attracted much attention, people said they loved it, asked if it worked, and said it was cooler than the Holgas so many hipsters carry with them these days.  We took both black and white and color film with us and here are the results!

Please note that I have made no color alterations, etc. to these photos – they are exactly how they came out of the camera.  I was really surprised with the wonderful tones of the color film and I love the almost dream-like imagery this camera produces due to the quality of the lens.

Well, that’s it for the Disneyland entries for now! I hope you enjoyed!

I Couldn’t Resist…

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…wearing my Disneyland skirt another day.  Since my Disneyland skirt received such a wonderful reception the first day wearing it, I had to wear it again on our last day in the park.  While waiting for the park to open I had several older cast members come up to me asking what the story was behind it and we chit-chatted for a long while.  They especially appreciated the fact that I had the Monsanto House of the Future on the skirt, an attraction that disappeared in 1967.

Since Disneyland had their Mardi Gras celebration going on, several characters, including Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale were all in Mardi Gras outfits! So of course I had to get my pictures taken with them!  Chip and Dale really flipped over my skirt, it was quite delightful!

Later in the day I changed into my Enchanted Tiki Room pantsuit.  I had several people, mainly cast members, come up to me to comment on the outfit, many had never seen anything like it before!

I’m always sad leaving Disneyland, but I know we’ll come back again real soon.  Maybe even as soon as November.  Meanwhile, I came up with several more Disney themed circle skirt ideas, and I can’t wait to get started on them! So many sewing projects!  Once again, stay tuned for even more Disneyland photos, since we are picking up our film from our dual lens camera tomorrow!!

The Disneyland Skirt Makes Its Debut

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Friday was our first day of three that we spent in the Disneyland Park and my special Disneyland Skirt made its debut and boy was it a coming out party it was.

I had guests and cast members alike comment on it, and countless people (some asked, others didn’t) took my picture.  A few questions asked were “Did you make it?” “How long did it take you?” “Are you on Etsy?” “Can I have it?”.  While taking photos near the Tea Cups, I had a cast member who operated the Storybook Land Canal Boats come up to us who said “We think your skirt is epically epic, and we wanted to give you something.” and she presented me with a little clear plastic Cinderella shoe!

In the late morning, we decided we wanted to try to do the classic Mickey flower picture near the entrance, only to find the Disneyland Band, the Mad Hatter and Alice dancing with some guests.  We turned around to leave, and heard the Mad Hatter calling out “You! YOU! Come back here!” I turned back to see him running toward me, and he grabbed my hand and brought me back over to the area and began dancing with me.  When I began my purse was flying all over, and as I broke away to leave it on the bricks, he took it from me and gave it to Alice for her to hold, who pouted for awhile, but as you can see in the pictures she began digging though it!

Around lunchtime we met with my cousin, Matt, who used to work at the park.  We sat down to a lovely lunch at the new Jolly Holiday Bakery & Cafe, inspired by the classic film Mary Poppins.  The restaurant has many adorable Mary Poppins details, including a weathervane shaped like Marry Poppins, penguin stained glass windows and silhouettes of characters.  It was wonderful chit-chatting more with Matt, who shared funny stories about his time at Disneyland.  I hope to see more of him again if we return in November.

During the day, one of the Disneyland photographers approached me.  She enjoyed my skirt so much and took loads of photos which we viewed and purchased later that evening at the Kodak shop along Main Street.

We also did my new favorite activity – having our silhouettes made!  We once again sat down with Bonnie, a cast member who has been doing silhouettes for nearly 40 years.  She does fantastic work, and is done within a minute!

As evening came, it got cold, and I changed into a pair of pants I brought with me – so remember gals, if you are planning on dressing fancy, be sure to bring a change of clothes, just in case!

More photos to come! Stay tuned!

Disneyland, Here I Come!

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In just about a week, Patrick and I will be winging our way to sunny southern California to spend some time with my family, as well as a few days at Disneyland.

As previously blogged twice before (see the progression here and here) I decided to make a Disneyland themed circle skirt for the trip. And I am happy to say I am DONE!

Painted on are the following attractions, the Rocket to the Moon, Mad Tea Party, Fort Wilderness, the Monsanto House of the Future, King Aurthur’s Carousel, the Mark Twain, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, the original Disneyland sign, the Submarine Ride, the Matterhorn, Conestoga Wagons, the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship, the Jungle Cruise and Indian Village.

I have loads of things to do before leaving, and I wanted to finish up the skirt this week thus leaving next week open to do last minute cleaning, planning, and of course packing – I still haven’t decided what to wear for some days!  I also haven’t decided if I should wear my crinoline on the plane, possibly being obnoxious to others, but leaving more room in my suitcase for maybe hats or to just shove it in my suitcase, and forget about hats…decisions, decisions…

Of course there will be LOADS of photos of me in the skirt at the park, as well as my fab Enchanted Tiki Room pantsuit!  Oh, I can’t wait!!!

A Little Slice of Home at Disneyland

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A few years ago I purchased a plaid woolen skirt, a staple of any vintage wardrobe, at the shop I used to work at in college.  I pulled it out because I noticed it was a lightweight wool, instead of the thick and rather heavy versions that are common ’round these parts.

Then, to determine the age, I looked at the label…and to my delight I also observed another label.

While the Pendleton label dates this skirt to the 1970s, which was a bit of a disappointment, I was very pleased with this Disneyland label! So how does a piece of Oregon end up in Disneyland…?  Here’s the scoop.  Pendleton Woolen Mills, located in Pendleton, Oregon, opened up shop 1909.  Oregon became a perfect place for the wool industry, not only was Oregon perfect for raising sheep, there was a demand for it due to the continuous rain of the state.  Mens shirts and blankets were really all that were sold until 1949 when the company introduced womens wear and the acclaimed 49′er jacket was born.  The company continued to grow and became the “Rolls Royce” of woolen wear in the United States.

When Disneyland opened in 1955, Pendleton was one of three companies that chose to actually lease out a store front (the others included Kodak and Wurlitzer).  The Pendleton location was in Frontierland, a fitting location, and lasted until April 29, of 1990.


While Pendleton’s Disneyland location is now gone, Pendleton itself is still thriving selling clothing, blankets and home goods around the country.  The former Disneyland location is now home to Bonanza Outfitters.