Leftover Cuties and Dustbowl Revival at The Mint

Last night the Hubs and I went to a great little club here in Los Angeles called The Mint.
It's actually not far from our house, and after driving by it a million times, it was fun to finally go inside!

The Mint opened in 1937.
It's a tiny place with a small stage, a dance floor, and tables & booths surrounding. A long bar runs along one side. It's a really intimate-feeling place, and a fun spot to see a band because you're so close!

We got there WAAAY too early and had to wait around for eternity, which equals too many drinks!

And too many random bordom-killing photo ops...

It was so cold in there, I kept my coat on the whole night!

 We saw a band that I really love called Leftover Cuties. They've had their songs featured in a number of commercials lately, so if you haven't heard of them perhaps you've actually heard their music.
Here's one of my favorite songs, called Smile Big:

They were fantastic. The lead singer, Shirli McAllen, has such a great voice and she plays a mean little ukelele. The base player makes crazy faces when he plays, which I love!

Then we saw Dustbowl Revival. They're a huge band with a revolving cast of members. They play fantastic bluesy retro jazz stuff, plus they like to have a bit of a vaudeville thing going on from time to time. Last night they had a little swing dance exhibition, and then a guy came on stage and demonstrated how he could get out of a straightjacket in less time than Harry Houdini. Tons of fun!

Here's a little Dustbowl Revival:

A Book List for Santa

The hubby and I made a little jaunt to our local Barnes & Noble the other night so that I could get a calendar. I know!! Sometimes I feel like such a Luddite, using an actual analog wall calendar.
I got a great vintage-fashion themed one, that maybe I'll share with you in another post.

Besides my fab calendar, I found soooo many books that I would love to have!
Here's a few you might like, also:

 I love the print on the cover! I think I might actually buy this one.
(there was also a 60's prints one...I like 50's prints better)

 I'm not a super-huge Lilly Pulitzer fan, but I love to read the stories of women who succeeded in the fashion & design world, like Vera and Tammis Keefe.

Fun eye candy! Plus, forward by Dita. What's not to love?

This one was funny to find, because I had thought to myself, literally an hour before this, about doing some research on the history of the cheongsam.

The gentleman who wrote this book actually has a shop here in LA by the same name. I've never been there...my impression is that it's very fancy and uber-expensive, and I get easily intimidated by such places!

This one drew me in immediately, because of the cover. Faye Dunaway in Bonnie & Clyde! I actually have mixed feelings about that film, because Bonnie and Clyde were horrible, ugly people in real life and I don't feel great about a movie that celebrates them, but OMG, the clothes in that film are fantastic!!



I'm guessing that most, if not all of these books would be available on Amazon. First, though, I always check the local library :-)

If & when I do read any of these wonderful-looking books, I'll be sure and write a review for you!
Are then any vintage-related books that you're dying to get your mitts on? I'd love to hear!

Russian Prison Tattoo T-Shirts...Perhaps a Slightly Bad Idea?

Do you guys like Sourpuss Clothing? I think some of their stuff is really cute, and I've frequently been just-on-the-verge of ordering something. This morning, though, I found something I definitely WON'T be buying.

Are they crazy?
These are T-shirts with designs based on Russian prison tattoos.

Exhibit A:

no offense to the cute model...she's workin' those Bettie bangs!

There are several more designs, but you get the picture.
Offensive much? The first one looks like a big 'ol scary Nazi insignia. I believe that a skull of any kind means the wearer is a murderer. The third one, apparently, includes a very, very foul word in Russian. Such a bad word that the Russian-speaking individual that I asked couldn't say it out loud.

I live in an area where there are a lot of Russian immigrants and I can only imagine the reactions I'd get if I walked down the street wearing one of these shirts.

I mean, at first glance they're kind-of cool looking, and I'm honestly not a prude...I don't have any tatts myself, but I do like them when they're well-designed and well-thought out...I've actually been really close to getting one a few times.
But think about what these particular designs represent!!! The guys that have these type of tatts in real life are murderers and rapists. Torturers. Serial killers. Do we really want to celebrate and glorify that, people?
Think about the innocent victims of these criminals...how would they feel seeing one of these images walking down the street?

Maybe Sourpuss is going for shock-value here. I'm sure there is a large segment of the population that will think these are cool, bad-a**looking, and will snatch them up right away.

I think anyone who would wear one of these shirts is an ignorant, insensitive jerk.

So there.

What do you guys think? Would you wear one of these shirts?

EBay Alert...Fabulous Vintage Paper Dolls!

I was just trolling through eBay, as I do far too often, and I found a bunch of listings for some amazing vintage 40's and 50's paper dolls. These are just so fun looking! I really want them and I'm not sure why! I'm going to restrain myself, however, and be content with just sharing them with my lovely readers.

Behold:

I think I spy Dorothy Lamour, Lucille Ball, and Judy Garland.

Here are just a tiny portion of the ladies clothing choices:

There's some for the gents, too...here's a stylish cowboy:

and here's another snazzy fella:

Nice, huh?
Here are the links to the auctions:

The Ladies
(auction ends Thursday, current bid is 33$)
 *****UPDATE!******
This auction has ended! It closed at $190.50

The Cowboy

The Elegant Gentleman
(these two are "Buy it Now"s...19 bucks each)

I don't know the sellers and certainly aren't vouching for them, I just think these are super-fun! I hope you enjoy looking at them!

Dave Brubeck - Jazz Legend, We'll Miss You!

This morning I was saddened to hear of the death of Dave Brubeck. He died this morning at the age of 91, just one day short of his ninety-second birthday.
We'll miss you, Dave...