Saturday, September 7, 2013

Vintage Swimsuits for a Hot September

As usual, September has rolled into Southern California to greet temperatures in the 90's and 100's!

Same thing happens every year...just when I'm in the mood for fuzzy sweaters, tall boots, and a Pumpkin Spice latte', the "real" summer temps hit So Cal and the only cool place to escape is to the beach!

To soothe my over-heated soul, I've been looking at amazing, adorable mid-century swimwear.

My favorite suits are by Rose Marie Reid:

 

 

and Catalina:

 

My favorite ads are from Cole...they have such a sense of humor!

 

 

 

Here are some more great designs & ads:

 

 

Now off to the beach!!!

 

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Best Vintage Car Ad Everrrrr!

Ok, just a quick little post here...

I was flipping through my stash of vintage fashion mags yesterday and I came across this:

 

I love it!!!! It's basically my car (except mine's a four-door) and the mom and daughter in their matching leopard outfits just blew my mind!

That is all...just wanted to share the awesomeness :-)

 

Thursday, August 15, 2013

HUGE VINTAGE SALE

Ahem...***clears throat*** We now interrupt your regularly-scheduled blog posts to bring you an important announcement from our sponsor!!

THERE'S A HUGE SALE at MOMODELUXE VINTAGE!!!
Yup, you read that right. The biggest sale of the year. Every single thing in my vintage shop is AT LEAST 30% off right now!

Including this darling dress:


and these fabulous shoes:


this totally of-the-moment snake print coat is 30% off:

 

This super-gorgeous Pake' Mu Dress is on sale, too:



You need a new handbag, you say?? Well I have some BEAUTIES on sale right now!


I have some treats for the boys, too!

 

So, you get it, right??? There's tons of cute stuff at lowest-it-will-ever-be prices!
I have a mountain of fantastic new goodies for Fall, Holiday, and Winter that I can't wait to put up in my shop. Help me make some room, won't you?

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Miss L Fire in Hollywood!

Last night I had a chance to go to the opening-night celebration for the Miss L Fire store that just opened here in Hollywood.
I'm so excited to be able to try on their adorable shoes and buy a pair with out having them shipped from the UK!


It was just a little schoolnight soiree, but a lot of people showed up!



The store is in a fun part of town. Technically the address is Hollywood, but it's almost in Silverlake...I tend to think of that area as Silverlake, anyway. One of my favorite vegan restaurants, Cafe Flore, is just down the street, and one of my all-time fave art galleries, La Luz de Jesus, is in the same block. So it;s a pretty cool neighborhood.

The store looks super cute, and of course the shoes are amazing. Their displays are a lot of fun.

Besides amazing shoes like these:

and these:
they're also carrying a bunch of other goodies, like a line of repro celluloid/bakelite style jewelry


They also have the Miss L Fire line of repro lucite bags:


Those are really cute, I think, and honestly you could spend years and years, not to mention a bajillion dollars, for a "real" vintage pink lucite bag. Why not have a cute pink bag now?

I was also really thrilled to see that they are carrying Freddie's of Pinewood jeans!! Hooray! I've wanted some for the longest time, but no-one sells them anywhere in LA (until now) so now I can try them on and see how they fit!





They had a band, which unfortunately was packing up just as we arrived, and there were lots of guys & gals dressed to the nines.

I met Monica:

and Vanessa:

You probably can't appreciate it from my crummy iPhone pic, but she's wearing the greatest novelty-print rayon dress with sombreros on it, and around her neck is an amazing celluloid (or Bakelite..I didn't ask) and cork necklace.

The ironic thing about the whole night? I was walking around in my Lucky Lou tiki-heeled shoes that were KILLING my feet!

Time to trade these babies in for some Miss L Fires!












Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A Few of my Favorite Blogs: Inspiration

I don't have one of those fancy BlogRoll thingies, so I thought you lovely readers might like to know about a few of the blogs that I love to read!
Of course, I follow a jillion, and they're all great in their different ways, but here are a few that I find inspiring every time I visit.
Here they are, in no particular order:

1) The Rockabilly Socialite
    Dollie seems like the sweetest gal and she is unfailingly upbeat and inspiring! Gosh, I wish I had all that  energy...she should bottle it..she'd make a million. She's also having a giveaway for advertising space on her blog. Check it out if you're looking to advertise something!

2)Wacky Tacky
   Mr. Tiny does fun things and writes about them...based here in Southern California. Fun inspiration!

3)Vintage Vixen
   Talk about inspiration!! Vix is uber-amazing in every way. I've never seen anyone look so chic & unique even just going to the grocery store :-)

4)Misfits Vintage
   Hilarious and gorgeous Sarah makes me laugh out loud...she's a spitfire!!

5)By Gum By Golly
  Tasha is a genius. The talent this gal has is off the freakin' charts! She can knit. She can sew. She'll blow you away with her talent.

SO that's just a few that I find particularly inspiring.
What blogs inspire you???
I'd love to know...please share!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Viva Las Vegas 2013...Better Late Than Never!

OK, yes, I realize that Viva was in March, and it is now JUNE (how'd that happen?) and that makes this post a wee bit tardy. I have an excuse! I lost my pictures! *insert sad trombone...whaa, whaaaaaaah*

Well, they're not really lost, they're just misplaced somewhere in the wasteland of my computer. I hope.
So until the day that I find the rest of the pix, here is a Viva 2013 Wrap-Up consisting of only the pictures I took with my iPhone. Should be interesting, so here goes...


  First glimpse of Vegas! It sure doesn't look like much from this viewpoint, does it? I think it's best to drive or fly into Vegas after dark. That way you see the lights and the glamour first! 



A bit of burlesque-ness at the end of the fashion show on Friday. The fashion show was actually kind of lame, in my opinion...next year I think I'll sleep in instead! These gals were pretty hot, though. They were the best part, for sure. I think the company was called Secrets in Lace...they make lovely vintage-inspired lingerie.


Friday night, I think! Honestly, it's a bit of a blur...haha! This dress is by Pin Up Girl, and the purse is one of my hand-painted MoMosMadness creations. You really can't see it in all its glory here, but it features tiki gods and a hibiscus that perfectly matches my dress.




The car show never disappoints. This year the car show was in a new location, which was bigger, shadier, and a shorter walk from the hotel. A big improvement! So many amazing, gorgeous cars...here's where I'm really missing my "real" photos, because I had some good ones from the car show!!! There were tons of vendors and I could've dropped a chunk of change there! Most of the vendors were selling new things, but there was at least one vintage dealer with some really great stuff. Pin Up Girl had a big booth with some sale racks, but it was just too hot to try on clothes.


this chick looks a little hungover, or something :-)

Saturday night we saw Little Richard, who was a blast. I feel fortunate to have seen him. I'll find those pix, I promise!! You guys have to see how Little Richard looked in his purple suit on his golden throne :-)



At the pool, Sunday, I think...waaaaaay before the  party really started. I was so looking forward to rockin' my vintage Cole leopard-print swimsuit. It was a bit of a drama, that day, however, and I didn't enjoy it as much as I might have. By the time I got to the pool every single seat was taken, so I though I was a big genius and paid some cute kid to pull out a lounger and set it up for me in a prime spot. I was sittin' pretty, just checking out the action, and then the wind started kicking up. Like hurricane style. My hubby, who was supposed to be joining me, was mysteriously MIA, and so I sat there by myself for the longest time and held on to everything to keep it from flying into the pool. I think I was just having a diva moment, but I got tired of the whole thing and left just as the party was getting started! The line outside the pool was super-long as I walked out. Next year I need a completely different game plan!


I'm not sure about the whole pool party thing. You can't bring your own food in, which is lame, and no-one really goes in the pool for fear of wrecking vintage duds and carefully coiffed do's.

The rest of Sunday was great fun, though...it made up for my weird pool party experience.We saw Charles Phoenix, we ate, we drank, we shopped, we saw Nikki Hill, we watched the jive contest...it was a fabulous end to an exhausting but super-fun weekend.
  


One last shot as we left the room Monday morning. I'm feeling a bit wrecked at this point and doing a good job of hiding it! That's my "I'm NOT going to throw up!" face :-)
Actually I just needed some caffeine and sugar and I was all fixed up.


 Last stop on the way out of town...the store with the vegan donuts!!! I try to eat very healthfully, most of the time, but sometimes a warm chocolate glazed (or two) goes down real nicely!

Can't wait for Viva 2014!!!



Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Tiki Tuesday: Tiki Caliente 5

I'm sure you tiki lovers have heard about the Tiki Oasis in San Diego, but have you heard about Tiki Caliente? It's such a fun event!!My husband and I were lucky enough to attend Tiki Caliente 5 this past weekend.
It's tiki everything, a big pool party, lots of mai tais, and tons more, all in sunny & fabulous Palm Springs, California!
There were vendor booths with TONS of wonderful vintage Hawaiian clothes...

look at all those eye-popping colors!
Every kind of hand carved tiki wall hanging, statue, ceramic mug, artwork, many of them limited editions for you hard-core collectors...


There was even a dude working on carving tikis right there...

Yikes! I'd lose an eye...or a spleen...or something

There were live bands all weekend, including the Ding Dong Devils, who all wore matching custom outfits, and looked like they were having a great time...I think maybe I heard a theremin up there!!

Here's what I wore on Saturday: a vintage Cole playsuit (Etsy), with tiki-hut purse (eBay), a hat I've had for a million years, my Dior Mohotani sunglasses, and sandals that I got ages ago at Target. I'm so glad I never got rid of those sandals 'cause they match my playsuit perfectly!

My fave band was Kitty Chow and Fisherman, who did a late-night adults-only show...and boy was it adults-only!
Here I am waiting for them to play...bright halogen lights at midnight are an affront to the senses, but the very patient bartender helped us invent a drink that helped dim the lights a bit...

Dude! these lights are tooo bright
we call it an Ectoplasm! Captain Morgan, Mango Puree, and a splash of Blue Curacao? I think?

The whole weekend, people were all over the place wearing amazing vintage Hawaiian clothing...

great colors and mid-mod design!!
who doesn't love a matching set?
Two adorable members of the Ding Dong Devils
amazing shirt...and look at that beard!
even the doggies have tiki style!!

the event was sponsored by Deadhead rum and so there were a lot of rum drinks to be had!!


The above particular mai tai may or may not have caused a particular blogger to pass out for an hour or so in the hotel room in the middle of the afternoon :-)

I met this great gal named Amy Swenson. First I just took a pic of her because of her lovely vintage Hawaiian dress, but then come to find out that she's an artist, an a killer one to boot!

Amy the artist

I bought this adorable little painting of a Benihana Maneki Neko mug...it's painted on vintage Aloha fabric...isn't that genius? I collect Maneki Neko (Japanese lucky cats) so this painting brings together two of my loves. I can't figure out where to hang it. Right now it's just sitting by my nightstand where I can gaze at it adoringly.

Here's a link to Amy's website

Another lovely lady I had a chance to meet was Tayva from SparkleLux . She makes these gorgeous glitter Lucite earrings and sells them on Etsy, and at Pin Up Girl, among other places. Doesn't she have fabulous style?? Look at that dress! Deadstock, she said! *sigh*

does that bag look familiar? :-)
 I did a bit of shopping, too...besides the Maneki Neko painting, I got a really cute Hawaiian barkcloth dress...
The lighting in my dining room is making this look freaky, but it's a gorgeous dress! Really!

I also got some prints from a Palm Springs artist named John Murasky.

these cuties are going in my tiki-theme guest bath
His artwork is amazing for many reasons, but the thing that got me is that he does them in ball point pen! I know! He also does super-great custom portraits. Check out his website...it's a good one.

Whew! Now a few days to rest...and work...
It was a fantastic, fun weekend, and I can't wait to do it again next year!