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:

click HERE to see this adorable dress!

and these fabulous shoes:

click HERE for the princess-perfect shoes

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

click HERE to check out this fab coat!

 

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

HERE's where you click!

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

This bag is only $22.50, people!!!

I have some treats for the boys, too!

Check out the tikis!!

 

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?

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!

Tiki Tuesday...Faves from My Own Closet

For this installment of Tiki Tuesday, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite tiki-themed items from my own closet.

My hands-down favorite is this late 1950's cardigan sweater:

I saw a similar one on eBay, a couple of years ago...almost exactly the same, except a brown-on-cream colorway, instead of blue-on-cream, and I was just gutted when another bidder won the auction.
Some months later I found this one at the Vintage Expo in Santa Monica and I was ecstatic!!! I like the blues even better :-)
I think that technically the figures are more African-inspired than Polynesian, but whatever...I love it.

I also have this cute little short-sleeved rayon shirt.

I think it's actually from the 90's, by Reyn Spooner. I like the subtle colors, and the classic styling. I wear it with shorts in the summer.

The newest addition to my collection is this amazing sundress I got off Etsy a week ago:

Here's a closeup of the print:

I don't know if you can tell very well from this pic, but the turquoise shapes behind the green tiki are supposed to be a map of the Hawaiian islands.

Don't you love it?
It needs a teensy bit of alteration to fit perfectly, but nothing I can't handle myself.
The seller had it listed as 1970's, but I think it's a bit earlier.

I have a lot of other vintage goodies that have a tiki "feeling", but these are my only clothes with actual tikis on them...I think it's a lot easier to find tiki stuff for guys than for girls!!
Hope you like them!

Something Fun Comes This Way

Oooh, I'm so excited!

I just ordered a custom playsuit, shorts and a top, from RockabillieBetties Retro Re-Do's!

She posted a pic, months ago, of a little romper she'd made in a green Alfred Shaheen tiki print and I just drooled over it. It was too small for me, though, so I mentally moved on.
(I think it's still available through Etsy)

Then a few days back she posted on Facebook that she had two new colorways for the tiki fabric, a brown toned one and a teal/gray/blue...both are so cute!
Here's the teal/gray/blue:

Here's the brown:

So I took the plunge and ordered the playsuit in the teal/gray/blue.

Here's what it's going to look like:

I do believe that I got the last of the teal fabric. I think she might have the brown left, though...and it's really cute! I actually think I like the brown better, if it was just a stand-alone thing, but for my skin-tone and hair the teal is a better complement.
I've never really had anything custom made for me so it's exciting! If it fits & looks great I think I'll wear it at VLV, for the car show or around the pool.
When it arrives, I'll do a follow up :-)

Thanks to RockabillyBettie for the pix! Here's her facebook page...give her a "Like"!
Rockabilliebettie on Facebook

Here she is on Etsy:
Rockabillybettie on Etsy

Round 'em Up and Move 'em OUT!

You all know by now that I run a couple of Etsy shops...
Last year was a great year! Sales have been really fantastic, but I love to hunt for great stuff, and I find it faster than I can sell it.
So I just started a giant CLEARANCE SALE in my MoMoDeluxeVintage shop because things were really starting to pile up!!! Everything in the shop is 30% off. Maybe that doesn't sound like a *really* big sale, but I price things very low to begin with so I can't go 50% off and still make a penny...

I have a few things in my shop that I think are so fantastic, I honestly can't figure out why they haven't sold.
For example:

this cute red jacket
Such a gorgeous cherry red color! Fabulous boucle' texture! I'd keep it for myself, but seriously folks...I live in southern California and I really don't need another coat.

UPDATE: this jacket is SOLD :-)


How 'bout these:

aren't these sparkly shoes fab? So sexy, amazing condition, and they'd go with practically every evening dress or outfit.

this adorable leopard print robe is only 26 bucks, people!

Look at this fantastic skirt:

this 50's cutie by Tabak comes with a matching scarf!

 OK that's enough blatant self-promotion for now :-)
Hope you all had a lovely Holiday!

Grace and Mom

Happy Birthday to the ever-lovely Grace Kelly, who was born on this day in 1929.

Here she is in a publicity shot for 1954's Rear Window, one of my favorite Hitchcock films:

a great example of the influence of Dior's "New Look"

Anyone who loves Hitchcock films like I do, and who loves vintage clothing, certainly has to be fond of Grace...
Her clothes in Rear Window and Dial M for Murder (also released in '54) are so gorgeous! They were designed by costumer Edith Head (I'm reading a fabulously entertaining book about Ms. Head right now...stay tuned for a review very soon!)

I particularly love this beautifully graphic black and white dress:

Ms. Head loved to design beautiful back details

and this fabulous sage-green and white outfit...when she enters the room, it looks so prim and covered-up...

Miss Priss, right?

and then she removes the jacket and the top is so (relatively) skimpy...you can't see it here, but it's almost totally backless!

Hmmm, not so prissy after all!

Another favorite is the beautiful red dress from Dial M for Murder

Scarlet woman

I must admit that for a long while I had a bit of a crush on Ms. Kelly! I think it was because of my Mom. You see, my Mom passed away when I was 17, just a few years after Grace Kelly tragically died in a car crash. I always thought that my Mom looked a bit like Grace, and in that way that teenagers have, I sort of mashed the two together in my memories as this sort of Beautiful Mother Tragic Princess figure...boy, there's one for the analyst's chair!

Here's my Mom:

This Grace Kelly-Mom thing stuck in my head for a long time, and then something funny happened:  I saw  the 1953 movie Mogambo. In this film, Grace plays the young, naive wife of an anthropologist, who meets the rough & tumble game hunter played by Clark Gable on an African safari. She plays opposite Ava Gardner, who's a plucky world-wise show girl.

That was it! Grace's character in this movie is such a simpering wuss, and so annoying, that it snapped me right out of my crush!

Grace Kelly and Ava Gardner in Mogambo

 I wanted Ava to kick her whimpering little butt, but alas, Ava's character was too classy for that. Funnily enough, apparently the three actors, Grace, Ava, and Clark, got along famously during the shoot and became fast friends.

Now, with my crush dissolved (mostly!) away, I can just appreciate Grace for the talented actress that she was...and appreciate her beautiful costumes & style!
What's your favorite Grace Kelly movie?
Think your Mom looks like a famous actress? I'd love to hear!

How To Turn Clip Earrings Into Post Earrings

If you're like me, and you think the old-school style clip-on earrings are a torture device right up there with the Iron Maiden and the Rack, then you might like this post. It's very easy to change clip-on earrings to posts, and I'll show you how!!

First, gather your supplies.

You'll need some rubbing alcohol and cotton balls, a pair of wire cutters, some craft glue that says it's for gluing metal (easy to find at Michael's or similar craft store), some post earring backs with a flat surface for attaching things (find at a bead store or the aforementioned Michael's) and your clip-on earrings. I also have a paper clip, bent open,  and some of those things that go on the back of your post earrings to give them more support. These are optional.

Here are my earrings:

I LOVE GLITTER

 They are late 50's or early 60's, with multicolored glitter pieces encased in Lucite. I got them at a flea market for 10 bucks :-)

Here's what the backs look like:

The next thing you'll do is cut off the whole "clip" mechanism, right where it attaches to the back of the earring. Use your wire cutters for this. Depending on the age & type of metal, sometimes it cuts like butter and other times you need to put some serious muscle into it. The ones above were tough! I had to have my Hubby do it :-) Your goal is a perfectly flat surface upon which to glue your new post backs.

Once you've cut off the clippy thing, hopefully you'll be left with a back that's nice & smooth, like the ones above. If you're left with a little ragged bit of metal, try to clip it off as close as possible to the back of the earrings, and if necessary you can smooth any rough edges with a nail file.

Next, you want to clean the backs of the earrings with rubbing alcohol to create a good surface for the glue to stick to.

Once the alcohol has dried (which just takes a couple seconds) get ready to glue. The glue I'm using is called "Industrial Strength E6000" and it came in a little set with three other different types of craft glue.

To make the tightest bond, you'll want to put a bit of glue on the flat part of the new post attachments, and a bit on the earring back itself. I use a paper clip for this. Then join the two together and hold it tight for a minute so it sets.

You can see in the pic above that I didn't glue my backs on dead-center, but instead more towards one side. This was actually a bit of an experiment, to make the earrings hang a bit lower on my ears. I didn't love the results, so I recommend that you glue them right smack in the middle. Whatever you do, just make sure you do both earrings the same!

Read the instructions for your particular brand of glue to see how long the glue needs to dry thoroughly. I usually let mine dry overnight.

Voila!  Non-torturing earrings!!

Just a tip:  this works best on lightweight, or fairly lightweight earrings. If they're really heavy they'll hang down at a funny angle.
I have not yet tried this technique on any screw-back earrings, but I don't know why it couldn't work just as well...I'll update when I try it out!