Ebay Alert!

I just found this super-amazing Bakelite (or maybe Lucite) bangle on eBay (OK well, actually, I found it surfing eBay on my phone in the middle of the night). I've never seen one quite like it so I thought you lovely readers might like a peek:

a-mah-zing vintage eye candy

To go to the auction on eBay click here

I love vintage jewelry with a bug theme! I think these little cicadas look like gummy bears. I kinda want to eat 'em. I sure don't want to eat the real kind :-)
The ebay seller doesn't say specifically  that this is Bakelite, but judging by the looks of it, I think it could be...I don't really care, I love it anyway. Unfortunately with the dollar conversion and the shipping from England it's a little rich for my blood right now, but maybe one of you gals will snap it up!

UPDATE:   This cool bangle ended up selling for $81.57. I think that's less than it's worth, if it is in fact Bakelite. What do you guys think?

Estate Sale FAIL

Usually when I buy vintage items I'm really careful to check them over first, to make sure they're in good shape, but estate sales can be so hectic (with all the other dealers hanging all over you like vultures) and frequently it's also really dark inside the houses. So occasionally I end up buying something that turns out to be a total dog once I get it home and into good lighting. It hasn't happened in a while, so I guess I thought my buying skills were improving...think again!

Example:  take these lovely gloves...you can't see it in the pic, but they are covered with elaborate beading. Really beautiful!

Here's what happened when I went to slip my hand in:

Aaaaarrrrggghhhhh! Ka-BLAM!! That puppy blew apart like it was made of tissue paper. Sad face.

I'd never had that happen with a pair of gloves! I think it's funny the way that, just when you think you've got it all figured out, guess what? You don't! Oh well, live & learn, right?

Oh, and , yes...that's me. I figured I'd set the bar low and show myself for the first time sans makeup, uncurled hair, crummy clothes. That way I have nowhere to go but up! :-)

Estate Sale Tales, Episode One

This morning I went to an estate sale in Bel Air, which if you're not familiar with Los Angeles, is a really fancy-schmancy part of Beverly Hills, where a lot of celebrities live.
This one was a first for me...we (the shoppers) actually had to park off-site and be taken by van to the home, which was behind a big gate on Sunset Blvd.
The lady of the house was a truly inspirational gal...she was a real spitfire! Teeny tiny, and with bright-red hair, she apparently got a boob job at 82 years old (!!!) and was so proud of it that she'd show anyone who wanted to look. She was a MAJOR shopper and a bit of a hoarder in the fashion department. She had over 500 pairs of shoes! Yes I said 500! Piles and piles of purses, jewels, clothes...an absolute mountain of lingerie and negligee sets...I've never seen so many. Needless to say there were a million clothing dealers like myself there all vying for the best stuff.
Here's what I managed to grab:

Mostly from the early 80's, purses, shoes, belts, gloves, etc.
Unfortunately, this lady wasn't much of a long-term "saver" and there wasn't a thing there that was before about 1979, but still, I got some cute stuff.
I'm thinking about keeping one of those two pairs of fabulous sunglasses in the front, there...they look amazing on!

I also got two things for myself:

this cute summer bag with straw veggies on the front, and...

this cool flower. It's made of a shiny faux-patent leather. It's got a pin back on it right now, but I think I'm going to convert it to a hair flower. I love it!

All the other goodies are going up in my Etsy store as soon as I can inventory/clean/photograph and list them!

Vintage Ray-Bans

I came across this ad in a vintage Vogue Magazine, June 1954. I just love these printed plaid sunglasses!

Here's a close-up:

Aren't they the cutest? I love the little plaid case, too.
I'm dying to find a pair somewhere...the search begins!