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?

Haul: Vintage Fashion Expo Santa Monica

I've been to the Vintage Fashion Expo in Santa Monica at least five times in the last couple years, and honestly, I'm a little over it...the crazy parking fee ($10), the super-high priced vendors, the attitude, the crappy snack bar...it all adds up to a less-than stellar experience. Every time, though, I do find a few things that keep me coming back!

 Here's what I got this time:

cute cotton apron...love the print!!!

more vintage fabrics for my stash (like I need more)

petite size "souvenir" pillowslip...mint condition!

Sweet, isn't it?

cute graphics

All the stuff above is from one of my fave vendors, can't remember the name but they are from Santa Barbara and they sell mostly vintage fabric, drapes, dishtowels, scarves, and stuff like that. Their prices are fantastic and I think they are the only vendors that I buy from literally every single time.


Another of my faves is Meow, where I got this awesome Darlene cardigan:

I'm ridiculously obsessed with Darlene sweaters

This sweater is so fab...the picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice!
Meow has fun merchandise and reasonable prices. They also have a store in Long Beach that I never miss when I'm down that way.

Every once in a while there is a new vendor, and when you go a lot, you really notice a new vendor. From this lovely lady, who's name is Bliss,

Bliss and her heavenly handbags

I got this charming petit point bracelet.

Whoa! Macro mode! The tiniest stitches...seriously.

It's honestly not completely my style, but the petit-point reminds me of my Mom, and I've never seen a bracelet like this one...I think mixed up with some of my other bangles & bracelets, "arm-party" style, I'll wear it a lot.

Bliss specializes in needlepoint and petit-point handbags. I've always loved this type of bag. She had a couple with longer straps, that someone had converted from handbags. After-market mods, you might say...I think this is such a fabulous idea!
Her business is called
Heavenly Handbags
What a truly nice person! Her enthusiasm is infectious and her products are the creme-de-la-creme. Bliss said that she just moved here to L.A. from New York...what a change! I wish her much success!

Here are some hints if you'd like to go to the next Vintage Fashion Expo, which is in February.
~I've heard that you can find free street parking if you search, and that meters are free on Sunday in that   neighborhood. I can't say for sure if that's true, but I'll sure check it out next time!
~dress in layers, because they seem to have a hard time keeping the temperature comfortable in the building. Every time I've gone it's either freezing or sweltering. Maybe they keep it so cold, cause they're hoping you'll buy a sweater or jacket just to keep from turning into an icicle!
~bring your own snacks, or eat first...the snack bar is pretty weak.
~bring cash. Now they have an ATM, but it has a $3.50 service charge. Some vendors don't take cards.

Have any of you been to this show? What do you think? What other vintage shows do you go to/like? I'd love to hear!

And Now For Something Really Random...Giraffes!

I recently had a chance to visit the San Diego Zoo, which I must say is just lovely...
I've been going there since I was a kid, and so I have not-so-objective nostalgic feelings for it, but besides that it's just such a beautiful place! The animals all look so happy and content :-)
Every time I go there I feel like I missed my true calling to work with animals...oh well, in my next life I guess!
My favorite animals are the giraffes. I find them so inexplicably charming, with their giant sleepy eyes, long eyelashes, and gangly shape. The babies are just the cutest!!!

Me, happy to see the giraffes (I know, I'm a dork)

So to celebrate my beloved giraffes, here's a collection of vintage giraffe-themed finds from Etsy! Enjoy :-)

Cute hankie, From Etsy seller Murdups

VintageChinchilla has this cute 80's dress

cute tea towel, at XanaduVintage

from ParlourVintage

my fave, from IngridIceland

If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend finding a place where you can hand-feed the giraffes...it's hilarious!
Do you have a favorite animal??  I'd love to hear about them!!

My Summertime Scores

September 21st is supposed to be the first day of Autumn, right? Well, apparently Southern California didn't get the memo, because it's now heading toward October and it's still summer-hot around here! This has been the hottest summer I can remember in So Cal. Just sweltering. Forgive me if I just can't get into a Fall frame of mind! The photos of fuzzy wool sweaters and knee high boots in all the mags just make my brain sweat.
There's something really wrong about shopping for Halloween decorations in shorts, flip-flops, and a tank top!

So if we're going to stick to summer for a while, I thought you all might like to see a few things I nabbed for myself over the last couple months...(it's never too hot to shop, right?)

This first one is a cotton sundress I got on eBay for 25 bucks. It was one of those auctions where the photos were kind of lame and the description was totally lacking in info. That, plus it's (totally fixable) condition issues made the price way lower...just right for my budget!

50's sundress by "Fritzi of California"

It had a flaw, which is that the elastic shirring on the back was about 75% dead. Replacing the elastic seemed like way more than I could handle, so I came up with a fix that I think worked out pretty well.
I just took it in and added a (vintage) zipper! Whenever I see vintage sewing notions at an estate sale, I try to grab all the vintage zippers. That way if I have to replace a zip on a vintage garment, I can replace it with a metal or nylon zip, sometimes almost exactly the same as the one I'm replacing!

the back, with new zipper

Now it fits really well and since it still has a bit of elastic left it's really comfy.

Here's a cute floral shirt that I bought for those days when it's really hot and I'm just working around the house. It looks really cute with my beloved yellow 60's wicker & pearly Lucite handbag.

I actually did a little alteration on it as well...I took in the sides so it wasn't quite so boxy. You can't quite tell in the pic but it's a really nice lightweight cotton. I got it on Etsy.

Here are some things that I got from the Pickwick Gardens Vintage Clothing Show in Burbank:

I love this skirt so much! I had actually seen it the previous time I went to that show, and was so sorry I hadn't bought it. I was super stoked to see it still hanging there! No way it was going to get away this time!
It's actually a bit tight in the waist, so the question is...lose a few pounds or alter the waist? Hmmm......I see a sewing machine in my future :-)

This beautiful 40's dress, thankfully, fits me just as-is (miracle!)

Again, the photo does it no justice...the fabric is so pretty...it has a fabulous texture almost like seersucker and it's incredibly lightweight, and yet not so sheer that you need a slip underneath. The only problem is that I have no shoes that look good with it at all! I spent the whole summer looking for a pair of white non-leather sandals with a vintage look and found bupkis. PPbbbbthht :-P

Finally, I also got this fun Hawaiian shirt:

It's like a tea-timer, with the cap sleeves and square hem with vents, but the collar is a traditional shirt collar.
It looks cute with white shorts!

That's about it for vintage clothes over the summer...I didn't get a lot because I pretty much blew my budget on these sunglasses:

They are real, genuine, Christian Dior Mohotani's, from the Les Marquises collection, not vintage, but vintage-inspired. This was a huge splurge for me...the "nicest" sunglasses I've ever owned, before this point, were Ray-Bans.
I love them so much!

Look! You can tell this was at the beginning of the summer, before the sun decided to land on So Cal, because I don't have my bangs pinned off my face and I'm actually wearing a long-sleeved shirt!

Is anyone out there actually enjoying a cool, crisp Fall? With sweaters? And apple picking? Oh, please do share with me...I have to live vicariously through you :-)

Introducing...Vintage Science Friday!

You guys out there in Blogland don't know me that well yet, but if you did, you'd know that I'm secretly a big'ol nerd. A dorky, science-loving, sci-fi watching, bug-collecting, library lurking nerd. So in that vein, I'm gonna do a little thing I'll call Vintage Science Friday!!!! Not every Friday...I can't commit that much, but perhaps most Fridays? Or every-other? Anywhoo..here's the Premier Edition:

MOTHS: They are not our friends!

Anyone who has experienced the heartbreak of pulling a beloved vintage cashmere sweater out of storage and finding, instead, a cashmere piece of Swiss cheese knows that moths are not our friends at all. Specifically clothes moths, or Tineola Bisselliella, the common clothes moth.

Our Enemy (thanks to WikiPedia for the pic)

He looks innocent enough, right? Not so much...he, rather SHE is our enemy! She is a very good Mommy, and searches for a safe and sound place for her babies. Her HUNDREDS of babies. A safe place like your closet, or your drawers. She will lay 100's of eggs in a place that's dark and quiet, and where there's a ready food source, like your favorite 1950's cashmere sweater set. When those eggs hatch, they become tiny caterpillars who munch their way through your clothes, sometimes for months. They turn Keratin, which is the natural protein of which hair and wool consist, into food. They will eat any natural fiber: wool, alpaca, cashmere, silk, cotton (yes!), silk, fur, feathers, linen, etc. Only your 70's polyester is safe :-)

These little darlings especially love it when you've put your sweater away dirty (ewww) as they love sweat and food particles, however microscopic. They use this stuff to get their moisture, because they can't drink.

"But how do I stop them???" you ask in horror...here's how:

* Never put your clothes away (for any length of time) dirty! Hand wash or dry clean first, always!

* Dry Cleaning kills moth eggs and larvae.

* Freezing kills moth eggs and larvae. This is what I do when I get a wool sweater from a thrift store or some such...I wrap it tightly in a plastic bag and put the bag in my freezer for 3 or 4 days. My husband loves it when he opens the freezer and finds sweaters instead of food :-)

* Heat kills moth eggs and larvae. 120 degrees F. for at least 30 minutes. The hottest setting on your washer and dryer *may* get that hot, but do you really want to do that to your vintage clothes? Probably not.

*Old-fashioned mothballs kill moth eggs and larvae, but only in an air-tight container. Yes, they are poisonous and they smell funky. Keep them safely away from pets and children, and don't stick your head in the container looking for that one sweater...
The mothball smell can generally be completely removed by putting the item out in fresh air and sunlight for a few hours. Sunlight degrades the smell, and fresh moving air carries it away.

* Lavender Oil will work, but only just barely...it has to be STRONG, refreshed often, and in an air-tight container.

* Things that don't work: Camphor (needs too high of a vapor concentration to be practical),
Cedar: smells lovely (if you like your clothes to smell like a hamster cage), but doesn't really work, other commercially available herbal/spice things...go ahead and try if you like, at your peril!

That concludes this episode of  Vintage Science Friday.  Stay tuned next week for more fun with science! ;-)