Mad Men Hairstyle Tutorial courtesy of Super Kawaii Mama

New old glasses

Since I'm in glasses full time now, I wanted to get the most "me" glasses that I could. I found the perfect pair at: The Spectacle Shoppe . I went to their West St. Paul store and was really impressed with their selection and help. Thumbs up!

Etsy Purchase: Vintage Floral Serving Spoon!

I love Etsy. And vintage. And collecting things. That's why I was so easily inspired to buy this beautiful spoon after reading The Vintage Table: Personal Treasures and Stand-Out Settings by Jacqueline DeMontravel. It features such pretty pieces mixed and matched. So, it put me on the hunt for the lovely things that I did not inherit, but still long for.

I found this treasure of a spoon at:Round to It and Vintage.

Here is the description:

"Grand styled deeply etched serving spoon from the 1930/40’s era but could be earlier. Hallmarked with a shamrock and labeled “EPNS (electroplated nickel silver) ENGLAND”. Spoon measures 7.5” long and the bowl is 1.75 across which indicates a good serving size."

I love the dimensional flowers! I have visions of my table covered with an embroidered cloth, with mismatched dishes and accessories with loads of personality. And pretty iced cakes and adorable teacups. Dream with me, here.

Vintage compact purchase

I am super excited about this pre-1950s compact that I bought on Etsy. I found it in Vintage Warehouse's shop.
It is one of those dealies that has a handle that holds a small lipstick, and under the compact part there are spots for powder and rouge. A few years ago Benefit made reproduction compacts like this and I've kicked myself that I didn't buy one then.
So, hooray!

Fabulous Website: Augusta Auctions

LIBERTY & CO. AESTHETIC EVENING GOWN, 1908-1910 - LOT 120

I have to swoon over the beautiful gown above, shown on Augusta Auctions website .

For many more fine items from Karen Augusta click here. Happy browsing!

Vintage 1930s film: It Happened One Night

Yes, he's eating a carrot.

Lovely, floating gown, incredibly cute actress.

The gorgeous couple.

Until this week, I had never seen It Happened One Night, released in 1934 and directed by Frank Capra. Can you believe it? I like old movies, romantic comedies and Clark Gable, and it had never even crossed my radar. Well, in case you've been living captive in an Oak tree like I apparently have, I recommend it to you. I really, really liked it.

Claudette Colbert plays a rich girl, newly married to a man of whom her father disapproves, on the run from her family, and Clark Gable is the newspaper man she meets on the bus who comes to assist her. In the special features it was stated that Colbert did not enjoy making the film, but you can't tell a bit onscreen. Gable and Colbert have believable chemistry as they fall in love. They are plucky,sassy and sexy. Plus, they're both absolute eye candy. Her outfits, though few, are fabulous, and she looks so dear in his pajamas. Try not to love the hitch hiking scene.

I award this movie extra points for the group sing on the bus of "The Man on the Flying Trapeze," and just for fun, here are the lyrics (at least one version):

THE MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE (1934)

(George Leybourne)

Once I was happy, but now I'm forlorn

Like an old coat that is tattered and torn;

Left on this world to fret and to mourn,

Betrayed by a maid in her teens.

The girl that I loved she was handsome;

I tried all I knew her to please

But I could not please her one quarter so well

As the man upon the trapeze.

He'd fly through the air with the greatest of ease,

That daring young man on the flying trapeze.

His movements were graceful, all girls he could please

And my love he purloined away.

This young man by name was Signor Bona Slang,

Tall, big and handsome, as well made as Chang.

Where'er he appeared the hall loudly rang

With ovation from all people there.

He'd smile from the bar on the people below

And one night he smiled on my love.

She wink'd back at him and she shouted "Bravo,"

As he hung by his nose up above.

Her father and mother were both on my side

And very hard tried to make her my bride;

Her father he sighed, and her mother she cried,

To see her throw herself away.

Twas all no avail, she went there every night,

And would throw him bouquets on the stage,

Which caused him to meet her;

how he ran me down,

To tell you would take a whole page.

One night I as usual went to her dear home,

Found there her father and mother alone.

I asked for my love, and soon they made known,

To my horror that she'd run away.

She'd packed up her box and eloped in the night

With him, with the greatest of ease;

From two stories high he had lowered her down

To the ground on his flying trapeze.

Some months after this I went to the Hall;

Was greatly surprised to see on the wall

A bill in red letters, which did my heart gall,

That she was appearing with him.

He'd taught her gymnastics and dressed her in tights,

To help him live at his ease,

And made her assume a masculine name,

And now she goes on the trapeze.

She'd fly through the air with the greatest of ease,

You'd think her the man young man on the flying trapeze.

Her movements were graceful, all girls she could please,

And that was the end of my love.

Antiquedress.com : My favorite website to dream on

If you need a touch of beauty and glamour to perk up your day, click right now to see the website for Antique Dress . She has just gorgeous things listed.


Fabulous coat.* c. 1926/1927: read description Here

Simply divine Victorian Corset

Sassy 1940's set

Also look at the museum collection. Here are some gems:

1912 Pink Silk Gown



1914 Gold Lame Hobble Gown



1930s Floral Lame Chiffon Gown

I'm crazy in love with these c. 1900 Camibloomers !

Click to see the rest of this c 1900 Dressing Gown Confection




1930s Nightgown & Peignoir

Oh, if I were a rich girl!

*Cleery's possibly hypocritical fur disclaimer: I would not personally buy new fur items, but I figure with vintage fur, you're just ensuring that it doesn't go to waste and the animal(s)didn't die in vain. Thank you for reading my blather.

Vintage 1920s Silent Film: The Hands of Orlac

I watched this at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church the night before Halloween. They show a creepy silent movie annually, and their organist improvises the music. It is great fun sitting in the crowded sanctuary in the dark, eating popcorn or animal crackers and seeing a new old favorite.

The Hands of Orlac is about a pianist (Conrad Veidt) who loses his hands in a train wreck, only to have them replaced by the hands of the notorious robber and murderer Vasseur. Orlac feels that his new fingers are not to be trusted, and he will no longer play music or touch his wife with the villianous digits. They soon lose their money and are unable to pay the bills. Will Orlac be able to repair his life, or will evil conquer him?

Vintage 1950s Halloween film: House of Wax

Is Sue taking a nap or awaiting something more sinister?

Professor Jarrod loves his figure of Marie Antoinette.

Gratuitous Can-Can scene!

In this 1953 version of the story, Professor Henry Jarrod (the wonderful Vincent Price)is a talented sculptor in a wax museum who is betrayed and driven mad by a greedy colleague. Vowing to begin his creations anew, but unable to use his hands to do his fine work, he turns to an unorthodox method of making his mannequins.

Carolyn Jones plays the giggly blonde Cathy,who meets with an ill fate, which makes her friend Sue (Phyllis Kirk) suspicious of Prof Jarrod and leads to the revelation of the nasty secrets of the Wax Museum.

I enjoyed the scene of Cathy preparing for an evening out with the help of Sue. Definitely some pretty little underpinnings being displayed. Start at about 22 seconds into the clip above and please excuse the hanging scene that precedes it.

I remember watching this film on a childhood Sunday. When I was a kid there were frequent B movie horror films on TV on weekends. I now have a fondness for Vincent Price and his distinctive voice.

If you haven't seen this one, you really should!

Vintage 1960s Halloween Film: The Birds

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Tippi Hedren

Cast and Hitchcock; note how elegantly Tippi's coat complements her hair color!

Flocking up before the attack on the schoolkids

We all know the story of The Birds: our feathered friends go mad and attack us. This 1963 film was based on a short story by Daphne Du Maurier, directed by Hitchcock, and stars Tippi Hedren (former model and mother of Melanie Griffith), Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette and (child actress) Veronica Cartwright. Today, the special effects may look more campy than creepy, but even now we must admit this movie has style. Leading lady Hedren is the picture of cool blonde beauty as she lands her man, then attempts to fight off her winged enemies. The scenes of her battling the birds have inspired Halloween costumes and even a Barbie doll.

I think that the most impressive scene is when Melanie (Hedren) goes to pick up Cathy (Cartwright) at school, and she waits for the child on an outside bench. The children inside sing:

The butter came out a grizzle-y-grey. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, Now, now, now!

The cheese took legs and ran away! Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, Now, now, now!

She let the critter get away. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, Now, now, now!

I asked my wife to wash the floor. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, Now, now, now!

She gave me my hat and she showed me the door! Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, Now, now, now!

I married my wife in the month of June. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, Now, now, now!

I brought her off by the light of the moon. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, Now, now, now!

She combed her hair but once a year. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey donny dostle-tee, knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, Now, now, now!

Behind Melanie, the monkey bars are filled as more and more birds alight (see photo above). We know it before she does and combined with the weird little background song, this makes for a tense scene. The growing menace is scarier than the scene that follows, when the schoolkids are dive bombed, pecked and chased (which was probably plenty scary for them).

Enjoy!

Vintage 1950s Halloween Film: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Life as they know it is just about over, but Becky still wears a bitchin' dress

Becky, Miles and Jack look over Jack's evolving double, with Teddy at a safe distance

I saw the 1978 version of this film with Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright, not too long after it came out, and it had some chilling moments. Granted, I was young and I hadn't seen too many Sci Fi/Horror films at the theater, but I can vividly remember several key scenes. But, until yesterday I had never seen the original.

The 1956 film stars Kevin McCarthy as local doctor Miles Bennell (my husband and I recognized him from The Twilight Zone, Wikipedia identifies that episode as Long Live Walter Jameson), Dana Wynter as his girlfriend Becky, and King Johnson and Carolyn Zones (of The Addams Family TV fame) as their friends Jack and Teddy. Miles is surprised to discover that he is being urgently summoned to treat patients, only to have them calmly brush him off when he sees them. There is also a growing "mass delusion" among the townsfolk that their loved ones are no longer who they used to be. They have all the familiar thoughts and memories, but no displays of emotion. When Jack finds a partially developed, fingerprint less, body in his home, the friends know that something is terribly wrong.

Alien pod people are taking over the town!

But, you already knew that. Although this version didn't make me jump like the 1978 one, the basic premise is still deeply frightening: the one you love has changed into someone unrecognizable and the capper is that you will be losing your self hood and probably your soul to a "human" vegetable.

Vintage 1950s movie: Auntie Mame

Mame and Patrick get acquainted

Fabulous negligee! Love the poofy wrap. Mame and her actress friend face the (cough) morning.

"Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" You've probably heard that line. Auntie Mame (1958) is silly and fun, and I had a good time watching it.

Mame Dennis (Rosalind Russell) loves the unusual, the flamboyant, the diverse and this is reflected in her lifestyle and person. When her brother dies unexpectedly, she becomes the caretaker of her ten year old nephew, Patrick, who first meets her at one of her many parties. Mame has him keep a list of all the new words that he overhears during the festivities. He has an absorbent mind, and the two soon get along famously.

"Mame: Well, now, uh, read me all the words you don't understand.

Patrick: Libido, inferiority complex, stinko, blotto, free love, bathtub gin, monkey glands, Karl Marx... is he one of the Marx Brothers?"

Mame raises Patrick to embrace new things, and live every day with vigor. Through her, he meets an interesting bunch, including her hard drinking actress friend (Coral Browne), her drab secretary waiting to bust out, Agnes Gooch, and the students of his progressive school, who get naked and imitate fish to learn their natural science. Whether she's creating a party mood during hard times, falling in love with a well to do southern gentleman and standing up to his people, or meeting Patrick's snooty finance, Mame does everything with style.

I am pretty fond of Rosalind Russell (I love her in Gypsy), so I enjoyed this more than Mame, the 1974 musical starring Lucille Ball, but I haven't seen that in years. What's your preference?

Vintage 1950s film: Calamity Jane

"She ain't very good lookin." "That ain't all she ain't."


Calamity defends Katie to the crowd


Adelaid Adams and the girls


Glamorous Calamity And Bill




I had fun watching the musical Calamity Jane, starring Doris Day and Howard Keel and released in 1953. True, brave and resourceful Calamity "pretties up" to catch the attention and affections of her friend Wild Bill Hickok, which is annoying. There is also very negative portrayal of Native Americans, which is troubling. When I watch these old films, I just have to grit my teeth and remind myself that they are product of their times. Barring those considerations,the music in Calamity Jane is catchy, Ms. Day is charming, the showgirl costumes are great and there's queer subtext, which made it a pleasant viewing for me.

Calamity can shoot, drink (sarsaparilla), tell tale tales and apparently sing with any man in Deadwood City and beyond. When the locals go crazy for cigarette card girl and actress Adelaid Adams (Gale Robbins), the town tavern owner promises an appearance by another talented beauty. Unfortunately, the promised performer Francis(Dick Wesson)is not all that is expected (see above). To make amends, Calamity heads to Chicago to convince the aforementioned Adelaid to perform in the Wild West. Confusion ensues and when she does bring home a glamour girl, she finds that she has also created competition for the man that she believes she loves. But, this is a happy musical, so trouble doesn't last for long. New resident Katie Brown (Allyn Ann McLerie)and Calamity become best friends, and each finds romance.

Might they also find love with each other? Intentional or not, there is gay and lesbian subtext in the movie, which I first heard about when watching The Celluloid Closet. Dick Wesson's cute drag performance aside (what would Hollywood be without drag?), Calamity and Katie seems a mite close ;). (See the video above or commentary at StinkyLulu's blog). All to the better if you ask me.

Finally, I jealously drooled over Adelaid's costumes. The little pink number with the bustle and the gold bust fringe was quite delightful, as was the black one with pink roses!

Vintage 1940s film: A Yank in the R.A.F.

A YANK IN THE RAF(1941) Original Theatrical Trailer

The casual sexism in some of these old films is getting to me. In A Yank in the R.A.F., showgirl Carol Brown (played by Betty Grable) has two suitors, Tim (Tyrone Power) and Wing Commander Morley (John Sutton). Tim is an American, a former boyfriend of Carol's, and a bounder who cheerfully admits that he is a worm. Morley treats her respectfully and speedily proposes to her. Guess which one she can't do without?

I picked this one up because I figured that the early World War II setting (this film came out in 1941) would please my husband, and I would be happy looking at the fashionable Ms. Grable. K. enjoyed seeing the planes, many of which, he tells me are no longer around today in flying condition. I had the pleasure of seeing Betty looking smart in military uniform and showgirl dress. She also appears with her bangs down. No pompadour! Check out the trailer above to see what I mean.

Vintage 1960s film: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The despicable Martha

The hapless Nick and his vomiting wife Honey

Well ick. I knew that this was about a feuding married couple, but I hadn't known just how horrible all the characters are. University professor George (Richard Burton) and Dean's daughter Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) are the miserable pair, and they have no problem infecting others with their venom and madness. They invite new math professor Nick and his wife Honey over for some very late night drinks, and are soon ripping each other to shreds in front of their company. Martha impresses us as a screeching Harpy, and while you may at first pity George, he quickly shows himself as aggressive and cruel. Using a little emotional blackmail, they soon have an unwilling audience, and as the nightmarish hours pass to morning and the alcohol flows, everyone falls apart. Unsavory secrets are revealed and none are left unscathed. Nick comes across as disloyal weakling and Honey is just pathetic, physically feeble and betrayed by her husband. The end packs an extra unpleasant punch.

While this play is classic Edward Albee and I'm sure that the film is well done, it just left me with a nasty feeling. Not one that I'll watch repeatedly.

Vintage 1950s Film: Father of the Bride

When I was a girl, I enjoyed Father of the Bride. I don't think that I am as crazy about it as an adult, but it is fine. Spencer Tracy plays a dad whose only daughter (Elizabeth Taylor) suddenly springs her engagement plans on her family. Three months later, she is married, but not first without lots of drama and fuss.

My main thought when I watched this time was they sure did drink a lot :) . And they got that pretty wedding together pronto. It was fun to hear them complain about the cost of things, with guests costing about $3.50 a head. Billie Burke played the groom's mother, sounding very much as she did as Glinda, the Good Witch of the east, and looking nearly as beautiful. My favorite movie fashion is the hat sported by Joan Bennett ( Moms) above. That is not a good shot, but it's the closest I could find. You may not agree, but I feel that Taylor's film wedding dress is spoiled by the horrible insert with the little collar. I'm also no fan of the veil. I'm sure that thay were period perfect, but...

You probably also know that this film was remade in 1991 with Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and Kimberly Williams, as the bride to be.