Striped tubesocks & Gauchos

Do you ever recall something that you wore many years ago, and feel a bit embarrassed by the memory now? This just happened to me. I remember being about 11-12 years old in 1978-79, in the 5th grade, and gauchos were very popular. They were wide legged pants that came to the knee, I guess kind of like coulottes, but gauchos were a much cooler name. Anyway, I had a few pairs, including some with jazzy matching vests, and one vest even had a faux pocketwatch chain hanging from the pocket. OK, so sometimes I wore striped tubesocks with my gauchos, but hey, the stripes matched the color of the gauchos, so big deal. I wore them with tubesocks several times without a second thought. I was probably also wearing those suede shoes that had the wavy rubber sole bottoms, remember those?
Then I remember walking down the hall one day - stylin' fun'n'funky - in gauchos and tubesocks, and some girls were looking at me and laughing. When I got into class I felt so embarrassed and suddenly self-conscious because they had laughed at me. So I folded the tops of my tubesocks in to hide the stripes around the tops. I never wore gauchos and tubesocks again. And here I am, nearly 30 years later, remembering them laughing at me and the embarrassment that I felt. Up until the laughs, I felt cool in my outfit, even though I know now that it was a fashion faux pas, but I was only in the 5th grade. Why did I care what those girls thought? I didn't know them, they didn't know me, they weren't in my grade. Why should they care what I was wearing, why did I care what they thought of me?
When we are kids, we're not self-conscious and we seem to be oblivious to what others think of us. At some time in your life that changes though, and it's hard to get back to a point where you don't care how other people think you look. I'd like to think that I don't care, and I don't think that I care what they think of the way that I look, I just don't like the idea that they are actually thinking about the way that I look. Does that make sense? I feel uncomfortable sometimes when I feel that someone is taking a second look at me for whatever reason. I don't care what they think, I just want them to stop thinking, because why should they think and possibly form an opinion about the way that I look? I guess I'm still looking for those girls laughing at my tubesocks. But then again, maybe no one is looking at me, I'm very paranoid too, but that's another topic.


So onto a happier story, this Saturday I went to a local little-old-lady-charity-group yardsale. I haven't bought anything at a yardsale in a long time. You usually only see recent stuff at them and it's mostly kids toys and clothing. But there were a few little goodies to be had at this sale. The ladies all said 'Hi Honey!' very friendly and enthusiastically as I walked in, so I just had to buy something! Here is my bounty - I got a vintage tablecloth, an apron, an unused printed linen dishtowl, a couple bag of sewing notions, a small bag of buttons, two funky framed dimensional girls and a new Bates-style blanket. The blanket was my favorite, even though it's newer and not vintage, it was only $2 and it was just what I've been wanting to buy for the beds in Strathmere. Plus I bought a tiny carrot cake from their baked goods table. I'll have to watch the papers for more of these little sales, because I really had fun.

***Hummingbird update - I've seen 3 so far, two boys and a girl. That's how we've started out the past two Summers, and then more came later, last year. They're already fighting, I have 4 feeders out now, and I think I'll put a few more out tomorrow. I bought 4 new ones for my birthday (I know, such decandence and debauchery for my 40th birthday!) I have to get out there with my camera and catch a few snaps for the blog.

4/25/07 - Vintage Purchase

The inventory is done for the lot that I purchased on 4/25. There are 190 pieces, mostly lingerie from the 1960-70s, some purses and a few other pieces. Here are some quick snaps of the lingerie. The lady whose house this vintage came from was a big shopper/hoarder and all of what I got is unworn except for a very few pieces. The nylon lingerie is beautiful, she seems to have liked colors, and the condition is mint.
To the left are some of the pretty colored full slips, there were very few whites, mostly colors with pretty lace.
Next are the half slips with lace and ruffles, in pretty colors. One of these slips is not like the others . . . Yeah that's a zebra print slip and there are panties to match it in the next photo! There's also a snake print pair of panties and a pair with lips. The panties are all unworn too. The last photo are 4 of the nightgowns. A risque black lace with panels cover vital areas, a fun yellow nightie with layers of ruffles, a very feminine pink nightie with embroidered flowers and a floaty dark pink nighty.


After I measure and type up the day dresses that I had already photographed for next Monday's update, I'll get to work on this fresh lot. That's means alot of laundry and hang drying. So you won't start to see anything from this lot on the website until the following Monday.

Make sure that you are on my mailing list to receive email notice when the items start to go up on the website. Send an email to carol@dandelionvintage.com - to join my weekly email list. That way you'll know right away whenever fresh vintage stock is added (which is every Sunday night/Monday morning) I also provide you with some mindless chatter in my emails, similar to what you find in this blog!

Vintage in the sun

This Monday, I took advantage of the beautiful weather that we've been having here, to scrub out the sunporch. It had been closed up for the winter with everything just stacked up out there. I took everything out, scrubbed the deck floor with some bleach and also scrubbed down the tables and wicker chairs. While I was outside on the deck, I got buzzed by a hummingbird! We spotted the first one on Sunday, which strangely was the same date that we saw the first hummingbird last year (4/22) I'm glad that at least one is back.
After everything was dry and set back in the sunporch, it was time to do some vintage work. Since it was so nice out, I decided to do the photos out there too. So for Monday's update, you'll be seeing day dresses and a few other dresses, out in the sunporch. Here are a few of the photos. The background almost looks fake, but that really is our back yard. No one lives behind us, it's 1000s of acres of wood back there. It's a beautiful view to watch when you sit out there for breakfast or after dinner, just to watch the wildlife activity out there.



So these are just a few sneak peek photos of what will be added to the website next Monday. Also, on Wednesday, I finally got to see that load of vintage (see previous posts) I woke up Wednesday morning with a migraine, of course. But after 4 reschedules, I didn't want to cancel the appointment. Getting that stock was more important than my head (see how I suffer to get you great vintage!) So when she called and said she really was on the way this time, I said that I would be ready! I don't think I ever sorted through a batch of vintage so quickly! After they left, I went to bed for the rest of the day.
I got about 6+ banana boxes full of vintage, mostly lingerie including slips in really great colors, 25 purses, 40 hankies, some gloves, and a few other odds-n-ends. I have to go through an inventory everything today, so I don't know how many total pieces there are. There were only 2 day dresses, which was disappointing because I really need some dresses. There will be more to come from this lady/load, and I suspect the bulk of it will be lingerie and purses.
I'll post some preview photos later. This morning I have to get to the foodstore, the bank and Strathmere before I can get to work on the vintage.

Cute vintage fabrics

I'm killing some time at my part time job, looking at cute vintage fabrics. I'm trying to find some pretty floral cottons to make myself some dresses. I haven't had much luck yet, but here are few really cute vintage novelty print fabrics that I found - Click on the images for larger views, or the links to go to the auctions

1940s Uncle Wiggley fabric

Indians in Love

Clocks & Watches

Very cute playful Kitties

1970s Panda fabric

The beach in April

So, this morning I got the call to reschedule my vintage look-see, again. Now it's suppose to happen on Monday. I was so bummed and it was such a nice day, that I couldn't work, I had to go out and enjoy the (finally) beautiful weather. So I took my little beach buddy Boris over for a walk on the beach at Strathmere. I also took my little camera buddy to get a few snaps. To the left is a close up of some old pilings on the beach, under sand for many years, they've been revealed from the recent stormy weather. I love the way the wood is worn from the water and sand.

Here, is a cute couple taking a romantic walk on the beach

This is a view of the beach, looking north from Seacliff Ave.

Here's my little buddy, walking by my side. And even though it is April and the ocean water is only about 40 degrees, I got my feets wet, and my sneakers (yes those are plaid sneakers) and my jeans midway up the legs. Boris waded in to belly-high water, and he likes to bite the little waves. We met two Golden Retriever puppies on the beach too. It was nice to go over there to just have fun, rather than to work, as we have been doing the past few months.

Anticipation, Anticipation, Is making me late, Is keeping me waiting

I had an appointment Monday to see a load of vintage clothing, but it was canceled due to the bad weather here in Jersey. So we rescheduled it to Thursday, but then that had to be changed to Friday. So here I am, Thursday afternoon, dreaming of the vintage goodies that I might get. I haven't finished any work this week. Well, I did finish painting the bathroom at the shore, and I did do a few little odds-n-ends vintage related things. But I don't want to start working on anything for next week's update, because I wanted to see what I got in this new load, and pull some fresh stock from there for the update. I hope that the appointment doesn't get canceled Friday, or else I'll be scrambling to get stuff pulled and ready for Monday's update.
I did buy a few cute patterns online, and they arrived this week. Above are the patterns, 3 cute day dresses. Now I have to get busy sewing. I also joined another Altered Book round robin project, which starts May 15th. Everyone is going to have a different theme, mine will be mermaids. It's most of the same group that did the Vintage clothing themed altered books last year. I bought two old unused scrapbooks online this week, and I plan on using one of those for the project. They have nice covers and big pages with plenty of room to work on.

Hummingbird update - none yet, darn. The weather was nice and warm so I thought they'd be back early. But then the weather got really cold and rainy. But I'm still waiting, watching.

New episodes of Heroes start again on Monday and I am geekily excited! There was a new episode of the Gilmore Girls on this week, no comment.

Some fun and fabulous shoes from ebay

I was doing a little sightseeing around the vintage shoe department on ebay, and I spotted a few pairs that I wanted to show you. Some are fab and I wish they were my size (the 40s wedges) And some are really fun. Click the links to go to the auctions.

1940s sz8-1/2 linen-like Summer wedges (that I really, really wish were my size!)
1960s Feather Covered Pumps sz8
1940s Multi Color Wedes sz8

1940s sz7 Red Platforms with Bows
Converse Sneaker Boots
1970s Blue Smiley Face Platforms

Outrageous 1970s Platforms with Bumble Bees

You can't win them all

Or, as Herman Munster says 'Darn, darn darn!' (sorry, my Mom watches The Munsters and the Addams Family on TV Land everyday, so I have catch phrases from those shows on my mind)
In a previous post, I mentioned my recent luck in buying a few cute dresses for myself on ebay.

The 2 following dresses were two cuties that I missed out on, darn. Some lucky gal is going to love these dresses. I wanted to post about them in the blog because they show why I love 1940s dresses so much. Such a cute flirty fit though the tops with slightly puffed sleeves and sweet a-line skirts,
First on the left here, was a very cute 1940s Appliqued dress offered by variousvaluablevintage - I really like button front dresses, and on this one, I also liked the appliqued pockets.
Next was a super cute novelty print 1940s dress offered by ellarain625 - It had a black top and the print is of blackbirds spelling out letters of the alphabet. How fun is that, I love novelty prints. And again this dress also has the puffed sleeves and flirty a-line skirt. I sent the link to this dress to the Dress A Day Blog - http://www.dressaday.com/dressaday.html - because I know she is a fan of novelty prints too.

Happy Birthday Bette

Today would have been Bette's 99th birthday, so I decided to make a little post about her. When I was younger, and didn't realize how great old movies were, I remember seeing Bette on talk shows, I think Phil Donahue was one, and I wondered 'Who is that old lady, and what's with the big attitude?' It wasn't until I was older that I finally realized the awesome-ness of Bette, and many of the other Old Hollywood stars.



Bette Davis was cool, and awesome, and ballsy, and fought for good roles where she could show her talent, unlike actresses of today who are more worried about what designer gown they're going to wear to premieres and award shows. That's why she had 'attitude' - she was good and she knew it, and many people see that as vanity or conceit, but it's really just confidence. All women should be that confident. Her career had many ups and downs but she continued to work, and was nominated for 10 Oscars. She thought of acting as a professional career, not as a lifestyle.



I think many people think of Bette in her later days. But I wanted to show off some younger photos of her, and since this is supposed to be a vintage-clothing related blog, I tried to choose some photos that showed off not only her beauty, but a little classic clothing too.



Some fun Bette Quotes -
- "I'm the nicest goddamn dame that ever lived"
- "Why am I so good at playing bitches? I think it's because I'm not a bitch. Maybe that's why Miss Crawford always plays ladies."
- "I've no time for broads who want to rule the world alone. Without men, who'd do up the zipper on the back of your dress?"
- "I will not retire while I've still got my legs and my make-up box."
- "Old age is no place for sissies"
- "I was thought to be 'stuck up.' I wasn't. I was just sure of myself. This is and always has been an unforgivable quality to the unsure"
- “I'd luv to kiss ya, but I just washed my hair.”
- "When a man gives his opinion he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion she's a bitch.”
- "You know what I'm going to have on my gravestone? 'She did it the hard way.'"


Bette Davis info on Wikipedia
And while searching online for photos and quotes (I really should be doing some work this morning) I found this great blog post, which kind of sums up how I see Bette too - Bette With An E: Why I Should Be Best Friends With Bette Davis

Spring fix-up update

I mentioned in a previous post that we were working on fixing up several rooms in my family's Summer rental house. The 80 year old radiators and the old heating system was removed and the new heater is installed and working really well. We are much further ahead in our yearly work than we usually are this time of year (we always do all repairs, cleaning etc. starting in late Winter to early Spring before the Summer rental season starts) My dad put drop ceilings in the two downstairs bedrooms to cover the new heater's ductwork, and he also put in new carpeting, since the previous carpeting was almost 25 years old. I did the painting and room set-ups. Here are some before and after shots.

First was the downstairs front bedroom, which used to be painted this dark magenta color shown in the 1st picture. I don't know why I didn't change this color years ago, it was just so dark in there. But now it is a pretty light yellow with a new light colored rug.




The back bedroom downstairs was a dark blue as shown in the 1st photo below. Now it is a light and bright blue-green shade. This room got a little smaller, because we had to build a closet in the room to house the new heater. The difference is amazing and I'm really pleased with the way the room turned out.



This is the carpet that we put in the blue bedroom. My dad & I both liked it, because it had kind of a Victorian look, and our house is 105 years old and it's furnished with alot of old pieces of furniture. But after we bought the carpet, I was worried that it was going to be too dark because I was trying to brighten that room, and I was worried that it wouldn't match the paint color. But it looks really great in the room, expecially with the old furniture that's in there, and it does have a tiny bit of light blue in it. Actually, we liked the carpet so much, we went back and bought a 2nd piece for the bedroom upstairs too.



Next is the hallway. 'Oh, big deal, a hallway' - you might be thinking. But I can't get over how much better it looks. You can see in the first photo that it had brown paneling and dark green and red carpeting. There's no light down there so it was kind of dark. After mentioning that I wanted to paint the paneling either on this blog or in my weekly update, someone very nicely emailed me and told me to clean the paneling with a degreaser, coat it with Kilz, and then paint it. Their advice worked great, and with a new light colored carpet and some Kmart Special $12.99 rag rugs, the hallway looks great. The second photo is the hallway going up to the front bedroom, and the 3rd photo is the back end of the hallway at the backdoor. You could barely see our old server piece setting there before in the old dark hallway, now it really stands out against the white.




I'm hoping to paint the paneling in the downstairs bathroom next. We have some other odds-n-ends jobs around the house to do first though. This morning I steam cleaned the rug in the livingroom. It came up better than I thought, but the rug is still going to need to be replaced next year. We always do the work in the house ourselves. My Dad can fix or build just about anything. Why pay someone to do what you can do yourself (we did have someone put the new heaters in though) plus we like to do the work. It's satisfying to walk into the rooms and see how good they look after your work is done. My back is probably going to be aching tonight after cleaning that rug.