everything old is new again...

...in my Etsy shop!

Here's a preview of a few items coming to the shop soon. I noticed there are a lot of blues and grays, periwinkle and cornflower, in this update. Including my favorite new dress, this incredible 1940s slate blue (steel blue?) rayon print dress.

It has beautiful ruffled trim, and a cute pink and white print.

And amazing alternating prints in the pleated skirt! It is dress perfection.

Sage green corduroy pencil skirt.

You have to love this novelty print--summer's harvest on a white and periwinkle shirtwaist dress.

Gray striped 1950s blouse from Campus Casuals.

A vibrant 1960s wiggle dress.

Gray plaid pleated skirt.

Fringe-y pale buttery yellow 1950s shirtwaist dress.

Cocoa and gray print 1950s blouse.

Here's another one that it's killing me it doesn't fit me.

Striped brown wool Jantzen pencil skirt with belt.

That's it for tonight! And hey, if you haven't seen it already, may I suggest that all of you vintage and art fans hightail it over to Fuzzylizzie's The Vintage Traveler blog to check out her post about Picasso for White Stag? Amazing.

xo
k

colors

I am nightmare walking, psychopath stalking... Just kidding! This post is not about Ice-T or the Crips and Bloods. (*wonders if anyone will get this allusion*)

I took this photo of a bunch of gala apples from the orchard where Andy is working. I love that aqua and red color combination, as I've mentioned before.

And then yesterday, this came.

Isn't it purdy? I was shopping for my best friend's birthday on Etsy (SO MUCH fun!), and when I saw this in Whimsy House's Etsy shop, I had to have it. Molly makes charming (and very nicely priced) jewelry using vintage buttons. Isn't it fab?

(Please excuse the chipped, grown-out manicure. The color is OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ, for those who care about that sort of thing. It's my favorite red nail polish. I'm on the hunt for a brick red shade. Any suggestions?)

Anyway, back to fun and vibrant color combinations, I was tickled pink last night when Andy served me slices of salted avocado (mmmmmm!) on an orange melmac plate.

Doesn't that rock?

About those apples, I'm going to turn some of them into this on Sunday:

From this month's Bon Appetit, Rice Puddings with Caramel Gala Apples.


I'll let you know how it turns out.

xo
k

howdy, cowpokes!

An accessories preview, with boots, belts, and buckles for you cowgirls and cowboys--yee haw!

Blue and gray Justin boots.

Nice and tall, mahogany Larry Mahan boots.

Old, weathered and distressed, black and white cowgirl boots.

Tooled leather mushrooms purse with a cool clasp.

A woven raffia owls bag--so cute!

Nifty mid-century modern print glasses case.

Old Musicians Never Die metal and enamel belt buckle.

Brass Plumbers Do It Better buckle. Hee.

Brass mandala buckle.

Skinny leather belt with braiding.

Saving the best for last: a mustard belt with big, brass sleeping dove buckle.

These should all be hitting the shop this week!

I'm very excited about next week's shop update. It will include several larger-than-XS size (L-XL, maybe some M?) amazing estate sale dresses! Stay tuned.

xo
K

more things to keep...for our home

This is an oversimplification, but here goes. Andy's brain in a thrift store: "Can I sell it?" Karen's brain in a thrift store: "Will it fit?" I am way more packratty than Andy is. I love my collections of ceramic animals and paint-by-numbers. Andy would sell anything he has if he thinks he can make some money.

Luckily, even though our favorite home decor styles can be divergent (Him: Brady Bunch. Me: 1940s cozy cabin in the woods), we are usually in agreement when it comes to decorating the house. (It helps that we are both definitely fans of mid-century modern.)

We've found some good stuff lately. Not that we need it. But we sold Andy's Eames lounger earlier this year, so there has been kind of a hole in the living room to fill. Andy brought home this great red lacquer-top folding table from an estate sale. I found the globe and the cute little enamelware Kaj Franck Arabia Finel enamel mushroom bowl while we were thrifting.

The white Eames Herman Miller bucket chair was meant to be sold. But then I saw the photo at the beginning of this How-To in the Etsy Storque blog and decided we should keep it. Andy didn't put up much of a fight--we both love Herman Miller chairs, and we already have orange and yellow bucket and shell chairs in the kitchen.

(The pillow is from Ikea, by the way, and I see it all the time as part of the styling of shoots in magazines and whatnot. It has also turned up on TV. It is a total fame whore, that pillow.)



Sorry the above photo is blurry, but I love the look of the blues of the globe and vase (from KleinReid in Brooklyn, a gift from a wonderful friend when I left NYC 10 years ago) against the red lacquer of the table. I so love this color combination that I'm thinking we should paint the floor of our aqua-walled bathroom red until we get the tiles laid. It could be horrifying, but I'm a risk-taker. (My mom always liked to do our bathrooms in tacky wallpaper. I guess that's the "go wild" room in my family. Hm, that sounds weird.)



When I picked up the mushroom bowl at the thrift, Andy pointed out it was chipped at the edges. But I loved it--all those cute little black-and-white mushrooms--and being a Scandinavian-phile (?), the "Made in Finland" on the base grabbed me. And now I've seen on the internets all the wonder that is Finel Arabia and I want to collect it all.

Not to mention, greatest thing of all--Finel Arabia makes MOOMINTROLL PRODUCTS!!! I now require a set of Little My mugs or highball glasses.



xo
k

what's new, pussycat?

Old stuff, that's what!

1960s batik print blouse.

1950s day dress with BIG pockets and a TINY paisley print.

Pleated wool plaid skirt.

1940s black crepe knit dress with fabulous satin rosette belt.

Close-up of bodice so you can see the cute little rosette. The sleeves have elastic bands at the end--are these for keeping your cuffs down when you put on gloves?

Sage Bobbie Brooks wool chenille sweater with teensy seed pearl beads at the collar.

1950s aqua polka-dot cotton dress.

THE BEST skirt! Gray and mustard plaid high-waisted wool pencil skirt.

Fab chartreuse, violet and aqua folklore print dress.

Close-up of the print. The colors on this have bled a bit, but it's still too cute.

Gray plaid blouse.

Wool wiggle dress by McKettrick.

Screenprinted cardigan by Darlene.

To DIE for emerald satin party dress.

Mod daisy Vera tunic.

Paisley print johnny collar dress by Kay Juniors.

Blue plaid Little Women dress.

xo
K

"i love beauty--is not my fault!"

So says legendary designer Valentino, in the documentary Valentino: The Last Emporer, which I watched last night. It's definitely worth watching. The behind-the-scenes fashion stuff is, of course, interesting, as is the relationship between Valentino and his longtime partner Giancarlo Giammetti.

Valentino's pugs get taken for a walk.


But for me, the best parts of the film were the scenes featuring those who work for Valentino behind the scenes. Namely, the team of Italian seamstresses--especially the wonderfully cranky and necessarily particular head seamstress--who actually create Valentino's designs. And the DVD extra that follows Michael Kelly, Valentino's incredibly serene majordomo, as he prepares and runs the Valentino household for huge parties and day-to-day living, whether in NYC, France, or on a ski trip in Gstaad, is incredibly fascinating. I could have watched an entire film about Michael Kelly!


I seem to have more than the usual amount of shop items to get ready this week. So I'll be splitting up the preview into a few posts. Here's what I photographed today.


Stripey 80s boatneck dress.

Sparkly beaded powder blue cardigan.




Marigold full skirt dress.




Art nouveau peacock print skirt.

L'Aiglon shoe print dress. This has an inverted pleat in the front skirt and a scarf tie at the back collar--so cute!




Plaid day dress.

1970s Levi's denim car coat.

1960s does 1920s, mod drop waist sailor girl dress.




Olive and orange tweed pencil skirt--fab pockets!




1960s paisley taffeta dress.



1970s chartreuse and blue Vera folk art print blouse.




And finally, here's what Andy was doing while I was taking photos.




Pretty, huh? We've had enough. No more carpet in the bathroom. Carpet in a bathroom is crazy. Maybe this is the start of the much-discussed, long-dreamed-of, home improvements. Maybe not. Stay tuned!

xo
k