shop preview: black and pink florals, musical instruments, and a crazy 1950s novelty print

Whether your print preference is flowers, paisley, musical instruments, abstract geometric shapes, or a wild scissors-shaped creature with pattern cut-outs, this shop preview has something for you!  All items begin arriving in the shop starting today.

1950s pink and red Ranunculus Bouquet print dress, by Pat Perkins.

1960s pastel paisley print polished cotton blouse, by Russ.

1950s Master Dressmaker novelty print cotton dress, by Palmetto Fashions of Miami.

1950s pale pink cardigan with heart-shaped buttons.

1960s musical instruments novelty print shirt dress, Mr. P.J. by Barad.

1950s gray and red plaid pencil skirt with matching belt.

1960s pink and red geometric pattern knit dress.

1950s blue and green print nylon jersey dress, by Colonial Jerseys.

1950s black floral print shirtwaist dress, Glenbury by Huntington.

1960s floral print pintuck tissue cotton blouse, by Lady Van Heusen.

1940s-1950s paisley print cotton dress with lace trim, Jacqueline Shaw by John W. Shaw.

1940s gray culottes/skirt--perfect for bike riding!

xo

K

i spy: 1930s embroidery, Burchfield showers, and a book village

Just a small selection of beautiful images from April.  I don't know anything about the artist Marie Montard, but isn't that book village charming and clever?  And if anyone has seen a photograph of the gorgeous Georges Doeuillet dress in the illustration, please let me know.  It's incredible.

You can see more on my Tumblr and Pinterest.

* 1930s embroidered wool dress | millstreetvintage

* Lull in Summer Rain, by Charles Burchfield, 1916 | Avery Galleries

* Village de livres, book art by Marie Montard | mariemontard.com

* A woman named Zola Campbell, rowing a boat on Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada, ca. 1910-1913. | Glenbow Museum Archives on Flickr

* 1920 fashion illustration for couturier Georges Doeuillet, by André-Edouard Marty. | NYPL Digital Collections

xo

K

Peggy Olson: "I look at you and I think, I want what he has."

Peggy is not the only one on Mad Men who wants what Don has.  However, creatively speaking, she is the only one to come close to getting it.  I think she's the only character to really understand Don.  And it's difficult to talk about Peggy without talking about Don.  She is, in many ways, a mirror image of him.

Peggy wants more than a husband and children.  Scenes with her mother and sister in Brooklyn are claustrophobic.  "Those people in Manhattan? They are better than us. Because they want things they haven’t seen."  Peggy wants something different, and she ends up able to have it because it turns out, she thinks just like a great ad man does.  Like Don, she is able to put into words and ideas what it is people desire.  "I don't think anyone wants to be one of a hundred colors in a box."  

And yet, despite her talent and hard work, Peggy must struggle against the entrenched sexism of the time.  Don may have been the one to promote her from secretary to copy writer, but he also is the brick wall she hits over and over again when she wants a raise or simple credit for her work.  "Well, aren't you lucky.  To have decisions," she tells Ted Chaough.  Peggy may have risen far in the industry, but she still doesn't have the same options and freedom as the men around her do.

Peggy's personal life is full of struggle, too.  "I don't know why I pick the wrong boys."  From drunken mess Duck to irritating Abe to married Ted Chaough, Peggy's love life is as disastrous as Don's.  You'd think things could only improve after getting knocked up by Pete.  After that happened, Don gave Peggy some advice clearly based on his own experiences.  He tells her to "get out of here and move forward.  This never happened.  It will shock you how much this never happened."  Well, we know how well that worked for Don.  As Peggy later says, "Well, one day you’re there and then all of a sudden there’s less of you. And you wonder where that part went, if it’s living somewhere outside of you, and you keep thinking maybe you’ll get it back. And then you realize, it’s just gone."  This sounds like it could be the lament of every woman, doesn't it?

I'm not sure how Peggy will end up.  But I tend to fell the same way Don does.  I don't worry about her.  

  

* 1961 Royal typewriter | CalloohCallay

* Peggy doesn't always behave well, and I like that about her character.  One of her most cringe-worthy moments: when she assumed that Shirley's Valentine's day roses were actually for her, from Ted. | fine art rose print from BJSGPhoto

* 1970s dot print dress | SmallEarthVintage

* That time Peggy stabbed Abe with a homemade spear because she thought he was an intruder. | antique eel spear from gazaboo

* "Here's your basket of kisses." | 1940s-1950s lipsticks from labelleboudoir

* I love Peggy and Stan, and I love how even when they were working at different agencies, they stayed connected via the phone . . . sometimes not even talking.  In the latest episode, after confessing to Stan about how she has a child out there somewhere, she asks Stan to stay on the phone with her while each are in their respective offices.  I don't care if they end up together romantically, or just as great friends:  these two will always be one of my favorite Mad Men pairings. | red push button phone from reconstitutions

* I loved the moment in season 6 when they're brainstorming the properties of margarine, and Peggy contributes the fact that margarine was invented for Napoleon's campaigns, since it never spoiled.  Peggy may not have gone to college--as the headhunter in last week's episode reminds her when speaking of her prospects--but she knows stuff.  The margarine comes back in the final season when Peggy dismisses Paris as "the place where margarine was invented." | 1961 Blue Bonnet Margarine ad from SnowFireCandleCo

* Speaking of Paris . . . gosh, I hope Peggy gets there one day!  Peggy saves an account by setting an ad in Paris, and when she complains about the account being given back to Ginsberg, Don's mean and dismissive response helps seal the deal on her leaving the agency.  And we see Paris come up again this last season, when Peggy laments that's she's never taken an actual vacation, and she and her date decide to take off for Paris.  But Peggy can't find her passport, because, of course, it's at the office. | 1950s An American in Paris album from 4EnvisioningVintage

* "I'm Peggy Olson and I want to smoke some marijuana." | Beatnik girls in NYC, 1959 print by Vivienne Strauss from vivstrauss

* 1960s plaid wool dress | BigCitySmallTownVTG

xo
K

shop preview: 1920s lingerie, maxis from the 40s and 70s, and 1950s workwear

A colorful and varied bouquet of vintage fashion is coming to the shop this week!  Everything from 1920s exercise wear to a 1950s lacy prom dress to a mod and colorful maxi dress to a piece of 1940s-50s workwear that could easily double as a cute summer dress!  All items begin arriving in the shop today.

1940s hat print seersucker maxi dress, by Vali.

1960s blue and gray floral print cardigan.

1950s Swirl wrap dress with floral applique.

1950s blue and white polka dot pedal pushers, by Jantzen.

1960s spring green dress with scalloped hem and bow, by Vicki Vaughn.

1940s-1950s red denim workshop apron/coverall, Erwin Blu Surf Sport Denim Styled by Rockland.

1970s Mod Ellipse maxi dress, by Jack Bryan.

1910s-1920s crocheted leaf lace camisole.

1950s pink lace and tulle prom dress with lace capelet.

1950s red, chartreuse, and yellow floral print circle skirt.

1960s lavender floral print dress.

Late 1920s-1930s gym suit, by Betty Brooks.

xo

K

Sally Draper: "I'm so many people."

I just love Sally.  Not only can she mix a mean cocktail, she simply does not have time for your adult bs.  "You say things and you don't mean them.  And you can't just do that," she says early on in the show.  Truth is pretty much what Mad Men is all about, and Sally acts frequently as the show's moral compass.  "Just tell the truth," she tells Don.  But adults don't value truth the way Sally does. About Betty's domineering parenting, Sally says, "She doesn't care what the truth is, as long as I do what she says."  An older Sally, with a more nuanced understanding of truth and adult relationships, tells her father, "It's more embarrassing for me to catch you in a lie than it is for you to be lying," 

Teenage Sally gives me heart, and shows signs of growing up into a person with a pretty good head on her shoulders.  Yes, she is suspended from school when she gets caught buying beer.  But she also kisses the geeky young astronomer, and not his douchey jock brother.  She sounds like she could be a budding feminist:  "Yeah, I know, because where would Mom be without her perfect nose?  She wouldn't find a man like you.  She'd be nothing."  (She is still very sassy.)  She is tired of being asked what she wants to do in the future, but she does know that she wants to be different from her parents.  We know from watching the show that Sally is not entirely different from either Don or Betty.  But maybe, probably, hopefully, she can be something better than they are.  And in a line of dialogue uncharacteristic of both Sally and the show, she tells her father, "Happy Valentine's Day.  I love you."  Sally is possibly the only character on the show to unironically and honestly tell someone she loves them.

* That time when Sally got her period at the Museum of Natural History, and she went home to Betty and they actually shared a tender moment! | 1950s B.F. Goodrich hot water bottle from WhimzyTime

* 1960s blue plaid girl's dress | BabyTweeds

* "I wanna get on a bus, get away from you and Mom, and hopefully be a different person than either of you." | 1960s mod floral suitcase from TheNewtonLabel

* One of my favorite moments in the series is when Don takes Sally and Bobby to see the house he (as Dick Whitman) lived in as a child. | 1970s Norman Rockwell "A Family Tree" collector's plate from agardenofdreams

* Sally has a close relationship with her grandfather, who gives her driving lessons. | 1963 Matchbox Ford Zephyr from RedRavenCollectibles

*  1960s plaid poncho | TimandKimShow

* That time when Sally makes Don French toast and mistakes the bottle of rum for Mrs. Butterworth's.  And he likes it. | 1960s Old Oak Rum bottle from NWAttic

* From "Are you and Daddy doing it?" to "This conversation is a little late.  And so am I." | 1920s birth control book from HappyFortuneVintage

* Sally cutting her own hair is just one of the many ways in which she rebels. | 1950s school scissors from HilltopTimes

* large 1970s mod daisy stickers | QueeniesCollectibles

* Some of my favorite Mad Men dialogue is the banter between Sally and Roger in the "At the Codfish Ball" episode.  Of course, that ended on a rather icky note.  But Sally wore her first grown-up dress and go-go boots! | 1960s white go-go boots from SplendoreBoutique

xo

K

shop accessories preview: 1940s-50s shoes, eyewear, and Coach bags

Here's a preview of a solid little collection of accessories coming to the shop:  1940s-1950s shoes, brass belt buckles, 1950s eyewear, and some great 1970s-1980s Coach leather bags.  All items begin arriving in the shop today!

1940s black velvet pumps, by QualiCraft.

1950s suede and leather slingback heels, by Jacqueline.

Late 1970s-1980s brown leather Coach bag.

Late 1970s-1980s white leather double sided Coach bag, originally a Bonnie Cashin design . . . ?

1940s black corde bag with brown satin lining, by JS Genuine Cordé.

1950s silvertone floral aluminum eyeglasses, by Artcraft.

1950s etched brown and gold glasses.

1980s chunky brass Mike belt buckle.

1980s brass tree belt buckle.

xo

K

shop preview: southwestern embroidery, a 1950s leaf print, and early 20th century blouses

An eye-catching shop preview this week with beautiful embroidery from the 1960s, cotton dresses from the 1950s, early 20th century blouses, and much more.  All items arriving in the shop starting today.

1960s embroidered Leona Caldwell shift dress.

1910s pale celadon green blouse with lace and pintucks.

1950s gray and yellow leaf print cotton sundress.

1980s rainbow buffalo plaid skirt with big pockets, by Ecco Bay.

1960s abstract print shirt dress.

1960s lime and orange floral print sleeveless cotton blouse with pintucks.

1960s mod dot print dress.

1950s golden rose embroidered kimono/robe.

1950s gray nautical stripe sundress.

1950s satin long line bra, by Gossard.

1960s sunflower and polka dot print cotton mini dress, by Cos Cob.

1900s white embroidered eyelet lace blouse.

xo

K