shop preview

What's in this week's shop preview?  Fun floral prints, stripes, a cut-out back, deadstock denim, lace, and...Adam and Eve!

1950s cotton pique chrysanthemum print sundress.

1960s Jantzen men's flower print swim trunks.

1960s finger paint print tiki dress, by Alice Polynesian Fashions.

1960s daisy print combed cotton sleeveless blouse.

1960s blush pink swiss dot wiggle dress with open back and bows.

1950s mint green rose print full skirt.

1960s green and blue plaid dress, by Nancy Greer.

1960s Jantzen men's batik print swim trunks.

1970s candy stripes and flowers sundress with smocked bodice.

Deadstock 1950s Blue Belle by Blue Bell women's jeans.

1950s mauve lace party dress with peach satin trim and belt.

Crazy 1970s Adam and Eve shirt.

1950s golden daisies print wiggle dress.

xo

K

1939 college fads

There was a time--at least, according to this 1939 Life magazine article--that college girls influenced the larger world of fashion.  I'm not sure they still do.  I'm guessing the height of fashion currently on a lot of campuses is pajamas and flipflops.  I certainly wasn't inspired by the clothes my fellow students wore on campus in the late 1980s/early 1990s.  But look how cute these 1939 college students are in their dirndls!  I especially love the dress on the girl on the right.  (Here is a link to the article online that you can enlarge in order to read the text if you wish.)

The article talks about "College Shops" in department stores of the time who sold the fads and fashions popularized by college girls, mainly from eastern schools like Goucher, Bryn Mawr, Smith, and Swarthmore.  Shown above are: Bryn Mawr students sporting imported shoes from places like Mexico and Greece; "strange belts," including this one with a Native American Indian motif (that "tribal" trend is apparently nothing new), as well as belts made of dog chains strung together; white flannel blazers; and my favorite, dress labels sewn on a "Goucher beer jacket"!  The spoons for bracelets like the one this young woman is wearing "are sneaked from hotels."

Some interesting footwear trends.  The white Madeira boots at the top are called "bulky and impractical to wear around campus," which makes me wonder what the writer would think of the look of boots popular now!  These boots look really comfortable.  And I love the bows on the ankle socks.

Scarves tied on shoes and boots are popular, as are saddle shoes--no surprises there.  And those socks with tartan laces?  Love them!  They are called "shag socks" and: "College girls like unusual socks."  Okay then.

Snoods and hair bows are popular.  Bandannas under Stetson hats keep hair dry!

And now the creepy ending.  This gal wears a dirndl, Tyrolean hat, and "German Youth Hostel sandals."  And a Nazi party badge on her hat.  Yikes.

Anyway, despite the differences between then and now, I still see so many "fads" here that would not be considered out of place today:  the folklore/ethnic clothing trend, Native American and "tribal" items, socks and sandals, scarves tied on bags, hair bows.

xo

K

a summer celebration

We spent the last three days celebrating the birthday boy's big 5-0!  Starting with delicious pizza and beer at Harmony Brewing.  (For anyone who cares, in my opinion, Harmony and Amore Trattoria make the best pizza in Grand Rapids.  Possibly the only pizza worth eating in GRR.)

We also did a little thrifting and had some great finds.

It's not a celebration without a cocktail or two at Viceroy.  Steven made me this beautiful lavender lychee-flavored concoction.

I was serious about wanting to wear an all-black wardrobe from now on!

Bunting from HeidiAdnum on Etsy was just the festive touch the living room needed for the small shindig we held for Andy on Saturday.

I asked Andy to get me "a bunch" of mint from our neighbor for drinks--he apparently dug up an entire plant!

We had lots of good food courtesy Andy and our friend Roberta...and cocktails, courtesy me.  I made mostly whiskey drinks:  Whiskey Smash, Scofflaw, Junior, Old Fashioned.

And we recuperated on the lake on Sunday.

Lucy engaging in her favorite pastime--fish watching!

xo

K

new hair, new wardrobe?

Gray wool Marimekko dress, from theprivateparty on Etsy.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I recently went through a major hair color change--my dark brown pixie is now a gray/silver-white (speeding along a process that was already naturally occurring).  For some reason, this has made me want to change my wardrobe.  Well, "some reason" is probably the photo below.  

Bibi Andersson (center) with Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman on the set of Persona, 1966.

Now I want a wardrobe of mod A-line dresses in dark, austere colors.  And Ray-Bans.  Unfortunately, I seem to have a closet full of 1940s and 1950s floral frocks...and not a lot of money to shop with.  Luckily, in my line of work, I can (sort of) patiently shop and hope to find just what I want in my size.  And I *do* have a couple 1960s dresses in my closet that I've held on to that fit the bill.

But maybe this inclination toward mod, austerity, and A-line was already in my brain!  Pre-haircut, I found myself really drawn to these looks from Irish designer J.W. Anderson.

J.W. Anderson, A/W 2012-2013 / via

J.W. Anderson, A/W 2012 / via

J.W. Anderson, Resort 2013 / via

And along with that gorgeous Marimekko dress at the top of this post, I found these on Etsy:

A line geometric skirt, from OiseauVintage.

1960s charcoal wool dress, from BoroughVintage.

Fish print skirt, from persephonevintage.

The new hair.

xo

K

nifty fifty!

Yes, it's true!  It's hard to believe looking at him--and it's even harder to believe if you actually know him--but Andy will be a half century old on July 12!  And because nothing makes Andy happier than selling vintage clothing, we're having a sale to celebrate.  Prices are already marked down in the shop, so go ahead and make Andy happy and buy stuff.

Oh, and here, from the Small Earth Vintage archives, are some of great shots of my favorite male model.

xo

K