Bar Trek, The Next Generation

Stanimal's 60s style garage rock band The Troublemakers brought their special recipe for mayhem to the Old Ironsides bar Friday night. Our niece Ronda has been wanting to see her uncle's band for a while, and now she is finally 21 and more than ready to rock! A fun time was had by all, it was a rowdy energized scene and amazingly nothing was broken (besides a few guitar strings!). Ronda was also pleased to debut on this lil ol blog and show off her one of kind frog pendant she received as a gift from her auntie, lovingly repurposed by the artisan women of crimson and clover.
Annimal is wearing:
60s cut out blue lace up boots, $75 ebay a few years ago
60s angel sleeve dress, $50 ebay a few years ago
Stanimal is wearing:
60s sta prest levis, thrifted a long time ago
Troublemakers uniform vest, custom made for the band 18 years ago!!
Lennon beatle boots by beatwear uk, 4 years ago $200
60s dress shirt, thrifted a few years ago $3
Ronda is wearing:
Orange Bobbie Brooks jacket, $4 Desert thrift a few months ago
Orange floral dress, $ 3 Desert thrift a few months ago

My Orange Crush

It’s juicy, it’s vibrant. I wanna surround myself with it. Oh wait, I already did! Mopar orange is an all time favorite color of mine, and I just caught wind that it is a current theme color among the local fashion blogger set. Since I missed out on the polka dot theme last week (damn!), I wanted to jump in on this one. I love orange with complimentary blue as I have used in my home décor extensively, but I think it pairs well with most colors. Maybe I'm lucky because I am frequently told orange flatters my skin tone of light olive Hispanic coloring. But even if it doesn't flatter me, I'd still wear it and it is beautiful on my living room walls!

living room, Annimal's House, photo courtesy of The Citizen Rosebud!
1970 Dodge Challenger, flickr image (I wish I rolled this ride!!)
Catherine Holm fondue set, $1 church sale last year
60s orange mini dress, $20 ebay several years ago
huge pendant necklace, $10 ebay several years ago
Big opal cluster ring, gift from Stanimal
Other rings and bracelet, thrifted a long time ago

Hey Kitty

Photo print kitten t shirt, $7 ebay a few years ago
Altered 70s Maverick jeans, $2 thrift store in Texas about 5 years ago
Black Springolator pumps $10 Sacramento antique fair a few years ago
Wide white leather belt, $25 Florence, Italy 6 years ago
Angora cardigan, thrifted about 8 years ago can't remember where or how much
silver cha cha bracelet, $10 ebay a couple years ago
pink wrap bracelet, $1 garage sale a couple years ago

Black and Blue...

And worn over and over! Taking pictures on overcast days has proven rather, um, challenging. Also not helping matters is the fact we are using an old crummy digital camera and we don't really know what we're doing! But we're doing it just the same, and here I am with my hair au naturel. I don't dye it but I usually attack it with the straight iron and a handful of gunk to give it more polish (and less frizz!). I'm also sporting my default jean jacket topper, one of many that I constantly rely on in my wardrobe rotation.

70s little e Levis Jean jacket, $8 Sacramento antique fair a few years ago
Vintage sweater dress, $1 my rad neighbor's garage sale
Necklace, Sarah Coventry, $15 ebay about 5 years ago (I just found it in another jacket's pocket, I think it was there for at least a year!)
Chubby kitty pin, $5 Sacramento antique fair a few years ago, I thrifted the same one before this one but it was missing the tail! So it has a manx sibling!
Hue tights $10 Macys last year
60s brown vinyl boots, $30 ebay a few months ago (deadstock too!)

Hookin' Up

I like to think of my vintage stash as animate objects. It's like introducing old friends to new, when complimentary items hook up. I've had this sweater dress since the 90s, and it has fit me well even when my weight goes up and down. I found the sunglasses a few years ago but the two just met for the first time today. I suppose they hit it off, but what do you think about the coupling?

Vintage sweater dress, $1 Northgate Thrift(now closed)in the 90s
Plastic thermoset bracelet, $1 Sacramento antique fair last month (it was a broken necklace I made into a bracelet)
Plastic cha cha bracelet, $10 ebay last year
Sunglasses, $15 ebay a few years ago
Necklace, $50 ebay last year, bidding war but I won!
Big plastic ring, $2 ebay in a lot of 10 a few years ago

Creation

It only existed in a conversation at first, between me and Mike Farrell. We proposed the perfect men’s dress shirt, eschewing the blousy cut and sweaty synthetic fabrics commonly used in the last 20 years of mass manufacturing. We longed for the slim tapered fit and creative seaming utilized in the golden era of clothing, the mid twentieth century, which produced the rare and coveted treasures which are becoming increasingly harder to come by. I asked Mike if he remembered the shirt Stan wore at a Losin Streaks show that he had admired. He didn’t, at first, but when I busted it out for his perusal he said, "Oh yeah!! It’s perfect!" We then proceeded to have a pattern and shirt made by Becky of Becky's Alterations, after the perfect vintage shirt thrifted many years ago belonging to my man. The pattern put Mike back $20, the fabric and buttons he selected at Hancock fabrics another $25, and it cost $75 to get the sewing done. Enjoy the images of this designer original piece, as well as these dolls modeling their own stuff.

Credits:
Mike’s gear:
Beatle boots, www.beatwear.com, Lennon boot
Bolo tie, tooled belt, Aztec calendar belt buckle: cheap thrills
Brown Pants: Handley’s Western Wear
Aviator sunglasses, Military Surplus Supply in Seattle, WA.

Stan’s gear:
Beatle boots, www.beatwear.com, Lennon boot
Vintage Black Levis Sta Prest pants
Vintage Shirt, Deseret Industries
Black "69" Iron Cross from Santa Cruz Flea Market
White Leather belt with brass grommets, Salvation Army Thrift Store

Crestview Lanes

Last year the Crestview Lanes bowling alley in the suburban outskirts of Sacramento closed its doors after being open since the 60s. Stanimal and I went to visit the shuttered building and snap a few shots as we thought it might be demolished soon. I am a mediocre bowler but Stanimal is outstanding, having bowled 300 (a perfect game) on more than one occasion. As mid century design aficionados (and who isn’t these days!) we appreciate the building’s many charms. If only we could get our hands on the huge spaghetti lamp chandeliers that have hung inside for decades. I only went to Crestview Lanes a few times as a teenager, less interested in bowling and more interested in free food and video games as a friend from catholic school’s grandmother owned it at that time. But I was still sad to see it close, and Stanimal had lit up those lanes many times prior.
Annimal is wearing: dress, psychedelic checker print, $20 jet rag in LA about 5 years ago
Shoes, diba pointed flats thrifted $5
Purse, $15 ebay a year ago
Sunglasses, $20 ebay a year ago
Stanimal is wearing an 80s Kings t shirt I thrifted many years ago cheaply and 510 levis he got for $8 at freestyle