Head over heels

I completely fell head over heels in love when I saw this crazy printed dress. I’m a sucker for a novelty print especially of the psychedelic variety. My obsessive, er, diligent ebay searching has brought many odd and lovely things into my life and this funky little number is certainly no exception! The print is amazing and the cut is equally inventive, coupling a corset front with a long and short sleeve hybrid I had never before seen. It also boasts the best in synthetic fabric types, a silky feel that is totally machine washable. I expect to get a lot of wear and many stares outta this one!
60s maxi dress, $65 ebay last month
60s beige cut out suede go go boots, $50 ebay several years ago
60s-70s green furry hat, $25 ebay last month
60s Italian sunglasses, $10 Sacramento antique fair last year

Top Ten!

Becka of Smashingbird fame has bestowed upon me the top ten blog award! I am paying this award forward to 10 bloggers who are stylish and inspiring (and I wanna know what stuff they use to look so gorgeous!).
Desiree
Pull Your Socks Up!
Sarah
Misfits Vintage
Jennie
Frocktasia
Carrie
Carried Away with Vintage Gourmet
Bella
Citizen Rosebud
Helga
Helga Von Trollop
Kerry
Fashion Farms and Freedom
Anika
By Anika
Dusk
The Dusk Zone
Nikki
Little Bits of NikkNakk
I am asked to divulge my top ten beauty products, so here goes:
T3 tourmaline flat iron, great coarse mane wrestler.
Coco Mademoiselle perfume, I tried the rest, it's still the best.
Mac foundation brush (I used cheapo drugstore foundation but the brush is the best tool to apply it with).
Mac eyeliner brush with Mac fluidline eyeliner.
Maybelline stiletto mascara.
Hask pure shine hair grease.
Kms molding paste.
Neutrogena 90 spf sunscreen.
Olay definity face lotion.
Revlon nail hardener.
Outfit details:
70s cotton flower dress, $12 Kerry via Crimson and Clover
60s beaded crochet bag, $20 Smashingbird Vintage via Etsy
Modern new bcbg sandals, $25 Citizen Rosebud sale
80s Express belt, thrifted cheaply many years ago

Lady in waiting

When I read about the Celia Birtwell line for Express in 2008 I was skeptical but intrigued. As I work within walking distance to the mall which had (has?) an Express store I popped in for a look. I liked the fit of the dress and the print, and the quality was not as bad as I thought it would be but I wasn’t kickin down $128 either. I jotted down a note for things I look for on ebay and forgot about it. Then about a year later I looked for it online and found it brand new for $30 including shipping. I threw down the low bid and no one else jumped in. I’ve worn it a few times since, it’s nice and cool for the sweaty dance night I had planned. If I find something new I like I will lie in wait for it to pop up on ebay for cheap as this dress did. I’d love to get an original someday but wouldn’t have worn it with as much drunken abandon as I wore this repro Saturday night!
Celia Birtwell silk chiffon dress (2008 reproduction) $30 ebay a few years ago
70s Sarah Coventry pendant, $15 ebay several years ago
Mia platform sandals, ebay $65 including shipping last year
70s sunglasses, made in Italy, $8 Sacramento Antique Fair last week
eight ball zucchini squash and lil oranges, growing in my garden

Op art project

Here find my latest in a long line of vintage clothing “projects”, clothes that need a little tlc before wearing! I bought this op art gem on etsy a few weeks ago for a mere $8. It was formerly a dress with a stain on the front, so the seller opted to cut and hem it into a tunic length shirt. I redid the hem to make it as long as possible and now I find it quite wearable indeed! The fabric pattern really sold me, though. Stanimal told me it hurt his eyes if he looked at it too long, which is considered a huge compliment to op art lovers such as ourselves! I busted out some 60s sunglasses Stanimal had bought me several years back, and accessorized with silver boots and stockings to let the print do the talkin’!
And to celebrate reaching 100 followers, the vintage purple necklace in the first picture is my giveaway prize! To enter: be a follower, like annimal house on facebook, and leave a comment! The more you comment, the more chances you have to win my necklace twin! On May 31 I will draw a random winner and ship that necklace your way! Thanks again, this has been a real groovy trip!!
60s op art tunic, $8 etsy a few weeks ago
60s silver vinyl go go boots, $100 ebay several years ago
60s yellow sunglasses, gift from Stanimal several years ago
60s necklace, $50 ebay seval years ago, last seen here

Silver (web) Surfing

When I become obsessed with a rare antique or vintage item I compulsively track it down and often others like it. Case in point my sunglasses. I originally found this model in a white blue color combination several years ago. Not content to just own that pair, I kept checking back on ebay and a few years later found this pair too. In between both occurrences, I was outbid twice on a black on black pair, like the ones Gary Oldman wore to portray Sid in Sid and Nancy. Dunno what other color combos exist, but I'd love to collect them all!
Dress, nay tunic, part of a pantsuit by happy legs thrifted many years ago cheaply but can't remember how cheaply
Sunglasses, ebay $30 a couple years ago
boots, $4 thrift town
choker necklace, made in japan, ebay $12 a couple years ago
aurora borealis bracelet, made in japan, $16 crimson and clover about 6 months ago
rings, ebay and junk shop plus wedding (my husband's late mother's)

We are the vintage clothing preservation society

It's a cause near and dear to my heart, the preservation of fine vintage clothing! We are proud members of the vintage clothing preservation society, with over 20 years of manically haunting thrift, flea and church sale alike. Hoarding is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but that's ok with us. Esteemed vintage clothing seller Denise Brain put it well in a blog post she did several years ago about saving the maxi dresses. Also making a convincing argument to preserve and stay long is fantastic blogger and shop owner extraordinaire Nicole of Crimson and Clover (and dig vintage, and flaming hag folkwear!! ) fame who wears maxis with aplomb! If the vintage clothing has survived decades intact it should stay intact. I will professionally alter to fit and if the hem has been carelessly taken up crooked ( as is usually the case, grrrr) it has to go up higher to correct. The most heartbreaking of all is to see a once beautiful maxi dress chopped off into a tunic length shirt. Anything shorter than 32" from shoulder to hem is a shirt, and this opinion is coming from a short waisted 5' 2" lady!
I thrifted this gem of a dress a few years ago on my birthday! Goodwill was good to me with this $5 treasure. It fits perfectly (length and width!) and it's a novelty print with naked ladies splayed throughout. It was made by San Francisco Dress Works, est. 1971 A.D. I'm wearing it with thrifted pull up faux patent boots I got at thrift town for $4. Also included over the gown is a favorite custom made velvet trench coat I found on ebay and won for $40 several years ago. I'd cry to see either maxi garment get chopped as they are in such good shape. I thrifted these sunglasses so long ago I can't remember where! They are 70s cool ray by polaroid. My necklace is a 70s cameo I fished out of a huge pile of tangled up jewelry at the local antique fair, $3 (down from $5, a discount for my effort!).