My Own Vintage Clothing Fashion Magazine,August,Wedding Belle Blues

Well of course and why not vintage for your dress on that special day!It could be the perfect budget panacea for what ails ya. I must admit though,with regards to that perfect ensemble on that perfect day,the bride should be allowed to choose with impunity to which ever way the wind blows her whim! I am merely here as your fashion editor,to remind you that vintage can certainly step up to the bridal fashion plate!
BRIDE:Ah me,another day another blockbuster to shoot!
GROOM:Are we going to do this thing?
BRIDE: Come on,buster,get that crazy Italian jacket inside the chapel!
GROOM :Can we push the fast forward button,? I gotta meeting with the suits at the studio?
.......and smiles for the Paparazzi!
That red velvet dress with matching red velvet hat ,inherited from your Grandmother could be perfect for Valentines day.
Don't forget to toss on Grandmothers gloves for tossing the bouquet!
Lace is always perfect,whether short or long!
Even the Justice of the Peace will compliment you in this suit from the 40's!

....and now for The Floor collection.For that unconventional bride,why not jeans?A long black sheer lace piece layered with...
...an antique hand tatted ecru lace bolero,and oodles of pearls!
A variation on this same look.
Why,you may ask, do I have all these crazy pictures,of me and the hubs in wedding attire(oh,and believe me there are more where those came from!)? Once upon a time when my hubs and I decided to get married in Vegas,we (read I) took a leap of faith that the chapel we chose would be a suitable vessel for pledging our love.Incredulous that there was no book on the subject we set out to create our own. Armed with a backseat full of vintage clothes,and flying in our favorite photographer from New York City,the uber talented Mister Stephen Mosher,we plunged right in and interviewed and photographed MOST of the chapels.We even nabbed a literary agent! Yes,we have a lovely collection of rejection letters from Penguin to Workman Publishing to prove it.I thought it was time these wonderful memories saw the light of day.
What to do with hoarded thrifted wedding frocks? How about a window treatment.
Just in case you wondered what I wore on my own wedding day,well of course it was vintage AND thrifted ...and heres the story. The best reason to wear vintage on your special day? My oldest jewel has flattered me by saying she wants to wear my dress at her wedding. Inherited vintage is always the best!

The Last lazy days of summer and falling for seafoam green!

So much fun was had in the last lazy days of summer. Bubble blowing,watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer,buckwheat pancake feasts,poolside(but sitting in the shade) vintage seventeen mag reading whilst sipping iced diet Redbull ,and watching my oldest teach my littlest to swim(I'm not so much for full body pool immersion)!
Making cream soda icecream floats,using my new fave thrifted vintage glasses,would ya look at that sea-foam accent color on those cutey-cute carousel creatures!
....and to my utterly delighted amazement......
Look what came in the mail for me!!A vintage seafoam satin dress!Sweet and thoughtful Heidi of Vacuming in High Heels and Pearls sent me an extraordinary little package. For ABSOLUTELY no reason at all!...but how did she know I was developing a thing for seafoam green?Sometimes I think we all get on this eerie ,bloggy ,prescient wavelength with eachother.Oh and Heidi I am thrilled to report this double trained (the trains are almost like little bustles)stunner fits!!!
She added this amazing vintage card with the image of a pagoda.More pagoda yumminess! An embroidered tea-towel,oh the possibilities!
There were several of these adorable tiny Kokeshi doll cards,that she designed herself!
...and look at this vintage wrapping paper!This kind of adorable-ness absolutely twitterpates my heart!
Hair inspired "summer of love" wrapping paper! The GA-ROOVIEST!
Just like Heidi,thank you again,please do go and visit her and check out her wonderful new banner!



Back to my seafoam,celery,mint green current color infatuation.I decided to create a little fashion game to amuse myself,I think I'll call it:
Fantasy Google Image Fashion Stylist
Heres how you play,go to google image and type in adjectives to describe an article of clothing.


I started with "vintage mint green dress"....
...and then typed in "doll pendant".
Alright so I cheated and visited my favorite wacky and unusual shoe site Irregular Choice,where I found these beauties in their archives.
Which then lead me to type in "orange purse"....and
....Voila! A completed collection of ensemble pieces that will likely never appear on the same body at the same time....but thats half the fun!Oh,the endless internet possibilities ! I think I will play again soon! Won't you join me and play too?

To cap off my mint,celery,sea foam,celendon(hey came up with a new one!)obsession,you will find this new creation in my ETSY,I call her Celeste!
Be back on Friday with My Own Vintage Clothing Fashion Magazine !

A Thriftventure and Back to the Once and Future 80's !

It has been such a long time since I have had a Thriftventure! I thought I would take you all with me for "The Big Reveal", all the above goodies grabbed for under a dollar,with the 2 cool vintage Scrabble games for only 37 cents each!
A (wrinkley)vintage red satin pagoda cheongsam for 3.00 dollars.
Call me crazy, but this lemon yellow cotton nighty (for less than a dollar!)will serve me wonderfully with another cotton slip 'neath it and belted with a tooled leather belt and boots,cause it's been hot as blue blazes here in Texas! The leopard coat with velvet piping,will work this fall as an evening coat(2 bux).
My oldest jewel continues to develop her own crazy eye for what she enjoys. She shared an adorable story with me today,about her list of what she and friends find "ironically cool" (her words). Polka dots are cool but not ironic. Anything shiny or sparkley is NOT cool,and childhood cartoon characters are the most ironic(oh yes,she thinks she has shed her childhood).
Thus we set about to find a Minnie Mouse baby sweater(that could still fit),to no avail. However ,I think we bonused on this cutey-cute seal sweater. She plans to hack off the sleeves and wear it with her dance clothes (ballet and such).
Check this crazy 80's frock! It just fits my angel with the crooked halo(under 5 bux). She's thinking perhaps she should cut out a rocket ship in felt and have me blanket stitch it on. Oh,yes rocket ships with flames shooting out the bottom,very ironic! Oh,it came with a matching bolero ,more was definitely more in the 80's.
In 1988 Pierre Cardin thought nothing of adding multiple feather boas to the skirt and the hat.
Mister Ungaro said,"Silhouette Schmilhouette",eek!

Mister LaCroix showed a bit of restraint,but come on now ,were those sleeves/glove thingys really called for?
Next up :My Own Vintage Clothing Fashion Magazine.

An Anniversary and Adventures in Salem Massachusetts

That was me 14 years ago today!!! Can I just say that if I had it to do over again I would pick the exact same man! I feel soooo blissfully happy to have my perfect partner! Heres our love story in more wonderful detail,just in case your curious,and yes that is indeed hateful babysbreath in my requested bouquet of all white roses,and yes,I'm still bitter about it!



.....and as it is my duty as an experienced married person to engage in some cliches.....vacation pictures ,being served up!Massachusetts is full of history and yummy seafood. Two excellent reasons to vacation there.We especially loved our day in Salem,and whilst dining on a lobster omelette ,we spied a ship in the bay.
Well ofcourse we had to explore ye olde ship,as my oldest had some required reading for sixth grade.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is about a thirteen year old girls adventures on a ship in the high sea. I was thrilled to let our exploring bring this book to life for my daughter.
....but lets face it,while in Salem what we were really interested in was .....The witchy stuff!
You will find your best example at The Salem Witch Museum. Did you know 19 men and women were hanged along with one man pressed to death,before the witch histeria ended. More of the accused died in prison,even after they were acquited,because they were unable to pay their court fees. A play I love to read is Arthur Millers "The Crucible"(I generally prefer reading Mr Millers plays rather than viewing them),but I really did not know his characters were actual people that were inexorably involved with these horrifying events.
There are many fun bell,book ,and candle type shoppes,full of wonderfully fascinating goodies.Everything is in walking distance,so don't be fooled into grabbing a rick-shaw.
Speaking of fascinating goodies......there was also a vintage clothing store to visit.
Doesn't it look welcoming and delicious?
I really NEEDED to explore some local vintage,since we did not have time to visit Screaming Mimis in NYC.
This is the adorable owner who was a fashion history and design graduate. She promised to send me her newsletter,so ofcourse I will share what will probably be great fun with yummy tidbits!Don't forget to visit "Modern Millies" on the main square!
This is the babydoll dress I bought. I know exactly how I will style it,with brown textured tights,and matching suede pumps. Gosh ,it really puts me in the mood for cold weather!
I love the dainty button detail,and the pumpkin shade. Pumpkin? Hey ,maybe it will be my Thanksgiving dress! I can't wait for fall weather!

...and just what did we find lurking in the shop behind Pirate Girl?
Remember how I shared that my baby was into drawing girl vampires?
She has expanded her ouvre to include cats with human bodies!What does she want to be for Halloween ?
A cat/vampire! Perhaps I can use my make-up artist skills learned here to make her vision happen,and the costume was half off!
We took the ferry boat back into Boston ,after our day in Salem,and took turns walking on the deck and letting the wind BLOOOOW us to and fro,this was our view from the deck!

Anastasia nominated me as a rockin' girl blogger ! Just take a look at my right hand side-bar links for a collection of completely bangin' gals,but if you are a regular JDP reader ,you probably already know the uber-cool that is my cyber-fems! I mean how could I possibly single out just a few?
....and lastly just a reminder to my hubs.....

"Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns,
but I die, without you."
-Jonathan Larson

Passing the Torch

New York City is my favorite city in the world,and our visit was much too short.Naturally we dropped in on the little blossoms Godfather,who just happens to be the temporary caretaker of a collection of Tony Awards that he is presently cataloging and photographing,and just so she could get used to the feel of these babys,Uncle Stephen shot my angel with the crooked halo holding one.Being surrounded by all these Tony Awards really put us in the mood for a Tony winning production.Luckily we were holding front row mezzanine tickets to the impossibly honest and raw Spring Awakening,with beautiful and arresting music by Duncan Shiek.
I have waxed poetic before about how the theatre is my church.Specifically it is my own personal creative conduit to my spirituality.You see,at its best, the theatre is our mirror. A fly on the wall to the ways of the world.Which makes this beautiful piece of theatre especially moving.The musical is based on a German play of the same name written in 1891.This play was banned for almost 100 years...and it is still volatile material. In a nutshell, it is about repressed adolescents feeling strange new feelings and seeking reasonable answers for those feelings from a disaproving parental atmosphere.This lack of communication between the parents and children lie at the heart of Frank Wedekinds play and will perhaps always have resonance.I have actually portrayed the doomed young heroine Wendla in Herr Wedekinds piece(he is also the author who penned the play that the Louise Brooks movie Pandoras Box is based on).....and I had my reservations about bringing my oldest daughter.
I remembered the graphic situations,I was ask to portray as my character sought to break free from the chains of innocence.I was a late bloomer myself and I understood my characters frustrations very well.
In the end I chose to follow my instincts and share this special show with my daughter.The graphic portrayal remained intact and with even a bit more detail than I had imagined.I believe I have "set the stage" to open up an honest dialogue and open atmosphere to answer ANY of her curious questions.What a refreshing piece of art to have sparked this dialogue.My child and I were both moved by these brilliant young actors. They shared their hearts with us ,the audience ,in a very intimate way.
Afterwards she was able to meet the actors themselves at the stage door. I was very touched by the kindness these actors showed their fans.Jonathan Groff,was especially sweet,not only autographing playbills,and posing for pics,but spending time with each guest , chatting with them and making them feel special themselves. I found EACH performance breathtaking in their own way,and yet,Mr Groffs portrayal of Melchior was my favorite.The relationships he created onstage were among some of the most honest moments I have ever seen onstage.
Yup, thats me as Wendla (still wearing Kowalski undershirts,even back then),I feel such affection for the open book that I was and I feel honored for my humble connection to this bittersweet story both as actor and audience member.

If you have time please watch this performance from the Tonys. I think you will see exactly what I mean,even the camera man coud not capture the passion on that stage.


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Next up: The Salem Witch trials,some vintage fashion(natch),and some Rockin' Girl Bloggers(thanx Anastasia)!
Tommorrow afternoon I teach a drama workshop,so I will catch up with all of you tommorrow night!