THOUGHT PATTERNS

Vintage chicken & rooster illustrations

I recently discovered some vintage chicken & rooster illustrations that are truly wonderful. I've always loved vintage bird illustrations, but these ones are particularly appealing. Chickens, crazy, right? Who wants chickens on their walls? These, from Sushipot Parts shop on Etsy not only are really adorable... but the prints also come in boy/girl pairs. So, why don't you hope over here and get yourself a male and a female...

{Click on the images to expand}

xoxoxo

{all images sushipot parts}

Recent Random Favorites

These are random, but they somehow give out a similar sense, memory, time, sentiment...

{scroll over photos for info}

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Hope the week ahead will be a pleasant one.

xoxoxo

{images via turn of the century, welcome back, oldtimer, black flowers of the second layer}

Beautifully curated collections

So inspired by these...

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I'm thinking about starting a collection of old hair combs like this one...

They are very appealing to me aesthetically. So lovely and quite inexpensive, made from either plastic or celluloid.

I think they would look lovely displayed on the wall.

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I saw some huge ones made from real tortoise shell at the vintage fashion expo. They were incredibly elaborate and about 10 inch high...

 They date from around the late 19th century, early 20th. I sheepishly inquired about the cost (knowing they are for sure out of my price range) but was not prepared for the sum of about $500 to $1000 each. What! The old lady had about 30 of them displayed in glass cases. I beleive they are called Spanish Mantilla Combs. The carvings are pretty impressive!

xoxoxo

{via useles pretty things, vintage rose brocante, under the ivy, verhext, barbaraanneshaircombblog, bluevelvetvintage} 

Treasure hunting

Recently I've had some luck and acquired a few lovely vintage things for a real song (always a favorite). Here are some snapshots of the treasures...

... from the Vintage Fashion Expo...

Lovely bakelite Art Deco hand-mirror and some sunglasses from that era as well.

Great for when you feel like pretending you're a diva.

Some1940s polka dot capri pants...

Modeled here by Pip. I thought this outfit could do with a straw hat so I used the top of my sewing basket. It kind of does the trick. 

These two vintage photos are my latest favorite. The girl on the left is so free spirited and the one on the right stern and serious (click on the photo to expand). Love them both. And the three little crown pins are a dream! 

Now, here is my favorite find of all times...

A 1920s (or 1930s) hotel courtesy phone (Handifone). It was used as just a areceiver so there are no dial numbers. It's quite small and has seen better days, but that's exactly why I love it.

Now, this lady has caused some controversy at the Tarnoff residence...

It's a 1920s hand-painted portrait of an equestrienne painted on velvet. I just fell in love with her charming features. Terry doesn't really like it that much so it had to find its spot in our stairway (still a good spot though!). Keeping good company with some of my artwork...

Till tomorrow (says I, hoping to keep my promise to myself and blog every day this week)!

xoxoxo

A few favorites on at first rainy but now promisingly sunny Sunday

Off to a vintage fashion expo today. Nothing pleases me better than browsing through endless stalls of dresses and jewelry from the past. For a visual person like me it provides endless inspiration.

Looking through old funny photographs, such as these, comes close second...

 

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Wishing you a lovely Sunday.

xoxoxo

{image source retrogasm & marinni}

More loveliness

Lately I've been completely enamoured by miniature portrait jewelry and with medals  -Joan of Arc and coats of arms in particular - or brooches that resemble one. Here are some of my favorites...

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Lovely, aren't they? It makes me want to create my own miniature hand-painted portrait jewelry. There's another project on my to-do list. Kudos to the artist that did these.

Come to think of it, it would also be quite swell to make a collection of medals one could give to family and friends or anybody in need of one. A medal for husbands for being extra loving and patient "A Master Tolerator", for example, or a "Best knitter and all around craftswoman" medal for one's grandma, or best broccoli eater "Master Veggie" for your child. I know I would appreciate having one, for instance, let's see... a "Master Decoupager", perhaps? :)

Have a lovely weekend.

xoxoxo

1950's does the Roaring Twenties

Love these shots of a 1920's themed party, photos taken by Wallace Kirkland in 1954. Ah, the never ending fascination with the Roaring Twenties... it has me in its grasp as well.

bathtub filled with ice and bubbly

a bit of hammock naughtiness

a wee tipsy, just warming up

perfect scene from They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

hanging around the tub (the bubbly)

the inevitable stripped jackets and boat hats

silk knee stockings and weird dance moves

ridiculous puffy breeches and distracting bare knees

first prize for the longest false eyelashes! and this guy kills me. you must love his costume 

don't you?

 a couple of gangsters, a must have at parties. what, you thought they were realy carrying instruments in those cases?

great shot and a wonderful sun mural

touching up the eyeliner. let's party on

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 Peeking into the past, truly one of my favorite.

xoxoxo

{photos by Wallace Kirkland}

Collecting and creating

A few snapshots of things I've been collecting and creating lately...

A tiny 5x3" painting of a Salem Witch by Naomy Hughes. As soon as I saw it I had to have it. Love the expression on her little face.

My collection of vintage photos is growing. Click to expand and see the photos in more detail. I'm particularly fond of the three gals in the bottom left corner, heading for a picknick, dated 1922.

I was so excited to stumble onto the 1942 bottle of morphine from Liverpool, marked "poison" (empty, of course:). I love apothecary jars and this was indeed a wonderful find. As was the huge rusty skeleton key, beautiful blue japanese glass fishing ball and a delicate sea fan coral.

I've been playing and experimenting with the idea of creating some glass locket-type necklaces with my original tiny papercuts in them. This is one of the examples I've made. There might be several available in my shop soon.

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday.

xoxoxo

{photos by Tina Tarnoff}

Oh, dear

I think this must be the cutest thing I've seen in ages...

vintage kangaroo cookie jar

like we need more temptation to reach for that cookie. he want's you to have one. c'mon.

alright, gimme that cookie

and the little fella, well he's just darling. I'm sold.

xoxoxo

{found at harmonica jane vintage shop}

On Dior's New look and our kitchen becoming a greenhouse

My husband is working on his new book which is partly set in the 1940s. I've been doing some research for him on clothing (gladly!) and found some hilarious details about the upheaval Dior's New Look caused when it was first premiered in the U.S.

 

 

(About the New Look: In 1947 Christian Dior presented a fashion look with a fitted jacket with a nipped in waist and full calf length skirt.  It was a dramatic change from wartime austerity styles. After the rationing of fabric during the Second World War, Dior's lavish use of material was a bold and shocking stroke.  His style used yards and yards of fabric. Approximately 10 yards was used for early styles.   Later Dior used up to 80 yards (WHAT!) for newer refinements that eliminated bulk at the waist. The New Look and new approach to fashion was a major post war turning point in Fashion History.)

 

 

 

 

The fashion and news world were absolutely delighted and head over heals in love with Dior's line, but, not everybody shared their enthusiasm...

 

"Christian Dior himself encountered negative reactions to the New Look later in 1947. On his first American trip, he was promptly whisked away from a Chicago train station as 'embattled housewives brandishing placards bearing the words: "Down with the New Look," "Burn Monsieur Dior," "Christian Dior Go Home" advanced'.

 

Chicago was not unique. In Louisville, 1,265 women believed that the New Look was not only impractical but also anti-feminist, and signed an anti-Dior petition as members of The Little Below the Knee Club. In Oildale, California, Mrs Louise Horn gave a timely demonstration of the dangers lurking in the New Look. As she alighted from a bus, her new long, full skirt caught in the door. The bus started up and she had to run a block alongside it before she was freed. In Georgia, a group of outraged men formed the League of Broke Husbands, hoping to get '30,000 American husbands to hold that hemline'." {source}

Haha. "Burn Monsieur Dior"?! 

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We have officially turned our kitchen into a greenhouse. All of our plants had to be taken in because our house is undergoing a major paint job. And, I'm kind of liking being overwhelmed by green...

 

 

 

 

Luckily, we have three big windows in the kitchen, so the plants are getting plenty of light. We might consider keeping them here through the winter.

 

(Hurray! said the plants in unison)

 

xoxoxo

 

{Dior's New look images via Glamourdaze, Showstudio, 1000fragrances}