Quite Possibly the Best Vintage Mexican Skirts Ever!

Circle skirts of the 50s are not only fab, they’re practically art. There are all kinds of interesting ones out there to add to your wardrobe–particularly the ones I found below.

My favorite, which I found on ebay for sale by “Missaylee”  is a vintage 40s or 50s outfit (with of course, the perfect circle skirt). It so amazing, it makes me want to wave a red flag and chase a matador!

No wait! This one from Bombshell Bettys comes with a matador! How lucky! It’s priced at $145.

Here’s a bold red and black statement from seller starnaudmo that says it all without saying a word!

This vintage handpainted beauty available from decogirl007 can be yours for a cool $59.99 (buy it now) for those who don’t desire to play the auction game.

Vintage Craftable Curios that Ooze Inspiration

I have a crafting streak that runs hot and cold, but I’m always searching for funky things for inspiration. The Naughty Secretary Club has the right idea–they assembled lots of found vinty fabulous things that you can be used to perpetuate your own crafty goodness. And for those who love vintage stuff to craft with, but have little time to hit the flea market or thrift stores to search for them personally, leave it to the Naughtys to shop for you. You can make all kinds of clever things–from sculpture art to funky chunky charm bracelets, necklaces and earrings. You can even use them to adorn your favorite pair of vintage pumps–and really give your friends something to talk about!

$18 and you can have the Wee People Craft Curios:

Or how about the Bubblegum Crafty Curios ($16):

Or perhaps the Funny Hat Crafty Curios ($16):

And one of my favs–Polka Dot Party Bead and Cab Mix ($32):

Bring Back the Blacklight

When I was a kid, I remember visiting my considerably older and deftly cool hippie cousins. The truth was, I  didn’t really care about visiting them, I was far more fascinated with their psychedlic display of blacklight posters and whether or not they had added any new ones to the collection since my last visit. I was intrigued by the fuzzy textures and the fact that those images sprang  to life with the flick of a switch. Now I realize it was probably  the closest thing to acid my impressionable mind could experience without actually sampling the candy.

Now that the swinging 60s and 70s are en vogue again, I thought what better way to resurrect the temptation of blacklight art than to highlight some really cool vintage and retro posters, which, thankfully you can still get today. While the true vintage ones aren’t cheap, they certainly do liven up a room!

Lead Pipe Posters has a stash of vintage posters that range from old rock posters to hippie themes like the “Mother Love” poster below, priced at $125 and created in 1971.

or the groovy “Butterfly” illustrated poster below, which sells for $45.

Bettie Page Fashion Revived in Las Vegas

Bettie Page–the most famous pinup girl of all time–lives. Well sort of. The infamous Bettie’s wardrobe is bringing out the pinup girl in all those who visit ”Sin City” in the new Bettie Page Las Vegas store, which debuts this spring in the Shops at Desert Passage. But if you’re not traveling to Vegas, you can shop the online catalog where you’ll find plenty of retro pinup fashions — from dresses and shoes to t-shirts for the family. The online store is still evolving, but there are plenty of adorable dresses to get you started. You can even sign up for the Bettie Page newsletter, too!

This little number “Ella Yellow” is a cool $110.

Or the “Maria Yellow” dress (below) is a swinging $130.

Nothing screams Bettie more than a “little leopard dress.” Check out this one for a fierce $120.

Pinup Girls Tributes

It’s always fun to find tribute videos to the pinup girls of days past. Check out these cool video finds:

Risque Vintage Pin Up Girls (by vitalfinds):

And who can forget Bettie Page–she was probably better off posing than dancing?

Bendywho Makes Fantastic Flauntables!

Admittedly, when it comes to charm bracelets, my wallet has a tendency to fly open and my cash spontaneously disappears. But I always end up with some really cool jewels. Case in point. I went a little crazy shopping on etsy last night and found a new jewelry designer (Bendywho) who has some really amazing creations made with vintage and newer finds.  I bought the two bracelets (below) from her and will probably be standing by the mailbox until they are sitting on my wrists.

Bendywho also has some other creations that anyone who appreciates one-of-a-kind jewelry will undoubtedly love. Check them out below or click here to visit her store. The picks below are a sampling of some of the new creations she’s added — charm bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Simply gorgeous!!!

Cardinal Rules Charm bracelet ($115)

Romantic Love Earrings ($124)

Honeydew Asian Necklace ($135)

More Amazingly Cool Robot Art

I am so totally in love with robot art made from vintage finds. “Swankola” pointed me in the direction of Bennett Robot Works, which makes totally cool non-functional robot art out of found objects. See more at Bennett Robot Works online site.

All Eyes on Sharon Tate

This is an awesome behind-the-scenes peek at the life of Sharon Tate –”she had that thing you just can’t explain.”

and…”Valley of the Dolls” promo…perhaps her most well-known role.

 

Leading a “Plastic” Charmed Life

I just spent the weekend in San Francisco, where I always find plenty of fashion inspiration! One example is my friend Jessie who is currently designing vintage and retro inspired plastic and lucite jewelry out of salvaged and new parts  crafted from vintage molds. While she is currently ramping up to offer her goods online, I was lucky enough to score one of the rings that she made…and quite a few compliments on my ring, too.

Jessie’s creativity piqued my curiosity, so I set out in search of other plastic costume jewelry that borders on kitschy creativity.

My first find was Gee Lizzie, who has some really cute vintage plastic charm bracelets, necklaces, pendants, and earrings that have cute little plastic trinkets that have your strolling down memory lane before you know it. The charming necklace below is only $14 — well worth a trip down memory lane.

These cute little scotty dog earrings are a find for $6.50 — at Gee Lizzie, too.

Or how about this adorable pendant from Gee Lizzie for $11.00.

Who can pass up these vintage plastic doll charms from AtomicVeggiecom that are straight out of the 1960s.  (Tell me your friends won’t be Jealous!)

Totally in love with this bracelet from SassyFrass, which is made from vintage plastic flowers and Swaroski crystals. A little pricier at $80, but truly one of a kind and perfect for the Spring!

Get “in the pink” with this pink and yellow plastic “bunny love” dangle necklace from angelovepink, priced at $55.

Vintage Apple Commercial Reborn for Obama Campaign

Sometimes we forget just how powerful a commercial can be–especially one that at the time it was created, was on the cusp of the digital visual effects revolution. Back when Apple unveiled its million dollar high-tech homage to George Orwell’s 1984, unveiling the Macintosh, who knew that years later, this powerful commerical would be remade by a rogue artist to support the Barack Obama campaign? It’s stirring up controversy, that’s for certain.

The original Apple commercial that highlighted how January 24, 1984 would be “nothing like 1984.”

The 2007 remake to support Obama’s presidential campaign (below) and portray Hillary Clinton as, well, essentially, big brother.