Tricks Or Treats!....I Got A Rock.

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a rockin' night, chock full o' candy, treats and no tricks! Seems everyone and their mother has been writing about Halloween over the past few weeks. Well, OK, so have I. And, quite honestly, I'm a little sick of it at this point. So instead of ghouls and zombies and classic horror, I'm going the squeaky clean route (WHA?!) and posting some wholesome, vintage pics of Autumn over the years, courtesy of Life magazine. Enjoy... and have a killer night! Mwuhahaha.... (Ok. That's enough of that.)




Fall leaves, 1937.





'Tater Harvest, October 1949.





Apple Pickin', Sept. 1950s







Upstate New York, 1960s





Pumpkin Faces, Naples 1950s




The view from my front porch 3 evenings ago.




Happy Halloween!

Halloween Friday: The Ghost In You

Well, it would appear as though today is the very last Halloween Friday! I'm slightly bummed about that. I do love me some themes, you know. But no worries, next week "Aqua Blue Fridays" will be back and all will be right with the world again. Except for that little thing called "the economy", but whatever.

Up to this point, every friday I've had a different Halloween-based theme and showcased various vintage items that went with said theme. The first theme was "Pumpkins", then "Black Cats" then "Witches" then last week's "Devils". You know, to recap.

But being as though this is the last Halloween Friday, I'm gonna do a little sumpin' sumpin'. I'm also gonna do something slightly different. Today's theme is "Ghosts"- but not quite what you think. There's no collection of retro vintage ghost items here today, no kitschy/crafty DIY things either. What I found are some rather...creeptastically wonderful real, vintage Victorian photographs. I absolutely adore old photos and these are extra odd, therefore I love them even more! Most likely the strangeness that occurred in each photo was just from the subject moving or some other screwiness of photography...But who knows? Maybe they're really haunted. One thing's for sure: the people in these pics are all ghosts now! (Aww, I know. That's morbid and I'm a jerk. Tell me something I don't know.)

So without further ado, I present to you thee last Halloween Friday! (Each picture is for sale from different sellers- just click the pic to go to it's listing.) Enjoy!


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"My, Gertrude, that tapeworm reducing plan we sent away for through the Lady's Home Journal certainly is working. Look how see-through we are!" This is actually a double exposure, so there's really only one woman in the picture, not 2. Plus, there's the see-through factor. Transparent bitches.



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Look up at the window. !!! Zoinks !!! Ok, so it's probably just her sweet widdle Grandma...or not.



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There's so much fuckuppery in this, where does one start? Hovercraft baby? Random baby-propping arm? Faceless chair sitter? (And WTF is up with Chair Sitter's ratty, bird nest hair?)



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This pic is my favorite! Ma and Pa Barnum were not at all pleased to find that they had, in fact, just given birth to Casper. Looks like they'll have to resort to becoming circus folk after all.

Knit Wits

Knit Wits, Part I:



After their exciting day at the mall for a family portrait at JC Penney, Bob and Carol decided it was time to finally tell the children that they had, in fact, been stolen. Also that Carol's failed corrective surgery to uncross her eyes would probably leave her blind. And that Bob's religious sect was planning on moving them to the hills of remote Utah to live in a cabin without running water, electricity or an indoor toilet. And that child services was planning on taking son Johnny away due to his emotional violent outbursts and recent tragic baby bunny slayings. And that the baby would have to go through a harsh round of exorcism, after last night's bout of speaking in tongues and cursing the rest of the family members to hell. Now who wants Orange Julius?!



(Thanks to Knits Yours, Knot Mine for the inspiration from this vintage 80's sweater booklet!)

Way-Out Wednesday: I Don't Want To Be Buried In A Pet Sematary

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Welcome to an extra creeptastic, extra...special...Way-Out Wednesday. I figured the last Way-Out Wednesday before Halloween should be a little extra weird. Disturbing, definitely. Gross, really. In fact, I think today's picks shouldn't even really be looked upon with human eyes. You know, like the Arc of the Covenant scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where everyone's faces melted off.






So don't say I didn't warn you, when you're picking your eyebrows and earlobes up off the floor. Also, a warning!: if you're easily squeamish around, oh I don't know, carcasses and/or are very pro-animal, then you might want to skip today's post. Because there are animals. Dead ones, mostly. You're been warned.




To all those who don't mind seeing dead people, and the weird and macabre, then please feel free to enjoy this taxidermiest Way-Out Wednesday ever...







Eye of the Wolf Talisman Pendant. No werewolves were harmed in the making of this. It's not a real wolf eyeball, but a glass taxidermist's one. (Unfortunately, now I have "Eye of the Tiger" stuck in my head. Damn you, Survivor!)





Real Scorpion Vial Pendant. When another gold tennis bracelet just won't do. For the woman who has everything?





Royal Turtle Claw Pin. Why yes, I did just have my nails done, thank you for noticing.





Victorian-Influenced Starling Wing & Parakeet Skull Necklace. Why yes, I did say "parakeet skull." Avian Flu free with every purchase.





Half a Dozen Pigeon Heads. When would you need half a dozen dried pigeon skulls? When won't you need them, I ask?!




Octopus Tentacle Earrings. Now with more sucking action! These are actual, real octopus legs, cast in sterling silver. For those swanky dates nights at Red Lobster.

Atomic Tuesday: White Light/White Heat

Welcome to Atomic Tuesday! Thanks to the few of you who let me know I forgot to do last week's Atomic Tuesday. Say wha?! Where was I, anyway? This somehow can be someone else's fault. Who can I blame? I know. It's those dang aliens again and their abduction tomfoolery. What a bunch of wisenheimers. That surely explains everything. And so, before anyone else gets... a Vulcan Mind Meld...?...or whatever the scifi space nerd term is for getting your memory zapped, let's move on, shall we?

Get a load of this a-MAY-zing Vintage 50's Atomic Bubble Light Novelty Print Dress, inspired by George Nelson's "Bubble Lamp" line for Howard Miller. Miller continued to sell the line through the 1970s, after which the lights were discontinued. It's apparently a vintage 1950s design & fabric, so you can imagine how rare a find this dress is!





Look at that print!




Look at that light! This one is the George Nelson Bubble Cluster B-3-740. In 1970, the dealer price on this baby was $50. These lights are the epitome of mid-century modern design and are highly coveted by homeowners trying to get a little slice of 1960 heaven of their own. I know I'd sell my soul to get my hands on one, if I hadn't already sold it half a dozen times already for much lesser material possessions, like a clean pair of socks and a bag of Munchos.




This one is Bubble Lamp H-726. In 1970, the tripod stand cost an extra $4 through the dealer. Those were the days!

They're All Gonna Laugh At You

All 5 voices were in total agreement for once: Sybil and her stupid, big-ass neck flower had to go.


(Thanks for Kickshaw, for supplying this fab, vintage early 50's Advance pattern!)

Prints Charming Sunday: Miró, Miró On The Wall.

Welcome to this week's Prints Charming Sunday! I don't usually sell or showcase 80's fashion here- yes, I appreciate the hell out of it, in an appreciation-for-retro way or in a nostalgic nod to my youth kind of way (a la black rubber "Madonna" bracelets). But let's face it, most fashion from the 80's is generally pretty fug and is best left for trendy, art school hipsters to bastardize it in the name of irony, like they do everything. Parachute pants? Acid wash jeans? Neon sunglasses? Umm...no. You crazy 20 year old kids can have it, thanks.

And then there's Maude. And then there's Miró.



Joan Miró (April 20,1893 - December 25,1983), you could say, was ahead of his time. But then, you could probably say that about most surrealist artists. Born in Barcelona, he studied at a fine arts school in Spain which layed the foundation of his influence from different art trends, whether it be from colors used in Fauvism, shapes from cubism, down to Roman frescos in churches. Surrealism means sense-turned-nonsensical, whimsical, abstract, all thrown together. It's one of my favorite styles, and Miro one of my favorite artists.



Carnival of Harlequin, 1924-1925

Back to Prints Charming Sunday. Today's pick is offered by yours truly, at FAST EDDIE'S RETRO RAGS. Enter the novelty print. Not just any wacky print, one that that both incorporates today's art history lesson and screams "80's" at the same time, but doesn't make you want to completely puke. It just...works. At least, that's how I feel about this Vintage 80's Art-Inspired Novelty Print Blouse.





It's obviously heavily-inspired by the work of Miró. I was young, but I do remember a resurgence of the art movement in the 1980s that made art and artists mysterious and uber hip again, in a way that hasn't felt so new and fascinating since the underground Beat artists of the late 50's. Whether you're an art enthusiast, a novelty print fanatic or, day I say, one of those hipsters, I think this blouse covers all the bases of "wearable art." What do you think? And who are your favorite artists/works of art?