Aqua Blue Heaven Friday: Devil With An (Aqua) Blue Dress

I can't believe it's already, what, 5:00 and I almost forgot about Aqua Blue Heaven Friday! Short and sweet, shall we?

Though summer is SO 3 days ago, there's still a handful of sunny and warm-ish days to cash in on, so why not with charming 50's frocks? I thought you'd agree. I haven't done pretty little dresses in a while, so onward!





Vintage 50's Strappy Silk Dress from Blue Velvet Vintage.






Vintage 50's Aqua Flowers Dress.






Vintage 50's Halter Sundress from Viva Vintage Clothing.






Vintage 50's GLOBE Novelty Print Dress from Dear Golden.





Vintage 50's Mid-Century Modern Atomic Print Dress from Fast Eddie's Retro Rags.





Vintage 50's LEAVES IN A STREAM Novelty Print Dress from Fast Eddie's Retro Rags.

Way-Out Wednesday: Your Feet's Too Big

Welcome to Way-Out Wednesday! Just yesterday I was waxing poetic (not really) about Autumn and how do I love it, let me count the ways. But one major reason for the kickassery of Fall that I forgot to mention is this: no more open-toed shoes! (Said in my best Joan Crawford voice.) No more sandals! No more flip-flops! No more Birkenstocks! No more Crocs! What I'm getting at: no more FEET.

Loathsome creatures, feet. I'll never understand the foot fetish crowd, really, picking out the grossest part of the body next to, say, the lower intestine, and worshipping it is beyond my imagination. I can't think about it any more. I mean, ick...must go to a happy place...go to a happy place...unicorns and rainbows...unicorns and rainbows...

So what- *gulp*- joy it was, looking for vintage foot-related items to best express the lovely, lovely foot theme of the day. I did find 2 great specimens ("specimens"- can I make today any more disgusting? Why yes, I believe I can. In fact, you KNOW I can. Let's move on instead.) It's not that these 2 items of the day are bad, in fact, they are quite kitschy, it's just...like most Way-Out Wednesday treats, I have to wonder why such things even get made. ? At any rate, I'm sure I'm the black sheep here with my hatred-o-feets, so perhaps you all won't find these to be horrors. In which case, "enjoy". And I totally say that with air quotes. And jazz hands. Always with jazz hands. But not happy feet.





Vintage Plastic Foot Charms. Ok, really? Are severed feet ever a good idea for charm bracelets? (I must admit, I do rather like the idea.) But still. All I know is that whichever employee of Miss Chang's House of Nails painted those toes should be bludgeoned.






Vintage Souvenir Feet Salt & Pepper Shakers. Ha-ha, Oregon: you smell! (But have such lovely painted nails.) Can you imagine, your friend goes on vacation, comes back and hands you these. "Hey, buddy! Look what reminded me of you when I was in Oregon!" ...These make me think of the movie Saw. Yep. Think about it for a second. You're welcome.







"Your Feet's Too Big" by Fats Waller.

Atomic Tuesday: We Got The Beat

Hey there, kids! It's Atomic Tuesday once again!



There's no real "theme" today and there's only just one atomic-y treat I found, but it's a fun one! As you've all read a jillion times, wearing vintage and collecting vintage "things" is considered "green". (I'm sorry, but it's a term I loathe and I don't apologise for it.) Keep it out of the landfill, think of the children, save the whales, and all that crap. Nonetheless, I think most of us wear and collect vintage stuff not for the sake of being "green" and saving the earth but because, among other reasons, it's just so damn cool. AmIrightoramIright? Well today's vintage find does both: it's upcycling broken-down, vintage bits & pieces that would otherwise be considered junk and it's stylin'. And yes, I did just say "stylin'" because apparently it's 1990.


Behold, the Vintage Eggbeaters-Turned-Atomic Clock:




Is it not, in fact, stylin'?! I find it especially cool. It would only really work in a kitchen I think, but if you wanted to put it over your mantel, then have at it, what do I care. It would also rock in a little cafe or coffee shop, because I know there are so many of you who own cafes and coffee shops, and all. But you get my point. The seller will even make the clock a different color for you! I'm sure it'll look slightly different than the one in the picture, depending on the vintage eggbeater parts at hand. Add this to the "why didn't I think of this?" file!

All The Single Ladies? All The Single Ladies!

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip...




Blue: "This Single Ladies Past A Certain Age Boat Trip was a swell idea! A 3 hour tour around an uncharted desert isle with a cast of sexy men that in any real-life situation would be considered untouchable losers? Sign ME up, girlfriend... And who is that tall drink of water with the big shnoz? I call dibs on the skinny one with the nerdy bucket hat! What's his job on the boat, exactly?"

Red: "I think he's in charge of lousing shit up and ruining all attempts of rescue missions. You know, things like shorting out the coconut cream pie walkie talkies and somehow sinking the otherwise-unsinkable homemade bamboo raft that's been held together using 7 years worth of hair clippings. And he's the only one who's capable of getting everyone tied up in a pot of boiling water by the Angry Cannibal Natives that live on the other side of the island, so he's got that going for him."

Blue: "He sounds perfect! You know me: I like 'em long, lean and borderline retarded."

Red: "He's all yours, sweetheart. Now let's see, what piece of man-meat will I be calling mine for the day...Oh sweet merciful crap. Bingo! Break me off a piece of that! I call dibs on the portly, red-nosed one they call the Skipper. You know me: I like 'em fat, angry and borderline abusive."




Many thanks to Bonton Vintage for offering the vintage 50's McCall pattern-o-inspiration!

Summertime Rolls

Goodbye summer, hellooo autumn! Fast Eddie's Retro Rags is running an end-of-summer sale, with many items marked down 30% in the Etsy shop. (Just search "SALE" for the items!)

Same As It Ever Was

There seems to be quite a bit of misunderstanding as to what makes a real Cowichan sweater~ it isn't just a keyword that should be thrown around in hopes of hocking your random vintage cardigans. Many zip-up cardigan sweaters that were made using Mary Maxim patterns are spammily being called "Cowichan" which is, in fact, completely wrong and doesn't reflect much intelligence on the seller's behalf. That's like calling an AMC Pacer a Cadillac: just because they're both cars doesn't make them the same kind of car. I'm sure the Cadillac would be piiiissed.

While Mary Maxim and Cowichan sweaters share alot of the same characteristics, their quality and history are vastly different. Authentic Cowichan sweaters have been handmade (ie: no factories, no mass-produced corporate lines--And don't even get me STARTED on all the repros out there being made by the Eddie Bauers and L.L. Beans of the world and being called "vintage style Cowichan") for almost a century by the Coast Salish Indian knitters of southern Vancouver Island by generations of only women using handspun, natural sheep wool. Their techniques and styles haven't changed much over the years, with instructions being passed down to each new generation of girls.

The designs on the sweaters were one-of-a-kind and carried meaning and importance to their culture, revolving around nature and animal themes- as opposed to the much more kitschy and whimsical designs of Mary Maxim sweaters like motorcycles and bowling balls. Don't get me wrong, Mary Maxim sweaters are fantastic, in fact, I collect them myself and am trying to get as many of the designs as possible! But confusing a fun, make-it-yourself fashion craze of the 1950's-70's with a long-standing cultural tradition is just...gross.

I've been very fortunate to get my paws on one recently, and it may sound cheesy with all the drama of a Tori Spelling Lifetime Movie, but I gotta say, it's pretty awe-inspiring to actually have one in my hands. Care to see a real Cowichan sweater? Just listed to Fast Eddie's Retro Rags is this exceptionally rare Vintage 70's AUTHENTIC Cowichan Indian Elk Sweater:

My (Aqua) Blue Heaven Friday: Shirt Happens

It's another Aqua Blue Heaven Friday, kids! Today's post is gonna be like Mini Me, on the short side, because I have very important lounging-around, junk food-eating and all around slacking to do, and you know me: if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.

I heard from a peep or 2 that they'd like to see more stuff for men around here. I can only assume they meant boobs, beer and beef jerky, but, sorry to disappoint, vintage clothing for men will have to do. I've been looking around for a while now and like a lot of the aqua themes here, finding cool vintage men's shirts in some kind of aqua isn't exactly easy. Of course, there are tons of Hawaiian shirts in aquas, but I didn't have Hawaiian shirts in mind. I didn't find many regular old standard 50's and 60's shirts. I wonder why that is? I'm sure they had to be popular back in the day, no? Maybe it was just an off week for finding them? It couldn't be that aqua is too girlie because, hell, men were wearing pink in the 50's. Even ol' muy macho Rico Suave himself Ricky Ricardo wore pink on occasion. This is too much thinking and it's cutting into my Twinkies and Maury Povich "Who My Baby Daddy?!" time, so please enjoy these vintage 50's-60's men's shirts!



Vintage 60's Embroidered Shirt Jac.



But dig the slap-happy bongo-beatin' guy! That pretty much RULES.





Vintage 60's Aqua & Olive Hawaiian Tiki Shirt.






Vintage 60's Hawaiian Barkcloth Shirt.






Vintage 60's Waltah Clarke Atomic Fish Hawaiian Shirt.





Vintage 50's Hollywood Rogue Rayon Shirt.






Vintage 50's Campus Rockabilly Shirt. Now this is what I'm talking about! This one is killer. You can't really see, but the collar actually has little red and white hearts on it!