Vintage inspirations - August 2013

There's so much inspiration to be found in vintage, that I thought I would share this'n that on this blog every now and then.

If the 60s and 70s are your "thing", you might like the film "Cloclo" (or "My Way"). It's a biopic on French pop superstar Claude François. Though there are some mistakes here and there, but all in all I liked the costumes (yes, there are sequinned suits in there!), and the lead actor, Jéremie Regnier, is certainly worth watching - the likeness is uncanny, and his performance is just great. A word of warning though, it's a long one at two and a half hours, and it's not a a cinematographic master piece but a pretty conventional biopic.

If you struggle with cleaning vintage clothing, here's some great advice: 9 Must Have Products For Cleaning Vintage Clothing by Debutante Clothing.

Jewelry is your thing? I visited the Victoria & Albert Museum in London last winter and was blown away by their jewelry exhibit, which is nothing short of amazing. Even better, you can look at it online in detail! Speaking of the V&A, during my recent trip to Australia, I managed to see the wonderful exhibition about quilts from 1700 to 1945 at the Art Gallery of Queensland in Brisbane. Most of the exhibits are from the V&A. The work that went into these is just mind-blowing!

Of course I also looked at one or the other vintage or thrift shop in OZ, as far as time allowed. In Noosa I unexpectedly found vintage at Noosa Longboards, the premier surf shop in town. They have a nice selection of vintage Hawaiian shirts. The shop is run by hard-core surfers, and one of the guys told me all about vintage shirt sizing, obviously from personal experience. They also sell nice retro shirts and other surf related retro stuff. In the end, I bought this cute shirt which, although a man's, was a nice small size:

It's by Hukilau Fashions, cotton, and has nice metal buttons. It features typical polynesian themes like an outrigger boat, a drummer, a warrior figure - reminds me of French Polynesia!

If you ever head to the tropical city of Darwin, may I suggest that you have a look into the Vintage Twist clothing shop. This lovely little shop has both vintage and retro clothing, and is a little hidden away, but very appropriately in the Star Village Mall, the location that was once home to Darwin's Star Theatre. The courtyard is decorated with plaques and artifacts tracing the cinema's history. On the outer side of the courtyard, on Smith Street Mall, there's also a wonderful used book shop that's perfectly inviting to nose around. And if all that shopping has totally exhausted you, head for the Four Birds Café inside the courtyard, it's a beautiful tranquil spot for a cold drink and bite to eat:

If looking for vintage beyond clothing, may I also suggest some ideas from my shop? I have some great decorative items in my shop too like cute kitschy souvenir plates, some books - and this wonderful pierrot doll:

And if you the still hot summer weather is getting to you and you're looking for the solution to what to wear underneath that light suit, may I suggest the old-fashioned solution of a half blouse? There are some NOS available in my shop:

Old loves...

I have been a Beatles fan the better part of my life - there was a time when I drove almost everybody around me mad with it, I guess, and there's not really a favorite song I could pinpoint, and I certainly love all their albums... but it's funny, I keep returning to the first one I ever listened to and I have to admit, it's probably my favorite one, if you look at it as a whole. It's just perfect as it is. It's main appeals? Great sound - and energy. It just won't let you off the hook, and it certainly has all it needs, from the romantic ballad to the the screamin' rock song.

Speaking of energy - it kicks right off with "It won't be long", which couldn't be a better album starter. It hooks you as much as "She loves you" and won't let go! Next off is "All I've got to do" with great harmonies and a cool sort of mid-tempo. Then it's on to "All my loving" which features an excellent solo by George Harrison - there's a slight Country & Western feeling to it, something which turns up again in his repertoire years later. I like that! "Don't bother me" was George's first own composition to get on a record - I admit, he improved in later years (and boy, did he improve!) - not a remarkable song, but I think it's quite "his" and it fits with the rest of the album. "Little Child" must be one of the Beatles' shortest songs, but it's kinda cute. "Till there was you" is the first cover on the album and could have only been sung by Paul McCartney. It seems a bit of a departure, but then the Beatles covered all sorts of stuff in their very early years. Again, gorgeous guitar playing - it also shows how versatile they were. Next off is "Please Mister Postman", where the boys once more covered an early 1960s black American girl group. They covered quite a few of them, because apparently they really loved them. I find that so interesting - and they didn't care a bit about covering girl group songs (which male rock group would do this these days?). I adore all their versions of these girl group songs - they did them justice, really, and made them quite "their own". Their "P0stman" is just one rockin' song. And forget the cheesy cover by the Carpenters!!! You could say I became a fan of these girl groups too because of the Beatles. It all started with a Shirelles Best-of-CD... (whom they covered twice on "Please Please me"). But let's not get diverted! There's no slacking off - side 2 of the LP kicks of with an absolute Rock'n Roll classic - Chuck Berry's "Roll over Beethoven". The Beatles gave it the full-on treatment and George actually sang it. The guitar solo on it ain't bad either! Back to their own compositions, "Hold me tight" has it's own weird charm. The singing sounds a little "off" sometimes - not that I care. I sometimes wonder how this one slipped by George Martin, but as I said - it has a certain charm! Showing more admiration for American soul music, a cover of "You really got a hold on me" by The Miracles is next. You just gotta love John's vocals on it. "I wanna be your man" was Ringo's piece to sing - something slightly along the lines of "Boys", which was his song on the "Please Please me" album. Another good piece of Rock'n Roll. The Stones actually covered it for their first single. "Devil in her heart" is another girl group song, this time with George in the lead. I think it worked perfectly for him. I do sometimes ask myself where they dug up some of the more obscure songs they covered, like this one, but I guess it shows their keen interest in music. "Not a second time" is another Lennon-McCartney original that sounds so wholly different from all the other songs. The lyrics are a bit "darker" too, in comparison so the other songs. It shows how they kept evolving. The album ends with a bang (and John shouting) - with "Money" - just like their first album. And they really rocked it! As superb as their harmonies were, they also always knew how to but the rock into Rock'n Roll vocally!

And now, get yourself to the next used record store and get a vinyl copy (no CDs puleeeese!), and I'll bet you'll have it on heavy rotation in no time. This album is just a masterpiece!