A Barbie post for a change

A lot of late mid 80s to early 90s Barbie Doll fashions are really outrageous - colorful, kitschy, and even though they do reflect trends of their time, they are (opposed to fashions from, say, the 60s or 70s) nothing anyone would really wear - they are just that bit over the top. Anyway, I still love them dearly. This was the time that I played with Barbie, this was the stuff I loved then, and this was the stuff I first started out with being creative at mixing 'n matching. I have a lot of loose outfit parts here, coming from flea markets, big vintage convolutes or simply left-overs from my childhood (when I learned the art of clearing out things I didn't like anymore to make room and money for new things), and finding out where they come from is thrilling, but of course it's even nicer to find still originally packed outfits. Another reason for that is that they often contain the little booklets in which many outfits are depicted of which there is no information in any collector's books. I cherish those...

Every now and then I check out what vintage Barbie things are on offer on etsy - there are usually a few, and it's an easy search. So I came across a 1990 Disney character outfit that I just had to have (and I wish I had the others too - they're just soooo crazy!).

Such an outrageous outfit of course needs an outrageous wearer - Sam!
Sam is a Mattel doll, but probably the one and only of whom I really don't know who she originally was - I found her at a fleamarket. I suspect there was some head-swapping and hair rerooting involved in her "creation", but that doesn't matter. She's unique - and adorable in the craziest outfits.

The outfit arrived this morning, courtesy of tjgholar. Check out her etsy shop - she makes cool stuff, also art photography with Barbie Dolls! It is again and again interesting to see, how artists use or depict Barbie in their work. And I am so of one mind with her in this quote:

"Maybe I am a little biased, but I don't think it's fair to blame it all on Barbie. I feel ambivalent when I hear women blame their low self esteem and poor body image on growing up with Barbie dolls. I don't know if Barbie is entirely to blame. What about fashion magazines and diet ads? What about the ideas and expectations girls learn from their peers and their mothers? What about the culture of self-objectification?"
She's just so right! Nothing gets more on my nerves than those people who try to blame it all on Barbie. I can safely say, though I had loads of Barbies as a kid, their shape and figure was never a thing I considered or wanted to be like - her body was as it was, and that was that. It was just cool that she was a "grown-up" and had that kind of body. And I figured out pretty soon that Barbie's body didn't have realistic proportions either.

I am still waiting for the VFG Forum to be up and running again (they are updating it)... I realize now how much it has become a part of my daily (computer) life over the last one and a half years or so. Sound crazy? Well, there's just always so much to learn, to discuss, to laugh about. There's so much more than just fashion in the strictest sense involved, and it's just nice to meet like-minded people.
From what I'm hearing the updated forum is going to be really, really cool...

Speaking of mixing and matching... I just came across the blog of VFG member Past Perfect Vintage - I love these outfits (and especially the pink jacket!):
Past Perfect Vintage: Building a Vintage Wardrobe, One Step at a Time: One of the wisest ways to build a flexible wardrobe is to take advantage of vintage clothing. Vintage garments bring everything to the fash...

Helsinki, South Pacific, another scarf & adorn yourself & your clothing!

Long time no post, I know... Well, things have been a tiny bit crazy around here. In Mid-August, I spent a few lovely days in beautiful Helsinki with my mother. I've been there many times already, but this city never ceases to amaze me. It is one of the truly beautiful cities in this world! Finnish National Style, Finland's own expression of Art Nouveau, and a building boom in the early 1900s created a great part of what the city looks like today, besides the Neo-Classical 1800s buildings around Senate Square and the Esplanade, and the imagination and ideas that went into these buildings, never cease to amaze me! If you want to have a peek, you can check out my photos here.

Of course we also did the obligatory shopping, which is great in Helsinki. Marimekko is a brand that needs no introduction... whatever they make, it's great quality and it looks great. We bought heaps of fabric, but also one of their classic stripy tees, colorful umbrellas - and we both managed to nab a pair of Converse in Marimekko look - now aren't these the bee's knees?! Pertti Palmroth is maybe less well-known outside Finland, but it's a traditional shoe company that's been in business for decades and produces in my eyes the best in fashionable winter footwear there is. Not only do they produce beautiful, timelessly elegant boots (and to add - some of them are also incredibly sexy!) that fit the foot beautifully, but those boots, no matter if flat or high-heeled, are all incredibly warm, and made from water-proof leather and fixed up with good soles. Palmroth is a must for me on every trip, and even though their boots are also made to last, I couldn't refrain from adding a pair of ankle boots to the two pairs of boots I already have. And best of all, they actually still produce their shoes and boots in Finland. Considering all this, they are more than worth their price...
We also took our time to check out some vintage shops - one we already knew, one was "the one that got away" - I had found it before on a previous trip but lost it again - one that we just about missed by one block the last time, and two that were completely new to us (though we'd been poking around one's area before too). Each and every one was what I expect of a vintage shop: nicely stocked with real vintage, well-organised but with full, enticing racks that one just loves to rifle through... Prices were realistic and shopowners ever so friendly - in short, it was perfect. So I did manage to pick up some beauties:

A timeless black 1940s crepe dress from Ruutu Rovua.

A grey 1950s jacket, bought at Nasta - a really cute shop who's owner is always dressed in 50s style. I've been there before, and one of my fave vintage summer dresses comes from there.

At Ansa (Visit their blog), another super-cute shop in an area that I'd never been to before, I found this elegant 60s rayon slip by Bali.

Play it again Sam was the shop I'd found before, and "lost" again, though it's just a few street corners from Nasta... My mom bought this great 1940s jacket there, which she fitted out with a new lining, and now it's ready to be worn again!

Just one and a half weeks later, which were filled with frantic washing, preparing, agonizing over what to pack and hoping that the whole thing would actually come together, I flew off to Fiji (I flew out on a Wednesday - on the Friday before I had a ticket, and on Monday I actually knew where I'd be staying...). Not for fun though, but on a famil trip for work. I have never before been to any of the Pacific islands, so this was all new to me. The Purpose was simply to get to know a destination that I sell to my clients daily personally, and visit some of the resorts that we sell, plus a new one we're considering - and one more we didn't know at all but as all else was sold out, I stayed there. Except for the two nights that I spent on an excellent small-ship cruise, I stayed in a different place every night. I was on and off boats constantly - a bit of an adventure sometimes, I admit! For all the traveling around, and some strange weather (at least for this time of year, it was a bit strange), it was utterly beautiful, I saw some absolutely stunning beaches, stayed at some incredible resorts and met lots of friendly Fijians (they really are so warm and friendly!).
Shopping-wise there was just one thing that I wanted to get, and thankfully the last hotel I stayed at had a boutique by them: Pure Fiji. Their bodycare products are made from coconut milk and other natural ingredients which they source from local villages. Each product is available in a range of tropical scents like coconut, frangipani, mango or starfruit (which is my current fave). All the products feel just gorgeous on the skin, and their scents are beautiful too - not overwhelming, over-sweet or artifial like many exotically scented products are that one can buy on our side of the world. In short, I adore this stuff, and I filled my bag with it, of that you can be sure ;-). Most of the hotels use their products too for the small bathroom amenities (unless they're 5-star and think they have to stock their bathrooms with L'Occitane products - they're good too, yes - but all the same, this seems utterly ridiculous...). The Sofitel Fiji even has a scent of their own - orange blossom - that Pure Fiji only uses for their ameneties. Needless to say, I took those home with me...

I have, not so recently, but for some time, been a real fan of kitschy "romantic" costume jewelery, like (fake) cameos. At H&M I found pretty small cameo earrings, but the coolest stuff I have comes from flea markets and Etsy. It doesn't matter they're not real - that is actually part of the appeal to me - the kitschier, the better is my feeling right now. And to make a real statement, I don't wear just one - I wear a whole collection, together with other pieces that look good with them:
This classic pinstriped waistcoat is an old fave - it's only by H&M, but has survived all purges in my closet for the last 12 years or so... (yes, I had been thinking about throwing it out a few times...)

So, I gave added to the three fake cameos (two flea-market finds and one of said H&M earrings, which I bought twice): one fake "miniature" - another flea-market find, a cute vintage 60s porcelain brooch (courtesy of The Spectrum - there's also a necklace with a matching pendent) and my mom's Kennedy Dollar, which she has had set as a brooch, and which I have worn on and off over the years. I just feel these things need to make a statement ;-).

The other option of course is to have just one really, really big fake cameo to add some pizzazz to an ordinary jacket:
Speaking of pizzazz, if you're looking for unusual jewelery that's sure to grab everyone's attention, may I suggest you have a look at Chryssala's Chic Chips? They look just great and are so much fun! Her try-out collection is on her Facebook Page now (be sure to "like" it!), and there is certainly more cool stuff to follow!

Before I finish this here, there is of course the Scarf of the Month that we shouldn't forget!
This month, it's a chic piece in all shades of purple (did I mention that I love purple?!) by Vienna's designer fashion store Fürnkranz. Beautiful!

Scarves, holidays and a vintage cocktail

Uh-oh, long time no write. The reason for that is that I've been on holiday, and time has been filled with a few work-related and other events - and a bit less time for vintage. But not to worry...

First on, I owe the pictures of two scarves of the month, which I shan't hold back:
July: a light blue, synthetic, triangular lace-decorated concoction.

August: a very 1970s design dominated by the color orange.

Now on to my holidays. I spent the first week of July on the island of Usedom. It's located in the north-eastern most corner of Germany (the eastern part of the island lies in Poland), on the Baltic Sea. It may sound funny, but statistically, this is the sunniest part of Germany, and the island is a very popular holiday destination with Germans, a tradition that already started in the 19th century. It's the perfect place for a relaxed holiday, offering great beaches and lots of activities - but not as overrun as the destinations around the Mediterranean. What stuck me most in the end though was the combination of holiday beaches, the most idyllic landscapes and villages - and a very sinister piece of history, which at least in the northern part of the island, is still present. I only found out after having decided on going there, that located on that end of the island is the small village of Peenemuende - once a fishing village, but made infamous as being the place where from the mid-30s onwards the Nazis pulled up a huge test and development site where amongst others the V2 rocket was designed, tested and first produced - lead by Wernher von Braun. Most of the scientists working there, like von Braun, after the war went to the US, to France, to England and the USSR and continued their work - both for military and civilian use. There isn't a lot left of the sites per se, as most of it was destroyed in 1945, but there's still enough to see, and as idyllic as it may look, the "do not trespass - danger to life"-signs make sure one never forgets what once was here. The ground is just so contaminated there that large areas are closed off - probably forever. There is a very good museum in one of the few buildings that are still there, which I visited, which I think gives a well-balanced look at both the terrible history (they do not fluff over the horrible things that happened there), the technical innovations - and the legacy of those. It's just such an unusual place. Peenemuende is also home to an old Russian submarine from the 1960s, so the nerd within me was quite happy too about this trip. Besides all that, I did more biking than I've done in a zillion years (it's just so nice when all is flat, and the beautiful landscape helped too of course), and I hung out on the beach a lot too - I managed to read several books, which had been one of my goals. The photos from my trip can be seen here.

Speaking of books, thanks to the Vintage Fashion Guilds' internet forum I discovered my current read: "Deluxe - How luxury lost it's luster" by Dana Thomas. I've only just started reading it, but it certainly makes for an interesting read, and will make you think twice about buying anything from luxury brands today. Another reason for buying vintage!

You might remember the vintage shift that I blogged about here. Since then, I have managed to find a wider satin ribbon for the shift as well. A few months ago I also bought a cute 1950s summer dress from Joules Vintage, which is slightly transparent and rather low cut at the front, so it needs a second layer. Well, why not combine the two? I think this is the first time I put two vintage pieces from such wildly different eras together, but it works! Both shift and dress are made from light, airy fabrics, so it doesn't feel uncomfortable even when it gets hot. Cinch it all in with a wide belt - et voilà!

More Marimekko!

Whilst sending some information on vintage fashion on to a friend, the blog of VFG member Denisebrain popped into my eyes - the word "Marimekko" couldn't escape me. And of course she's absolutely right - Marimekko is great quality, no question if we're talking about clothes or just the fabrics, and it is mostly produced in the EU. Their fun stripy long-sleeved t-shirts can be washed at 60 degrees over and over - and they still look as good as new.

I already blogged about my love of Marimekko before, which inspired my Mom to get her Marimekko out! She's an incredible seamstress, and on every trip to Helsinki, she takes a lot of fabric home - I have even taken the part of "personal fabric shopper" once on one of my solo trips there.




The fabric border is always printed with the designer's name - so she cuts it out and sews is onto the dress!
Aren't they gorgeous? They have so many different print designs, and they keep producing them in different color schemes, so it just never gets boring. They have something for everybody!

Tidying up, a lot of do it yourself, and one more scarf

The last few weeks have mostly been about doing my own projects - and doing a lot of tidying up!

In the running up of our yearly going to the flea market as sellers, I'm always looking at every closet etc. - I don't want to keep anything for another year that I could be selling, besides, thanks to my recent tax bills, I could use some extra money. I guess I always had the gene to collect things, sometimes going a bit overboard on the collecting idea. As long as I had my old apartment, though it was tiny (at least the living space), there was a kind of unlimited storage space - there was a nice, dry, clean basement, and a storage room too. So I guess things sometimes got a bit out of hand, though never to the point of being a hoarder. By teaching me that to sell (Barbie-)things that I didn't want anymore to make a bit of money and space for new things, my mom not only taught me as a kid on how to deal with money at a time when I did not get pocket money, she also taught me that to give old things away you could make room for new space. It may sound a little simple, but I guess the lesson stuck, and I'm glad for it. It also taught me that it's ok to part with things that one's heart doesn't hang on to it anymore. I always had clean-up phases when I would go through all, or at least a certain part of my things, and throw everything I didn't want anymore away. One such big phase brought on the idea of selling my stuff at the flea market. There was a monthly flea market in the next town, for which I used to see the ads regularly. I visited it and thought it was quite neat - lots of local sellers, not just professionals. I also discovered that one could rent really nice stands for only 50 CHF, which is not a great deal if you don't have to organise your own table etc. So I signed up for the last one that season, in October. My mom thought it was a nice idea, and so we ended up going both, one very, very cold October morning. How we managed to put the stand up between the two of us is still something of a miracle, and thinking back how we went there with our stuff by taxi... well, how crazy do you get? But anyway, our stand was a runaway success, and before you knew it, we had signed up again for the next summer, when the weather would be nicer (no cold feet!) and dad could help too. We've been going once a year ever since, and it usually takes two car drives to get everything there. We split the costs for the stand between us, so it's easy to make a tidy profit. My cousin has come a few times too, and this time on of my best pal will be joining us too. We always pack an esky with enough food & drink, and some camping stools, and then we're ready for a fun day. It's not just making money, it really is a lot of fun - watching people, guessing who's buying what, haggling - and hard work keeping everything under control when it gets bizzy. No kidding, you really need at least three people when things get really hot! I wouldn't want to be doing it every week, but once a year is great – it’s really something I’m looking forward to, and it keeps me keeping my place tidied up!

One of my ongoing projects is to tidy up all the projects and things that have been floating around my sewing table seemingly forever. One first thing was to do the photo albums of about three and a half years past. Since I worked so much this winter, I have a lot of overtime to compensate and have already had some holidays at home, which I spent doing my photo albums. Plus all the holidays that the spring months are so generous with have added even more time, also to repair/change some of my vintage clothing finds and make them ready to wear. My most recent such project was this vintage 80s silk dress by Akris, which I found at the Caritas (where else?). I guess it was in reality about a size too big for me, and the huge shoulder pads really were too much, but I liked the fabric. It does show some wear, so I decided to make just the best of it and wear it as long as I like it. I took out the shoulder pads, made the skirt a bit tighter, shortened the sleeves, and added a wide belt. It doesn’t look as good on the manni, but I really like it when I have it on (will try to post pics when I do so for work or whatever – I don’t makeup etc. just for a quick shot when I’m at home…).

Before...

... and after!

In the course of all this, I have also gone through my sewing & craft cupboard. Oh dear! How on earth did I hoard up so much stuff?! There have been things that I must’ve had for the last 20 years or so! So, I pulled it all out, sorted it new and very decidedly threw everything out that I couldn’t think of making something with it. I can’t keep everything in the small chance that I could maybe use it one day… I had already been in the process of making necklaces and bracelets for the flea market, which I already mentioned in my last post. Now I found even more stuff to work with, and so I have created even more things, and also freed up space in said closet:

I’ve been able to rearrange the things I’m keeping in a way too that I will actually find things when I’m searching for them. My knitting wool bin has also been the target of this process. All in all, it feels great. Light! So much stuff is gone that has been knocking around and that I’ve looked at for years…

Right now, I am going through those two boxes that contain the doll stuff that still needs work – unfinished projects and vintage Barbie clothes that need to be sorted, mended, washed or whatever. Sound crazy? Well, I don’t have the money to buy all the vintage things for my dolls in mint condition, so I do end up with things that need a little bit of mending sometimes, or that have gone grimy with the years. And there are a few (non-Barbie-)dolls too that still need a little bit of TLC. A more recent acquistion that still needed a little bit of that is this pretty 1970s Sindy doll with rare ash blonde hair, wearing an original 80s outfit.

I’ve spent the better part of today wit this stuff, and it looks quite good now. I am actually getting somewhere. I know I have the tendency to start new projects when inspiration strikes, but right now really is the time to take care of the things that haven’t been finished yet.

And before I finish here today - last but not least - the scarf of the month:

I've been blogged!

Last year I bought a set of souvenir plates, because one of them was the Vermont plate that matched the pair that I already had.

Now today I got a convo on Etsy from someone asking me for some high-resolution pictures of one of the plates in the set - the one showing the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver. And he also asked on maker's details (interestingly enough, the maker's mark on the back is from a Bavarian company!). It turns out he has a very interesting blog called Illustrated Vancouver, which is just about depictions of Vancouver in all kinds of art, and he had just blogged a series of Vancouver souvenir plates. So, down to the basement I went, searching through two boxes full of stuff ready for the flea markets, to send some photos to Canada. And voilà, it has been blogged already at http://illustratedvancouver.ca/post/5974104190/lions-gate-bridge-plate. Now, how cool is that? I find this is such a great idea! The blog has also been featured here. Gee, I love these colorful stickers and pins - anybody who knows me know that this is right up my street!

New -old jewelery

I haven't been blogging much lately - mostly since I was working on my photo albums til last week - I mean the real ones, sticking photos from a good three and a half years into my albums. My budget has also been stretched somewhat due to the investment in folders, photo paper - and photos.

One thing however I did buy - a truly gorgeous pair of 1930's evening shoes with t-straps from My Vintage Cocktail, a VFG member. I never thought I'd ever own something like these. They are wearable, yes, and I am certain I shall have the opportunity some time to wear them - probably to the opera.
Yesterday, I made the short trip to the airport flea market. This is a once-a-year event, and a huge thing. The seller requirements (ex-Swissair employees, airport employees or citizens of Kloten, the town where the airport actually is situated) makes for a unique mix of dealers. Plus, they all sell out of their cars! Basically they park their cars in rows, pop the trunks or back doors open, but up some small tables, maybe a party tent - and there goes your stand! I was amazed at the amount of (modern - no vintage) clothing that was being sold. There wasn't much in the way of airline memorabilia - certainly not as much as one would imagine for such an event - but there were also not many professional dealers - and certainly none of the "usual suspects". However, I didn't find much of the stuff I usually look out for either. However, it was a trip down memory lane to fads and styles of the last 30 years or so. I did however find some fun stuff for my Willy-nillies, like colored French postcards, ca. 1920, or cute coasters.
However, one stand was selling off new old stock jewelery accessories - mostly pretty closures for necklaces, with pearls, rhinestones etc. And I had a flash! The closures were not very expensive, so I bought a few, and got into some jewelery-making yesterday. I have all these pearls, beads and pieces of broken jewelery knocking around here - so why not make some jewelery out of it to sell at the fleamarket in a few weeks? I still have to stock up on a few small things like elastic thread for bracelets and the end-pieces with which to attach the strand to the closure - but that's a fairly small investment. The beads are the most expensive thing needed for this, and I have oodles of them! As usual, once I got started, there was no stopping me - until I ran out of these things *lol*. Based on how the jewelery was flying off our stand last year, I hope the new stuff will have a good run too!