A short round-up

Just a quick one today... in a few hours, I will already be on my way to Frankfurt and from there on to Australia, on my second trade conference trip. The reason you haven't heard from me for so long was that I was on a 2-week trip to New Zealand, and then doing all the follow-ups on that and preparing for Australia took just too much time. Still, I like it, I admit, and I love traveling. Okay, unless a plane gets into violent turbulences, as experienced on an A-380 on the last trip. That's no fun, I admit.

Though I had some free time, there was no vintage shopping over there - though I did pack some vintage to wear, like my grey "power"-jacket, which I think still makes for a nice piece of business wear. I did spot some secondhand/charity shops though, that certainly looked like good options if you're looking for well-known brands for less. Queenstown has a very nice and well-stocked Salvation Army store that sells mostly clothes and shoes, but also books. There was also what looked like a consignment store in a small shopping complex on Shotover Street, but I can't remember the name of it for the life of me!
Napier, the Art Deco City, didn't yield and vintage shops either, though I admit, there wasn't much time to poke around there on my own. It is a sight to see though and one that I would recommend to everybody to visit! The buildings are so beautiful and decorative, and there is so much imagination that wen into all the decoration. I really loved it. The culmination was of course to be driven around town in a 1939 Packard as part of my Art Deco tour. The volunteers giving these tours are all locals, and they all dress up in 30s style for work. Not kitschy, but fun. The second night in town, at a small tourism networking function at one of the hotels, two not-so young gentlement turned up in dark blue pin-stripe suits and hats, looking like they could give Al Capone a run for his money - what a sight to see! They looked so sharp!

 Art Deco Napier.

The town's most incredible building, the National Tobacco Company. Lots of Art Nouveau decorative features as well!

Otherwise, the Hawke's Bay region surprised me with the great variety of wine and produce they grow, it's general green-ness, everything being close by, stylish accommodation, incredible restaurants - it is a gourmet's slice of heaven, no question!

I've also made it to the African art exhibition at the Rietberg Museum. I know very little about African art, but it was stunning - and quite interesting. The variety of styles was pretty big, and it was very well set up, giving even people like me a good clue about traditions, meanings etc.

I have also been to the opera again, probably the last time for some time, as it looks like the new intendancy starting soon is going in quite a different direction. Lots of singers that we enjoyed here will leave from the look of it. Anyway, I enjoyed this Die Entführung aus dem Serail a lot. Okay, the music is... not always "mine", but it was so well acted, and well done in a more modern way, and with a lot of humour, without veering off into kitsch. Long-time ensemble member Alfred Muff certainly got the "star" part as Osmin. Michael Laurenz as Pedrillo looked like Waldo with his nerd-glasses and beanie hat, but he too was exceptional - a natural as a comic actor - and making it all seem so natural not like he was acting.
As it was so hot the other week, I took the opportunity to wear one of my fave vintage cocktail dresses, which is so light that it takes temperatures like that to wear it. It would just be too much of a shame to cover this up with a jacket!

The dress is from Bonwit Teller originally, 60s for sure. The delicate fabric is shot with golden threads that make up flower shapes, and the gold braid is set with three rows of Aurora Borealis rhinestones. It glitters all the way! Shoes are as usual, S.Oliver sky-high heels, and my fave evening bag by After Five.

Good news - but not so good news for my wallet... the Caritas store around the corner now takes credit cards. Oh dear! And to top it all off, I found two great vintage dresses there yesterday!

 

This early to mid-60s dress might have been a bridesmaid's - or just a formal for a young lady. The label it seems is from a shop and which is still in existence - at least this Schellenberg boutique in Winterthur has almost the same logo! I love the simple shape with the pleats in the back that creat a bit of a bustle effect. There's also a stiff tull layer under the skirt, giving it a nice shape.

The second dress is a bit less dressier and more boho:

It's a fully lined, floate acetate-poly mix dress, almost floor-length, with a beautiful print. I haven't been able to find out anything about the label either, except for several hits on auction sites, showing dresses with the same label ranging from the 60s to the 80s.

So, this is it from me for the next couple of weeks!

Just a short one...

A must-read from the Kickshaw Productions blog - the real story behind THAT iconic photo of Dior's "Bar Suit": http://kickshawproductions.com/blog/?p=3524 .

And not to be missed either - for the first time, one of my items on Etsy has been added to a treasury!!!! And what a groovy one too: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NzIzOTYxOHwyNzIwMjkwNDk3/mod-retro-yellow-mustard.

More to come again soon...

Cultural roundup - and scent of something different...

So, after the holiday that didn't quite go as planned, my first business trip in my new position and other stuff, I'm finally getting around to taking care of a few things. So while the hair dye is doing it's job on my head, I'm taking the time to write a quick entry here, just a roundup of random things.

Not much happening in my little vintage fashion world lately, but I have just received yet another comment on my Story of a scarf entry, which is kinda incredible. It seems Fisba scarves have made it all over the world, and there is not much information around in this whole wide WWW...

Also, I have a pile of vintage doll outfits and pretty Sindy dolls on my table, all waiting to be restored, identified, blogged etc. This is the result of a cosy afternoon spent with a good friend. Whenever I think that my doll collection is probably not going to be growing a lot anymore... a doll or two come from somewhere ;-). Well, this will keep me occupied over Easter I am sure. Sindy dolls are pretty good restoration objects - they usually clean up quite surprisingly well, so I will certainly blog some pics of the process here.

There are lots of interesting exhibtions on all around, so I had better make sure that I still get those for which I haven't yet planned a visit. I have already seen the "Winter Tales" exhibition at Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum last autumn, but now the exhibtion has moved on to the Kunsthaus here in Zurich (minus the Breughels of course - I would have been very surprised indeed if they would have let them go anywhere...). The Rietberg Museum has an interesting exhibition on African art on, which will certainly be well worth a visit too! The Landesmuseum meanwhile is still showing press photographs since 1940, which I think would be interesting to see too. And finally, just starting, is an exhibition on Renoir's early years at the Kunstmuseum in Basel, which I certainly don't want to miss.

At least I've been able to catch up on my "missed it at the cinema" list on the plane. Loved "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and can only recommend it to anybody! "Tintin" was lotsa fun and certainly well made. La Castafiore made quite the entrance! They have captured her like none of the cartoons ever could! Being warned that animation films that are mostly geared towards kids (but contain the kind of humour that adults enjoy at least as much) usually show up on cinema screens here in English for a week or two, and then are being shown only in German anymore, I trekked across town yesterday to see "The Pirates! Band of Misfits!". Great fun. Don't believe a thing in bad critics you read, it's lots of fun, and the jokes and the humour are often in the details. I have to admit though, this one probably has more laughs for adults in the end - so I'm not sure that the little kids in the cinema yesterday really enjoyed it that much or that the film company is doing the right thing by it by marketing it towards smaller kids, and seemingly not putting an age limit on it...

I admit to being one of those persons who always takes the little amenity items at hotels with her - like the little shampoos, shower gels, soaps etc. Why? Well, I paid for the room, I might as well... ;-) and sometimes, depending on the hotel, you get really nice stuff - like Pure Fiji or L'Occitane. Why not enjoy it. Okay, some of the standard stuff that mid-range hotels have really isn't very exciting, but every now and then there's a really pleasant product between all the other ones (like the stuff the Great Divide Lodge in Breckenridge has). Or hotels have their own brands with interesting stuff. I like scents and differently scented toiletries, so this too is a way to try interesting stuff. Be it perfumes, body lotions, shower gels or whatever, my taste tends to veer more to the spicy, tangy or "unusual" smells. Fruity and/or flowery, is with a few exceptions (like Pure Fiji's Starfruit Infusion products or Lauder's classic Pleasures scent, my summer perfume) less my thing. So I revel in all the L'Occitane stuff that I can get my hands on, I admit. Love that "fresh" scent. A friend had small toiletries from Hermès' Eau d'Orange Verte. Heavenly! This puts anything you've ever smelled that's supposed to smell of oranges in the shade. This isn't sweet, it's tangy and spicy and fairly strong, but utterly gorgeous. I guess it would be nice as a cologne for summer, but it's just as expensive as my "winter perfume" L'Heure Bleue. Yes, of course I alway pick the most expensive stuff! Getting even a little more unusual, the Hyatt hotels' own spa brand has "White Ginger" scented amenties - and boy, do they smell of ginger! But nicely. Too bad there was, this being typically American, no shower gel (but a soap instead). Just imagining what that would be like... on a really hot summer's day, that's what I'd like to have! Reminds me of ginger beer... nothing nicer to revive one's spirits by drinking on a really hot day... And if you ever needed anything to get you going in the morning, Yves Rocher actually has a coffee-bean scented shower gel. Not kidding. It's actually quite nice ;-). Having received a giftset of fabulous Weleda bath essences with natural scents for my birthday, I've also been spending lots of time in my bathtub lately. They're all gorgeous, and they smell actually the way they should smell - not artificial, but "real". My first try was the wild rose essence, that was just gorgeous. It smelled just like real roses and didn't lose the smell as long as my bath took. This morning I went for citrus, which is to me a bit unusual for a bath but it was beautiful. Rosemary was nice, kinda spicy, chestnut was unusual, but did it's job... now left are the two relaxing ones, lavender and fir tree, but I've not had a real reason to try them so far. Still, can't wait to try!

The coat issue

Please excuse the long wait - it's been a bizzy and exciting time in several aspects since my last post. But then I have some really exciting vintage (and new) things to show! Due to my latest finds and the enduring icy cold weather that we have been experiences, I will mainly talk about coats today!

First off, on my new year's trip to Vienna, my friend and I of course scoured the Humana secondhand shops. Nicely enough, they had a lot of winter stuff already at reduced prices, and in a shop that we visited the first time, I found the cutest coat ever. On a rack of winter coats and jackets displaying roughly the trends of the last 20 years, almost hidden between the all those heavy item, lurked a pink light little coat, that definitely had nothing to do with winter! I picked it up right away, though I doubted first a little that I might fit my behind into it since it looked so tiny. But fit it did, and putting it on I really saw what it was - a sweet little 60s spring coat or even a coat dress! It is very well made, with quite a bit of hand finishing. The only label it carries is an Italian one detailing the dry-cleaning methods to be used. And the best thing about it? Being on that rack with winter coats, it was reduced like the other ones too!
Vintage short gloves a second hand hatbox-style bag add vintage flair, plus modern heels to add some pizzazz too!

Beautiful details!

This little coat reminded me so much about Francie doll in her first, oh-so cute and demure outfits, and look! Her Shopping Spree is quite similar!
My next coat find wasn't as inexpensive, but no less exciting - and not much newer either. One of my regular visits to my local Caritas shop yielded this incredible probably late 60s Courrèges rain coat. Let's just say that I had slightly weak knees holding this in my hands! It looked very tiny in the shoulders, but again, it fits! I was never faster running to the next ATM to get the money... and I can safely say there is no other clothes store in this city that I spend as much money per year in than this Caritas shop!

The coat is made of a luxurious, heavy, slightly shimmery cream-colored fabric with a beautiful texture.The label - Couture Future was one of Courrèges' two Ready to Wear-lines, started in 1967. The A it seems denotes the size. The logo-printed lining leaves no doubt who by this coat is!
Plastic snaps with Courrèges-logo.
The pockets have big zips under the flaps.

Styled with vintage dark brown all-leather Bally boots (also from the same Caritas shop!), vintage NOS dark brown leather handbag and a vintage poly scarf.And since we're talking coats already, there is of course also no better way to stay warm and stylish in an icy winter like this one! For example: this graceful 1950s winter coat is heavy and has an extra warm lining between the outer fabric and the "nice" inner lining. It has a chic shawl collar, wide sleeves, a nipped-in waist and lovely wide skirt.
Elegant winter booties from Pertti Palmroth's current line, soft black leather gloves from Sauso (Finland), soft black jaquard scarf from Chinese shop.
And if you can't do vintage... go secondhand! My other two winter coats/jackets are stylish secondhand pieces. Even if they are "only" by H&M, they found a new owner and didn't end up in a landfill when their previous owners didn't want them anymore!
Metal and mother of pearl brooch: vintage. Purple scarf (from same Humana shop) and purple knit gloves (Migros) add some color. Vintage Coach handbag, reflecting Bambi hanger from Design Forum Helsinki, "skull" accessory by Sixxa (Vienna), dark jeans by Tally Weijl, classic black Italian riding boot-style leather boots by Passo per Passo.

This cute hanger-style jacket has a little secret... it's a kid's size. No kidding - it's a size 164 H&M Young jacket.
Brooch: vintage. Gloves: Sauso. Boots: Pertti Palmroth (my favourite ones!).I found this great mustard-colored coat by H&M some three years ago in another Caritas shop here in Zurich. Though it's a swing style, it has a bit of shaping around the upper body, which I like. This one was as good as new when I bought it. Maybe someone bought it and realised they'd been more courageous thant they usually are. It's certainly not a piece for those who don't like standing out, but it will also brighten up any dreary winter day!

And to come back to the Caritas shop in my neighbourhood, this shop is a reason why I wouldn't want to move from here. Just a week before finding the Courrèges coat, I found an incredible baby pink wool bouclé suit there. The construction techniques used and the label inside already spoke volumes:

Rosmarie Amacher is probably Zurich's only couturière. She owns her own salon, a ma chère (http://www.a-ma-chere.ch/), where she also sells Haute Couture fabric. Funnily enough, this shop lies between my super-duper dry-cleaner's whom cleans all my vintage things, and one of my old work places.
This beautiful suit hung between a range of normal brand and no-name suits, not even on the "designer" rack that the Caritas shop has, and the price, a mere CHF 75 made me shake my head inwardly. Of course I snapped it up at that price, as it also fits me - but still, it makes me sad to think that such a high-quality piece that was so well made, would be sold for so little. And the reason for that probably was partly also because it didn't bear a well-known name. The people in this city who know who Rosmarie Amacher is are probably few. Either you can afford her clothes, or you're in the fashion business - at least that is my guess. I mean, this suit is of such superior quality than many of the Escada or Prada RTW things on the "designer" rack, but sold for less... Oh well, enough moping, I have a great new suit and had some fun styling it too! Somehow it reminds me a little of the late Princess Diana who wore a lot of those pastel-colored bouclé suits in the mid to late 90s (check out http://www.polyvore.com/princess_diana_blue_chanel_suit/thing?id=17287581 or http://coolspotters.com/public-figures/princess-diana/and/clothing/versace-90s-pink-suit/media/1676073#medium-1676073). I'm guessing this suit would roughly be from that time too as I remember this style being popular then.
Boots: Pertti Palmroth, gloves: Clair'es, sunglasses: Nine West, scarf: from Chinese shop. Hat box: vintage Barbie vinyl travel bag.This is it for this cold Sunday afternoon! 'Til soon - and don't forget - wear vintage and have fun with it! (I certainly had fun styling these coats *lol*...)

The last scarf!

So, here we are... it is December, so we have arrived at the last scarf! This has been so nice, being able to open a present every month! I feel like I need to find a new "monthly theme" for next year. Will have to think about it - and am open to suggestions for sure!

But now, without further ado - the December scarf: I also have one more new Barbie doll to introduce. The never ending Dolls of the World line has, after doing traditional costumes, festivals, weddings and other things, branched out to... buildings! Therefore, they have for the second time in their long history done an Australian theme, this time the Sydney Opera:
I think for once Mattel got it right - it's a good interpretation, but also still looks more or less like a dress... I like the shoes and the handbag, that carry the design on too - nice touch. Now if Mattel could only stop using thoses stiff ModelMuse bodies and the hair cement... oh I know, I always grumble about the same things.

It has also been time again for the annual big pre-christmas indoor flea market & antiques fair here in Zurich. The whole event is getting smaller each year (no wonder with those stall prices that one hears off - but then there are also things that I know I have been looking at for the last 5 years or more, and you'd think that maybe a seller should then starting asking himself, if maybe the price was too high...), so I now only buy one day ticket anymore and go in only once. It used to be that I'd go in at least twice - like on Thursday and again on Saturday, when it got into full swing. Oh well... But for once I was pretty succesful this time! One of my favorite sellers, who sells vintage American costume jewelery, this time had a bracelet that matches a pair of earrings that I bought from her a few years ago pretty neatly:
And, oh wonder of wonders, I have found a beautiful 1940s day dress, which did not cost a fortune! After having pretty much given up on ever buying vintage clothes here or at that particular event, as usually this tended to be totally overpriced. Well, last years' overpriced seller wasn't there anymore. I could imagine that she didn't do a lot of business with those prices she had... So the day ended quite satifactorily, though the dress will need a little taking in on the sides. Stay tuned for that one then!

A trip down the 80s memory lane: scary fashions & Oscar de la Renta

So here I am again. After nothing happening for months, my Barbie collection has been positively exploding lately...

First, a good friend of mine asked me if I was interested in having some of her childhood Barbie stuff, after she cleaned out her attic. Of course I was - or I wouldn't be me ;-). So a parcel arrived with some things I remember well from back in the 80s and things I had coveted but never got... I've mentioned it before, I love those neon-colored, over-the-thop Barbie and the Rockers outfits. I loved them back in the day and I still do. It was just so far away from anything I was ever allowed to wear. And I loved neon colors, period. So here they are, from Barbie's first year as a Rocker: Derek and DeeDee!
Yes, that was the year that Ken was supplanted in Barbie's favors by Derek... nobody knows what's happened, but this pre-dates the whole Barbie & Blaine "scandal" by almost 2o years! And nobody cared a bit about it!
When she arrived, DeeDee was actually in dire need of a visit to the hairdresser:
So I went through the "classic" treatment. If you're not "into" Barbie dolls, you probably wonder how that works... First up: the hairwash. Just a good cleanse, best do it all over, no just the hair. Normal dishwashing liquid is all it needs. Next: a good conditioner. In the case of synthetic hair, fabric softener is actually the thing it needs. Dilute some in a small bowl of water, and let her hair soak in it a bit. Then comes the combing - always the thing that takes the most patience. Take a sturdy comb, not too fine, not too big, and comb the hair in small sections, from the head - and hold her by the hairline, so as not to pull out any hair (but 80s and newer Barbies are usually well-rooted and there's not a great possibility to pull out much). After that, the hair is combable but still "fluffy" because it's still a bit curly. There's only one thing against that: straighten it out! Any straightening or curling that is permanent has to be done with hot water (any kinds of straightening or curling irons would burn this hair - only the old Ashton-Drake Gene dolls have hair that takes styling with irons - hot water isn't enough in that case). Straightening is best done by poring the freshly boiled water over the dolls head, while she's sitting. Just be careful with that hot water! Then, comb the wet hair down again, and you should get shiny, glossy, straight hair that is no problem to comb through:
But of course, DeeDee wants her curls back! So, time for a perm. Basically, you can use anything as a roller for doll's hair that can take boiling hot water and that the hair can be fixed in place with. The best thing: disposable drinking straws, cut into shorter pieces. Household paper, torn into small bits and moistened works as "end paper" so the ends of the hair won't slip out. Roll up from the end, and fix with pins, through the "roller" and the head. Yup, sounds brutal, but I find this is one of the best ways! Depending on how big or small the strands that you roll up are, the curls get bigger or smaller.
And then... just one more step of fixin' this, take a big enough piece of saran wrap, cover the doll's head with it and fix it around her neck with a rubber band. Sounds brutal, I know, but that helps to keep the rolled up hair nicely in place. Water will still seep in, but that's okay. Boil more water, pour it into a big enough bowl and submerse the doll's head in it completely. Leave for 5-10 Minutes, take out, take the saran off and let it cool and set as it for 24 hours. Then... take the curlers out, un-curl carefully, and style as you like:
If you want to, spray gently with some hair spray (but cover her face with a tissue first).

I admit, I like doing this - giving these dolls a "new life", even if they're not highly valuable vintage dolls.

Now with the dolls also came some outfits, which I decided to present on my newest model - one of the Barbie Basics dolls. I love her cool short hairstyle, though that was so caked in "concrete" that I had to give it a double wash first! Okay, with that ModelMuse body of hers, she's way too thin for those 80s clothes, so I had to pin them in the back, but she does make them look great (mostly)!
First up: a colorful little leisure outfit.
Next: a sexy little number in baby pink.

Now, it gets a lilttle scary...
This is one of those Twice as Nice outfits that always featured at least one part that could be turned around for a change of color. This here looks like a rather scary secretary outfit. But I remember my then best friend having it and I just had to have it for memory's sake.
Somehow I find this combo even scarier...
And this is the way that I think it actually looks kinda cute. Kind of a "super housewife"-look.

And now, if you haven't been scared away from the screen by crazy color combos, let me show you the really good 80s stuff. Yep. Not all 80s fashion was bad, and here I have actually one of the best 80s Barbie outfits ever. Nowadays, designers seem to stand in line to have their signature Barbie doll designed. Way back in mid-80s, Mattel began to test the waters with first collectors series (the first collector conventions having been held in the early 80s, this was just sort of beginning to be recognised I guess) - and having a "real fashion" designer do something for them. And that was - Oscar de la Renta! In 1985, 4 "Collector Series" outfits by Mr. de la Renta were sold, and in the following year, another 5. They were all very glamourous (and very 80s) but beautiful as well. Jewel-tone, strong colors - with a lot purples, reds, pinks and deep blues and a dash of gold or silver - were chosen, and each year, one outfit featured exchangable parts for two or more looks. Most of them had an added stole, jacket or cape, and all had a sewn-in label with Mr. de la Renta's signature logo. I had two of these as a child, one survived my childhood as it was a perennial favorite - and since a few years, I have been collecting them. Well, not exactly hunting for them, but when I came across one, I'd buy it. The lastest addition to this small collection is the one I've been wanting the most, because it's so timeless - and "real". This is no Barbie-pink-over-the-top-phantasy, but something you could just imagine a real woman wearing. And it is versatile too!

First combination: a yellow and golden camisole top with matching straight jacket, black slender velvet skirt with a high slit - and black sheer pantyhose (yes, the were part of the outfit!).
Second combo: with black velvet slacks and a black fur stole .

And here's a quick look at my little de la Renta collection:
The blue one is the one that survived my childhood. The fuchsia one on the left is the other one I had, but later gave away. It also has a long slim taffeta skirt to exchange with the short, ruffly one, and a wide golden sash with a pink rhinestone to accent that dropped waist. The balloon dress on the right actually has a backless top under that incredible jacket.

On my last trip to New York, while hurrying up 7th Avenue to find a pharmacy, I came across the Fashion Walk of Fame plaque for Oscar de la Renta, and the sketch on it immediately reminded me of those ruffled, shirred Barbie dresses by him:

Vienna, almost the last scarf... and Pan Am

Long time no write, I know... firstly, I've been on holiday, secondly I've been sort of bizzy work-wise...

I spent almost a week in Vienna, which was great - the weather wasn't too bad, we did some successful shopping and spent some crazy nights - amongs others at the fabulous Quentin's Kaffeebar. The music, the atmosphere and all else there are just great. It feels like a sort of extended living room, and it features a Hollywood swing and walls covered with a very eclectic mix of vintage LP sleeves (say hello to all the embarrassing stuff you ever found in your parents' LP collection...!). Vintage-wise it wasn't so much the thing though, though I did buy some fab new things. None of our usual haunts had any exciting vintage stuff, and the vintage shop that we visited because it had been advertised everywhere turned out to be over-priced (an unexciting late 60s poly dress for 120 Euros???) , overrated, badly sorted and generally not what I except of a vintage shop. Besides, the shop was also badly sorted, clothes were hanging on racks willy-nilly... which is one of my absolute pet peeves! Plus, the most fab piece in the shop by far, which I picked up of course, turned out to be private property - it had just been hanging on a rack because the owner needed to iron it! Next one and probably my biggest pet peeve when it comes to vintage/antique shops or stalls... And why do so many people think they can charge any price for anything that's remotely vintage, but not even nice? I see this happening so much around here, and I just hate it. Takes the fun out of shopping vintage. In that case, I prefer shopping vintage online, though it's never as much fun as in an actual shop. Just check this new VFG Etsy treasury out - isn't it cool?!
However, on the way to the local Caritas, we came across a kids' secondhand, that had great adults stuff in their backroom for only 3 Euros a piece. Need I say more? A great happy coincidence ;-)!

I've also been working on some dolls and will be reporting more on them soon - some great stuff that I've wanted to have for some time, and some new dolls that somehow had eluded my radar so far... stay tuned!

It is already November, so it's time for the second last scarf for this year! This time it's a very 70s concoction of orange and brown:
On another note, BBC2 has started showing "Pan Am" which I couldn't wait for to catch it anywhere. After four episodes I have to admit, I had expected more... Perhaps my view is biased by Mad Men, which is extremely well made (yep, they made their mistakes too, but it just looks so much more believable). In comparison, Pan Am looks a little cheap somehow, if I'm honest. Some things just don't look "right" to me, and I wouldn't call myself a period specialst. It's just a feeling that I get. And Christina Ricci's hairstyle looks strange sometimes - you'd think by the high standards that flight attendants had to live up to at the time, they'd give her a better hairstyle in the series! The lead pilot is also way too young, I'm sorry, and the idea that you always get the same crew flying together on all flights is preposterous - an airline of that size would even in the early 60s have had rotating crews. Of course they didn't have so many employees as big international airlines have nowadays, so chance to end up with the same person again on the same flight were certainly higher, but this really is too much. I would love to see more flight attendants and more pilots & engineers join the story! But if people, as I read somewhere, are already confused by the simple flash-backs that have been shown so far, then no wonder they have to keep it simple....! Oh dear. Well, I will try to keep watching, but I don't know how much longer until it will completely annoy me. It's just a little too soap opera-ish in the storyline as well. I think that there's just so much more they could do with this premise. Just read any memoir of someone who was a flight attendant in the 50s/60s/70s.