Tuesday, June 25, 2013

You are my world.....

when you click that Buy button, you are placing your trust in me....to send you something awesome!
I take this responsibility quite seriously. Neat clothes, groovy shoes and boots, well-made handmade goods, home decor with charm......all these things are important to me.......

Because I offer it....I believe it has the right stuff to make a great addition to your life....
and when you send me a picture of you wearing it.......I get a big thrill knowing I brought some happiness to your day as you spend it with your kids, that you look like a beautiful bride, that a part of your Halloween costume is just right ! A pair of boots, a warm jacket, a pretty dress.... I fully believe, if it's good, Let's use it again!

I've sold vintage suits to grooms, plenty of crinolines and corsets, handmade totes and bags too. Prom dresses to seniors in high school, pretty party dresses to gals to wear to their high school reunions. Thanks for shopping and trusting funkomavintage with your dreams. You are my world.

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Here's a vintage Hawaiian dress I sold to a bridesmaid, for a wedding that is cheery and easy for a bride's attendants to both look lovely and to buy an affordable dress that can be worn again and again....

This vintage 60s Pomare Hawaiian dress in bright orange and pink is on the lovely lady, 4th from the right...there's a gal half-hidden by the guy in the green shirt. All those dresses are just gorgeous!

look at the rainbow of Hawaiian dresses! this is such a charming wedding....

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A 70s tshirt with those fuzzy iron-on letters....made a perfect First Father's Day Present.....look at that cute baby!

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This pair of vintage super cool silver roller skates, made the day for this Roller Derby babe!

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Oh boy....another wedding. This happy couple is having a super pretty day, as she is in her 60s bell sleeve lace mini dress!

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Just perfect! it's a classic pixie dress, ala Mia Farrow...

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clicky here to get to the funkomavintage shop

more pretty lace, but this time a vintage pair white lace and leather boots....
Curvy cute and sheer, supple white boots lace up the front and are so romantic.

Stitches and perforations add a Victorian feel...
Perfect fairytale boots....
Princess or Queen...
Pirate or fairy elf..........yeah, that describes them!

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So in love with these boots....and they went to a great new home!

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I titled them.....
"Forest girl vintage leather lace up Steampunk boots"

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This lovely vintage shirt dress....sure looks like it found the perfect new home. Kristin read "Charming and Sunny, this light as air blue plaid 60s shirtwaist day dress......is ready for some warm days....." and jumped in. She bought another dress in this same order.
She had an Etsy shop making adorable pet tags. I bought one for my cute doggie, but she's now retired from this venture.

Here she is with her son.
So cute!

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Another cute vintage dress....made of charming coral, gray and white floral stripe with a touch of turquoise.... Cutest in every way...
Peter Pan collar is piped.....Big white buttons up the front,...

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That looks like a super fun party......bunny ears, bubbles and stick on mustaches....

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Here's one of my handmade classic pocket squares in a vintage indigo blue denim with selvedge as an accent. When you wanna put something in that pocket up on your jacket....think of this. And Glenn did!
Thanks!

clicky here to get to the funkomavintage shop

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Bicycle time in a vintage way. Classic hints and tips to ride it right!

Well the rains have stopped for the most part which means us fair weather cyclists are dragging our bikes out of the garage, airing up the tires and starting our riding season again.

I have been riding a bicycle since I was 5 as have most of us, give or take a few years, but aside from the basic safety tips taught to us by the parent or elder who gave us our riding lessons, most people (leaving out the serious cyclist) have no idea there is a proper way to ride a bike..... besides not falling off or running into a parked car.

Campagnolo Vintage Coventry Eagle 10 Speed Bicycle 60s Brooks saddle

.... you can find this at funkomavintage....we love vintage bicycles.

There are a few easy techniques and adjustments that will make cycling less of a chore and they have the added benefit of making you look like a pro while riding.

Vintage Motobecane 10 Speed Bicycle Mixte 70s Ideale saddle Mens Womens blue bike

A mixte has the center bar placed low and is perfect for men or women, and is quite popular in Europe. Find this Motobecane at funkomavintage.

A very vintage Edwardian bicycle seat.... ;-)

Rule #1.......The bike must fit you and be properly adjusted for your height.

First ---Adjusting the seat height correctly will gain you more distance for your energy output plus you won't look silly with your knees splaying out at a funny angle if the seat is too low. If you do this ...or you see someone's ones leg see-sawing back and forth, swaying their "behind", if it's too high.

Proper seat adjustment is 1.09 % of your inseam measured from the top of the seat to the spindle of your pedal at the bottom of the stroke of the crank with the crank arms lined up with the seat tube.

Measure your inseam of a pair of pants that you wear with flat shoes, and multiply by 1.09 and you will get the correct height. If you need some help take your inseam measurement and your bike to your local shop the they will be happy set things right.

Did you know you pedal and how much you pedal are very significant factors in how far you can travel before you wear yourself out?

The proper way to pedal is to use the ball of your foot and never the arch. If you are clipped in with toe clips on your pedals, you have no choice! This technique is called ankling.

At the top of the stroke, point your foot slightly up as you continue on the down stroke point your toe down.

With your seat adjusted correctly this will feel quite natural.

Vintage Schwinn Varsity 10 Speed Bicycle 60s Purple Pink bike

Everybody loves a Vintage Schwinn. The classic American bike made in Chicago for years and years.

How much you pedal is referred to as "cadence". The trick of covering long distances easily is by having steady cadence.
The gears on your bike are there to help you achieve this. If you think this way about the gears rather than using higher gears to go faster like you would in a car, you will find cycling to be much easier.

Keep to nice easy pedalling that feels comfortable, and you will save your energy, and go the distance!

Drop bars also allow you to use more muscles when pedaling than flat bars, that's why you see the racers using them.
They come in a varity of styles so you should be able to find a pair that's comfortable.

I should add that keeping your tires inflated to the maximum pressure will reduce roll resistance and make pedaling easier.

Keeping the bike lubricated and tuned is a big help too.

This pre-war bike needs a lot of work to pedal smoothly...but it does have a basket!

Just remember, on a bike you are the engine and the less resistance against the engine, then the easier life is for that engine! So get out there and enjoy that summer!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Some Blue

is always a good choice. cool, serious, dreamy, serene, nostalgic, universal, steadfast........

my old blue bike, tends to stay in the garden bed mostly.....