Stars!

I don't pay attention to what's in style...or what's on the runways....I prefer the classics with a twist of weird.

Fancy schmancy dress with sneakers. Ripped and faded jeans with a silk Edwardian blouse. Long silk black dress with a brown leather jacket.

Over the years I've sold plenty of Vintage to folks who design for the runway...
Lately, a lot of vintage classics have winged their way to NYC, where they all live..

Here's what they're buying....Sperry, Levis, mohair sweaters, old denim....
I have to wonder why someone who has more money than God, would buy old stuff, just like I do. I buy and have worn old clothes my whole life, because that fits my income...I also make my own clothes, and clothes for my family, because I'm arty! and that fits my income!

So, either they're looking for inspiration....but the classics are available in NYC. Or, I think they're mostly wearing the good old vintage because they like the rustic, the patina, the history.
You don't ever get that sense of comfort from day one, when you buy something brand new., (which is, what they make!)....only used clothes can give you that. And, vintage clothes, at the end of the day....are just old clothes!
hee hee....

That's why you see funkomavintage listing a lot of loafers, cowboy boots, slip-ons, deck shoes, tennis shoes and sneakers, denim, Harris Tweed, and all things...... Good quality. Great style. Real materials....wool, cotton, silk, linen, leather, rubber, quality vinyl...

Cole Haan tassel loafers.

Vintage Bass, made in America.

I love blue denim, black or brown leather, plaid, stripes and tiny traditional prints.

You can pair the classics with anything....something classic, or with something trendy, or with something vintage .......and just Instantly....You look fantastic!

Blue denim....

A blue denim Levis jacket.....a Willis & Geiger safari shirt.....

Levis....the best!

Levis are just the best jeans...always have been, and always will be. Fact.

 photo credit.

I also love Prom shirts...old vintage ones with ruffles......
Some looks I love.....
J Crew lately has taken the classics and twists them up good !
...I wish they could find models that looked like real women...like, uh, 5'5", and 165 lbs....

coming soon to the webstore...

online....the world wide web...
yes!
a Mary Quant 70s blouse, Krizia wrap skirt, Filson Safari Bush jacket, Vintage Patio Southwest dress, Harvey Berin Marilyn style vintage 50s dress....
Men's casual shirt with World War II planes, Pink suede wood clogs, Leopard print fur wood clogs, Margaret O'Leary mohair sweater....
these are the things I love to find..that aren't necessarily vintage.....but are everything  I love....Excellent quality, Good style, Classic, and I'll have all my Handmades too...as time goes on....
I hope you'll take a peek sometime in the next week to see ...
I've been thinking about doing this for ....oh, about 10 years....;-)
and I'll move most of what's on etsy over to the webstore too...
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It's a gardening day, here on Friday the 13th...
so, on Saturday and Sunday, the 14th and 15th...I'm listing these.....


Pink suede wood clogs

Leopard print fur wood clogs

Mary Quant 70s blouse

Filson Safari Bush jacket

Margaret O'Leary mohair sweater

Krizia wrap skirt

Harvey Berin Marilyn style vintage 50s dress

Vintage Patio Southwest dress

Men's casual shirt with World War II planes

The tide was low...the sun was high...and the sand was black....

check the Tacoma tides chart....and you can see we have some low and minus tides coming up or out...The other day, I dropped my cares...and we went to the beach......

old tires....old trees....old boat....

bird tracks.......

boy and dog....

first bare feet of the year in the black sand....

waiting ships....

tide is coming back home....

time to jump back across the sand bar....

old pier...old days....

sneakity peekity....

First we saw the Marilyn Monroe shape of this little figure-hugger...then, we drooled over the lace and faggoting on the deep neckline...we saw mid 50s...Long, lean, and man-bait!
Then the John Doyle Bishop tag..an old fancy-schmancy Seattle dress shop...$$$Olde Money$$$.

But what was it made of? mmmm....Forstmann wool. Of course. A lovely lightweight wool jersey...and fully lined in sheer chiffon. And did I mention....a nice size, too?

But it wasn't until I got home went looking for flaws ..did I see the Karen Stark for Harvey Berin tag.

It does have a small repair at the slim kimono sleeve...but I swear, it hides very well.....and the rest of the dress.....The quality, The fit, The style ...makes up for the boo-boo. Coming this weekend to my website....the one I've been meaning to make for....oh 10 years.

Here's a lovely little blurb about Harvey Berin by the lovely  Lizzie, over at the Vintage Fashion Guild.

"They were best known for their feminine dresses and ensembles."

Forstmann wool, top quality!

"The woolens and worsteds coming from this mill were legendary and the company prospered.:

Hey Mom!

yeah. So much hairdo!
See that polyester vest Mom's wearing? Well, I sewed it for her, and it has matching pants, but....you prolly guessed that.
The picture is a little abused...since my middle sister tossed it out in the garbage and I retrieved it.
This was a picture of her at 56, which is the age I am now.

My mom used to make a lot of my clothes when I was tiny...we didn't have much money when we first moved to Napa County, her being a single mom. The words of the Dolly Parton song,Coat of Many Colors, are special to me, since I do remember the homemade clothes I had, and I remember one girl at Yountville Elementary making fun of my homemade dress. That girl was the only one who ever made fun of me...she made fun of a few kids and their homemade clothes. Stupid Brat.
So....
In the early 70s, my mom bought a polyester pantsuit at Mode 'O Day, and when she went back to get more, they were all sold out. So....since I know how to sew, because she taught me how, and bought me my first sewing machine, a Nelco, with cams!
I offered to make her more pantsuits. It was pretty easy to make the pattern from the set she had. Polyester stood up on its own and laid down flat, so I just taped some newspaper together and traced around the set. Polyester was a godsend to the ladies...Everything before that had to be bleached, handwashed, drycleaned, hung up to air out, stored in mothballs, starched, ironed and...it was torture to take care of clothes in the old days...it was a part time job! That's why, vintage clothes were well-made...they had to last. Things weren't meant to be disposable.

To get the polyester material and notions, we went shopping at Trade Fair (only Napa people know what the hell I'm talking about), and bought several yards in all different colors. Like Hillary Clinton, my mom had pantsuits in all different colors!

here's me with most of my kids and grandkids...

My mom loved Country Music, but especially loved Ray Charles. So Mom, I love you and miss you everyday. I wish I could pick up the Heaven-Phone and talk to you right now.

Dolly singing Coat of Many Colors. gee I love her dress!




and always playing on the jukebox in her bar...Ray Charles, singing her favorite RC song, Born To Lose. It's the theme...of our lives. Thank god polyester lasts long, and comes in all the colors of the rainbow. It's dependable, which is more than mom and I can say about...some people!

tomboy....

a girl that likes to climb trees...and mess around in the dirt. A girl...that plays baseball and collects the cards.
A girl that grows up to love wearing jeans rather than a dress...but if she has to wear a dress she demands it's as comfy as a pair of jeans.

Vintage Levis...made to fit the men, the ladies and the girls, and the boys....

Her footwear will be: Sneakers, moccasins, oxfords, boots or sensible sandals. She likes classics...T shirts, sailor shirts, oxford stripe shirts.

A bit partial to vintage Bass, vintage boots......

She likes riding her bike, she likes rowing her own boat, and she can take or leave roller skating.

photo credit

The Crow thinks about his childhood...