Orange...Rust...Custard...

Pumpkin....Purple...
autumn...deep blue endless sky....
galvanized buckets.....
apple cider and caramels...persimmons and pomegranates...
squash and indian corn.....

Yipes Stripes.....

stripes are my fave...
Stripes have a long history in dress ....They have historically been used to identify a social and political class......here's a bit from...
Michel Pastoureau's The Devil's Cloth: A History of Stripes .

".....the medieval period's tendency to use stripes to identify those viewed as outcasts in society, including: serfs, the condemned, prostitutes, jugglers, clowns, hangmen, Jews, lepers, cripples, "bohemians, and heretics. The negative, or evil, stripe also appears in iconography and literary texts, worn by: treacherous knights, adulterous wives, disloyal brothers, cruel dwarves, greedy servants, Lucifer, the madman of the Book of Psalms, and Judas.
Pastoureau follows the stripe through history, as it is associated with servants, then later ("reclaimed"?) as revolutionary during the French Revolution. The punishing and degrading stripe reserved for prisoners, was again used by the Nazis in the concentration camps. Along all these vicious or negative stripes, good stripes also began to appear: a celebratory stripe, a romantic stripe, a seaside stripe, a children's stripe (sailor suits and Obelix!), an athletic stripe and a hygienic stripe."









It is the perhaps the easiest design to make...along with the circle.



 I listed a few things this week made of stripes. Be careful!






A 40s hat of stripes sewn together of a rayon or nylon boucle.

A vintage corset strapless top edged with a stripe ruffle.

a simple black and white striped cotton vintage shirtdress....pockets!!

Graphic gray wool blanket features white stripes.

Hey Pumpkin....It's Black....

It's the time of the Season...for black. It's always a right time for black, but now it's October and black and pumpkin are what's in...
Black goes with witches, goes with angel wings, goes with rock stars, goes with a medieval princess, black goes with velvet, tight and slinky, and goes with victorian, edwardian and steampunk....
starting Monday October 4...these shall appear in the funkomavintage etsy shop....don't worry...Dudes clothes are on their way also....this week will be busy!

40s Black and White stripe vintage hat....

Classic vintage black and white leather saddle shoes......

40s style blues singer 80s vintage floral dress....

50s Bombshell Helen West vintage cocktail dress....

60s vintage curve-hugging black sequin dress

80s Gladiator Girly vintage studded dress...

80s vintage Glamazon velvet and Sex party dress...

Romantic vintage 80s black velvet formal occasions...dress...

60s Mexican vintage lace and pintucks dress...

50s black rayon crepe vintage dress with a darling wrap and button collar-belt....

80s Fringe Flapper vintage dress ..

 80s Batgirl vintage goth blouse....

80s strapless vintage victoriana bow and stripe blouse...

80s Black velvet vintage bolero..

70s vintage gothic spider lace blouse....

70s vintage victoriana high collar ruffle blouse....

80s ruched Goddess or Dark Angel vintage dress...

Vintage Workwear Vintage Military

Perhaps because men who do things, who build things, seems to becoming rarer these days, there is a push to honor and collect vintage workwear and vintage militaria. I'm all for it!
I love quality and with the recent garbage that was made in the 1990's and the 2000's ..that Fast Fashion...It is about time that American designers and American workers who have been so beaten in the last 40 years are honored again.
To do something with your own 2 hands is a joy. I guess that's why (hand-crafted) Beer Brewing (and drinking) is so in vogue these days.....the last frontier....is always looking for a new frontier.
The classics.....Baking, gardening, sewing, chopping wood, painting and creating artful things.....It's Back!

I always have vintage menswear, and here are 2 great practical shirts. First is a 40s era military officers shirt with great style in wool gabardine. It has a few holes scattered on the front but it is still a fabulous thing!

Dating to the late 20s - 30s, this military influence work shirt has really great details...the double layer on the elbows is a real treat to see. The color is deep and glowing and the practical pockets have a slot just for a wood pencil or a metal gauge.

Coming soon to etsy, is this 40s pair of military khaki pants. That wide leg, high waist we love so much!

A thing about Boots....

Now is the time for all good people who buy boots, second hand, to learn what to read, and what to ask of an online seller.

I love vintage...boots. Thank you Some Lady for shopping at Nordstrom or JCPenney's in the 70s and 80s and spending big bucks to buy boots, and thanks for getting bored or allowing your feet to grow, and deciding to sell them to Me !
2 names I see all the time as "vintage boots"....that are not....Steve Madden didn't start making shoes using his name until 1990, and didn't go international until a few years later, so it's pretty unlikely what you see for sale second-hand is really vintage......it just looks vintage. Also, Wild Pair, cute fer sure, but that company started in Australia in 1994, so not vintage yet. Old, but not vintage, so don't pay a premium price and get duped.

If you buy vintage boots, pay special attention to the lining condition. If the brand is Connie or Joyce, there is a very good chance the glue that was used in the 60s - 80s to attach the nylon knit to the inside is sticky, flaky and breaking down. It's toxic. Sadly, toss those boots in the garbage. Period. Don't buy them....don't  wear them....don't sell them.

This can happen with any brand that uses glues...those 2 brands seem to be the most prone. Not every pair of Joyce or Connie, of course, and I have a pair of sticky-lined Zodiac tall cowboy boots  with feathers that I'm gonna deconstruct and clean-up and install eyelets, so I can save them.

The heel caps may be worn out and they can be replaced at a real cobbler shop, for around 15.00 a pair. Call around to ask about quality of the replacement caps and price. Ask them about a return policy too. I've had some replaced that fell apart the very same day I retrieved them from the cobbler....boy I was a mad little elf  ! They got a piece of my mind, but none of my return business.

My faves to find and sell are either unlined, or lined and from Italy. Yugoslavia, Canada, and Brazil make a good boot, and like I said, there are plenty of other brands that do hold up over time.  Most boots made in the uS are quality....most vintage cowboy boots are great....as are  Frye, Dingo, Dexter, 9West, Zodiac (most of the time), Aigner,....oooh there is nothing like a silky leather lined pair of Italian boots. It's a case of Buyer Beware, so ask a seller some questions before you hit that Buy button.

You're the Top....

You're the Louvre Museum.
You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss
You're a Bendel bonnet,
A Shakespeare's sonnet,



But if this ditty is not so pretty
At least it'll tell you
How great you are.

(in a bluebird blouse)

You're Mickey Mouse.
You're the Nile,
You're the Tower of Pisa,
You're the smile on the Mona Lisa
I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!

(in a buckskin frontier leather shirt)

You're the top!
You're Mahatma Gandhi.
You're the top!
You're Napoleon Brandy.

 (in a gray tweed 50s jacket)

You're the purple light
Of a summer night in Spain,
You're the National Gallery
You're Garbo's salary,
You're cellophane.

(in a folkloric floral and check sweater)

You're sublime,
You're turkey dinner,
You're the time, the time of a Derby winner
I'm a toy balloon that’s fated soon to pop
But if, baby, I'm the bottom,
You're the top!

(in a charming horsey tartan top)

You're the top!
You're an arrow collar
You're the top!
You're a Coolidge dollar,
You're the nimble tread
Of the feet of Fred Astaire,
You're an O'Neill drama,

(in a 50s vintage 101 denim jacket)

You're Lady Astor,
You're broccoli!
You're romance,
You're the steppes of Russia,
You're the pants, on a Roxy usher,
I'm a broken doll, a fol-de-rol, a blop,

But if, baby, I'm the bottom,
You're the top!

(in a 40s vintage nipped waist wool jacket)

Saturday....

20 new listings coming up. Classics. Fun stuff. Preppy. Romantic. Practical. and some darling vintage home decor....
And then, later on Saturday, if the rain doesn't wash me out...I'm off to visit a nursery or 2 and buy some bulbs to plant now for spring flowers....Thinking ahead...I want some purple and orange and gold and pink and lime green flowers....
I want some russet and yellow, and wine and rose, and brown and cream chrysanthemums...I want some pumpkins!
So...this week .....fall coats, a warm sweater, a stunning dress, a fun dress, 2 boots, pretty blouses..and more......all with autumn on the brain.......

A Burberry.......


a gorgeous Helen West of California 50s -60s cocktail dress........this is made of butter. Black butter. It is so lovely...the fabric, the style...oh, the amazing cut...sexay.

from the sublime to the practical....

Celadon 60s wool sweater....

and these wine loafers. 70s. classic prep. All Leather. All Leather. All. Leather. These are also made of butter. Wine Butter.
I wish these were my size....I wish the 60s coffee and cream saddle shoes were my size........they are size 8. They are made of bacon. Lucky you!!!