Hollygab

Regular readers may have noticed that I don’t seem to be able to keep up with my Friday feature–I Gots The Wants. It’s not that I don’t want things, I do. Always. Somehow, though, my day slips away before I can post the wants. (And by slip away, I mean that I’m walking dogs and then before you know it, it’s time to start thinking about the evening backyard grilling menu and what kinds of cocktails to serve that night.)

I was trawling eBay late last night and stumbled onto this wacky 50s dress. I think I am falling prey to the evil influences of fashion rags because I have finally come around to the big bow at the neck (known to some as the pussy bow, but personally, I think that term sounds like an insult to the wearer. “Holly, you’re such a pussy! Why do you have to wear that big bow?!”)

This dress–now this is a killer thing, isn’t it? It’s all buttoned down (or should I say, bowed-up) and lady like and then you see the print. MONEY BAGS! Have you ever seen such a wondrous thing? Do you like it?

Once again…not my size. I think it would be awesome if I could just get a sound effect for my computer that I can turn on when I trawl the internet for vintage. When I have that sound effect on, I can open an auction or online store listing for a great dress that’s not my size and then my computer would just bleat out, “Wah. Wah. Waaah.” (You know, the sound of losing on a game show.)

If you have a 28″ waist (okay, actually 26″) and you want to wear a cartoon colorful pussy bow dress with money bags on it, you should bid. It’s being offered right now on eBay by love_kats. You might have to break the bank to win the auction (which ends in about four days) but something tells me this dress is worth every penny. The photos are clickable links that will take you straight to the auction.

Hey, peeps. Where would you wear a dress like this? Please leave your ideas in the comments section. I think it would be awesome to wear this dress if you were a loan officer at a major bank. Or, if you planned to rob said bank. They probably wouldn’t even notice your face if you were wearing this stand-out, so I guess we can easily say, “mask–optional.”

I have this shoulder bag for sale on my website. It’s something I’ve always thought was likely from the later part of the 70s, but I’ve never really known for sure. That’s the way it is with vintage. If you don’t have a time machine, you can’t always get a firm and definitive date on something. Sometimes, you can hit dates right on the head by finding an ad or information about a particular company or designer, but more often things are instinctual or based on obvious visual cues, construction techniques, or labels. It’s not easy to date things if you don’t have a strong sense of fashion history, that’s for sure. (A metal zipper does not a vintage dress make.) Research can be exciting, but also mystifying and frustrating at times.

Not long ago, my friend Maija gave me this Columbian coffee advertisement. She found it in a fairly recent issue of Saveur magazine.

Check out Juan Valdez. He’s wearing my bag. (I drew a pink arrow in the ad so that you could spot it.) It’s hard for me to imagine why Juan might need a bag like this one. I am pretty sure a stylist decided that it looked good in the photo. It’s possible that there’s some accuracy in Juan’s get-up since the bag is foreign made. The maker’s mark is something like, “guarnieri jerico dario agudelo.” (Google those words and the results are seemingly useless for our purposes.)

This bag has four compartments or pockets inside. I like to think of it as a mini-messenger bag. From my point of view, it looks fashion-y and not particularly metrosexual. Why does Juan have this purse? I don’t know that many men (okay, I know none) who’d carry it. In the case of Mr. Valdez who’s picking coffee beans, I can’t imagine how this bag would be practical. Maybe you know someone who is a coffee bean picker who carries one of these bags. If so, what does he carry in it? (Also, what is he wearing on his feet?)

I have a different plan for this bag. It’s carried by a preppy woman with a bit of a punk-ish edge. She keeps the bag in the quilted saddlebag on her Chanel bike. I devised this outfit for a Fall bike ride with the help of the very fun website called Polyvore. Oh, and if you’re the lady bicycling around town in this little fantasy, please be sure to support independent coffee shops when you stop for your morning cuppa. And lock your bike–even if it’s not a Chanel bike.

I have to say that I’m a bit of a Luddite which is, of course, ludicrous since I have a website and sell things on the internet. But, I don’t have a cell phone. (Well, I do, but it’s broken and I don’t care.) Also, I don’t have cable and because I refuse to buy it and because I’m too cheap to buy cable, I don’t watch cable t.v. shows until they’re available on DVD. This puts me a bit behind, but the pay-off is that I get to watch the show on whichever day or night I want. Let’s say I can’t sleep. I can put on Mad Men and watch it in the middle of the night and get wrapped up in their drama. This is what I did when I first started to watch the series.

I’m now ready to start the final episode of Season One. Like a really good book that you don’t want to finish reading because it’s such a bitter sweet experience, I don’t want to put on the last episode of Season One. I am moderately worried about what might become of Joan Holloway who is the most beautiful woman on t.v. I love Joan. I love her clothes and I appreciate her Third Wave style of Feminism even though the idea of Third Wave Feminism obviously didn’t exist in 1960.

This photo isn’t true to color, but this dress has been one of my favorites of Joan’s ensembles. It’s a vivid royal purple jersey or maybe a velvet or velour with an amazing cherry red inset neckline that’s got a shiny satin texture. She looks incredible in red, doesn’t she? It’s such a great contrast to see her peach cheeks and peachy lips next to all that red. I love it that the costume designer continues to put her in red.

There’s a certain red dress…the one with the neckline that has a buckle at the center…that I just loved, too. You remember it, don’t you?

Oh, and because I love Joan so much, I’ve been googling her a lot. I found a cute blog that caught my attention. It’s called What Would Joan Holloway Do? and it includes Joan ’s quips along with some very pretty pictures of her. Take a lookie. I think I have to buy a red dress this season. Must.

If you didn’t see this on eBay, I’m posting it because you really ought see it. I want it and I want it in my size. Someone, please find it for me. Today. Tomorrow. Any time. Just email me if you find one, ‘k?

Here’s the print:

The dress is by Serbin, a line that never seems to disappoint. I’ve seen dresses by this company that are really sweet and usually quite cute. Tell me–is this dog show dress cute er what? It’s even got pom-pon dingle balls on the hem. I can’t stand it.

I will wear it when I enter my dog Oslo in a world’s cutest mutt contest. I think he would win.

Hi there! Been busy adding some new things to the Lucitebox. Click the photos to be taken to the site.

Fun Vintage 60s Novelty Wicker Travel Theme Bag

Unusual Vintage 70s Mexican Shoulder Bag

Excellent Vintage 40s Mesh Bag with Chunky Plastic Hardware

Needlepoint Vintage 70s Flag Box Bag

Opulent Vintage 60s Brocade & Bead Evening Bag

Classic Vintage 60s Navy Faux Reptile Kelley Bag

Pretty Vintage 50s Cafe Au Lait Satin Evening Bag

Tri-Tone Vintage 60s Suede Top Handle Purse

And these, too:

Fab Hot Pink Vintage 50s Dress and Bolero –size L

Red Leather Russian Princess Vintage 60s Coat

I added a few suits the other day. I just love this Davidow suit and if the skirt fit me, it would never leave my hot hands (not that I have any place to wear this classy thing, but you never know–and it’s RED!)

I will add a small stash of vintage eyewear soon. Most of them are exceptionally amazing, but I’m not sure how I like the photos. I have never sold vintage eyewear, so I’m researching how to measure them, too.

Amazing Vintage 50s Etched Winged Cat Eye Glasses

Let’s pretend that Sabrina is winking at us while I bid you adieu for the day!

You probably read about the fauxlero on A Dress a Day. It’s a brilliant yet simple design detail that we see fairly frequently on vintage dresses. What’s not to love about a little jacket that simulates a bolero but doesn’t come off of the dress? Real boleros are so 1954, after all. Wait, fauxleros are also around at that time, too.

I’m coining a new word that’s related to the fauxlero. I think it would be a major coup if I could find a dress that has not just a fauxlero, but also a fauxverskirt

This cherry red faille 50s dress lacks the requisite fauxlero, but it does have some mighty fine fin-like seams on the shoulders. (By the way, if you love pockets, these are fabulous. They fold back into huge points.) Check out the detail I’m talking about–the fauxverskirt. See? It’s a full skirt that pretends to have a skirt over it.

The difference between a fauxverskirt and an overskirt is sometimes pretty subtle. Here’s a dress that’s got an overskirt that’s not fake.

Regular readers of A Dress a Day are championing a Wear Your Fauxlero Day. You can bet that I’ll be there if (or should I say when?) I find the perfect specimen. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I believe it was Deirdre who coined the term fauxlero in the comments section on Erin’s blog here. It’s a great word, isn’t it?

If you find any fauxverskirts, I’d love to see them. Bonus points for fauxleros with fauxverskirts.

Edited to add: Perhaps not a true fauxverskirt, but certainly a demi-fauxverskirt–this one is offered right now on eBay by Jumblelaya. You can click the photo to see the details on this dress.

Another fauxverskirt–this one has a corset style waist. The item is available at Magsrags. Technically, it’s not a true fauxverskirt. Perhaps we could call this fauxchos? Fauxskort? I don’t know what to call it, but it’s actually a split skirt from the 60s. The photo is clickable if you want to see more details or buy it.

Hello out there, everyone. It’s me, Sabrina the mannequin. Are we enjoying summer? We are! We’re totally thrilled to bring you “round three” of CLECKTIONS: What do you collect! Each month we show you someone else’s collection of stuff. We’re looking for other collectors to showcase their items on Hollygab, so please, contact us if you want to share your collection.

Say…have you been traveling? We’ve been taking a number of “staycations” where we just stay home and entertain friends in the back courtyard. As you all know, I stand in the corner most of the time, but once and awhile, the people will come to the Lucitebox headquarters just to see what I’m wearing. Right now, I’m wearing a vintage 50s travel themed skirt as a tribute to this awesome collection that we’re featuring today.

We’re delighted to share the collection of Lizzie Bramlett, the proprietor of Fuzzylizzie.

Lizzie is a retired teacher who lives in a little town between Asheville, NC and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She sells vintage clothing and patterns. She also writes and maintains a series of articles on fashion history. Some of my favorites are here. You really should check them out.

In addition to her clothing history articles and sales venue, Lizzie volunteers for an animal rescue group, transporting dogs to new homes and to breed rescue groups throughout the Southeast US.

Sabrina: How long have you been collecting the thing we’re showing on Clecktions? FuzzyLizzie: About 3 years.

Sabrina: What do you collect? FuzzyLizzie: I collect lots of things, but the collection I’m showing off here is my group of travel themed novelty print skirts from the 1950s and early 60s.

Sabrina: What sparked your interest in collecting the thing you collect?

FuzzyLizzie: I just find these skirts to be a perfect garment for a person who is equally passionate about travel and vintage clothing. The prints are like little snippets of history as they often reflect what was thought to be important about a culture at the time.

Sabrina: Show us the first piece you acquired for your collection? FuzzyLizzie: I had seen this skirt on Ebay but then it sold for much more than I was willing to part with. A few weeks later I found this one at a local flea market. I almost squealed out loud! After that one, I started looking for travel themed ones.

Sabrina: Do you collect other things besides this? FuzzieLizzie: Oh yes… I have large collection of vintage Scottie dog things. I especially love the ones that are obvious craft projects. I also love globes and things shaped like globes or decorated with maps. I have a large collection of vintage clothing beside the skirts. I love coming up with the complete ensemble - everything from the hat to the shoes. My garments start at 1918, and the collection pretty much ends in 1973. Sportswear is a specialty! To go with the clothing, I love old clothing display items and novel advertising. And I collect tourist items from Western North Carolina.

Sabrina: How do you display your collection? FuzzyLizzie: I never display all of it at one time. Most of it is stored in one of 2 rooms that are set aside for my vintage clothing. I store the skirts on special hangers, and then they are covered with a dust cover. The room is kept dark. Clothing is prone to fading! I do display the skirts one at a time, and several of them get worn from time to time!

Sabrina: What do you consider the piece de résistance of your collection? FuzzyLizzie:

Probably this skirt of a Parisian street scene. I know I paid more for it than for any of the others!

This NYC skirt ranks a close second. I love the humor of the “Cork Club” and “121″.

And then some of the skirts cross over into other collections, like this antique map print:

And this Horseless Carriage with the Scottie!

Sabrina: What a fun novelty print collection. These are some of the best skirts I’ve ever seen. Thanks for sharing them, Lizzie. Oh one other thing, people. Be sure to check out Lizzie’s blog. She recently did an entry to celebrate Vera’s birthday (you know, Vera–the fabulous designer of scarves, clothing and linens.) She’s 101 this year!

Hey there, lovely people. I missed the last two weeks of my little Friday feature, “I Gots the Wants!” Never fear, wanting is here. Again. I’m not sure what happened the last two weeks, but my desire for things just did not surface. I had a few things on my eBay watch list, but nothing that really grabbed me. Today is also a little bit “meh,” but we’ll mottle through with a few of my favorites. Remember, these are very often not sellers I have done business with before, so I cannot endorse their auctions. I mean I would if I could, but I can’t, so I won’t. All the images are clickable, but hurry if you gots the wants. Many of these things are ending soon.

WANTS! I confess that I almost didn’t want to show you this because I wanted to buy it for resale. I believe it’s got serious potential and that the bidding ought to go pretty high, so what the heck. I’ll share with you, but that’s only because I like you.

WANTS! Very cool gab western shirt from the 40s/50s. In red. Some flaws,but quite nice.

WANTS! Meet Bruce and Beth from Madison Ceramic Arts. I’m starting to think that every “I Gots the Wants” ought to include a set of these. Sometimes, the prices go very high, but if you’re not a stickler for condition, this pair of wacked-out modern dancers should be affordable because Bruce and Beth have their weird paddle hands broken. I am sure it was done intentionally. I love/hate these so much, I’d be tempted to break them, too, when I’m in a bad mood. By the way, if you ever want to buy me a gift, Madison Ceramic Arts modern dancers would be greatly appreciated.

WANTS! From the mistress of trompe l’oeil, Roberta Di Camerino, this gorgeous coat is just unreal. I want. It is $1,150 which is about $1100 more than I usually pay for my coats. Isn’t it AMAZING?! I want to say more about it, but I need coffee and can’t really think of anything besides that I like it. Very much.

WANTS! I love this dress. I think it might be too young for me, though. It’s got a 40″ bust and a 30″ waist, so maybe it will fit you and you will look lovely in it. It’s really cute.

WANTS! I feel the pull of the polka dot. Isn’t this amazing?! I love it, love it, love it! If this was in my size, I would bid until the cows come home and the big blue dots come home with me. Isn’t this dress amazing? I think it’s one of the neatest things I’ve seen in a long time. I once had a Jeanne D’arc dress and I remember it having a very gorgeous waist detail not unlike the dress below. But those dots–holy cwap! Very amazing.

Well, it seems that the little dog is crying to go outside. I will update the wants later today if there are more things on my list.

At least not now.

Holly posted this on Real Simple today. (Or as I like to call the magazine, “Real Pimple.” Don’t ask. Oh, you want to know why? I’ll try to explain it. That magazine gives me anxiety attacks. (They’re not the same ones I have when I drive by Container Store and look in the window at all of the perfectly co-ordinated storage bins and hangers lined-up in little row, but still.) I have horror fascination with how other people have such organized homes. Then I look at the price tags on the things in the Real Pimple and get mad. It’s easy to live that sweet, real simple style when you have rolls of hundred dollar bills to spend on freakin’ organizing devices. So, that’s it. The magazine gives me pimples so I call it Real Pimple. You know, because it makes me stressed about money. Or, organizing –something I do not do well. Or both.

Anyway, here’s something very cool. It’s a USB Memory Stick disguised to look like a mix tape. I like it. It’s such a simple, smart concept. It’s available at Target for just $20. If only I could find someone to take all of my actual mix tapes and put them on these new modern devices. Of course, then I’d become all sentimental and mawkish about the actual covers of the tapes. Once again, I’d bemoan the songs that cut off at the end of the tape. I’d find myself rolling my eyes when I looked at the the tapes where the mix tape maker failed to include the liner notes so I’ll never know who sings the songs. And, then I’d think about the king of the mix tape, who in the early 90s, drew most of the covers himself. His tapes are special. They’re in a pink vinyl cassette storage box. The other ones are in a grocery bag under my garment rack. (See, I AM organized, dammit!)

So silly.

I want to (and know I really ought to) purge my cassettes, but I’m having trouble doing that. What about you? Do you still have your mix tapes? If not, how does it feel to unload them? Were you sad?

I’m delighted that Maija Anderson, an Archivist at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center, agreed to stop by as our first a guest blogger on Hollygab. Maija graciously offered to write some sort of fashion-related review about once a month. (Actually, she expressed interest when I asked her to guest blog, and then I hounded her because that’s what friends are for, right?)

Maija is an early Lucitebox booster. I met Maija about six years ago when were were both selling vintage on eBay. We clicked right away. Her selection of merchandise and her approach to collecting and selling seems to always be in sync with my own. Frankly, I can’t imagine what I’d do without our insightful and engaging conversations about vintage. I look forward to our annual treks to the vintage show even if it’s rare that we find anything we’re looking for at the show. When you work in a niche business online, it’s a joy to meet someone in the flesh world that knows something about the bidness.

Thanks for writing this review, Maija!

The Cheap Date Guide to Style
Kira Jolliffe and Bay Garnett
Rizzolli, 2008

Anita Pallenberg is their God

Capitalized with poker winnings, Cheap Date magazine was founded in London, way back in 1997. Before the great handicraft revival, when “DIY fashion” had little cultural currency, Cheap Date was probably the only fashion magazine to advocate dumpster diving. Nowadays, both of the editors are professional style mavens: Bay Garnett has worked for Matthew Williamson, Chloe and British Vogue; Kira Jolliffe, self-proclaimed “style leader of the planet,” will make over your closet. Their aesthetic is strongly linked to the current vision of cool — much sought-after by twenty-somethings in my neighborhood – that says, “I’ve thrown on twenty mismatched accessories, a t-shirt and my Nana’s fur coat, and I’m up for anything.”

This is the only “guide to style” that I’ve ever bought. Wardrobe manuals, like fashion magazines, are an insidious apparatus of the fashion industry, hell-bent on convincing you to blow an irresponsible amount of money on looking as bourgeois and boring as possible. In these terms, the Cheap Date Guide to Style is not a revolutionary manifesto, but an enlightened viewpoint that explores the ambivalence many of us feel towards fashion and self-adornment. It dispels several fallacies perpetrated by the fashion-industrial complex, such as the cliché of “updating your look” with cheap, trendy pieces. Designer names and destination shopping are minimized. Their pithy, bold-face axiom “Fashion Detail is Style Death” immediately changed my shopping habits.

Ironically, the fundamentals of Garnett and Jolliffe’s approach are conservative: They advocate a wardrobe built on basics that are truly basic: Men’s t-shirts. Little black dress. Straight-leg jeans. Basics are supplemented with classics, both traditional and unexpected: Harris tweed. Motorcycle jacket. Cowboy boots. Finally, there’s the stuff that adds what some might call “mojo,” “flava,” or “moxie.” This category is vaguely-defined, since it should be unique to an individual; however, Jolliffe and Garnett indicate that these pieces are most likely to be found in a non-traditional shopping venue such as a thrift store, grandma’s house, or the garbage.

No antifashion or alternative style viewpoint can entirely renounce mainstream fashion and apparel marketing, and Cheap Date is no exception: “It bags” are eschewed, though fine jewelry is still considered an “investment.” While the editors never assume that all women want to look as slim, sexy, rich and white as possible, “Do’s and Don’t’s” abound. Interviews represent actresses and fashion designers as aspirational figures. In fact, those looking to this book for inspiration are most likely to find it in little-seen, aggressively unedited photographs of icons like Debbie Harry, Lauren Hutton and Keith Richards.

Summary: If you know who Jayne County is, you are likely to enjoy this book — Double points if you believe Jayne County is a style icon. If you are easily distressed by contradictions, or don’t believe that clothes from the 80s and 90s count as “vintage,” then don’t bother.

Ed. note: Hollygab is accepting publications for review. Please contact us to find out how to submit books that you’d like us to consider.