Hollygab

I just loaded a Lucitebox fan page on Facebook. I’m looking forward to working on it.

Won’t you please become my fan?

Oh, and if you happen to see me out and about, don’t hesitate to come right up to me and ask for my autograph. I’ll be the one sipping my martini (dirty, stirred not shaken) wearing a maribou trimmed cocktail dress. Don’t be surprised if I happen to be surrounded by other adoring fans.  It’s okay. We’ll make room for you in our cozy, large, round, corner booth.

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May 1957. Life Archives. Overall view of screaming young female fans as they watch singer Pat Boone (unseen) performing on stage during his concert at auditorium.

I am sorry that I used to call you Molly Ringworm in the ’80s. You look amazing and I love your Modernist jewelry. This is my favorite look of the whole night.

Lookin’ good, Sig!

She got the memo that last night’s color was supposed to be “blush.” She did it right.  Anna Kendrick’s dress is pretty, youthful, femmy and very flattering.

She didn’t get the memo that other color of choice was Nacreous (It was like being at a seafood buffet with all those oyster colored pearly gowns.) I am glad that Maggie wore this Dries Van Noten dress in an abstract watercolor print. Kinda awesome.

I like this hem/ shoe combo. The dress bodice is meh, but I give her props because she’s someone to watch.

Now for the bads.

“I can’t wait! When I present at the Oscars, I’m wearing a can-can dress mixed with a toilet bowl brush with a glittery handle on it. We’re gonna dip dye it all purple, too!”

From far away, we thought those were hand prints on her boobs. Or cinnamon buns.

Vera–when they said your dress was modeled after une serviette, I’m assuming you thought that meant something other than napkin.  Your dress looks like it was folded in a fan and stuffed right into the water glass.

“Come celebrate with me. Next year, I’m turning really, really, really old.” (Does this woman look  like she’s 45? It’s amazing how the venerable house of Chanel can age the shit of someone. Even Botox can’t help this thing.)

This what happens when you go to the Asian Market, buy some shrimp crackers and then ask them to make you a dress that looks like shrimp crackers.

Well, what’d you think of the clothes last night? Do tell!

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Images found here

This one goes out to all you IHot* patrons in the house.

It don’t matter the size of your legs. Put on your hot pants and groove to Honey Cone!

*International House of Hot Pants

Even if you’re not headed to a gorgeous tropical island this Spring, you’ll feel like a total hottie in this awesome Hawaiian sarong dress. I think it’s from the ’60s and I think it is unrelentingly sexy!

What do you think?

Look at that hip drape!

You can just imagine being here, can’t you?

Oh, hunny bunnies! WHY?! WHY don’t we all plan something like this at this time of the year?! I always say I’m going to do it and then by the time I’m ready to run away from this frozen tundra or overdose on hillbilly heroin, I ain’t got no tickie to nowhere and no drugs besides Aleve, either!

I suppose I could just go here:

Definitely DO NOT want to be here:

How about these vintage stilettos?

I junk picked these about five years ago. I always wanted Sabrina to wear them. They’re tiny and they’re not in the best condition. I put them on her today. She told me that they’re not her CFM pumps. They’re her “Fuck you!” pumps.   If anyone ever tries to break into our house, she’s going to kick’em in the shins! Or she’ll kick ‘em in the balls if they try to steal our vintage lamps and Mid Century Modest crap. Of course, presuming my bad ass Husky doesn’t get them first.

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Image of Tahiti from a travel site I forgot to save, Tiki bar photo from Arkiva Tropika, Parking spot savers (also known as chairs) from here.

I’ve been having those kind of days for the last two weeks!

Love the look on the Bull Dog’s face when after he’s gotten his treat.

Thanks for sending this to me, Brigitte.

I just got a Chico’s catalog in the mail. I am not a fan of Chico’s. I didn’t grow up with catalogs and I sometimes forget that if you buy something from an online catalog, they like to sell your address.  Suddenly, I’m getting catalogs from places that would have never hit my radar even if it was pointed right at Mr.(?) and/or Mrs. (?) Chico or the whole Chico dynasty. (As an aside–if it’s a ladies catalog shouldn’t it be called Chica’s?) Oh, hey guess what? They’re carrying denim leggings. They’re calling them “jeggings.” Excuse me while I barf.

But one cool thing the only cool thing about this catalog is the copy on the cover: “When did you first fall in love with fashion?”

And that’s what’s on my mind today.  Your assignment is to talk to me about this subject while I go do a dreadful chore. I’m the vacuum cleaning woman for my entire apartment building and it’s time for a touch-up.  I’ll spare you the exciting details since I’ve already gabbed about that in the past, but don’t forget to leave me your thoughts in the comments! Chico’s and I are dying to know when this affair started. If I come back and there’s not a slew of comments here, I’m going to put all of you on Chico’s mailing list.

Up next: my thoughts on the fashions from the latest Sundance catalog.

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Child model Barbara Ann Scott, 4 years old, walking down model’s ramp at large fashion luncheon. Nina Leen photo from Life Archives, 1950.

I have to dash to walk dogs all day. It’s a gray day here in Chicago and all I do is wish I could stay indoors and putter around with my website. The temps here are in the high 20’s and I gotta tell you, I’m sick and tired of winter. Plus, it’s just started to snow. That’s lovely, but…enough already!

One of the first women to buy something from my site when it launched in May, 2008 is a woman named Karen who lives in California.

From where I’m sitting — Winter Depression Nation — I think Karen looks just gorgeous in this cotton vintage dress! (She wore the dress to a Summer wedding just a few weeks after buying it.)  Stealthy shopper she is, Karen snagged this dress from the site immediately upon seeing it on Dress a Day. (Go see what Erin had to say about it.)

Karen looks positively radiant, don’t you think?  Seeing this splatter of lovely shades of blue on a day like today makes me giddy with anticipation for Spring. Thanks for sharing your photo with us, Karen! And thanks again for shopping at Lucitebox.

I’ve been trying to save this photo for something relevant, and then I realized that most of the time what I’m doing every afternoon is dog related. In fact, I’m heading out (late) to do some dog walks. Just finished wrangling Blue, Oslo, & Ginger.  Also walked cutie face Logan.

I’m now driving a few miles away to walk Trixie, Po’ Boy & Jinx, Betty & Henry,  Sandy & Malcolm, and Eddie & Petey.  Finally, there will be two more walks for the Oslosian sled dog tonight.

This is what an Oslosian sled dog looks like and this is his typical mid afternoon position.

Later tonight there will be some good times at the Green Mill unless one of my lady friends has to cancel. There’s a sixteen piece swing orchestra that plays every Thursday night.  Sigh…what to wear? If it looks like a good outfit, I’ll make someone take a photo of it because I know you’re dying to see more of me around these parts.

Hey. Find me that dress, will ya? It’s got wiener dogs on it!

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Image from my fave flavor of the month–My Vintage Vogue.

Pardon my French, but mais freakin’ oui! You must remember how much I love gingham. Well, here it is in the form of a mighty cute knockin’-around 1950s dress.

Madames et mademoiselles, check out zeee illustrations on zeee pockets! Les Holy Balls!

Je veux! JE VEUX! Je veux!

It’s on eBay now. It’s my size, though the length of the bodice would be a scant half inch short. Why am I not buying it? I could deal with the holes under the arm as I’d conceal them or fix them, but I can actually see the other holes in photos and they’re front and center. Zut alors! I love this dress.

Hmmm…maybe I have a brooch that would conceal those holes. Perhaps that’s what originally caused the holes?

(For those who asked, the auction ended today right here.)

I wake up at around 4:30 without fail. I have no intention of getting up at 4:30 in the morning.  Sometimes, I am able to fall back asleep. Most times, I have to fight the general anxiety and worry that keeps me from falling back into my slumber.

I’ve discovered something that helps and it’s not drugs! I play a mind game. I imagine myself in the mall in my home town. It’s the mall I rode the bus to in order to go to the grand opening when I was about twelve years old.  It’s the mall that I worked in as a Benetton Teen. I also worked at the coffee shop right across the corridor. They fired me at Benetton and I started at the coffee shop the next day. I know this mall. I don’t even want to try to calculate the number of hours I spent there in my youth.  It would probably be an unfortunate amount of time for anyone to be in a mall that didn’t have Nieman Marcus or a thrift store.

The game starts where I map out each store’s location starting from one entrance. In my head, I move through the entire mall citing each store that I remember.  At times, the occupants changed.  I like to test myself to see if I can remember which stores were there and for how long. I like to make a little visual picture of the store, too. I try to remember things I bought. Look, Buddy Nut Squirrel–one dollar and fifty cents worth of dark chocolate almond bark. And there’s Baker’s Shoes–first pair of doughnut heel shoes. What about that make-up store with one zillion products you could test? All of the testers were in little pots and the entire store was mirrored. What was that store called? The sign outside said, “Come play in our pots!” The lady who helped me try on makeup had a thick pageboy haircut. I asked her how she got her hair to be so shiny. She said, “I take brewer’s yeast.”

Just remember, when you get to Tiffany’s Bakery, the baked goods smell better than they taste and they charge more than anyone ought to charge for a doughnut.