First Weekly Round-Up

I mentioned on twitter that I love when bloggers do weekly round-ups of interesting things they've seen out and about on internet-land and had been toying with the idea of starting my own up. I got a bit of encouragement so I thought I'd give it a go. The links won't all be vintage related but will hopefully still be interesting regardless - I'm also trying to figure out the best day to do this kind of post on but I've started with a Friday and I shall see how it goes. (I'm also trying to think of a nice snappy title - I was thinking of Friday (Links) on My Mind if I stay with Fridays. Shall have to ponder!)

All Five Alzanas via What Makes The Pie Shop Tick? on Flickr

♥ Mermaidens shared her latest project with us: a really beautiful printable paperdoll that you can purchase from her new shop

♥ Hannah of Leopard and Lipstick alerted me to the BBC film The Girl, which is about Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren - I'm intrigued!

♥ The Vintage Baroness shared some great photos from a  Renée Perle inspired spread she found in an issue of Vogue Germany.

♥ Shona showed us what she did when she lost one of her favourite earrings - a pretty great way to lessen the heartache.

♥ garçonnière shares her affection for designer Elsa Schiaparelli full of great photos of Schiaparelli's work and links to other posts about her (I also suggest checking out her post on photobooths, too!)

♥ Get some tips on how to do your own clone photos at Diversions from the queen of clone shots.

♥ One of my Tumblr pals started up a blogspot blog so go check it out and read the about page if you want an idea of what you might expect.
♥ Solanah of Vixen Vintage shared some gorgeous '50s Montgomery Wards catalogue pages that almost make me wish we weren't going into Autumn/Winter here. Almost.
♥ Two gorgeous watercolours from Caitlin Shearer that appeal to the lover of 'redundant technology' in me.
♥ Jessica wrote up a thoughtful post on dressing for both comfort and style when living with a chronic illness.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Finds from a day with Dad

From the super descriptive title I'm pretty sure you can guess what this post is going to be about! During the week I went for a country drive (well, we were only about an hour away from the city) with my dad and, because we don't see each other very often, he treated me to a couple of things I saw on our day out. I had some loose change of my own so picked up a few things, as well. They're from various op-/secondhand/vintage shops from along the way (a couple at Mannum and one...somewhere else that I honestly don't remember).

This dress is very lovely but too big for me so it might  make its way into my shop (which I've been sorely neglecting - I'm hoping I will get an update done either later today or sometime tomorrow so keep an eye out, though it'll be a little while before this makes it into the shop).

A mohair blend coat from the 1960s in a really great shade of green!

I love the double row of buttons.

And the goodies I bought for myself! There was a bag like this in blue, as well (which had nicer handles) but I liked the way the red looked and thought it might be more serviceable for me so I just got this one. 

I'm sure these bangles aren't any older than the '80s but they're cute and only cost me $1 all up.

This little camera dates to 1971 - I have to run a roll of film through it to see how it works but it looks to be in really nice condition. Another one for my collection! So, it was a fairly successful day and a very nice drive, to boot.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

The Way We Wear Fair March 2012

The other weekend I went to the Adelaide Way We Wear Vintage Fair - I've been a few times before and have never left empty handed. However, just as with most other places, I'm finding less and less that I can afford but I did find some knitting patterns (I really didn't need any more!) and a cake container (pictured at the end of the post) within the tiny budget I'd allowed myself for the night.

I didn't stay very long so I only got a few quick snaps with my iPhone - it wasn't as busy this time (I'm wondering if it was because it coincided with quite a few other events) and it just didn't feel as big to me in general, despite seeming to have the same amount of vendors. 

There is always a themed display - I believe there were two this time (I didn't actually stop to take a proper look). One for sixty years of Queen Elizabeth II being on the throne and one commemorating fifty years since Marilyn Monroe's death.

I got to a point where I'd just check out the prices on one or two of the items in a stall before moving on - I hadn't given myself much money to play with and I wasn't exactly in the mood for browsing without buying, which was a pity as there were some beautiful things to just gawk at I'm sure!

The cakes/cookies/scones set on the left is the absolute cutest I have ever seen. This lady's stall is always great - I've bought so much from her over the past few fairs and I'm considering going back to the next one just because of her stall (hoping she'll be there again) because I doubt I'll be going back for anything else.

I love the Stitchcraft booklets but only have one other from the 1940s so that was a nice addition to my pattern collection. You can see some photos of what's inside at the end of this set on flickr.

I hemmed and hawed a bit about getting this - was I only getting it because I was disappointed that all the dresses were way way out of my budget? Wasn't I only going to have yellow/grey/red in my future kitchen? etc. - but obviously I ended up coming home with it. It isn't often that I see Nally Ware that is even remotely affordable for me and I do love pink & black so I bought it! I was going to have a colour theme for my future kitchen but I've decided not to worry about that for now. And this now has my stockings in it and suits my bedroom quite well. (I was going to use it for doll clothes but brandnewarmour suggested stockings.)

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Silver Screen Sunday {Mad Monster Party?}

As you have probably guessed by now, Silver Screen Sunday has become a 'whenever I feel like it' feature for the time being. When my recent, er, obsession with Monster High dolls made me start thinking about other monster things that I love, I remembered I wanted to do a post on Mad Monster Party and never got around to it. So here it is!

For those of you who haven't seen it, Mad Monster Party is a 1967 Rankin/Bass animated feature; the basic plot is that Dr Frankenstein (voiced by Boris Karloff) is ready to give up the monster business and calls a convention of monsters, including Dracula, The Mummy, The Werewolf, et al, to elect his successor. 

I will admit that this is the only Rankin/Bass stop-motion film or special that I've seen but I have a feeling airing them on TV isn't as big a thing here in Australia as in the United States? Regardless, this movie is fab and appeals to me on many levels - I love monsters, I love kitsch and I love stop-motion animation. (Just a note: I think the ratio is slightly off on these screenshots but I didn't realise until after I'd saved them all.)

One of my absolute favourite things about this film is the character Francesca - I mean, she's got great style, amazing hair and is pretty darn sassy!

One of the sleekest flips I've ever seen

And check out the facial expressions - the animation in this is seriously impressive. Sure, the motion may be a little stilted at times but I think it adds to the charm. Plus all of the figures are so well crafted and have very individual personalities. 

I think this is one of my favourite onscreen Draculas, though I seem to say that about most Draculas. Hmmm. Check out the tune Our Time to Shine on YouTube.

Her green chiffon dress looks amazing with her bright red hair.

This is my favourite of Francesca's outfits....The pink ribbon tied around her pith helmet really does take the cake!

But it's not just Francesca's style that I like - I've always been attracted to the casual merchant sailor look as you can see on the fella on the right. (The more I look at him, the more he's starting to resemble Mike Nesmith! I think it's just the beanie...his jaw is more square than Mike's.)

And The Monster's Mate, second from right, (voiced by Phyllis Diller) has an interesting go-go granny chic look. I dig it! And you can see more screenshots from the film over here at Flickr.

The theme song sung by Ethel Ennis over clips from the film - I wanted to put this song by 'Little Tibia and the Fibias' but embedding was disabled! The theme is great, too, but in a different way - it's not the kind of song I was expecting for a film about monsters but it's quite lovely.

So, who else loves this film or monster films in general? What are some of your favourite monster films?

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Plaid, pockets and buttons

As I'm on a very strict budget at the moment, I've not bought very many new clothes, either new new or new-to-me vintage. However, before I put myself on a budget, I bought one last vintage dress from etsy as I just couldn't resist it - it's plaid! It has buttons and pockets! And contrasting cuffs & a collar!

It was an instant favourite and I had to wear it out straight away - so, I wore it to the Adelaide Ukulele Society meetup - and even wore it a few more times after that...

Outfit details: scarf - church op-shop; earrings - gift; 1940s dress - etsy; belt - ?; shoes - Payless (US).

And, because I first wore this out to the Adelaide Ukulele Appreciation Society meet-up, here's a ukulele video for you all! I was asked by one of my YouTube ukulele pals if I would play the song Born Too Late by The Poni-Tails, so I did. It's a really cute song and I hope you enjoy my version of it. Here's the original for reference.

Oh, and while we are on the topic of ukuleles I did a guest post at Lollipops and Roses where I show off my uke, Sugar Kane.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Review {Secondhand and Vintage London}

Around the same time that I was contacted by Collectif to review some of their clothes, I was also contacted by Vivays Publishing to ask if I'd be interested in reviewing a couple of their books on the subject of vintage. Well, I love books and I love vintage so I said yes! The first book that I was sent was Secondhand and Vintage London by Andrew Whittaker - now, some of you may wonder what an Australian who (I should add as a disclaimer) has never been to London might have to say on such a book. 

And I was wondering the same myself but I found I actually do have enough to say; the only things I can't comment on, of course, are whether the descriptions given to each places are accurate and that sort of thing. Hopefully this will still be a helpful review, though.

The book is quite a nice size at A5 - it's got a lot of information packed into its 160 pages so if it were any smaller I think it would be too thick and unwieldy. It's small enough to fit into a larger handbag or satchel so easy to cart around with you as well.

There is a reference page that will tell you how to use the book - it is divided up into chapters that each have a theme as well as an 'Only in London' section that has carboot sales, etc. Each entry is organised by location. Then there is the price guide so you know what kind of price-range you're in for at each store (though I always find that pricing and what's affordable and what's expensive will be relative to each individual).

Every store, market, etc., is nicely described by Whittaker and he concisely sums up each place in a few sentences.

As mentioned in the introduction to the book, you won't find high end antique dealers nor are there many charity shops (there is a page dedicated to a small selection toward the end) - instead, Whittaker has assembled a very fine collection of everything that sits in between the two extremes.

The organisation and layout of this book is fantastic - with each chapter providing you with an assortment of stores, markets, etc., combined under a common theme it's very easy to find what you are looking for.

I also think this would be a great book for anyone who is travelling to London and those who live there, alike.

The map section is very well set out using the colour code system from each themed chapter. Each map also has a QR code that you can scan with your smartphone if you find Google maps easier to use than paper maps. The maps accessed on your phone still have the codes for each shop and are updated regularly "to keep pace with London's evolving secondhand and vintage landscape".

One may wonder - why would I buy a book when I could just use google? Which is a valid question but sometimes it's just nice when someone else has done all the (hard, incredibly well researched) work for you! Plus, don't you ever find google overwhelming? Where do you start? I personally find books like this far less overwhelming.

Of course, in this digital age we may also wonder how up to date a book may stay when websites can be updated much more regularly but each of the entries has as much information as you could need - phone numbers, websites, opening hours, etc. - so you can always check up on your favourite entries to make sure they are still there by the time you get around to them. And the online maps, at least, are updated regularly.

And if I didn't want to visit London before (which I did) then I most certainly do now!

Vivays Publishing | Secondhand & Vintage London

TL;DR - well organised, articulate & concise, comprehensive, easy to use & navigate.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Tea Cups & things

When I posted pictures of my serving cart, I mentioned that it's usually covered in teacups and the like, and a few of you expressed interest in seeing my teacup collection...so here it is! I don't really have all that many so I've included some that belong to my mum, as well.

You may think I've just posted the same teacup and saucer set twice...but I actually have two of these. One belonged to my paternal grandmother, and I found the other in an op-shop. I've since seen a mint green set that wasn't, alas, for sale. One of them was made in Japan, the other is Westminster China Australia.

I'm not one for wearing florals, that much, but I love floral patterns on other things. Especially pink floral patterns!

These are some novelty teapots my sister got for my mum, including a jar of marmalade and a fancy toilet.

 

Little coffee cups (above & below) - the woman mum bought these from broke one as soon as we went over to buy them...luckily she had multiples so brought in another the next week.

I have a vague notion that these are larger because they were made for men? Both of these (above & below) belong to my mother, as well.

And these are my favourites so I had to post more photos of them.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x