Tuesday 31 May 2011

Of 'Richards' And Their 'Excaliburs'....

Found this little snippet the other day and wanted to share it with you! It's a tiny paragraph from the 'In The Know' section of the 21 February, 1967, edition of Look Magazine. David Hemmings, who had just finished Blow-Up, tells American readers what's what at the mo in Swingin' London....

Click and enlarge to read it better!


There's another article I want to share with you lot from the same Look Magazine called The Generation Gap...about the clash between 'hippies' and 'the man'...hopefully in the next day or two! This will have to tide you over until then!!

Love, loves!
Dolly

Friday 27 May 2011

Gosh Golly Gee!

Sorry I've been absent for so long, my loves! My uncle was very ill and in ICU for a week and a half and then passed away last week, so it's been a bit crazy around here. I promise to get back to the grindstone and post often again now that things have settled down a bit! In the meantime, check out the snazzy vintage hat and granny boots I picked up at Goodwill during a quick 10 minute browse Friday afternoon:


I've been looking for a pair of grannies for AGES, but could never find a cheap pair!

I thought I'd take this photo in front of my Pocahontas print as the feather in my hat kind of mirrors the feather in her hair!

....$5.85 for both. Can't beat that! The shoes are about a half size too big, but who cares!? The hat, however, fits my head like it was made just for me! I bought it to sell without even trying it on, but I think this bad boy is staying in my closet and becoming my favourite hat. Yayyy!! As Patsy Stone said, "You can never have enough hats, gloves, and shoes."

I've been neglecting my usual '60s mod look in favour of a '40s set the last few days. I'm liking the results. Thankfully my "Beatle-bang", if curled and pinned just right so the longer edges actually appear shorter, are easily transformed into a pseudo "Betty-bang". Plus, I like how this set makes a very casual (it's getting too hot in Tennessee for anything but)outfit look more put together. I'm still a mod at heart though!

Sunday 15 May 2011

Get a Job...ShaNaNaNa ShaNaNaNaNaNa



This job search is really beginning to get depressing. It's either crickets chirping or a flat out 'No". I'm over it. And I'm even more over being broke. It doesn't help that ASOS has some lovely stuff in stock. Normally I'm against really 'new' clothes as opposed to 'new to me' clothes, but they have some real snazzy stuff in.



ASOS Shift Dress with Contrast Hem,£40.00


ASOS Contrast Placket And Collar Shirt,£30.00


ASOS Linen Pencil Dress in Color Block, £45.00


Whistles Kate Blouse with Ruffle Front Detail, £125.00 (This top is gorg, but why anyone would want to pay that much when the thrift stores are full of vintage ones for 3 bucks is beyond me....)


ASOS Swing Dress with Broderie Collar, £30.00


Coast Crochet Slip Dress, £125.00


Coast Livy Print Dress, £115.00


ASOS REVIVE Maxi Dress in Colour Block, £65.00

What's Goin' On: 16-22 May, 2011



19 May:

Boom Shaka Lacka!
Barrio Central Basement Bar
6 Poland Street, Soho
5t's & 6t's Rhythm'n'Blues, Jamaican grooves (Shuffle, Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae), Dancefloor Jazz (not bathroom Jazz), 6t's & 7t's Soul, early Funk, Boogaloo and Bossa Nova and Samba and sambuca in cool basement.
8pm-1am
Free Entry


20 may:


Pork & Beans
Positively 4th Street
119 Hampstead Road, NW1 3EE
London, United Kingdom
This month joining the residents Tomas & Jamie will be Ian Jackson bringing all sorts of storming musical magic from his incredible collection. Be sure to be surprised!
Also as ususal Ethan and guests be spinning sweet Soul, Funk & Crossover upstairs under the guise of "Brothers & Sisters"!
The venue is Positively 4th Street (...four minutes from Warren Street, Euston Square or Mornington Crescent Tube stations):
http://www.positively4thstreet.co.uk/contact.html
8pm-1am
Free entry

Saturday 14 May 2011

"The Same As They Was Before They Was"---Janice Dickinson 1977


Sozzles for my abscence for the last couple of weeks, my little munchkins! Lots going on! I hope to make up for it in today's post, where I'll share with you something from an old sewing catalog I re-discovered a few days ago, the contents of which I have yet to find anywhere on the internet. I'm going a few years later with the subject matter than most things I post about on here! I hope you'll forgive me!!!

Everyone knows Janice Dickinson. Self proclaimed 'first Supermodel', she became one of the most famous faces of the late '70s and '80s after appearing on the cover of American Vogue in 1978. But in the Fall of 1977, she did a little shoot for Simplicity Patterns Home Catalog.....













PS...Is it just me, or is Blogger having MAJOR problems lately? Took me over an hour to upload these pics and the other day I couldn't even get on????

Saturday 7 May 2011

The Kitchen Of Tomorrow...Yesterday, 1975


I found this great Hotpoint catalog at my Pappy's the other day and just had to do some quick scans and share it! There's no date, but they finished the house where he lives around 1975, so I'm assuming it's from right around there. Not to mention, the women in the photos just SCREAM mid-seventies.....

































Tacky and gorgeous! Just like my Pappy's uber seventies orange kitchen! No kidding, the orange on the wall in the washing machine photo is the same colour of his kitchen counters and backsplashes....not to mention the same colour of the luciously '70s light fixtures in the kitchen as well as in the dining room. It sets off the dark wall paneling quite nicely! I should get photos of it one day and post them!

PS...update on the dress: I've altered the pattern and already have the bodice together...there's a little issue of the bodice being slightly short and not matching up in the front with the back, not sure why because the bodice length is the same as the original? The back is also slightly big and gappy at the shoulder blades. But I'm trying to come up with a solution and then I just need to finish and attach the skirt. Should be finished by Monday.
Happy weekend, my little bumblebees!!!!
xx

Thursday 5 May 2011

'Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?'

Right, my little chickens, your old friend the Dollster is back with a 'Fashion Thursday' post that requires your input!
I've decided that I simply MUST make time to do some sewing again. "Why haven't you been sewing all along, my dear?", I hear the peanut gallery query. The answer quite frankly is that I have no place TO sew. You see, my mother sold her mid '70s model Singer machine/table back at the end of August. As for my own machines, I only have two:
A mid '50s mint green Elna, that is unfortunately in dire need of motor work (probably just a good oiling actually) which I don't want to get into myself and which, being unemployed, I can't afford to PAY someone to do. The other machine is a Singer portable that is about seven or eight years old.
Both of these machines need a table to set up on. Now, I HAVE a lovely 1940's sewing table but unfortunately it's in the basement and very heavy. I've been trying to get help to get it upstairs (and up stairs again) and into my room for a good three months now.
Anyway, I've decided that I'm just going to start on some patterns and maybe through dire need I can convince someone around here to give me a hand!
My new project is going to be to alter some old patterns from the '50s, '60s, and '70s that I inherited from my grandmothers. My grandmothers were not small women. I, on the other hand, am a modern size 00, or will be again once this winter weight is completely gone! Most of the patterns I have are vintage size 18-ish or a bit larger, so there's a good amount of altering to do. But I really think that I can do it. I've altered so many vintage dresses to fit me and I've drafted and altered lots of my own designs....we'll see how it turns out!
The pattern I decided to start with is a 1964 Simplicity pattern for a one piece back wrap dress.

I've got three lovely fabrics that I picked up at Wal Mart on the cheap (golly, how I hate admitting that!) specifically for toiling. They're lovely vintage-y cottons and I have enough of all of them to make this dress, but I'm not sure which one to use....although it only really matters in the case that my initial toile turns out the first time!

A


B


C


All three of the fabrics are patterns, but are thankfully not one way designs!
So which do you lot think would look the nicest? Let me know because I simply can't decide on my own! If my toile turns out, I'm defo making a second one of these in a pink and white gingham!
Of course, I'll post my progress as I go along!
Bye bye for now my daahhlings!
x