Who here is obsessed with the 1920s? /raises hand I don’t even know why, but over the years I’ve become more and more enchanted with the Jazz Age. My initial reaction to…
-
-
1920s Flapper Hairstyle Tutorial + Halloween Speakeasy Party
This past weekend we attended a speakeasy/housewarming party for friends who have just bought a 1920s home. This presented the perfect opportunity to practice more vintage hairstyling techniques, which I will share…
-
New Vintage Toy – Brownie Camera, 1946
This past weekend in Alameda, I couldn’t resist visiting one of my favorite antiques shops, where I found this Kodak Brownie camera for $25. It’s a Brownie Target Six-20, made in 1946.…
-
Fashion Face-Off: Regency vs. 1960s
We all know history (and fashion) repeats itself, and designers of the past were as inspired to borrow from previous decades and centuries just as much as fashion labels are today. This…
-
A Day in the 1930s
This past Saturday, Oscar and Debbie Sessions, plus myself, volunteered to appear in a couple historic Reno homes, included in the Reno Historic Preservation Society’s second annual “Harvest of Homes” tour. Oscar…
-
Pretty Victorian Creatures – New Photographs, and New Old Photographs
Holy Fritatas, I’ve been been busy. The Victorian Steampunk Ball is this Saturday and I kinda went off the deep end and decided to make new costume pieces for it…with two days…
-
What If I Were…my Grandmother in 1945?
Lots of photography, but not much costuming lately. I’m going through a sewing funk, but still need an outlet for history-related geekery, so photography is it. So far in the “What If…
-
What If I Were, 1930s
“What If I Were…sitting with Hurrell in 1930?” Yesterday I received Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques in the mail, and read it cover-to-cover last night. That meant hair adventures today, so I…
-
Edwardian Footwear – Thrift Score!
It seems like every time I go in a thrift store lately (all two times in the past two weeks), I come away with some really great stuff. Both the Salvation Army…
-
The Lady Sunbeam Vintage Hair Dryer – Controlled Heat Deluxe!
Last week I met a friend of mine at the Salvation Army Thrift Store, and we proceeded to giggle like idiots whilst scavenging for *really cool stuff*, which this particular Thrift Store…
-
What If I Were…1950s
Continuing on with the historical photo project I talked about last time, I’ve played around with some 1950s style photos. The 1950s are an interesting time, because *everything* is stylized: models, makeup,…
-
The “What If I Were…” Historical Photo Project
As most of you know, I love photography. It’s not only a very important aspect of presenting our work on our blogs, but it’s also something we can have a lot of…
-
Back from The Lake Tahoe Gatsby Festival, 2011
Sunday – picnic at the Pope Mansion, replete with vintage cars, great music, and wonderful costumes to oggle. The Lake Tahoe Gatsby is a lovely, miniature-version of the Oakland Gatsby. It’s a…
-
How to Make a Quick and Easy 1920s Bathing Suit
In honor of the delightful 1920s events we’ve had this Summer, including the Lake Tahoe Gatsby coming up this weekend, I want to share with you a fun little project you can…
-
1920s Fun at the Ehrman Mansion, Sugarpine Point, Lake Tahoe
On Saturday, four Great Basin Costumers “invaded,” as we do, the Sugarpine Living History Day, a mildly 1900-1930s event held at the old Ehrman Mansion on West Shore at Tahoe. We went…
-
Pretty New Vintage Things to Admire …
Two new items for your consideration, now available in my Etsy shop: A beautiful, handmade Edwardian reticule. The first is an Edwardian reticule. This little purse is truly amazing, and in absolutely…
-
How to Take and Make 1920s-style Costume Photos
Last time, I posted a number of lovely 1920s portraits and asked you to take a look and be inspired, so that in this post I can show you how you can…
-
1920s Photo Inspiration – Portraits of Pretty Pretty Ladies
This one is lighted with artificial lights from 2 directions – shot on a black backdrop, a persian rug, and with a cool chair. This is a good shot to show off…
-
Vintage Black 1960s Dress
Gratuitous outfit post, to distract you while I feverishly work on the red polonaise, to be worn this weekend (eeek! it has no sleeves!) Also, this is one of my favorite dresses…
-
Vintage Patterns in the Boutique
Just as a quick aside, I’ve started listing my recent vintage pattern haul in the Boutique on Etsy. I have quite a few to list – 20 or 30 – mostly from…