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Vintage Culture - September 2007

So You Want To Start Collecting :)

September 28th 2007 23:17
I know someone who claims to have paid $8 each for a pair of robs jon chairs at a thrift shop. Each is worth around $1000 US today...

It takes time to train your eye, and learn the names, but, it can be a hobby that you can develop here and there. A good place to start is pbs' Antiques Roadshow Antiques Roadshowsite, there is a lot of general information and pointers for where to go next....

The best info seems to pick something you really like, whether pottery or painting, and spend the most time on that.



As vintage becomes more and more popular, the fakes proliferate (btw, the above is not vintage, but a new collection One of my specialties is clothes. I still kick myself over not buying, at a thrift shop, an authentic Calvin Klein (for about $10) because it had a hole (which I now know could have been properly repaired).

And years later I bought a blouse with a Calvin Klein label, which my gut told me wasn't real, but it had the label (about the same price as the dress I didn't buy). I never wore that supposed Calvin Klein blouse, because everything from the feel of the fabric to the buttons to the cut told me it wasn't real. It just hung in my closet for years. A reminder.

The best places to find authentic clothes is around big cities. New York, L.A., San Francisco. It's hard for me now in a small town to come up with the real stuff at small prices, although there are sales from reputable stores of designer clothes (see Pennysmart.net). (Full disclosure: pennysmart is another of my blogs)


I'm mostly limited to ebay now, and I look at the feedback of the seller's very closely to avoid fraud. Having a lot of feedback, even though positive, is not a guarantee. I trust the vibe I get, and I admit I'm partial to Mom and Grandmother sellers. I just don't always trust that the buyers really know the authentic from the fake....

But, if I take a trip to a large community, hopefully my little money stash that I keep trying to build up, (if only the car and our health would cooperate) I'm going shopping

btw, theres an interesting article in the Village Voiceabout copyright infringement in the fashion industry. Which kind of seems like an oxymoron, since everything is pretty uch “inspired”....Wikipedia Commes Des Garconsseems to inspire a number of folks, so I included the Rolling Stones fashion pic above.

Recently Suzy Menkes of the International Herald chastised Marc Jacobs for listless designs that lacked the power of the vintage originals International Herald Tribune And the bebe version of Versace (below) is great...

Versace
Versace


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The Emmy's and Vintage Couture

September 15th 2007 21:46
Melanie Brown in vintage at the VMA's
Melanie Brown celebrating vintage at the VMA's

Tomorrow night I will be watching the red carpet for the gowns. I know, who wins and all that is important. Sigh. But, oh the dresses.

One of Hollywood's favorite places to find vintage couture is decades, Inc.. these folks post pictures, but not prices (yikes). Still, it's fun to look....
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The Music Of The Beatles

September 12th 2007 22:08
I've been going back and forth about tackling the effect of the Beatles on the world's culture, vintage and otherwise. Sheesh, that would have to be about a ten piece series, at least.

But, there's a new movie coming out, Across The Universe, and just watching the trailer did something for me where you used to have to ingest something for the same effect. And that's all I have to say about that - I'm a Gram now and there's are talks with my Grandsons ahead....

Anyway, here's the trailer, and it looks good....You Tube
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Marlene Dietrich

September 12th 2007 03:04
Marlene Dietrich
Considered one of the greatest actresses of all time, Marlene Dietrich was a chorus girl, a singer and an actress all wrapped into one.

She exuded a confident sexuality, symbolizing the liberated arts of Berlin, before the cold iron grip of the Nazis would cast a thick black smoke over the city. Dietrich portrayed an ambiguous sexuality, often dressing in men's clothing, never admitting to her sexual orientation.

And people loved her for it.

Those long legs. The eyes. The slightly downturned mouth. She was a classical beauty, yet she pushed against all the boundaries and chains that would have left her a marionette in a theatre of laughing hyenas.

Her big role was as Lola Lola in The Blue Angel, casting her as a sexy cabaret singer... the movie would be banned in California and then in Nazi Germany. Luckily, we're free to enjoy the film, years after it made history.

Marlene Dietrich
She was known for her raspy voice, often imitated by women trying to play the sexy club singer... Ernest Hemingway said:

"if she had nothing more than her voice, she could break your heart with it."

Ah, Ernest, you must have lusted after her on the radio. You wily dog, you.

Let's watch her on screen, shall we?





* the first image is from this Wikipedia page.
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Delicious Memories

September 6th 2007 02:21
Irish Stew
Irish Stew
Our senses hold some of our most potent memories.

Touching the unique old bottle or smelling Avon's Topaze perfume, or other vintage powders and colognes, sends me back in time to sitting cross legged on the thick carpeted floor of my Grandmother's bedroom. There's a large open fabric jewelry box beside me, and I'm holding sparkling bracelets and clip earrings up to catch the morning light from the window


[ Click here to read more ]
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