Channeling Your Inner Lucy Ricardo and Betty Draper

I have always adored watching I Love Lucy. Not only was she funny, she also had such great style! Her outfits were always so well put together and she looked so marvelous in them! Whenever I see polka dots I am always reminded of her. I have a few black and white polka dot print items, a dress, a jacket and a blouse. I even have a red and white polka dot top. While out at an estate sale I ran across this little number and I just had to have it.

It's a vintage 1970's sheer poly navy polka dot print dress but to me, nothing about this dress screamed DISCO.  It has a V neck with faux white shell and belts at the waist. I loved the full skirt. The belt was attached to the hanger although I do not think it's the belt that originally came with it as the polka dot print is larger than the print on the dress but I did not mind at all.  It reminded me of Lucy and I just had to have it and at $1.00 who could blame me?

The sale was wonderful and it was stacked with many dresses and shoes most of which where from the 70's and 80's. While looking through them I was surprised at how much the prints and shapes reminded me of this lady.

The elegant housewife, Betty Draper!

I knew with some simple styling these dresses would be close to something she would have in her wardrobe so I was sure to snatch them up and yes, they each were only $1.00

This is a 1980's Vintage dress by Orvis. It's a rayon blend with a gorgeous aqua floral print.

It's full skirt is pleated and it buttons on the bodice with these amazing sparkly lavender buttons! It belts at the waist with original belt and has short sleeves. 

This one is also from the 1980's by Draper & Damons. It has a semi geometric print

in muted colors, full skirt, belts at waist with original belt, v neck and 3/4 inch sleeves.

This one is from the late 60's to early 70's by Willi of California. It's got a lovely floral garden theme is pastel colors. The fabric is a cotton sheer. This dress has long sleeves and a button up bodice, V neck and belts at the waist with a full skirt. 

I added small petticoats to these dresses to give them a bit more volume and give them a more retro look.

I also found this sweet apron which I think paired with the polka dot dress gives a perfect retro housewife look:

Once again my bargain hunting was successful. 

Til next time

The Retro Glam Girl

Retro Glam Styling....on a budget

 

thrifted retro embroidered peasant blouse $3.99

thrifted retro basket bag $5.99

thrifted denim like pencil skirt $4.99

 

 

Lately I have been tossing things out of my closet. I had so many items that I just did not wear anymore and they were taking up too much space. So out they went. It was a little scary to do this but in the end I was able to focus on having a better wardrobe. The items I kept were staple items.

I had day dresses, work dresses and fancy dresses. I had blouses for work and play. I had 3 pairs of jeans and a bunch of tees. I felt good. I did notice however that I what I did not have was a pencil skirt. I browsed online for the perfect pencil skirt and found one. It was 17.99 which I considered good (it was on sale) however there was 6.00 shipping and tax and the whole thing would be close to $30.00. I couldn't justify spending that on just one skirt.

 

A few days later while on my lunch I headed out to a little thrift shop. As I browsed I stumbled across a very nice black pencil skirt.... IN MY  SIZE! I took it into the dressing room for a quick try and wouldn't you know it... it fit like a GLOVE.  It was black and had little to no wear to it. It had a bit of a stretch to it, was a cotton blend , zipped in back and had a little slit. It was by Jones New York and was only $3.99. I snatched it up quickly and took it home to see how many outfits I could create with it!

 

The hubs and I ventured out to a few local thrift shops recently. I was looking for some sweet summer like staples ..vintage or retro. I was able to find a retro white embroidered peasant like blouse! I had been wanting one for awhile and was so glad to have found a pretty one in great condition. I was also able to find another pencil skirt but this one resembled denim! Skirts are so great for summer and I think having two retro pencil skirts is perfect!

I normally look at the handbags first when I thrift. I was looking for vintage or retro summer basket bags to take on my Vegas trip next month. They had a retro one however the clasp was broken and it was not in very good shape for 5.00 so I passed. While in the knick knack section I found this sweet cresent mini pic nic basket. It had a handle and a latch and it was in GREAT condition! It was 6 bucks but I didn't mind so much it was sooo cute. I was thinking of putting some faux fruit on it like cherries. Will do a post on that soon! I can't believe the money I saved and I didn't have to compromise my style. Sometimes its not easy to find exactly what you are looking for but I have found that if you frequent the thrift stores...you will be surprised on what you do find.

 

 

I also stumble across some other goodies I bought for my shop so stop on by!

http://stores.ebay.com/delovelydelux

 

 

 

 

Estate Sales Finds

 

Over the weekend my husband and I went to a few estate sales. I use to get excited about this the night before but lately sales listed as ESTATE SALES end up being nothing more than an over priced yard sale. I can not tell you how disappointed I get when I see that. However I will say that sometimes while at those "bunk" sales, I meet others who share info on OTHER estate sales going on. Neat-o! This is what happened last Saturday. I have learned some valuable lessons. One, you always go see even if it may be bunk. Someone may just let you in on valuable info. Two, you always go see even if other people say it's JUNK. There wasn't much at the first Estate Sale but while in line I heard a lady say there was another down the road. I also heard her say there was another one off a main street. Another lady there mentioned a sale in the basement of a church but she said they had nothing but "junk".  Normally when I go to sales... I know what I'm looking for. This time it was vintage costume jewelry sets, bakelite and vintage handbags.

 

 

Unfortunately I did not find ANY of this at the first sale. The second sale was a bit better! I'm not sure if someone came and CLEANED it out while we were at the first sale or if they really did not have much to sell. It was SLIM PICKINGS but we did manage to get two beautiful Mid Century Vintage Paint by Numbers pictures similar to this:

 

 

and

 

I found a large vintage leaf pin / brooch similar to this.

 

 

The pin was .50 and the pictures were 1.00 each!

As I said, it was slim pickings but one of the things I adored about that sale was the inside of the house! It was built in the 1950's and it still the original PINK bathroom! Pink tile, pink sink and shower! The kitchen also had original turquoise VCT flooring and a vintage pink double oven complete with round bubble glass! Swoon city!

 

After this sale we headed for the church basement sale where it was said was a lot of "junk".

The "Junk" the lady spoke of was vintage! The man running it was kind and let me know that today everything was 50% off. Much to my surprise they had just what I was looking for! LOTS of vintage costume jewelry sets! The prices were already LOW and to get an additional 50% off... I felt like I was robbing them blind. I bought ALL the sets they had as well as some super cute vintage brooches.

As if we needed MORE items...we did some FREE STYLING and stumbled across some yard sales.

One of them had vintage handbags galore! I bought 5 of them. I also found a bracelet that looked like bakelite for .50 cents! Could not tell if it was for sure but at .50 cents I took the chance.

 

 

After this sale we found a parking lot sale that had a lot of antiques. We stopped and browsed for awhile but the items were a little pricey. As soon as we got home I tested the bracelet and found it to be bakelite! All in all it was a GRAND day!

 

 

 I had also done some thrifting the week before and thought I'd share my finds!

 

 

retro red rockabilly bandanna blouse

 

 

retro black velvet like evening jacket

 

 

pin up yellow cherry print sundress

(this actually sold right before I posted it)

 

I added these to my shop so if you are interested please come on by

http://stores.ebay.com/delovelydelux

The Retro Glam Girl

 

 

New at DeLovely Delux

 

Isn't that shop picture wonderful? Oh what I would give to go back in time

and browse in THERE!

 

 

I have recently added some new items to my Ebay shop!

I offer a variety of vintage, retro and repro clothing and accessories. I try and stock my store weekly as things tend to go fast. If you stop by, you may see a few familiar things!

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage Black Evening Bag

 

 

 

Vintage semi formal metallic polka dot dress

 

 

Retro Faux Fur Sweater

 

 

Vintage Satin Formal Wedding Style Dress

 

 

Vintage Polka Dot Secretary Dress

 

 

Vintage Faux Fur Trim Jacket

 

 

I will be posting more lovely things there tonight as well!

 

Here is the link

 

http://stores.ebay.com/DeLovely-Delux?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

 

The Retro Glam Girl

 

Bakelite or Plastic?

Is she wearing bakelite or plastic?

 



I am one of those girls who loves to accessorize! I love vintage jewelry as it tends to go with most

of my outfits and I rarely leave the house without it. I'm in love with bakelite. I have a small collection (REALLY SMALL) of bracelets that I adore wearing. Before I got my bakelite, I had about 10 plastic bracelets that I wore in place of. Some of them are thick and look carved and others are smooth. All are vintage. Now that I have my bakelite..I seldom reach for the plastic.



bakelite

 

The other day I paired two spacers (which are really think bakelite bracelets) with a large plastic black one. Why did I feel odd doing this? Like it was TABOO. I almost took them all off but then again I rather liked the way it looked...so I left it. Am I bad? Is it wrong to mix the good stuff with the cheap stuff?

 

 

plastic

 

 Do any of you do this?

 

 



Skirts

 

 

Skirts are amazing. They can look so professional at the office and so chic out on the town. It's that alternative garment to pants, dresses or shorts. There are pencil skirts, maxi skirts, mini skirts and hoop skirts all of which are fine but I have set out to find the perfect summer skirt for my wardrobe.



I have pencil skirts. Two in black. But I wanted something with a print. I wanted something light in weight and something that would go summer tops. I wanted to dress it up and dress it down. I wanted it comfortable and easy and I did not want it short. I wanted something with a retro look and I was not limiting my self to just vintage.


In my search for the perfect summer skirt I checked out Goodwill. They had plenty of denim! I skipped that rack and went right for the multicolored rack of skirts. After browsing the entire rack, I ended up finding just one. Normally I would consider this a bad thing but I really liked the skirt! It was black and white gingham with fabric covered buttons down the front. It was long and it most def had a retro vibe even though it was from the 80's! At 4.99... it was mine! I knew it would look great with a red, black or white summer tops paired with my wedges!

 

Thrifted Vtg Black n White Gingham Skirt: $4.99

 

The next day the hubs and I went to a few estate sales. I was excited about one of them because my mother in law had went the day before and said they had a lot of jewelry. This excited me because I always hope to be one of those lucky gals that finds Bakelite for a bargain. Unfortunately this was NOT the case at this sale. There was ALOT of jewelry however none of it was vintage :(  Sometimes I still browse and end up finding something but the lady that was running it (she was no professional!) was making me VERY nervous. She must have had 5 people working with her and they had a LOT of stuff. She seemed to get freaked out by having a few customers in her area at the same time and she would yell out to the lady at the door NOT to let anyone else in. She kept doing this and was so flustered I just did not feel comfortable browsing and had to move on. I wanted to tell someone that she was making it hard for people to enjoy the sale. Oh... and there was also some sort of animal...a cat I think .. locked behind a door.. that would HISS and make creepy noises!

I did not buy anything!

 

We stumbled upon another sale that had some really cool furniture and other things. I saw that they had some clothes out in the back yard. I rummaged through it and found nothing too interesting at first but then saw a glimpse of something TROPICAL! I pulled at it and saw that it was ... A skirt!

This skirt was not vintage but the vibe was so perfect and I knew I could pair it with my summer tops

and vintage straw vacation totes!  I loved the colors and the buttery soft fabric. It felt TIKI to me!

I'm not sure how much it was (hubs paid for our loot) but I think it was only .75!

 

 

Estate Sale Find Retro Tropical Skirt: .75

 

That estate sale was much sweeter and we ended up running into my mother in law who then took us to a few more sales! I ended up finding a vintage hair dryer for 5.00 at another sale! It's the kind you sit under! Now I must find some rollers and set my hair! Beauty night ..here I come!

 

The Retro Glam Girl

Happy Anniversary

On May 19th my husband and I celebrated our 1st year

wedding anniversary. To celebrate we did a number of things. We went out to some antique and vintage shops in the city of Orange, CA. He bought me a lovely red bakelite bracelet and we also got a much needed vintage record player stand! My husband was very kind and also gave me Mad Men Season 4 ( I was missing that one)! I bought him a bowling shirt and a Johnny Cash shirt and paid for the record player stand as my gift to him. Later that night we got a little dressed up for cocktails and dinner at the fabulous Dal Rae!

 

me ready to celebrate!

 

If you haven't been to the Dal Rae yet, I suggest you go! It houses some of the most delicious steaks and the outside of the restaurant is very mid century. Delicious food, very strong drinks and a gorgeous atmosphere!

 

 

Outside the Dal Rae

 

 

Inside the bar area of the Dal Rae

 

 

The beautiful dinning room

 

We had a reservation but got there early just to have some cocktails. I had a mai tai and it was super strong but delicious! Dinner was amazingly good and I was happy that we actually got to sit in one of the booths!

 

 

Outside the Dal Rae waiting for our car.

 

After dinner we headed on home to enjoy some champagne and dessert! I made us a lemon cake

with butter cream frosting. I had these sweet retro Barbie cake toppers that I did not end up using for our wedding but had decided to use for our anniversary. I thought it would be a sweet tradition to bake us a cake every year and to use these cake toppers.

 

 

My mom had bought them for many moons ago and I had them in my hope chest and really wanted to use them for my Anniversary cake. I had also did a little digging at the thrift shop and found some vintage champagne glasses for us to use. The cake cutter was given to me (along with a cake plate) by my mom. The heart shaped HAPPY ANNIVERSARY box was a thoughtful gift from my cousin.

 

 

All in all it was a sweet way to celebrate!

 

 

The next day we both had off of work and so we spent it at Disneyland.