Flapper Fever

 I've lately rejoined the 9-5 workforce, on top of the usual chaos of running a farm & large-scale garden. It hasn't left me much energy for creativity, but recently a friend came to me with a request for a hat to match her lovely 1920s dress. I had a forgotten piece of vintage felt that I was very drawn to for this project, and the result is below. In my experience, the best hats tend to make themselves...that is to say, the felt so easily molds itself into the design that it is almost eerie. This is my first hat in quite a while, and one that I admit I am loathe to part with! *laughing*

Flapper Friday

I went to an interesting estate sale a couple of weeks ago - lots of (sadly, overpriced) vintage clothing, but hidden away in a corner of an upstairs closet was the most amazing 1920s wedding dress I've ever seen! 

Decorated with what I believe is handmade Flemish lace, this dress is exquisite in its simplistic elegance. 

I even managed to find the original white stockings that went with the dress too!  The dress is currently listed in both my Etsy and Ebay stores, and will make the perfect dress for that Gatsby-style wedding.

2nd Annual Prohition Party

Well, after all of my griping and swearing that I would never again host another one, guess what happened last Saturday?: The 2nd Annual Prohibition Party.

I had several requests from people, asking me to host another party this year.  I finally gave in, and the good news is the turnout this year was much more respectable!  It also helped to have two wonderful co-hosts, who took some of the burden off of party planning.  

We also improved upon last year's design, making the livingroom into an even better jazz bar. 

We even had a boot legger, a bouncer, and a weapons check at the front door!

Like the cocktail shaker sitting on the bar?  All of our barware was period-appropriate, thanks to MartinisandMore (visit them at the Acme Garage in Medford for excellent vintage barware!) who loaned us everything for the party.

I wore my authentic flapper dress that I purchased after last year's party.  You may remember this picture from the post I wrote about it back then.

 

I apologize for not taking any pictures while the party was actually in progress - the flash on my new camera is so bright and annoying that I didn't want to blind people, and I am still figuring out how to turn it off when I try and take a picture.

 Blowing Smoke (don't ask where)

All in all, it was an excellent party, and I guess I am going to have to continue to throw these annually...

Another Finished Hat!

As you may recall, I created a fabulous little dragon cloche hat to match my also-fabulous 1940s beaded dragon dress.  Well, I had such a positive response about that hat, that I decided to begin creating it as a custom order in my Etsy store.  The only problem: finding a dragon.  The dragon used on the original hat was a one-of-a-kind piece that I could never hope to replicate.  So, I decided to make my own dragon appliques out of vintage sequins and seed beads.  Here is the result...

Two Vintage Dresses & A Date!

Yesterday was an unusually gorgeous, 60-something degree February day! The sun was shining brightly, and even though the morning had started off in the mid-20s, by the early afternoon it was warm enough to go around in short sleeves!!

Ryan and I headed off on an all-day date. We've been overworked, overstressed, and underslept, and we needed to do something to relax. We are also big believers in "dating your spouse" - i.e., just because you're married doesn't mean that the romance ends. So we make sure to do fun things together once a week or so, with "big" dates about 1-2 times a month (as our meager budget allows). This helps keep our relationship fresh and going strong!

Since the Chinese New Year celebration was going on in Jacksonville, I dressed up in my vintage kimono dress (which I realize is Japanese in style, but I figured it would work for today) that I purchased last October at the Goodwill for $4.99. I threw on a pair of tights that Ryan bought me for Christmas from SockDreams - LOVE that store!! - which had a rose pattern that exactly matched the rose embroidered on the dress. I also wore my fantastic James McCreery hat, which didn't exactly match the darker red hues of the dress, but was a fun addition to the outfit anyway!

We wandered over to a new antique mall that had recently opened up on the outskirts of Medford. In it, we ran into our next door neighbor, who has a wonderful booth full of fabulous vintage barware there! Then, we went to another antique store where I found (and blew all of my hat budget money on) the most AMAZING 1920s beaded flapper dress! It HAD to come home with me!! I feel as though I need to list it in the Etsy store to justify the price, but it's too pretty...I want to keep it! I suppose this just means I need to host another Prohibition-themed party.

We also stopped for a deliciously-filling sushi lunch at Bonsai in Medford.

All in all, a FANTASTIC day!