NY skyline skirt detail

NY skyline skirt detail, originally uploaded by retrogemkitty7.

I just had to add a detail pic of today's find. Check out the Chrysler Building at top left!

NY skyline skirt

NY skyline skirt, originally uploaded by retrogemkitty7.

I can be a snob about antique/vintage reproductions. Many are dumbed-down in design & quality, usually with the excuse that they've been "updated", but it always looks to me as if the manufacturer just didn't want to put in the effort to make a good copy of the older item. When J & I stopped in our favorite antiques mall this afternoon, I found this skirt on a rack & gasped. I was sure it was "the real deal" - from the 50's - but in amazing condition. Was it dead stock? I looked inside the waistband for a tag & nearly fell over when I saw a label that read "twenty one". Yes, as in Forever Twenty-One, the mall store. I've found some cute things in there over the years, including an embroidered satin cocktail dress that some of my friends still insist is D&G, but this is the best retro-repro piece I've seen them produce. Even if this isn't a copy of an older garment, it's brilliant IMO; nothing ersatz about it. The fabric is nice, the colors & pattern are true to the era it's trying to evoke, & it's got enough of a sweep that I can definitely wear a crinoline under it. I have no idea when this skirt was in stores & our clothing dealer friends weren't in their booth today, so if you're after it for yourself, my advice would be to check F21's website & then eBay. Snagged this baby for $18 - a steal, even though it's several inches too large in the waist. I know a very good alterations lady, but I may have to belt this baby & wear her once before surrendering her to needle & thread.

Jet parure, probably mourning jewelry, circa 1860

Jet parure, probably mourning jewelry, circa 1860, originally uploaded by retrogemkitty7.

More fabulously unaffordable goodies from last weekend's antiques show. This is probably the nicest complete parure of jet jewelry that I've ever seen. If I'd had $4500 to spare, it would have come home with me, but alas, we had to give it back to the dealer after he was kind enough to let me take a pic. J loves this sort of set, too, as much for the case (original & bearing the name of the Regent Street shop at which it was originally purchased) as for the contents. Every single piece in this group was in amazing condition, no mean feat given its age & the fact that many women wore mourning clothes & accessories for four years or more after the death of a spouse or child.

The aesthetic beauty of antiques is only part of their appeal, at least for me. I'm not interested in collecting for reasons of status, either. I love the social & cultural significance behind the objects, even when, as here, they were most likely purchased during less-than-happy times. I wonder how I would have dealt with wearing mourning? The nonconformist in me would have been appalled at being expected to wear only certain styles & colors due to societal expectations lest I be accused of not grieving sufficiently or having loose morals. Both men & women wore mourning attire during the Victorian era, but standards were stricter for women. The feminist in me bristles at that, as at many things, but I must admit I'm glad beautiful objects like these were created & that some have survived for us look at & ponder.

A diva can dream, can't she?

A diva can dream, can't she?, originally uploaded by retrogemkitty7.

Last week was pretty weird. First we had an earthquake, then the entire eastern seaboard anxiously awaited the arrival of Hurricane Irene. I'm pleased to say J & I only lost power for about 30 minutes, & overnight at that. Many of our friends & colleagues weren't so lucky. Our sun porch roof also leaked a bit. but it's been known to do that in far smaller storms.

In the midst of Mother Nature's drama, I paid 3 visits to the Baltimore Summer Antiques Fair. I saw lots of friends, including some European dealers I only get to chat with once a year, & of course I had a chance to ogle all sorts of fabulous old stuff. At this point, our house is pretty well-stocked with furniture, china, glassware, etc, although you'll never catch me admitting that around J ("But we don't have *green* wineglasses yet, honey!") I'm still on a budget, too. So, the show was primarily a social event/learning opportunity for me, as it has been in some years past. I've been attending this temptation-packed show for over 15 years & have learned to set my budget before leaving the house. If there's nothing truly amazing in my price range, I leave empty-handed.

Enough maturity, sense, & good financial judgment for now. Time for a trip to Fantasyland. In this pic, I am wearing the most amazing necklace I have ever seen. I often go for elaborate designs - think Moderne pieces from the 1940's or delicate-but-not-cutesy Deco filigree - but here is photographic proof that simplicity need not be bland. Not if you have big enough rocks, anyway. I can't even remember the total carat weight, but yes, those are diamonds - big ones - all the way around my neck. They're set in gold topped with sterling silver, which was common practice before white gold & platinum came into use. The necklace dates from the Victorian era & I would love to know who has owned it over the years. It's obviously been lovingly cared for, & who wouldn't treat such a spectacular piece like the work of art it is? I hung out at this booth for a long, long time - two days in a row - just so I could enjoy the sensation of having all this gorgeousness around my neck. Okay, the fact that the dealer was hot & all of his merchandise was spectacular didn't hurt, either. I think he actually believed that J & I were going to buy this fabulous bit of bling, which is too hilarious for words given its price tag: $130,000, a/k/a more than we currently owe on our house. Yes, you read that correctly. Most reluctantly, we gave the necklace back to the jeweler.

I know there are people who love to moralize about expensive wearables, especially the kind that sparkle. "There are people starving", "No one NEEDS that sort of thing", blah blah blah. That's very true, but do most of us *need* our of-the-moment tech gadgets, super-duper coffee makers, pricey jeans, or "good" bags? Of course not. We buy them because we like them. If J & I had the wherewithal, this necklace would have been mine in a second. We don't. We never will. We're both perfectly okay with that. There's more to life than obsessing over material things you'll never be able to own. Cool stuff enhances life - a lot! - but it won't make up for being in a career you hate or a soul-crushing relationship just to have a certain amount of purchasing power. Leave that to the Joneses & enjoy your life.

Deco Etc's booth at the 2011 Baltimore Summer Antiques Show

Deco Etc's booth at the 2011 Baltimore Summer Antiques Show, originally uploaded by retrogemkitty7.

It's that time of year again. The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show is going on through Sunday at the Baltimore Convention Center. I've been going to this show for over 15 years & jokingly (?) refer to it as a religious holiday. If you are even the least bit interested in antiques, regardless of period, & can get to this event, you must. All of the "usual" stuff is available: jewelry, handbags, china, silver, furniture, etc., but you can also find super-binoculars that came off of the Berlin Wall & a US Navy ship, an actual lobster cast in nickel, & other fabulous oddities. The dealers at this show tend to be fun people who really know their stuff, so it's easy to spend half an hour or more chatting at one booth.

I cruised the show for about four hours last night & didn't see half of it, even at a rapid pace, so am going back today & tomorrow (have to work Sunday, or I'd probably go then, too!) Favorite booths this far: Deco Etc., Frank's Specialties, Jo & Olly, Daniels Antiques, Deco 2 Midcentury, Bridges Over Time, & Jane Fletcher. And now, if you'll excuse me, I must get dressed & head for the show!

Shabby Apple dress. This could be yours... or mine, hehe... free!

Shabby Apple dress. This could be yours... or mine!, originally uploaded by retrogemkitty7.

I'm half-Irish & I'm told I wear jewel tones very, very well, so you can imagine my reaction when I saw this gorgeous green dress on my friend's blog, Consume or Consumed. I'd never heard of this brand, Shabby Apple, but apparently their designs tend toward feminine/vintage-inspired styles. Uh, count me in!

So here's the deal. If you'd like to win this baby in your size, *free*, you need to be a subscriber of Consume or Consumed. You can gain extra entries (one possible entry per action) by doing the following:

Blog the giveaway with a link to the post.
Like Shabby Apple on Facebook.
Like Consume or Consume on Facebook.
Tweet the giveaway at jesspgh (with a link to the tweet.)

Here are some more contest deets, lovingly ripped off from Consume or Consumed:

The contest will close at 11:59pm EST on Thursday, September 1, 2011.

The winner will be chosen one week from today via drawing on random.org to receive the Mariposa Grove dress which will ship directly from Shabby Apple. I will contact and announce the winner on Friday morning.

If you can't wait that long, Shabby Apple has offered an exclusive 10% off discount to readers of Consume or Consumed. Use coupon code consumeorconsumed10off (available and active until September 24th, 2011) at checkout. Have fun exploring the adorable women's dresses, little girl's dresses, and maternity dresses available on Shabby Apple's website!

Here's a link to the original contest on Consume or Consumed:

http://consumerconsumed.blogspot.com/2011/08/win-adorable-dress-in-your-size-from.html

Outfit for train to NY, 8-12-11

Outfit for train to NY, 8-12-11, originally uploaded by retrogemkitty7.

I'll begin today's post with a quote - quite possibly the most brilliant fashion-related quote I've ever read: "A dash of eccentric glamour gives you the power to keep the wrong kind of men away." - Isabel Toledo

Isabel Toledo is a Cuban-American fashion designer who has dressed First Lady Michelle Obama, among many others. I've admired Ms. Toledo's work for some time, & having stumbled across the above quote on Facebook this morning, I have a newfound respect for her attitude toward life & relationships as well.

As a society, we invest clothes & accessories with tremendous meaning. We're constantly told "what not to wear" in various situations - to job interviews, on special occasions, & especially when trying to attract a partner. In some ways, it seems, the mating game has even stricter rules of attire than the office. I can't count the number of how-to-dress-for-a-date articles I've skimmed online. Some are aimed at men, but the vast majority are directed toward women. According to pretty much every one of them, my personal style should be a one-way ticket to eternally single, crazy cat lady status. I wear intense lipstick (usually red or deep pink), I almost never don jeans, I have to wear glasses most of the time (okay, I'm pondering Lasik; not sure I could do contacts. I have two tattoos & sat through both inkings like a trouper, but the idea of sticking little things in my eyes every day makes me a bit queasy.) I wear vintage on a regular basis & have recently begun rebuilding my hat collection. To top off all of that, I'm 41 & short, but am I miserable & alone? Nope. I'm married to a hunk who adores my style & is a very natty, retro-fabulous dresser in his own right. According to those articles, the way I look should keep me right out of the workforce, too, but I've been at my current job for almost 18 years. Granted, I work for a nonprofit arts organization, but I have a great gig at which dressing pretty much as I please is but one of many perks.

I'm both fascinated & repelled by the messages popular culture sends about fashion. The one that makes me cringe most, however, is the myth of the woman who drastically changes her appearance to please a man. This one just won't die; it's been a theme in countless movies over the years ("Grease", "Rear Window", & "Pretty in Pink", to name only a few.) I have yet to see a single film in which a man gets a makeover to attract a woman or improve his current relationship.

Have I had guys try to make me over? Oh, yes. One particular incident stands out in my mind. Back in the early 90's, I was planning a trip to North Carolina to visit a guy I was in a long-distance relationship with. He was a corporate type, & just before my trip, he expressed a desire to buy me some polo shirts & khakis, explaining that he was concerned about me being "too warm" in my floaty, Natalie-Merchant-esque chiffon dresses (hey, I said it was the early 90's!) in the southern heat. More to the point: he didn't want his friends to see how I really dressed. Next, please.

Obviously, he wasn't the right guy for me. We didn't fit, not only in terms of fashion, but in many other ways (political & religious views, desire - or lack thereof - for children, etc.) He wasn't a bad guy - he helped me through one of the worst times in my life, & we did have a lot in common intellectually. We just weren't compatible for the long haul.

So, quirky girls (& guys) of the world, if you happen to read one of those makeover articles or get dire warnings about the damage your style will do to your life, consider the source & take it with a grain of salt. You may, in fact, be helping yourself to stay out of the wrong relationships, which gives you more time & energy for the right ones!