Tales From A Vintage Wardrobe

Stylist To The "Staaaahhhhhhhzzzzzzzz"

 

Yours truly has been chosen as Personal Stylist to Sugar Davis for Masterjam~A Summer Sizzler 70s Evening Affair ...so we'll be taking on a bit of a groovy vibe around here for the next few months...click here to RSVP.
 

My Funny Valentine...Chet Baker

Although I personally don't celebrate Valentine's Day, I have always, always loved this song.  And this is, by far, one of the best renditions without vocals I've ever heard.

HEMINGWAY & THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS

What does Hemingway have to do with a little black dress?   I know that's what you're thinking!   While that could be a loaded question I will simply tell you there are two matters I am very excited about having to do with my Post title~~so here we go. . .

 (One of my favorite photos of this handsome gent)

The first is to tell you about a great event to be held in KEY WEST:  THE ANNUAL HEMINGWAY DAYS CELEBRATION JULY 15~20,2008!

 The event includes look~alike contests, readings and presentations, a three~day marlin~fishing tournament & a short story competition!   Sloppy Joe's Bar is where the Look~Alike Contest takes place~~and also is a great place to find one self a refreshing libation!  Check out the website for some great photos and more information~~what a great final destination for that road trip you've been wanting to take!!  Or if you have some frequent flyer miles to use up~~here you go!! 

http://www.hemingwaydays.net

 

As far as that Little Black Dress thing goes, I had the thrill of coming into the possession of an absolutely GORGEOUS Little Black Dress~~not just any LBD, though.  This is a HARVEY BERIN by KAREN STARK original.  The house of Berin opened in 1921 and his designer was Karen Stark.  Stark looked to the latest Parisian styles as inspiration for her work.  And my Vintage Dress is a perfect example of French Chic!! You can find out more about Mr. Berin and Ms. Stark at www.vintagefashionguild.org. .

This Vintage Collectible will be available soon in my boutique~~if you are already interested in more details feel free to contact me. 

Michelle

It's May, It's May! Time for a Give~A~Way!

Good Morning Everyone!  It's a lovely spring day here in Massachusetts and although I awoke to find no cream in the fridge for my beloved morning coffee I refuse to let that dampen my spirits!  Why so chipper?  Well, for one thing, it's May.

I love the month of May.  I think it's Vanessa Redgrave's fault.  What?  You have never heard the song entitled:  "The Lusty Month of May" ??? 

If you have not, then you also have never seen "Camelot" have you?  Well,  May is the perfect month to do so!  If the play is not running anywhere near you, then I highly recommend renting the movie starring Sir Richard Harris and Ms. Vanessa Redgrave.  They are absolutely amazing together in this three hour epic drama~~so make sure you have the entire afternoon to do nothing but travel back in time to the days of Chivalry!

It was filmed in 1967 (which also happens to be the year I was born so maybe another reason I love it so much!)  over a period of three years.  It was quite the production in it's day~~the costume budget was over $2.5 million~~quite a chunk of change 40 years ago.  And it was worth every penny.  The medieval dresses and the knights in shining armor are a treat for any romantic!  The musical score is just beautiful (a favorite of JFK's when he lived in the White house).  There is a beautiful scene when Ms. Redgrave sings "the May song" as I call it and once you hear it I guarantee that every time the month of May rolls around you will find yourself humming this little tune!

I actually had the once in a lifetime experience of meeting Mr. Richard Harris!   As a gift to my friend Lisa for her high school graduation I took her to see "Camelot" on stage starring Richard Harris.  I will admit this was probably more of a gift to myself since I don't really think she had quite the Camelot obsession I had acquired by then.  Not only did we have amazing seats (I think we were in the 8th row!) but after the performance while we were waiting to get out of our blocked parking space he came out of the rear door of the Performing Arts Center and we actually met him and chatted for a bit!  Look:

He signed my program!

Twice!!

He was quite the gentleman~~I remember he had on a polka dot scarf and I just thought that was the coolest thing ever! (That is probably when I started wearing scarves, come to think of it!)  Can you make out the date on the program?  June 1987!   It was one of the last times he played King Arthur on stage and I am so thrilled I had the honor of seeing it!!

So on my rather short list of celebrities I have met, he is at the top of my list!!

Here is my album and cassette~~I just found the album at the thrift store last week~~but it is not the movie soundtrack so I am still on the treasure hunt for the one with Mr. Harris & Ms. Redgrave.

Oh, and another reason May is exciting is that one year ago this month I took the big cyber step and began my on~line boutique The Red Velvet Shoe using TypePad as my host.  So to celebrate I will be hosting my First Blog Give~A~Way Vintage Style!  here at Tales From a Vintage Wardrobe!

Check back soon for more details!!

Michelle

My Husband & The Boss

I WANNA MARRY YOU  by Bruce Springsteen

"Little girl, I wanna marry you
Oh yeah, little girl, I wanna marry you
Yes I do
Little girl, I wanna marry you

Now honey, I don't wanna clip your wings
But a time comes when two people should think of these things
Having a home and a family
Facing up to their responsibilities
They say in the end true love prevails
But in the end true love can't be no fairytale
To say I'll make your dreams come true would be wrong
But maybe, darlin', I could help them along. . ."

My husband John and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary last week~~I decided to give myself a gift of not checking my mail or my boutique that day (and I apologize to the ladies who had sent inquiries for items for my delay in getting back to you.)  I like to take out our wedding album and reminisce about our wedding day~~our daughter loves to see them (although she still can't figure our why she is not in any of the pictures!!) 

Here we are. . .this is my favorite picture from our wedding. . .we didn't hire a big fancy, schmancy photographer.  I wanted photos that captured our celebratory spirit, no staged smiles for this couple!!!  So between my step-dad and a family friend we were able to get some great shots and I just love our wedding album.

Because we went to Disney in February, I thought we were going to have a low key anniversary this year. you know, romantic cards, a bottle of champagne & a fancy dinner at home.  Actually, that is a wonderful way to celebrate, isn't it?

We had all of the above, but my prince decided to get me "a little something extra" since I had been out of my perfume for quite awhile he went Macy's and bought it for me.  So sweet, isn't he?  I was thrilled to have it after so long without it.  I opened the box (which I did notice wasn't wrapped in the cellophane) took it out to put some on and tossed the little gold box onto the coffee table. . .after a minute my husband said: " You may want to check inside that box, dear..."

You will never imagine what I found inside. . .

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TWO TICKETS FOR BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You must understand that if there is one brilliant songwriter & performer in all the world I have to see before I die it is Mr. Springsteen.  I almost saw him once in the mid 80S and a few weeks ago I made one of those woe~is~me comments to John that "I just know I'll never get to see him.  He's 58 years old and how much longer is he going to keep touring. . .blah, blah, blah". . .little did I know he took my words to heart and set out to land us some great tickets for the last stop on the Tour~~home of the New England Patriots~~Gillette Stadium!!!

Of course, someone paid the actual dollar amount on the tickets but for some reason there was a lot of Ticket Inflation by the time we paid for it!  LOL!  How great is my husband????  ( Despite a bit of jealousy of the first man I gave my teenage heart to!!)   

I do have some of his music on CD but my favorite way to listen to The Boss is like this:

Yep, with my albums & my record player!!!!  Bruce Vintage Style!

   My neighbor was throwing this away about 10 years ago and I was not having that one bit!   I just hope the needle never breaks~~do they even make them anymore????

So once the shock of this amazing gift wore off a bit I started thinking about. . .

WHAT AM I GOING TO  WEAR???

A rock and roll concert on a hot Saturday night in August???  I'm thinking my brown cowboy boots, a vintage floral cotton skirt, a t shirt and my jean jacket???   Or maybe a vintagey floral cotton sun dress with my boots? I found this one that I thought was very sweet and summery   and I also really like this one!   What would you wear to a summer night concert?  Our Augusts are hot and steamy here in Massachusetts. . .but for once I can't wait!!

Michelle