Happy 9th Birthday Bob!

Nine years ago we welcomed the cutest, tiniest, bulldog puppy into our lives:

I'll admit Bob hasn't always been the easiest dog.  Despite early training and an excellent background he has always been a nervous nelly.    When he was about a year old he got into several fights with Ping that really scared us and lead to my husband getting bitten and us contacting a behaviorist who helped us work things out.  He has never been a social butterfly and has always preferred to stay home rather then go out on adventures, but he still managed to pass his GCG, canine good citizen, test.   Bob has made all of our efforts more then worth it.  I am eternally grateful to his wonderful breeder Mary Jo for bringing him into our lives.  Sadly Mary Jo passed away a year and a half ago, on the some day that our Norbert passed, at the much too young age of 47.    She was an amazing breeder, trainer, and dog advocate and I'm so honored to have one of her dogs.  

Anyway, we celebrated nine of Bob this Saturday and I think he had a pretty great time.  There where presents, Bob is are only dog who opens his own presents:

I was really excited to find  a retro Gumby dog toy

and cake.  

Actually the cake was a pup pie

I got on amazon and I wasn't completely happy with it.  It was a little hard and while Bob ate it, he didn't appear to love it and this dog loves to eat.  I felt a little bad his cake wasn't more special.

We also took some pictures on our front porch:

 

We also took Bob for a little solo outing downtown, but I forgot my camera.  Bob can be nervous when out in public, though he doesn't typically show it. When we take him out we take him out alone or with just one or two other dogs so we can really focus on him.   We also never take him to places that are two crowded or stressful.  On Saturday we went on a walk by the pier and it wasn't too packed.  I try to stay hyper aware of everything and Bob was doing very well until we passed a cafe where a large poodle mix dog was sitting with its owner.  The dog had a long leash and was able to lunge out at Bob, who was passing politely on a short leash.  The dog was barking and snapping aggressively and Bob responded in kind.  Thankfully, since we had Bob on a short leash we were able to get him away, not easy as he is strong.  The owner of the other dog had not been paying any attention until the explosion of barking and he responded by hitting his dog.  It really bothered me.  As I said we are always extremely careful with Bob, because despite his polite on leash behavior and thanks to lots of training he actually appears better behaved then our other dogs, I know he has the potential to bite another dog, or person, out of fear.   It is my job to protect by stopping things that upset him from happening, and I do feel like I failed a bit.   I do wish the other owner had been more aware though. 

All in all it was a good birthday though.  Nine is a pretty advanced age for an english bulldog, but we are hoping for many more  years together.  

Vintage Outfit Post-1950s Casual With Freddie's of Pinewood

One of the misconceptions of vintage style, at least from my perspective, is that many people think that dressing vintage means dressing up.

However, mid century women had casual moments too and there are plenty of every day looks to emulate.  This is particularly true if you look to the real women of vintage eras, rather then movie stars, for your style inspiration.  One decade that really embraced casual style was the 1950s.    The 50s where in many ways the era of the American teenager, and when they weren't dressing up for dances

they wanted to be casual

 

which meant blue jeans.   While jeans had been worn by women as work wear in the 1940s, they really came into their own in the 1950s and young people where their biggest champions.   While its true that many adult women wouldn't have touched them, for the younger generation jeans began to be an element of style.   There was still something a little rebellious about jeans in the 1950s which of course was a giant part of their appeal.

Today women of all ages wear jeans constantly so vintage lovers like myself who are well past their teens can feel comfortable looking at mid century photos of denim clad young people for style inspiration.  We can also turn to Freddies of Pinewood.  

Freddie's specializes in real, proper 1940s and 50s style denim and casual tops. These jeans are just like the 1950s originals, high waisted and well cut.  There's no danger of your jeans sliding down to reveal your underwear, or worse, as so often happens with modern jeans.  Plus, since there was a wide range of denim styles and the 1940s and 50s and Freddie's makes plenty of different cuts, so there really is something for everyone.

The jeans I am wearing in these pictures are my second pair of Freddies, I wrote about my first pair here.  The jeans I am wearing in these pictures are  the 1950s button jeans.  I ordered a 32 instead of my usual 30 so they are a little loose.   They are also long but I didn't bother to hem them I just cuffed them 1950s style.

 

My top is from Freddie's too.  It is one of their 1950s style sweatshirts.   I've had my shirt for quite awhile and the color combos have changed.  They are all cute, comfortable tops though based on an authentic 1950s sweatshirt     These tops run a bit small when compared to modern clothes.  I am wearing a large here and I probably could have gone with an extra large.  1950s tops where fitted though, so tight is part of thr look, they also had high waists just like the jeans.   

I really think this shirt is a good backdrop for novelty brooches.   I usually wear it with my pink poodle felt brooch from Wacky Tuna  (nothing better then a poodle ) but recently I wore it with my Luxulite Audrey II brooch, based on the super cute Little Shop of Horrors film,  and I like that combo a lot too.  

This is definitely one of the most practical, easy to wear vintage outfits I've ever put together.  Its fun and simple, perfect lazy day wear. Thank you Freddies!

Outfit Details

Jeans: Freddies of Pinewood

Sweatshirt: Freddies of Pinewood

Poodle Brooch-Wacky Tuna

Audrey II Brooch-Luxulite

Poodle Purse-Etsy (I can't remember the seller)

Cat's Eye Sunglasses-A gift

Sunny Stripes for April Showers A Vintage Outfit Post

The weather has been decidedly odd this year, 60 plus degree days in February and now in April when things should be warming up temperatures are dipping into the 40s  Not my cup of tea at all since I love warm weather and have an urge to sport my spring time fashions rather then being stuck in sweaters.

Basically I want tot live in this picture

 I did manage to put together one spring timey outfit the first weekend of April.  I think its a particularly good outfit for a rainy day, which this was, and of course we all know that spring showers

bring May flowers.  

I built my outfit around a Hey Day Judy dress in Penny Arcade, one of the prettiest and most versatile prints I've ever encountered, a bright multicolored stripe, with orange, red, and turquoise among the colors.   I love the Hey Day Judy dresses.  They are super comfortable with an adjustable tie belt that acommodates a range of sizes, I'm usually a 12 or a large in Hey Day clothes, but I wear a medium in the Judy dresses.   Judy dresses are also great for vintage fans like myself who appreciate a range of eras because the cut is based on a 1950s style but could be 1940s, or even 30s.  Though I really do think that the playful primary print on my dress, which I was lucky enough to nab on sale along with several other Hey Day items after New Years, places it firmly in the 1950s.  It just has the bright playful look that I love from that era.

The different colors in the stripes give plenty of options for accesorizing with different colors.  I choose to focus on the turquoise and added a vintage head scarf and gloves.

The stripes also scream for bakelite so I wore almost my entire bangle collection.

I kept my shoes neutral, a cute comfy pair of Playtime wedges from Remix.

My favorite accessory in the outfit though is my vintage doll purse.  These where originally intended for children but I love them.   I had another one I showed in this post, but tragedy struck and the head fell off.  So I was thrilled when I found another.  I love this little lady with her big sun hat and tropical accents.

Spring is all too fleeting make sure you cherish every moment!  

Outfit Details

Judy Dress in Penny Arcade Print-Hey Day Vintage Clothing
Playtime Shoes in Tan-Remix Vintage Shoes
Bakelite Bangles-Brighter Bakelite
Turquoise Gloves-The Road Less Traveled
Turquoise Scarf-Dorthea's Closet
Vintage Doll Purse-W.Kay Vintage

Book Review: Star Trek Costumes: Five Decades of Fashion From The Final Frontier

Trekkies like myself know that the greatest television show of all time is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.  

  The original series premiered on September 8, 1966 and while that series only  lasted three years it spawned four spin offs, an animated series, twelve movies, hundreds of novels, and has legions of seriously devoted fans.   So its no surprise that plenty of people are pretty excited for the anniversary and Paramount is busy releasing retrospective books and planning conventions.  All of that makes a dedicated member of the Church of Trek like myself

Image from Futurama another awesome sci-fi series

seriously crazy with excitement.  One of the first books released in celebration of the anniversary is the Star Trek Costume Book: Five Decades of Costumes from The Final Frontier.   

As I've written before (post one, post two) I adore the kitschy sci-fi style of Star Trek so this book is right up my alley.  I've had it since it was released in October and while there are things about it that I think could be better, over all I love it.   

It starts with The Original Series of course and while I wish it had gone into much more detail,  I enjoyed the coverage of the hillariously outlandish 60s looks.   I'm also pleased that the book gives credit to a man I think is an under-appreciated genius, William Ware Theiss, the first Star Trek costume designer.  

Theiss is the man who came up with Trek's signature sexy 60s space age look and his creations are many things, but never boring.  He used all kinds of unconventional fabrics and trims and cuts to create different outlandish looks week after week.

 

Theiss even had his own theory of costume design: The Theiss Titillation Theory which states that "the degree to which a costume is considered sexy is directly proportional to how accident-prone it appears to be."  The theory is on ample display in costumes worn by some of the female guest stars 

Theiss didn't just focus on the  ladies though, there where plenty of scanty get ups for the men.  Its rare and somewhat refresshing  to see a television where male bodies are on display almost as much of female ones, I can't think of anyone but Theiss who did that in the 1960s.

Apparently Theiss's costumes did cause some chaos on set since his theory meant that the outfits where often slipping and falling of the actors and had to be taped in place.      







Theiss's sketches are also displayed in the book showing the evolution of a design from concept to execution, which is interesting.

From the Original Series the book goes onto cover all of the series and the spin offs and a fan learns some interesting facts about the outfits.  For example series creator Gene Roddenberry apparently hated wrinkles and felt they'd be eliminated in the future so the uniforms are always made out of tight stretchy fabrics that are designed to resist wrinkling.

But it never quite works right which is why the actors are constantly seen adjusting their uniforms.   Fan's even gave the signature shirt tug a name, the Picard maneuver.  You can see it in action, many times, below:

It seems that no one working on  Star Trek is  ever 100% happy with the uniforms and they are being endlessly re-designed and fussed over.  They change for almost every series and film but they are always fairly tight and wrinkle free.  

The TNG (thats the Next Generation)  uniforms are very 80s track suit 

and by Deep Space Nine and Voyagers the colors are reversed and the fit is a bit looser.

Enterprise is a prequel so the uniforms are a bit more in line with the space suits we see today

and the uniforms from Star Trek The Motion Picture are too seventies for words, and what the heck are those buckle things at everyones waist?

I'm not a fan of the uniforms in the current motion pictures.  I think its the fabric that I don't like.  Also they seem weirdly late 1990s to me.

This is just a sampling of the changes the book covers many more.  

Until  I read the book I didn't know that Theiss designed the first season of costumes for The Next Generation, but in retrospect its pretty obvious.  There are some seriously crazy looks.  Including a skirt for men (if you think about it the idea that men in the future would be wearing dresses and skirts is pretty revolutionary, particularly for the 1980s) and some sort of shiny wrap thing with leggings that the men have to wear on a female dominated planet.  

 

   

Wesley Crushers early season sweaters are also a testament to 80s fabulousness.  I just can not get over the orange one it seriously leaves me awestruck, here is just nothing that compares too it.

 

Though Keiko O'briens wedding dress, not a Theiss creation, comes close.  According to the book its supposed to be a space age take on a traditional Kimono, but it looks like saran wrap and what the hell  is that on her head!?!  
Sadly as the series goes on the fashion gets a bit duller, and while I think all the costume designers have done a reasonably good job no one compares to Theiss.  But the aliens are always fun and the book covers all of the races.  You learn that Klingon costumes involve a lot of quilted leather and jewelry 

 

That the costumers regret the decision to give the Romulan's giant shoulder pads, it was supposed to make them look aggressive.

That the Ferengi love oppulence (and apparently upholstry fabric)



and that Vulcans are understated and tasteful

You have to be a fan of the show and have a sense of humor to appreciate Star Trek style, its certainly emblematic of fashion icon's  Diana Vreeland famous line: 

If you love Star Trek, and you love the crazy looks.  I can't recommend The Star Trek Book of Costumes enough.



Coming Soon: Our Star Trek costume photo shoot, starring canine trekkies