Bobby Socks, Oxfords, and Saddle Shoes!

When american teenagers wanted to look different from their mothers and older women. So, they chose saddle shoes. Fall is here and my black flats or high heels aren't exactly warm or dry, so this weekend I have popped down to DSW to get some oxfords. Here are some that I got:

These are genuine leather oxfords, (I got them in black) and they are the Aldo Foretova Oxford Flats and were only $50 at DSW. Then I stocked up on the ultimate bobby socks.

These were Hue Turncuff Socks and were 3 for $16 at Nordstrom, so I bought 3 different pairs.

here are some other great fall / winter outfits.

If you have a style inspiration please email me at pnorthrop1@gmail.com and I will put together some outfits, and next time I will post links to where you can buy this stuff. Winter is always troublesome for retro girls, here is a funny video I found starring Doris Mayday, where she talks about what she does to stay warm and retro in the winter.

Growing Pains

Hello, all blog reading people! Yesterday I was going through my closet and trying on all clothes to make sure they still fit, because I am still a young growing girl. To my major disappointment all of the dresses I sewed, didn't fit. the hem was too high, the waist became empire and I couldn't zip it. I lost many beautiful dresses that day, ones vintage, ones I sewn, and ones I spent money on. Luckily, I gained many pieces as well, because we had a stack of vintage stuff to alter, they now fit me. Here's another plus, I can now fit into normal sizes! That makes me a bit happier. I still can't fit into most places, but here are some size charts from places from vintage inspired clothing.

	XXS	XS	S	M	L	XL	XXL	3XL	4XL
DRESS SIZE	0-2'	2-4'	4-6'	6-8'	8-10'	10-12'	12-14'	14-16'	16-18'
BUST	30"	32"	34"	36"	38"	40"	42"	44"	46"
WAIST	22"	24"	26"	28"	30"	32"	34"	36"	38"
HIP	33"	35"	37"	39"	41"	43"	45"	47"	49"

	XS	Small	Medium	Large	XL	14	16	18
Bust	32	34	36	38	40	42	44	46
Waist	24	26	28	30	32	34	36	38
Hips	35	37	39	41	43	45	47	49

These are just a few of the many places to shop, and their size charts. If you want to find more vintage / vintage-inspired places to shop Click Here

California Trip Part 3

Finally, the last day of my trip! That one day was full of so much adventure. First thing I did was, I went to the Hollywood walk of fame. I took pictures of a lot of stars, these are just a few of the many stars we saw.

Dorothy Dandridge for film.

Doris Day for Film.

It's kind of hard to see because of the shadow, but this is Charlie Chaplin.

Also hard to see, is Ingrid Bergman.

Marilyn Monroe!! This was the hardest one to get, with everyone taking pictures we had to wait for a while.

Bing Crosby for Music.

Vivien Leigh, and a lovely shadow of me taking the picture!

Judy Garland for Music.

Fred Astaire for film.

Debbie Reynolds!!

Ginger Rogers!

After hours of walking and searching...

We finally found Audrey Hepburn's star!!

 Along the walk of fame was a lot of souvenirs shops. I loved these Lucy and Ethel dolls!

Frank Sinatra

 And last, my favorite costume designer Edith Head!

You will notice that underneath all the photos are the names, and I have linked those to Wikipedia  so that way if you want to know more abut that person  all you have to to is click on their name. I know these photos are not perfect, but here's why. The area where they have the Hollywood walk of fame is sketchy in areas, and there is a lot of garbage and homeless people around. Also a lot of tourists, so you want to take a picture and keep walking. I really was disappointed in the quality of the area, I thought maybe it would be better kept up. Look how dirty these are, and Audrey Hepburn's was half covered by a construction tent. Plus nobody was even near her's no one cared to take pictures of her's they just walked right over it. However my day brightened when I say the Bettie Page shop! 

Everything in the store was 40% off, and still is through the 15th! Which is great because Bettie Page tends to be more expensive, but it is worth it if it is on sale, because of the smaller sizes they carry. So if you are a teen, like me you can still fit into the clothing! And that is super exciting considering the fact that most vintage style stores don't carry such small sizes. Also, the nice employees working there (that freaked my dad out between the pin up photos and the piercings and tattoos) told me that they have recently opened a Bettie Page shop in Capitol Hill, Seattle. I plan to got here this Sunday!

Petticoats in every shade! Planning to try to make one for cheaper, copying this one.

Shoes, Spanx, and Stockings!

Here are the jeans I tried on. They fit perfectly! This is really great for me because I have made so many pairs of high waisted jeans or pants and none of them have fit properly, or given me the right shape. ( I am very straight up and down, and these pants give me more distinction between the hips and waist). I also tried on a cotton top with it. So, I ended up buying them, for $90, a lot but worth it for me.

I also had to try on this Rockabilly dress I couldn't afford, with a lovely back.

As we were walking back, we ran into another vintage store. I almost didn't want to go into it because I was too tired from walking for hours, and if you know me you know I almost never get into shop mode when I see a decent vintage store. It was called Iguana Vintage Clothing. 

I was super excited when I learned it was the largest vintage store in America. But also sad because reality hit, that I was broke after buying the pants. How could I come across the largest vintage store in the U.S. and not have money?? I was sad, but then I heard that they shipped internationally. That's good right? Until I saw that their website had practically nothing on it. So, if you are in L.A. I highly recommend you go and visit their store. The trip ended with us flying back to Seattle to start school.

California Trip Part Two

Hello Everyone, are you ready for part two? The next day was full of old furniture and vintage shopping! We started out by going to the Getty museum, where my sister and I both roamed the outdoor garden.

The Getty is a beautiful museum, with a small photography section which has pictures from the 1950s. Next we went to the old furniture exhibit.

All these old furniture, makes me think how much detail they used to use, when it was all so handmade, and now the style is not so gody so, how can we use this style furniture in a more shabby chic way? 

The Next, I set out for the vintage shopping. I went to multiple shops. First, was a little place that had mostly old photos and records. I got a red silk scarf for $2.25 there.

Then, we went to the Pasadena Antique Mall, which was great! I got a wool plaid skirt there, ($30) though I would not necessarily recommend searching for clothes there, they have a lot of record players, books, jewelry, typewriters, and sewing machines. It was pretty huge in there, rooms and rooms of old things. One room had old props used my movie stars in movies.

Lucille Ball's earrings and Necklace.

Elizabeth Taylor's Earrings.

Audrey Hepburn's Necklace and Earrings

Audrey Hepburn's golden cigarette holder from Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Marilyn Monroe's vanity set
The next place that was defiantly my favorite place of the day, was called High Low Vintage. It was filled to the brim with the cutest 1950s-1960s dresses and each was in perfect condition. If it would fit in the dressing room, I would have tried on the whole store.

The only problem with this place was the high prices, a single cotton dress can be $100! So, I just bought a plaid skirt (yes, I bought two plaid skirts on this trip) for 75$. Not sure how good that price was, but I felt bad leaving without something and I now I will use the skirt, in fact I wore it on the first day of school. If you want to see how the other days went, stay tuned for part three.