My Best Vintage for 2007

Everyone seems to have year-end round ups of The Best of 2007, and so why not yours truly?

This is an assortment of my favorite items sold this past year, not all my faves I'm sure, but more than I intended to trot out! If you love something you see, and regret having missed a chance to make it your own, never fear, there is always more wonderful vintage for 2008!

Starting with the earliest:
Extraordinary 1920s silk


1930s flowery organdy


Late 30s lounge dress


40s suits...my perennial favorite outfits of all




40s prints to LIVE for!




I was crazy, too, for some 40s accessories, including a flop-over faille hat with glass ball hat pin


Ruched leather platforms


Necklace with glass lilies


A couple of favorite 40s dresses




Party! From the late 40s through 80s:




Suzy Perette








Mr. Blackwell


Victor Costa


For design and construction:
Howard Greer


Bonnie Cashin


Monastic-style by Junior Sophisticates


Deep rainbow stripes


Alfred Shaheen


Impeccably tailored silk suit from Paris


For the vintage goddess-type, a touch of midas


Perfectly fitted black sheath and polka dot-lined bolero



And just a touch of the wild:
Black vinyl motorcyle jacket


Classic pillbox in faux leopard


Very pimp-chic 70s coat in faux furs


Renewed hope and peace to all for 2008!

A musical Christmas card

This animation was done last year by and for the Clarion Brass here in Spokane. Honestly, I neither ski nor skate while playing the horn!

The snow is falling here at denisebrain

The snow is glittering at denisebrain this December...



Best yet, from now through the end of the month my auction listings benefit Conservation International. This top-rated environmental organization's mission is "to conserve the Earth's living natural heritage, our global biodiversity, and to demonstrate that human societies can live harmoniously with nature."

~Peace to all~

Right to Dry

I live in a century-old house with a couple of laundry lines that look like they've made it at least half that long. An ancient grape vine winds up one post. I use the laundry line in the summer for unbelievably quick drying, and many a vintage dress has aired out in the breeze.

I guess I may be one of the lucky ones, as I have read there is a growing movement to protect a citizen's right to dry his or her clothes on an outdoor clothesline, challenging many state laws.

The argument against use of lines is that it creates a messy vista, lowering property values. Nearly 59 million Americans live in association-governed communities, according to Frank Rathbun (spokesman for the Community Associations Institute). He said most associations restrict clotheslines to some degree. (Right to Dry groups seek laws allowing clothesline drying October 21, 2007, Alison Lapp, The Associated Press)

Arguing for hanging clothes out to dry focuses on the aesthetic of clean smelling clothing and getting oneself out into the fresh air, and the frugality (the average household stands to save $100 a year over the use of an electric dryer according to Alexander Lee, executive director of Project Laundry List). Besides, clothes last longer when not subjected to the heat of the dryer. This is always on my mind, being a lover of vintage clothing!

Most of all right now, supporters of "Right to Dry" are siting the energy consumption of the home dryer and how much it affects global warming. "At last count, in 2005, there were 88 million dryers in the US, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. Annually, these dryers consume 1,079 kilowatt hours of energy per household, creating 2,224 pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions." (As an energy-saver, the clothesline makes a comeback August 24, 2007, Caitlin Carpenter, The Christian Science Monitor)

Check out the great tips, information and just plain fun at Project Laundry List.

denisebrain...seeing RED~!

I've stocked up on great vintage clothing in shades of red, and am going to be listing these for sale all November. Look for burgundy velvet from the 30s through 70s red coats and everything in between! Please visit my theme Vintage Reds for inspiration!

The trees wear red well

Some of the local finery:

Hats and more hats

I'm showing hats all October, and there is no chance of running out here at denisebrain!

This week I'm showing a late 40s number:



a variation on a turban:



a 50s pink sequined party hat:



a little brown felt pillbox:



a slouchy faux leopard beret:



and a chic sort of pre-pillbox hat (late 40s or early 50s):



AND, there's still tomorrow!!

Style

I'm always thinking about what Style is, and am actually enjoying never really getting close!

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. -Coco Chanel

Fashion is born by small facts, trends, or even politics, never by trying to make little pleats and furbelows, by trinkets, by clothes easy to copy, or by the shortening or lengthening of a skirt. -Elsa Schiaparelli

(Chanel and Schiaparelli are to be excused for confusing fashion with style!)

"Style" is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma. -John Fairchild

Even better:

Style is the mind skating circles around itself as it moves forward -Robert Frost