Victoria who???

Way before the "Angels" walked the runway. Check out these fabulous 1910 french fashions.

Lost but not forgotten.....

I love specific designers & follow then religiously but I really love vintage "no name" dime store jewelry. I think I may have found a niche in this huge industry. Sometimes a little sparkle can make a drab outfit come alive. I have found a whole new community of jewelry collector's out there that I didn't know existed. I especially loved a recent Ebay sale of a Alice Caviness Bib necklace set. I was given a huge bag of so called "junk" jewelry peices by a friend to make upcycled new items for my Etsy shoppe. I got out my magnify glass & discovered names on these little treasures. Caviness,Reinad,Marvella,Ciner,Vendome & many more. She is giving another bag of bobbles soon & I also have a connection in North Carolina who goes to auctions out there & ships them to me in California. My shed is filled with past finds that I had forgotten about too. So I look forward to setting up this little cottage industry along side my own designs at The Virtual Hippy & The Altered Angel.

Discrimination in fashion???

I live very rural & it's assumed that when you live in a small town that you are unaware of the fashion world outside,in the "Big City"? Well I live in the wine country region of Northern California. We are a small community of 2500 or so. I grew up near San Francisco & spent my summers in Long Beach. I know the high life & the low life. I get aggrevated when I'm pigeon holed into the so called "Hick" lifestyle. I've loved fashion all my life. I designed clothes with my Mother as a child when we had very little cash on hand. We would buy one Simplicity pattern and tweek it a bit & then I would design my own fashions in highschool with thrift store finds like 1940 fur sweaters,beaded sweater,poodle coats,etc. So just because we live in small towns & we are not a size 0,we too have style & are aware of the "Big City" style out there. I buy online most of the time anyway?

Fashion for the vanity

This brush is a 1940's rhinestone & pearl encrusted piece from a vanity set I aquired years ago. It came with a mirror too. It has a bit of patina but we like that shabby chic look. Don't we?

Unknown Artist?

This necklace is an abstract Tourqoise shadowbox design with an open bale. So it could also be a dress clip. All sterling & marked with an unusual log cabin logo or beehive? & JB on the back. If you know let me in on it,okay?

Green fashion??

Well if you consider recycling a form of green living than I guess I'm green. I love vintage & if it is truly vintage than it came from someone else's closet & therefore it is truly recycled. If it is designed to look vintage than it is not a true vintage piece but an inspired vintage piece. Even my car is a 1974 VW. Who needs a hybrid at $25,000.00,when you have a $400.00 VW that gets 35 MPG & is a blast to drive.

History repeating itself........

I grew up near San Francisco during the 60's & 70's. So it was an exciting time in fashion. But usually by mistake. Janis Joplin & The Beatles are very copied in today's world. Joss Stone,The Jonas Brothers Suits, to name a few. I see the influence that the fashion industry is going towards with the so called retro look. But the skinny jeans,faux fur jackets,platforms in wood? Come on now kids? We had Pegged Pants aka Skinny Jeans? Remember the Beatles attire on Sullivan's show? My Mom wore Amy Winehouse's attire to the tee! No mascara & only blue eyeshadow with heavy liner & red lips? Ratted hair,as high as you could get it with a boat load of the ol' Aqua Net,OJ cans with bobby pins & Dippity Doo was a part of any 60's fashion regimen. We wore crocheted hats,chokers,hip huggers,hot pants,dog collar sweaters,mood rings,knee socks with pleated mini skirts aka Britney Spears School Girl Look,tight cordouroy jackets,holey Levis........ Snooky's bumped hair? She is the reincarnation of my cousin Peggy who wore white lipstick & go go boots. The shorter the dress & the higher the platform was my only goal in life at 15 in 1973. I love all the looks I see around me but it is just history repeating itself.

My "Shoe as Art"....

I think all fashion is art. But especially shoes. I have a huge Clog collection of wood to Delftware & the series of "Just the Right Shoe" art by the artist Raine.

"Joyride"

This is my little saddle shoe altered art piece. Made up of an old 60's child's shoe & misc. found objects. I sold it in 2007. It was my 1st art sale. I was nominated on Ebay for an ACA artist award in 2007 too!

Unknown beauties....

I can't find the designer of this piece. It has a makers mark on it and is 1/2012ktGF. I love the design and is up for auction this week.

Au Revoir....

Another one that was tough to part with. I love all things french. This rare minty fresh sweater pin chain from the 50's. Auqamarine is a rare rhinestone color.

Marvelous.......

This is a rare find. A mint condition vintage 40's Marvella bracelet that I sold last month. It was tough to part with but I have a ton of this stuff & need a new art design studio!! The perwinkle & topaz design was stunning when I first saw this piece. I died(thank you Ms. Zoe)!

Rhinestones Rule....

Above is an Albert Weiss set from the 40's. These are in mint condition and rare to find in this shape.

Above is an Austrian rhinestone set from the 40's. I like the gunmetal base on these. Very rare.

Fashion romance.....

It's a great choker with a modern look but is actually from the 1948 Reinad Company.

It's the hugs & kisses necklace design. It's up for auction this week.

Sweet Tweets!

I'm lovin' those fashionista's at Twitter. Thanks for the following girls! I've always been one. Next to my 1976 highschool (Farah Fawcett) yearbook picture it states: "Gail plans to go into the field of fashion design". I never made it until I was 50 but it's never to late. Just made a sale at my virtualhippy Etsy site,so thats 4 fashion pieces so far. I sell vintage & I'm having an auction this week until Sunday the 17th at Ebay to the left at the My Ebay Auction Link.

Fabulous faux.....