Vintage Wonderland

Oh, I simply must show you what beauties are making their way to me soon!

I have shopped for vintage patterns a few times at Lanetz Living, and what a happy customer I am! I've been returning over and over again, so Janet has (almost) all of my money now. ;) I found the site just recently by chance, and now I'm visiting it everyday just to see what's new so I won't be missing anything important. ;) The patterns are beautiful and Janet has made good description of each, plus the pictures are usually big and there's also the back view of the envelope available. You'll be seeing many of my buying’s soon here as clothes. Just wait and see. :) Meanwhile... take a look at these babies already safely home with me:



















I told you Janet has pretty (simply to die for) patterns, now didn't I. ;)

But today I wasn't shopping at Lanetz Living. I took a sneak peek at Out of the Ashes Collectibles and found some really neat stuff. I've been having this "lingerie, petticoat, slip, night gown, bathing suit, etc." thing going on and was very pleased to find the answer to some of my retro prayers.





















If only I had the time to sew...

Shoes, where do they come from?

For some reason I seem to have quite a few pair of shoes. And I don't mean like a few dozen pairs, that would be serious underestimating although I don't know the exact number at the moment. I'm sure most of them have snuck in during night-time, because I have absolutely no memory of buying some of them. Fortunately Mr. Too Many Shoes is very understanding and has never uttered the words: "Darling, don't you already have enough shoes?". He might think that though, but is smart enough to keep quiet. ;) And he's actually even offered to buy me some of the practical ones, like dance shoes.

But yes, I do find it a bit strange how some people actually manage with only a couple of pair of shoes. Don't they want to mach their shoes with their outfits, or do they just have so easily matchable wardrobe? I guess I'll never find out, but I'm not too sorry about that. Most of mine are vintage, around 1950's, and wearable. Do I need them all? Possibly not, but I still would like a few more.

What I would really fancy as a collector (collecting only shoes in sizes I can actually wear :) would be a pair of Roger Vivier pumps. He's a true genious when it comes to shoes. Just take a look at these 1961 evening pumps (link to original site). He truly is the Fabergé of shoes. I love to examine all the little details of these beauties, although I would settle for something little less extravaganza. ;) Some of the pieces designed for Dior in the 50's are more simple, but yet oh sooo-o perfect, like little sculptures (just like he has actually described his shoes). Would love a pair of those. :)

I once did come across a beautiful pair of Vivier for Dior pumps from late 50's in light brown leather with a moderate heel and a moderate price. Only problem was that I could have used them as canoes, the size was something like Europian 43. My feets are bit on the smaller side (U.S. 5.5, Australian 4, U.K. 3, Europian 35.5 - but I'm usually okay with a half size bigger too) and strangely it's getting more and more difficult to find new shoes in my size. Luckily there's still plenty of beautiful vintage shoes in my size just waiting for me to find them. And yes, they actually make dance shoes in smaller sizes too, so I don't complain too much. Just a little. ;)