1952 Spring Break Wardrobe: Vintage Jantzen Lastex-Powered Swim Suits

I work at a university, and this past week the talk among the students was all about - "So where are you heading for Spring Break?"

Whether the destination is Cancun, Key West or Montego Bay - here are the perfect swimsuits to take along to wow your friends...

Jantzen swim suits advertisement - Life magazine, June 9, 1952

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Love this vintage ad copy.  "Figure shaping genius...frankly alluring lines...Jantzen streamlining...the most exciting swim suits in all the world." 

Isn't the heart shaped bodice and the shirring on this brocade Delilah swim suit fabulous?  Her suit is laton-powered - his is lastex-powered...

In the 1980's Real Men Didn't Eat Quiche - and they probably didn't in the 1950's either.  But real men of the 1950's were apparently wearing skimpy Jantzen swim trunks like these.  

Jantzen has named these red trunks: "Daredevil."  An appropriate name considering a guy would have to be pretty daring to go out in public with this peek-a-boo criss-cross design on his hips - don't you think?

Love this Jantzen ad, but I was lucky enough to own some real live 1950's swim suits for a short time...

This past summer, I found a group of three vintage swimsuits - two Jantzen, one Catalina - tucked away in the zippered pocket of this suitcase.

The thing is - when I bought the suitcase at an estate sale for a couple of bucks, I hadn't bothered to investigate the inside of the suitcase thoroughly - and apparently neither had the estate sale pros.  What a nice surprise I had waiting for me when I came home and pulled a family's trio of swimsuits out of the pocket!

Here's Junior's suit - a pair of boy's size 12 black swim trunks with a colorful striped band, and a Jantzen label inside.

The Mrs. wore this buttery yellow 1950's swimsuit with a Jantzen label and "diving girl" emblem.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but it's a rather sexy swimsuit.  The cups have a pretty pleating, and have boning to help hold it up when the straps are removed!

This suit deserved a curvier bosom than mine - so I decided to put it up for bid on eBay last summer.  It was popular with the bidders ($92), but not nearly as hot as the men's swim trunks that Dad wore...

These vintage 1950's swim trunks have a Catalina label inside that says - "Styled for the Stars of Hollywood."  

I love the five bold brown and orange sharks swimming from back to front!

Apparently eBayers liked the sharks too:  these trunks sold for $142.  

Note the elastic around the legs.  Like the swim trunks in the 1952 Jantzen ad, these Catalina trunks show off a bit more leg, etc. than American men these days are generally comfortable with. 

But Spring Break is a good time to be a bit of a "Daredevil" and let it all hang out (figuratively speaking, of course).  So guys, toss a pair of trunks like these into your backpack before you head south. No question, you will impress the ladies when you step out onto that beach.

Better yet...

...make sure you bring along a pipe.  That will impress her for sure.  :-)

To Be, or Not to Be...

Sorry for the long absence. Like Hamlet, I've been caught up in an internal debate...

Hamlet has been filmed many times, but few can hold a candle to Sir Laurence Olivier's portrayal of the Danish prince in 1948.

My dilemma is (thankfully) not quite as serious as deciding whether to live or to die, but rather...

To Blog, or Not to Blog? That is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler to keep my blog alive, even if it suffers terribly from neglect.
Or simply end it - so that I can focus all my energies on my latest passion of selling on eBay and Etsy?

I know that many of you have faced this same dilemma.  So what do you do when something important comes along that steals away all the time that you used to spend on blogging?  The easy answer is - Well, just stop blogging!  Or - just blog occasionally whenever you have the time...

But it's not that easy for me. When I truly care about something, I want to do it well.  My blog is my baby!  I gave it life, nurtured it, watched it blossom!

And these past few weeks, while I've been devoting all of my time to my antique business - I can hear it calling out to me in the night, like a child....

Feed me! I'm hungry for attention!

So I'm torn between two loves right now. And I'm not quite sure what the future holds for "A Sip of Sarsaparilla." I know that for at least the next month or so, I will likely be visiting your blogs less often (which makes me sad), and my posts will be sporadic. And then maybe after a little break, I might find a renewed energy for blogging. Or this could be my last post...

IF this does turn out to be my last post...this is the dress I want to be wearing when my blog is laid to rest...

A beautiful ivory Edwardian era lacy dress...worthy of its own Shakespearean soliloquy or sonnet...

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and temperate..." 

I discovered this antique dress at a high-end estate sale last summer - and my heart stopped when I saw it!  I paid $70 for it - quite a bit more than I spent on any other vintage purchase all year.  But I think it was worth every penny, and more! 

Look at these romantic bell sleeves...

And the variety of laces and pleating and embroidery...

I think it's almost more beautiful from the back view... 

These photos were obviously taken months ago, before winter settled in.  Ah...green grass, and sunlight shining through the airy lace!  Can't wait for spring!

Lots of snaps on this early 1900's dress - years before zippers were used in clothing...

I hope you enjoyed the dress - because I enjoyed sharing it with you!

You know, I'm pretty sure I'll be back. 

In the meantime, warm spring wishes to you...

Susan

Cafe au Lait Sunday...and Dreamy Vintage Milk Glass

Sipping on a latte...slowly waking up...and looking forward to a Sunday that's wide open for me to do whatever I want. 

I can be very productive, or very lazy - and nobody will know which I choose to be today.  One of the luxuries of living alone...

Java Homage to Seurat - Artwork by CJK - Copyright 1995 Interface Interprises

Today I thought I'd share with you some of my milk glass collection because it kind of fits with my dreamy state.  And it definitely fits with my love of adding lots of frothy milk to my espresso each day! 

I can imagine a few of you are rolling your eyes at the mention of "milk glass."  I used to turn up my nose at it too.  No wonder, since many of the newer pieces from the 60's and 70's, the stuff you and I run into most often, has a flat chalky look - and can be downright ugly, and old-fashioned in a tacky way.

But some of the glass, especially the older milk glass, has a beautiful depth and fire to it.  And there are an endless variety of designs and patterns to capture your imagination!

Look at these milk glass treasures that I found on Etsy.  Milk glass comes in several colors, including a soft blue and pink - but my favorite will always be white...

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'A Splash of Milk in Your Morning Coffee...' by SarsaparillasBoudoir

My mornings aren't complete without a bit of white milk in my dark coffee. I think it's the combination of colors I enjoy more than the taste. In the same way, you can add a splash of white to your home with milk glass pieces - and get the thrill of white against dark woods or bright spring colors.

Vintage Westmoreland Lattice... oakhillvintage $30.00	Large...Vintage...Fire King.... HannahBellaMem... $28.00	Vintage Hobnail Milk Glass P... VintageKats $17.50
decorative small milk glass ... bluepearlhanda... $4.50	Vintage Milk Glass Hobnail V... chikkie55 $14.95	Fenton Hobnail Creamer - Vin... jillhannah $15.00
Vintage pink milk glass comp... honeyandfitz $27.00	8 Vintage White Cut Milk Gla... hillplace $22.00	Vintage Milk Glass Compote P... passionateflea $8.99
Vintage Milk Glass Candy Dis... thevintagebutt... $24.50	milk glass platter bluepearlhanda... $	Dreaming of Spring . large w... stellabystar $14.00
Vintage Rustic Milk Glass We... BarkingSandsVi... $92.00	Fenton 4 Horn Milk Glass Epe... AuntiePrincess $189.99	Vintage Westmoreland Milk Gl... mymilkglasssho... $99.50

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

I'm pretty new to the world of milk glass, so I'm not going to attempt to give you an overview of the Who What When and Where of milk glass collecting.  But if you're interested in exploring further, here are a few links to articles and websites that might be helpful:

Article: A Menagerie in Milk Glass
Milk Glass (lots of good stuff here)
National Milk Glass Collectors Society
Glass Encyclopedia
National Westmoreland Glass Collectors Club

In the meantime, I view my job as simply providing you with some visual candy, and hopefully persuading you that milk glass can be beautiful.
 
Here are some favorites from my own collection that I thought you might enjoy...

This lacy milk glass centerpiece bowl was produced by Westmoreland Glass Co. in the 1950's, and is in the gorgeous Doric pattern (D-19).  Offering this one for sale on Etsy, if you're interested...

And these are some pieces from my collection that I'm not quite ready to part with yet...

I'm keeping this set of six milk glass plates because I am envisioning how lovely these would look topped with pretty slices of celebratory cake and buttercream frosting.  My daughter and/or son are bound to get married someday down the road and will need an engagement party...

I love the pretty "Forget Me Not"  and lattice border on these plates.  These are unmarked, but look very much like Westmoreland plates I've seen.  Mine have age cracks on the base of the plates, which I think adds to the charm!

I purchased this beautiful compote years ago in a local antique store - back in my married days when I had enough "play money" to be able to occasionally afford antique store prices.  

I fell in love with its elaborate swirls and scrolls.  Quite elegant, don't you think?

Until just recently, the maker of this compote was a complete mystery to me.  But I've discovered that it was likely produced by the French glass company, Portieux Vallerysthal.  I'm still uncertain of its age.  Whether new-ish or antique, I think it's gorgeous.

I bought this milk glass compote just this past summer.  I haven't yet had time to research it, so the glass maker and pattern is still a mystery to me.

It's a large compote - about 9" tall - and quite heavy.  I think that it's so majestic looking.  Right now, it's sitting on top of my antique upright piano - which is the place of honor in my home for all my favorite vintage finds.  I like the way the light comes in through the old 1920s piano window and makes all of my antique glass look so bright and cheery!

So have I piqued your interest in milk glass...just a bit?   I hope so...

And now it's time for me to head downstairs and make myself another dreamy latte.  What's your bet on the kind of day I'm going to have today - lazy or productive?  I'll never tell!

A Romantic Fool...

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Happy Valentine's Day to you! 

"Have A Heart--It's Leap Year" illustration by James Montgomery Flagg, from 1920 calendar, copyright Judge, New York

I love Valentine's Day for some odd reason.  I say "odd" because based on a pretty pitiful history with this day, and an unlucky love life in general - I really should hate Valentine's Day. 

But I don't.  Because I am, and probably always will be, a romantic fool... 

Just look at what greets visitors when they enter my front door and step into the porch - a 1950's wedding dress!

The dress is sort of there by accident.  I keep my mannequin in my front porch because that's where the best light is for taking photos.  And the last clothing item that I photographed in December was the wedding dress.  It looked so pretty, I decided to keep it there...

Do you think I've been frightening away potential suitors with this dress?  Haha...never thought of that...

Other than my wedding dress, I don't get too carried away with Valentine's Day.  All I've got displayed in my home right now is this sweet little ceramic made-in-Japan heart, which is perfect for holding old Valentines...

...and an old Fanny Farmer heart-shaped candy box under my...

...Christmas tree! 

Yes, I will sheepishly admit that although I put away (most) of my Christmas decorations a couple of weeks ago,  my 1960's silver aluminum tree is still up.  So, not only am I a romantic fool, but I'm a procrastinating romantic fool!

I've had a lovely start to my Valentine's Day so far...   My daughter called at 6:30 this morning asking me if I would please, please, please consider driving her to work today so that she wouldn't have to rush to take the bus.  Since I only get to see her about once a week these days, I happily said YES.   Then when she got to work (she works at a coffee shop) she happily treated me to a yummy mocha-hazelnut latte.  

That little exchange of mother-daughter love may be my only Valentine gift today - but it's plenty for me!

How did you celebrate Valentine's Day today? 
I hope that I'm not the only romantic fool in Blogland...

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