Sarsaparilla Saturday: Waldorf Tissue Presents "Bobby Crybaby"

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Happy Saturday morning to you!  

I've been up since 5 a.m., sipping a latte and paging through a couple of vintage Movie Story magazines (an eBay purchase) that arrived in the mail the other day.  These magazines are full of little surprises.  I'm having so much fun!

Here's a quirky ad for Waldorf's Scott Tissue from the August 1938 issue of Movie Story that I couldn't resist sharing with you.  Gosh, who would have thought that toilet tissue could be so dangerous!  Mother should have known better...

I hope you'll join me next week for another Sarsaparilla Saturday.  I'll be on the lookout for some more fun to satisfy the kid in you...

Thirties Thursday and a Mystery Solved: A 1930's Vintage Smock!

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This past Monday, the delightful Baroness Von Vintage of Tea With the Vintage Baroness blogged about a couple of 1930's smock patterns that she found at Cemetarian.  Here's one of the patterns she found:

The Baroness commented that these 1930's smocks are so scarce that when someone happens to find one, they don't quite know what it is that they've got.  And when they try to sell it, it's common for the smock to be mislabeled as clothing from another era, and possibly even a mini dress!

Well, I was one of the lucky ones that happened to stumble across one of these smocks a number of years ago.  And just as the Baroness said - I didn't know what in the world it was!  It hung in my closet, unsold, for the longest time because I didn't know what era it was from, or how it should be worn.  It was a mystery. All I knew was that I found the design and fabric absolutely intriguing!

Everything about this smock is so DRAMATIC!

Look at the bold orange pointed collar and very full sleeves... (front view)

....and the buttons down the back.

I love those wide orange cuffs with buttons...

...and the diagonal patch pockets.

Oh, and it was so carefully sewn.  Sweet!

A closeup of the fabric.  Definitely 1930's, don't you think?

When I finally sold it on eBay last year, I came pretty close to getting the label right.  I called it: "INTRIGUING Vintage 1930s APRON with ARTISTIC FLAIR."   It attracted a lot of attention even though I called it an Apron.  The word "Smock" completely escaped me!  So I'm grateful that I can now call it by its proper name.  

Okay, and I have to admit - I also mentioned in my eBay description that it could be worn as a dress.  I didn't say mini dress, but it definitely would have been.  Silly me - now I know better...  :-)

Be sure to stop by next week for another Thirties Thursday!   Enjoy your weekend! 

1928 Fashion Show and the Voice of an Angel - Annette Cranshaw

It's time for another Twenties Tuesday and an intimate look at the Roaring 20's.

This week, you're invited to a fashion show!  So grab a flop (flapperese for "take a seat") and let's watch Corliss Palmer, Raquel Torres, Laura La Plante and Ruth Elder get all dolled up to model the hottest fashions of 1928.

I think all of these fashions are the cat's meow - but if I could pick just one to own, I'd take Raquel Torres' hat and matching bag with appliqued felt flowers.  What's your favorite?

If you enjoy the fashion of the 1920's, 30's and 40's, take a peek at the glamourdaze channel on youtube.com for this video, and much more. You'll be in vintage fashion heaven!



By the way, the song from the video is called "Love Me Tonight" and is sung by Annette Hanshaw (1901-1985).  Lovely, isn't it?   Visit Annette Hanshaw: Voice of An Angel for a wonderful little website dedicated to her life and music - plus photos like this charmer:

This photo is from the Collection of Murray Kent.  She looks like a real sweetheart, doesn't she? 

Miss Hanshaw's discography (courtesy of Red Hot Jazz) includes songs like: Ain't He Sweet; Button Up Your Overcoat; Cooking Breakfast for the One I Love; If I Had a Talking Picture of You; I Faw Down and Go 'Boom; Tip Toe Through the Tulips With Me; I Want a Good Man (and I Want Him Bad) - and many more.

Yes, there is actually a song called "I Faw Down and Go Boom."  Only in the Roaring Twenties could they get away with such nonsense!

For Love of Country

America

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!











My native country, thee,

Land of the noble free,

Thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills;

My heart with rapture thrills,

Like that above.


Let music swell the breeze,

And ring from all the trees

Sweet freedom's song;

Let mortal tongues awake;

Let all that breathe partake;

Let rocks their silence break,

The sound prolong.
 
       -- Samuel Francis Smith, 1831
 

Love American Style

I'm still new at blogging, and have been a little shy about sharing my latest venture with family and friends. But I'm slowly getting the word out there. 

I asked my parents to take a peek last week - knowing that I can always count on my Mom for some glowing praise to boost the spirits. And then just last night I sent my siblings a "Happy Independence Day!" email, with a plea to visit my blog and leave a comment - so that I'll look like I'm more popular than I am! 

I expect that I might get a visit from a sib or two today.  So...Kathy, Mary, Joe, Linda, Becki, Jenny and Chris - here's a bit of patriotic family nostalgia just for you:

This photo was taken on July 4, 1976 - America's Bicentennial.  I love the knitted poncho that my youngest sister Jenny is wearing.  And that's me at 16, on the far right - in the sailboat halter, white hip hugger jeans, and wire frame glasses.  I'm sure that I was attempting to look "hot" - now it just makes me laugh!

I recall that I was the instigator behind all the red, white and blue clothing.  Most of the family rolled their eyes at my request, but went along with it anyway.  But my Dad stubbornly dressed in brown & yellow polyester.

My sister Kathy (the oldest) is missing from this photo because she was taking the picture.  If I am remembering correctly, she was wearing the ultimate in 70's coolness - an all-white jumpsuit.  Wish I had a photo of that jumpsuit that I could share with you - I'm sure it would bring a smile.

Digging through one of my several boxes of "memories" that I've saved over the years - I came across the octagon wire frames that I'm wearing in the Bicentennial photo!  Here they are with a "Peace" print from my eighth grade art class.  Groovy!

I'll leave you with a "patriotic" tune from the TV show Love American Style, an hour-long television sitcom anthology which aired between September 1969 and January 1974.  In its first year, the show's theme song was sung by the Cowsills, a clean-cut family singing group popular in the late 1960's, with hit songs like "Indian Lake" and "Hair."  (video by Klaatubes - thank you!)

A big Happy Fourth of July to all of you! I hope you enjoy some fireworks tonight with those you love...

Fun with Vintage "Made in Hong Kong" Plastic Cake Toppers!

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It's Saturday morning, and time for another Sarsaparilla Saturday! 

After a long and sometimes stressful week at work, Saturdays are a good day to unwind with some lighthearted fun.  Each Saturday, we'll be traveling back to the kid's world of vintage toys, dolls, games and cartoons - or an adult world that's whimsical, weird, comical or maybe even a little naughty.  In any case, my goal is to make you smile.

This morning I wanted to to share with you a fun collection of plastic whimsies from the 1950's and 60's.  Most of them are Made in Hong Kong - and most are Cake Toppers!  I recently purchased all of these little items from the estate of a 91-year-old woman.  Her granddaughter proudly, and a little apologetically, told me:  "She was in the catering business for 35 years, and never threw anything away..."

 

I've already shared a photo of these colorful plastic bridesmaids and groomsmen on heart stands with you - in my recent post on vintage weddings.  But they're so much fun I thought I'd give you another peek. 

I love these little plastic bonnets in pretty pastel colors.  Perfect for a spring birthday or wedding shower!

Isn't she sweet?  Tina the plastic ballerina...

She came with two bags filled with tiny pink ballerinas in silver and "chocolate" tutus - to decorate cupcakes!

These two "Li'l Professor" trolls in plastic cases are 3" tall - and so sweet.  Perfect to top a Graduation Cake! The card inside the case says:  "JANZ Trolls and Dolls - for the best-dressed dolls" - from House of Ideas, Naperville, Ill.  You could also purchase for your trolls a Play Mite Set with tiny furniture and Troll Fads clothes, or a Magic Mountain Troll Cave!

Ain't she purty!

Here's an intriguing little cake topper for a baby shower - a 6-inch tall stork with a baby tied around it's neck with a pink ribbon.  There's a "Western Germany - U.S. Zone" tag on the leg, probably dating it to the early 1950's.

This rubber baby is borderline scary...don't you think?

Talk about scary....here come the CLOWNS!

A child's nightmare...a box filled with clown heads, come to life!

Actually, I think the clowns with the big red noses in this second box - Made in Japan - are adorable. 

This "Diligent Porgies" (what a name!) plastic toy was Made in Hong Kong and is friction powered.  I love the squiggly tails on the porgies.   

This mini plastic golf bag with 8 woods and irons, about 5" long, would be great fun for Dad's birthday. 

Look at these 9" long miniature skis!  I'm not sure who the maker is, but they are surprisingly detailed.    Everything's plastic but the spring that attaches the shoes to the skis.

And here is my favorite of the whole lot.  A box of plastic racing cars!

I grew up in a family of 7 girls andjust  2 boys, and I don't remember playing with cars at all when I was a kid.

So I was surprised that I was so fascinated with these little plastic racers.  I spent a good hour "playing" with them: opening up the boxes and researching the car makes (most are from the 50's).  After sorting them all out, I discovered that this is apparently a series of 10 different cars - and I have at least one sample of each:  M.G. Midget; Mercedes Benz; Cunningham; Aston Marton; Triumph TR2; Vanwall; Connaught; H.W.M.; Jaguar Type-D and Masserati. 

So maybe the detailing on the cars is a bit fuzzy, and the wheels barely turn - but isn't that all part of the charm of these plastic vintage toys?

Thirties Thursday: Judy Garland and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" 1939

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Each week on Thursday, I'll be featuring music, films or fashions from the 1930's.

I'm starting things off with a classic from my personal all-time favorite film,"The Wizard of Oz" - 1939. Here's the unforgettable Judy Garland singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." (Courtesy of Monteinke, YouTube.  The subtitles are in Portuguese - lovely!)

No matter how many times I hear Judy Garland sing this, I'm always completely enchanted. Enjoy...

A Blackbird Cocktail Hat for Tippi Hedren

Yesterday I received a comment from blogger Loveable Homebody at Beyond Passing Time who said that she was having a hard time finding vintage hat blogs.  I hadn't had much luck finding hat blogs myself until I happened to stumble across the wonderful blog Many Hatty Returns a few months back.  And once you discover one, it makes the research so much easier.

This morning, eager to help out this damsel in distress, I decided to do a little hat blog hunting while sipping on my morning latte.

The very first hat blog I bumped into was so much fun that I never went any further.  The Millinery Guild of Southern California states that its purpose is to "foster interest in Hats, Millinery and Hat Wearing through Lectures, Instructional Workshops and a variety of classes in all aspects of traditional and contemporary millinery."  

Well, who better to promote interest in hats than the lovely Ms. Tippi Hedren of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" fame!

Tippi is modeling an incredible feathered blackbird cocktail hat created by Gladys Tamez Millinery!  When I first glanced at the hat all I saw was the feathers - and then I did a double take when I saw the blackbirds nesting there!  If you check out the Millinery Guild blog you'll see that in the 1960's poster directly behind Ms. Hedren is another very large bird from her Hitchcock film.

What a fun way to start off my morning!  Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday...

Only 13 Muscles Are Used To Smile!

I shared this "Frown - Smile" mini-poster with you a month or so ago, but today seemed like a good day to post it again. 

Every time I walk past this 1960's "Vari-Vue" motion image card in my bedroom, I can't help but smile.

I'll need to keep my eyes open for more of these vintage Vari-Vues. They're definitely day brighteners.

Vintage Hats: All-Out Deliciousness

The Love-Knot

Tying her bonnet under her chin,

She tied her raven ringlets in;

But not alone in the silken snare

Did she catch her lovely floating hair,

For, tying her bonnet under her chin,

She tied a young man’s heart within.

-- from "The Love-Knot" (first verse) by Nora Perry (1832-1896)

German fashion plate - "Moden Z. 1829 - Lohse sc(?) - No. 50"

 

Throughout history hats have held an important place in the world of fashion.  Whether the year was 1829 with the pretty - and enormous! - German bonnets (above)...or 1960 with a fresh floral spring hat on the cover of Vogue (below).

 

Vogue, Feb. 15, 1960.  On the cover: "First glimpse of the hat situation - through a little-evening cage of green leaves, white stephanotis, and a rose-coloured rose at brow-level. All-out deliciousness is one of the self-evident truths of the hat situation this spring."

 

Here's what Vogue had to say about hats in its 2/15/60 feature article: The Truth About the Hat Situation:

     The truth about hats is: like diamonds, they're not among the necessities of life, but are among the tonic pleasures, and they add a tremendous charge of dazzle.  In another generation, we heard "you're not dressed if you don't wear a hat," but the obvious truth is that many smart women are now beautifully, though hatlessly, dressed, wearing marvellous hair as a substitute. 

     What we are getting at is this: hats are golden chances for a chic woman to acquire extra chic. This year, designers are coming up with a special surge of hat excitement - spectacular bulky shapes, or tiny toy hats, in featherweight substances of straw, organdie, silk, with results ravishing enough to tempt even the most diehard of the no-hat cult.

     About no-hattism: we have often found this to be simply the fact that, as the lovelorn columns say, the right one hasn't come along (this, a corollary of the principle that you can't marry a millionaire unless you first meet one).  Our advice to the hatlorn is to keep trying; each fresh batch of hats holds fresh chances to look wonderful..."

If you've gone hatless most of your life, but are feeling a little bolder these days and would like to add a "charge of dazzle" to your fashion life - here are some more hats to inspire you...

Taffeta striped beret - a fresh edition of the paperbag beret in brilliant Roman striped silk - purple, orange, beige.  Vogue magazine, 2/15/60.

Fez fare...in felt, with a new head-on approach to flowers - a spray of tulips stemming from box pleats at the front.  Vogue magazine, 2/15/60.

Gilbey's Vodka ad - Life magazine, April 20, 1962

Spring...and a New Hat for Audrey Hepburn.  Life magazine, 4/20/62.

Montgomery Ward Catalog - Spring 1939

   A few more hats from the 1939 Ward's catalog.  I love hats from this era!  I wish they were easier to find...

Pictured below are a few hats that I have added to my collection (and then sold) over the years...

Above is a vintage 1950's turban hat with glam movie star appeal...

....and below is a stunning peacock blue hat with rows of pretty pleats and a tuft of netting and sequins on top!

Pictured below are the newest additions to my (very small) hat collection...

The soft yellow straw hat above is wrapped in a pretty ribbon, and has a Dayton's label inside.  Dayton's department store was a favorite Mpls./St. Paul fashion destination for years.  I'm always happy to find vintage clothing with one of their labels because it brings back good memories of shopping excursions there when I was younger.

 

I love the glamorous vintage look of scarves worn over the head.  Here's a fabulous Oscar de la Renta find with wonderful stripes and bold geometric shapes....

But here's my favorite of all.  Found just yesterday!

Truly a work of art.  Don't you agree?

Sarsaparilla Saturday: cartoon fun with "Gerald McBoing Boing" !

Yay, it's the weekend!  Sleep till 10:00 if you can - then grab yourself a bowl of Post Toasties and join me for some classic cartoon fun with Gerald McBoing Boing (1950).



And now a word from Post and your favorite breakfast cereal...


Today's sponsors are tmiwijones (Gerald McBoing-Boing) and Meatpies62 (Post Toasties).

Stay tuned next week for another Sarsaparilla Saturday and more weekend fun!

Twenties Tuesday: Josephine Baker, Bye Bye Blackbird and Louise Brooks

Welcome to my first "Twenties Tuesday." I plan to reserve Tuesdays for sharing intriguing finds from the 1920's.

I think you'll enjoy this wonderful video, found on moonkaf's channel on YouTube. (Thanks moonkaf!)

Josephine Baker (1906-1975) sings the 1920's hit Bye Bye Blackbird.
The video features film clips of the amazing silent film star Louise Brooks (1906-1985).

If you haven't yet met the beautiful Louise in your vintage film travels, I think you're going to fall in love with her...