I had to interrupt 7 days of vintage bangs briefly to add some new things to the shop. It's getting toasty here in St Louis so I thought I'd add some more summery dresses and a few vintage swim suits.



I also still have two more Victory Cardigans available in olive and navy


 Also, (*shhhh* for blog readers only!) shop this weekend and save 25% on your entire purchase using code "firecracker"- offer expires July 1st.

 say Hello to our June Sponsors!



Trunk of Dresses never fails to make us swoon with her bedazzling array of vintage dresses, which seem to be straight out of those dreamy fashion catalogs. Follow on facebook so you can be the first in line for her new arrivals





                

Hex Potions is my newest sponsor this month, cooking up spell-binding selections in gloss, lip color and bewitching eye shadows. All natural, handmade and not tested on animals. Pop over to Hex Potions and sit a spell. If you're not loving a heavy lipstick this summer, be sure to check out her new Spell Gloss shades including Fairy Plum. I've been using her lovely earthy scented lip balm lately!



 Mrs Depew Vintage specializes in rare print-at-home sewing patterns. She has the most amazing collection of 1920s dresses, vintage lingerie, swimwear and more. Anna also stocks pdf vintage fashion catalogs, crochet patterns and sewing booklets. She has a new pin board on Pinterest featuring projects made using Mrs Depew patterns. Be sure to send any of your Depew project photos to Anna to be included in her gallery! Also check out Anna's new sale on her $8.50 PDF patterns




While working on page design for my ezine, I found beautiful clip art, photoshop brushes and background from The Ink Nest. Created by independent artists and designers, these bits of internet whimsy are available for purchase for personal or commercial use at very affordable rates. Use these elements in your blog design, newsletters, even make things with them to sell in your etsy shop (read terms and conditions). Save $2 per set when you buy 4 or more sets!




Also, don't forget to save 10% this month with code "bloominjune" from Va-Voom Vintage Shop

I just listed  my V for Victory cardigans last night in the shop, along with a bunch of other new pretty things!!
Save 10% off your purchase with code "bloominjune". See everything at Va-Voom Vintage Shop

One of my favorite things about living in a tiny old neighborhood is that you're so close to your neighbors. The other day, while watering my victory garden, a neighbor two fences down yelled over to me to introduce herself and invite us to come over and pick cherries from her big old cherry tree. She said she has pints of them dehydrated and frozen and she invites all of the neighbors to come any time and get what they can before the birds get all of them.

We went yesterday and picked a few handfuls but she said  to come back in the morning too, when many of the lower branches would have lots of perfectly ripe ones. After breakfast this morning, the kids and I walked down the alley to gather some lovely red cherries to snack on today. Although I'd love to make cherry preserves or pies, my little ones don't let fruit sit around for any period of time. I love walking through back alleys of the neighborhood. There are so many old gates, fences and beautiful heirloom gardens. Many of these bits have been around since the 30s and 40s. The people that live here do little to change this historic town, adding their own rustic picket fences and vintage patio furniture.




Olivia is already an expert and getting the pits out. Yesterday, while watching Tangled and sitting on her Dora couch, she'd pluck a cherry out of the bowl, give it a squeeze between her thumb and finger and POP! out comes the pit. She tosses the pit into a separate bowl while the other hand pops the cherry into her mouth.

 

I pulled a few branches down so the kids could reach the lower cherries.



 Rhys, the little stink that he is, loves to mash the cherries and toss them to the ground so we stuck the bowl in the branches so he wouldn't destroy them all. He cried, "A cherry bowl!! Up high!"




Once our vegetables ripen, I'm going to drop off a basket of them for her in exchange for these beautiful jewels.

Make do and Mend didn't stop in the 1940s- any frugal lady knew how to spruce up an old garment. When I found this in one of my old magazines, I thought "How clever!"

 Knit new sleeves, waistband, dickey and more for your old dresses and blouses. What a smart way to give life to a tired piece. From Womens Day Magazine, July 1951-

Download the full size documents to save to your computer

For father's day, we went to mom's house for a bbq. The dads had a few beers and relaxed in the sunshine while the kids played in the sprinkler. It was such a gorgeous day! Mom and I pulled a few weeds out of the garden and she sent me home with some thinnings for my victory garden.


 I wore a new cardigan that I embellished this week with hand sewn felt and embroidery. These cardigans will be available in different colors and sizes in the shop this week so you can have one too!!

I have some lovelies for sale today and will be adding more very soon! Please email me at brittanyvavoomvintage@gmail.com to purchase an item or if you have any questions. I do ship internationally.  Items will be sold on a first come basis and will be updated when sold. Thanks for looking!

 Pale blue cardigan with tiny white flowers, very soft and sweet. I love the little bow on this one.
Bust: 38in
Shoulders across: 15in
Sleeve length: 25in
Length: 22in
No tag
SOLD


1950s pendleton jacket in a versatile brown, green, black and mustard range.
Bust: 39in when buttoned (I'm a 44)
Waist: 37in when buttoned
Shoulders across: 16in
Length: 25 1/2in
Sleeve length: 24in
$50 + shipping SOLD


Men's green 1940s-50s Pendleton jacket. I love the color of this jacket. Pair it with trousers for a relaxed, boyish look or with a skirt
Bust: 45in
Shoulders across: 18in
Length: 28in
Sleeve length: 25in
$45 + shipping SOLD


1950s peach lace plus size party dress from Lane Bryant

This dress zips up the back with a metal zipper and all of the lace is in perfect shape!

Bust: 47in

Waist: 42in

Hip: free

Length: 44in

$85 + shipping SOLD

1950s rhinestone cardigan in lambswool, angora and nylon. So soft and not missing any rhinestones. There is a bit of pilling on this one but overall great shape!
Bust: 38in
Length: 19in
Shoulders across: 17in
Sleeve length: 24 1/2in
$60 + shipping


Snowy white cozy long sweater, pair it with a skirt or pants. I love these in the fall!
Bust: 40in
Length: 23in
Sleeve length: 22 1/2in
Shoulders across: 16 1/2in
$30 + shipping SOLD
 


1950s-60s Pendleton jacket in cream
Bust: 44in
Length: 21 1/2in
Shoulders across: 15in
Sleeve length: 22in
 $45 + shipping SOLD

Yesterday, we finally went to see The Great Gatsby in theaters. It's been ages since our last date night and although I'm usually very flexible with our date plans, I told Pj that we must go see it before it's not in theaters anymore. I've been a fan of Baz Luhrmann since I first saw Romeo and Juliet when I was a pre-teen.


 For our date, I wore my new dress, a gift from Daffny. I love nylon dresses in the summer. They're so light and comfortable and are great for a grab and go type of dress. They hardly ever wrinkle! I had a hell of a time choosing a hat for our outing. This dress has so many pretty colors in it that I tried a few and found myself quoting Amadeus. "Why don't I have 3 heads?!" (a great movie, by the way, do see it if you haven't already! The costumes are fab!!) I finally settled on my hot pink turban, which was something I bought truly believing that I'd never find a dress to match it.


The Great Gatsby was absolutely divine, in my opinion. I know it received some less than stellar reviews, particularly in the vintage community where people were shocked by the modern music, brash, tacky colors and not at all period costuming. But seriously- it's not a walk through a history museum and it wasn't meant to be!

 The Great Gatsby is an artist's interpretation of an almost 100 year old story. As I watched it, particularly the scenes with Myrtle and the loud, sweaty speakeasy, I thought that if he did this all as period correct as possible, I don't think it would have really shown the modern world what the 20's was like. This film wasn't made for people who love the era. It was made to tell a beautifully sad story and to show to a modern world (where a celeb's lady bits peeking out of her skirt is hardly newsworthy) how the jazz and booze and wild women of the 20s was truly a shock to people of the time. Not everyone who lived in the 1920s was a boozing, short skirt wearing crazy flapper. My great grandma was a young girl during the era and she had nothing positive to say about those kind of girls.

To the modern world,1920s jazz is charming and old fashioned but the modern music in the film surrounding by dancing scantily clad women was as jarring to us as jazz was to many of them.


Myrtle's horrid outfit in her first appearance wasn't typically 1920s at all but it made us all shudder, just as someone in the 20s would have if she appeared as a historically accurate floozy. 


Much like his version of Romeo and Juliet, I hope this film has young people reading and enjoying the classic novel.

So anyway, end rant there. If you've never seen another Baz Luhrmann film, do check them out if you're a fool for a good love story like myself.  His others include Strictly Ballroom, Romeo and Juliet, Australia and Moulin Rouge.

 Pj had never read the book or seen any other versions of the film and when the credits started rolling, no one in the theater made a peep. I was all teary eyed and Pj sat there like he didn't know what hit him. He said "Why didn't you tell me?!"  I said "Sorry, Sweetie! I didn't want to ruin the ending!!"