The Littlest Bombshell

I just had to share this sweet little lady wearing her vintage pinafore from my shop. This is sweet Gemma "Bird" with puppy Frances of the Bleu Bird Vintage blog. 

 (source)

 Isn't she just the cutest?! I do believe she's our littlest "Bombshell" so far!

(if you've got photos of you, or your kiddos in a Bombshell Bettie frock I'd love to see and share them!)

  Make sure to check out Mommy Ms James' adorable family "What We Wore" posts, great kid-friendly DIY's and inspiring posts about her life. 

Reminding us that just because you have little ones is no excuse to give up your style!

Have a great night

Summer Fashion Inspiration

 I don't know about you, but I absolutely adore Ann Margret's wardrobe in "Bye Bye Birdie" and the outfit that sticks out the most is that ruffled pink number when she's dancing. I think its just the bees knees.

 Its playful and sexy and perfect for summer ! I've got 10 outfits inspired by that look and I think you're going to like them!

 Pants: Violetville Vintage, Top: Capricious Traveler, Shoes: I'm A Yellow Boat

 Shorts: Thrush Vintage, Top: Living on Velvet, Shoes: Good Style Shop

 Shorts: Thrush Vintage, Top: Double Happiness Vintage , Shoes: Brooklyn Branch

 Shorts: Sweet Bee Finds, Top: Rock Street Vintage, Shoes: Pulp Vintage Shop

 Pants: Ms Tips, Top: Have Love Will Travel , Shoes: My Shop

 Shorts: mousevox, Top: Thrush Vintage, Shoes: Marie's Vintage

 Shorts: My Shop, Top: Story of Things, Shoes: Lisa Zain

 Shorts: Sweet Bee Finds, Top: Miss Farfalla, Shoes: Lisa Zain

 Shorts: Miss Farfalla, Top: Needs Good Home, Shoes: Fashion Rerun

Shorts: Exquisite Bones, Top: Cool Vintage Finds, Shoes: Grey Emporium

Do you have a favorite? I must admit I'm quite partial to that seafoam and yellow one. What a great look for summer! Please make sure and visit all the shops, they're all packed full of amazing vintage. 

Also, don't forget about my 25% off Fourth of July Sale, prices good through Monday at midnight.

Get the Look

This picture floating around on tumblr is perfection.
I commented "why don't we dress like this anymore" then I thought...wait, I can..and you can too. Its a simple, elegant look that anyone can get, you just have to know what to look for.
The key elements that make is outfit work are: the dramatic sweep of the skit with the classic "shirtwaist" style. High quality, matching but not matched accessories (shoes, gloves and a beautiful hat).
Although I believe what the woman is wearing in the photo is a dress, I've found these jackets that will work just as well and be more versatile for your wardrobe.

These are my top 3:

Gorgeous floral silk jacket from Greatest Friend Vintage
This jaw-dropping camel coat from Simplicity is Bliss Vintage
and this gorgeous Lilli Ann (of course) Stitched wool jacket from Fashion House Vintage

You can also try this coat, this coat, this coat or this coat pattern, to make your own.

Now lets focus on the second element of this look, the accessories.

Tailored Shoes:
Key elements to look for: pointed toe (elongates the leg), high quality, simple design..color can be neutral or bold!

My Top 3:

Bold reptile pumps from Prance & Swagger
High quality black pumps from Old Baltimore Vintage
Gorgeous chain detail pumps from sponsor Raleigh Vintage

Also try: these pumps, these pumps, these pumps or these pumps.

Leather Gloves:
Key Elements to watch for: Longer, Leather, Avoid evening gloves (nylon, beaded, opera length) color can be neutral or bold (if you go neutral with the shoe you can go bold with the gloves and vice-versa)
My Top 3:

lovely putty colored gloves from Coral Root
Bone colored gloves from sianuska vintage
Embroidered gloves from corrnucopia

Also Try: These Gloves, These Gloves or These Gloves

The Hat

Its so important to the outfit that this hat be bold and still beautiful. There are so many gorgeous hats out there it may be overwhelming trying to look though them all so look for these key elements: Floral Detail, Full Head Hats (not fasteners or cocktail hats), a brim
remember: It does not have to match your coat.

My Top 3:

Oh, whats this...oh its a gorgeous woven straw hat with wavy brim from my shop
Lovely, simple wool hat with the perfect brim from Poppy Cock Hats
Beautiful navy hat with daisy details from OhTwoVintage

Lots of options here,
Try: This hat, this hat, this hat, this hat or this hat.

And there you have it, you can have that amazing look, any day of the week. If you'd like me to re-create a look for you just send me an email via my profile and I'll see what I can do ;)

A New Face

I've been sponsoring the Vixen Vintage Blog for quite a few months and before that was a loyal follower. I used to drool over the items she had in her shop (which has since, closed) and on her blog, wishing I could look that fab. Well as you may remember I finally got to meet Miss Solanah when I was on vacation and she was super cute and so down to earth. It just makes you love her even more. I think I at one point told her she was so cute and tiny I wanted to put her in my pocket. ;)
Well one of the perks to sponsoring her blog is that I can send her things and she will look fab in them and send them back. WOOT! I sent her 3 (of my favorite) dresses from my shop and she snapped some gorg pics and shipped them back. Super easy and now I've got 3 items up in the shop with her fab-ness all over it!
Going Green
Floral Forties
Caught in her Net

Here is Solanah looking a-darn-dorable in some of the dresses from my shop. Don't you just love her? Yeah, I know you do.

BTW: Tons of amazing pieces up right now I have nearly 165 pieces available...and another purchase for me...that I'm hoping to get some sales and pay off ASAP so I can wear it on my B-day! :D

Oh..and one more thing...GIVEAWAYS START SUNDAY!!!!

In the Beginning..there was Bettie

Ok, tonight I'm going to reveal my (not so secret) obsession. Bettie Page. I love her! I collect her photos! I have over 6000 of them and they're all organized by outfit...I may have OCD...LOL

Well today I randomly came across a Tumbler feed of Bettie Page Photos called "Bettie Page is all the Rage" it is a collection of some of the rarest photos I've seen...so of course I added them to my collection.
In truth, her adorableness is what really got me into things from the past; pin up, rockabilly and luckily vintage housewares and styles. I fell in love with the lingerie and the clothing.
Sweater dresses, kitten heels...
play suits, bathing suits...
satin, lace and KITTENS!

I always wished I could have hair like hers...I still do. If I'm lucky and if I ever have a little girl she will end up with my husbands hair which is just like Bettie's complete with perfect "fresh from the box barbie hair" waves. I'm so jealous and he knows it...tee hee. As you can guess I named my shop after her and at one time (about 50 lbs ago) I used to look like Bettie...people would ask me if I had a tattoo of myself on my leg...ok, for one who gets a tattoo of themselves? and for two she is still way cuter than me.

Her style inspired me to take the plunge to dark hair and bangs...if you can believe it, I'm naturally blonde...not platinum anymore but still what I like to call ashy-uglified blonde. So, yeah. Bettie is a big part of my life and I love everything she has brought me...without her, there would be no BBV, no pin up, no vintage ad collection and no vintage swimsuit collection and I wouldn't know the first thing about what a bullet bra is other than Madonna.

So yeah, I'm excited and THANK YOU BETTIE for all your inspiration. I wouldn't have done it without you.
P.S. if anyone knows where I can find a suit like this...I need to know! I was thinking of having one made since Bettie made all her own suits (fun fact) I doubt there is another like it.

Also, I have added a TON of new items to the shop 29 to be exact. Lots of cold weather wear. Coats, sweaters, wool skirts and hats. And there is plenty more where that came from!
As you can see there are lots of new sponsors as well so check them out.
GIVEAWAYS ARE COMING SOON!

I HEART HALLOWEEN

For some reason all the thrift stores seem to back stock their vintage until halloween. Like people only wear vintage once a year. In actuality people only DESTROY vintage once a year and its my duty as a vintage lover to buy up all the vintage I can during this time to save it from being bedazzled, cut, stained and otherwise ruined by teenagers that have no idea what mink is or why someone would want lace sleeves on their cocktail dress. I hate looking through racks of last years disasters, seeing what people have done to a gorgeous vintage dress, blouse or skirt. It really breaks my heart to see vintage in that state. This year I've vowed to change all that. I spent a hefty chunk at my favorite thrift this morning and bought up all the pre-70s vintage I could find...including something for myself!
Here are the finds, they'll soon be coming to the shop after some love.Vinyl "bow" belt M/L
Novelty print cotton skirt
close up - leaves!
Polished cotton skirt
close up - pinks, red, black, blood red
novelty leaf print with smocked waist
close up - leaves with gold swishes
bright hunter orange dress (yes, this one is 80s, but too cute to pass up, love the color for fall)
Lots of kids clothing, fur and leather vest, NOS heidi-esq coat, tartan plaid skirt, kelly green ric-rac jumper and my favorite swiss dot and corduroy dress. The woman who rang us up was prego and i think she was a little jealous she didn't spot this one first.

Wondering what I kept for myself. I know its pretty rare of me to keep anything. I'm a giver don't you know ;) But I don't think I can let go of..
this mega full petticoat.
Scalloped trim and its SOOOO full I'm super excited to add this one to my collection!
and I may or may not keep these gloves

I was searching for a pair of navy gloves on etsy to wear with my nautical dresses and then I found a pair locally...so I might just have to keep them.

Also I found a non-vintage item that will be going up in the ebay store. As you know I don't follow the trends but I can spot a designer piece now and then and I'm having trouble aging this wallet. If you could help I would be oh-so thankful!
Its Yves Saint Laurent. Its orange leather with a heart charm zipper
Its a checkbook style with a pin

PLEASE stop by the Summer Sale! Prices only good until saturday then I'm pulling most of the summer inventory to pack away or donate so if you want it, you better get it while you can!

Oh and We've got 5 sponsors for giveaway items! That's one for every week in October and that means a chance for you to win 10 items! I'll be doing a giveaway item every Wednesday and Weekly we'll be doing giveaways for the sponsored items! Its going to be fun and it starts September 26th (so the first item will be given away in Oct!) Good luck, I hope to see you all there!