Saving the earth one dress at a time!

Wearing vintage has always been a wonderfully Green thing to do. Goddess knows there is plenty of clothing and fabric on this planet, we could probably cover 50 planets with everything in our respective closets. So in honor of Earth Day, LA's premiere vintage store "The Way We Wore" hosted a special vintage party and fashion show. Co-hosted by vintage fashion icons Debi Mazar and Dita Von Teese, the night was a reminder of how we can all be thrifty and creative and save the planet at the same time.

My friend Lotta, (pictured above), along with several other LA designers, were all charged with re-working vintage pieces into new one of a kind very wearable creations. All the designers did a smashing job! But everyone can do this type of thing, either at home with a sewing machine, or for the less crafty, for only a few bucks at your local dry cleaners. You would be surprised at how little it costs to have your local seamstress re-work/alter a piece. So next time you see an amazing 70's print maxi dress, that's 5 sizes too large, just buy it! Then bring it to the tailor, alter it and with the left over fabric make a headband or pillow case.

Green never looked so gorgeous!

Vintage Dame Dolls - the other kind of Dolls

This afternoon, out of nowhere, it suddenly occurred to me that my generation grew up with some pretty freaky dolls. There was "Tiffany Taylor," who with her lime green cape and gold lame bathing suit, was one part super hero, one part hooker and one part Vegas Drag Queen. Her scalp actually turned around, (hello anyone? Is this strange to you or is it just me?), so that Tiffany could either be platinum or brunette, check out the madness:



Then, on the other end of the doll spectrum, there was The Sunshine Family! A granola, peace loving, eco-friendly family, including grandparents and a little booklet that told us kids what we could "make" for our dolls - anti-consumerism - Love it! Check out the Birkenstock Gang:



Finally, there was Chrissy, the red headed smiling gal whose hair could be pulled out of the top of her head. You could make it really long, or into a simple bob. All you had to do was press her belly butten (!!) and then pull her hair! Hours of fun, right? Chrissy actually reminds me of that terrifying doll who tortured that father in one of the old The Twilight Zone episodes.

I think it's a miracle that we all survived childhoods in the 70's!

If you're a Chrissy kind of gal, show some leg in this Tibi mini, available on www.netaporter.com

If the Sunshine Family is more your vibe, then feel the love in this Missoni dress, available on www.netaporter.com

If you're inspired by Tiffany Taylor, try this stunner by Zac Posen, available on www.netporter.com

Vintage Dame Goes Possum Hunting

Last night my adorable dog Leroy brought me the cutest Easter gift - a Possum! That's right ladies, a live possum! Just what a girl needs to liven up an otherwise low-key evening at home. As I sipped my Sauvignon Blanc and turned the pages of my Twilight novel, (totally addictive), I saw Leroy and little Quinny breeze through the kitchen on their way to their favorite perch - our bed. But, I could have sworn that I saw something else too...there had been something in Leroy's mouth!

For the love of God! Why why why? The one night I'm home alone, enjoying the quiet, Leroy decides to become Besties with Mr. Possum! Dashing into the bedroom I see Leroy looking up proudly at me - aren't ya proud of me mama?! Quinny took one look at my face and took off, the girl knows when it's time to leave a party. The possum was either dead or "playing possum," but I feared dead, as there was the tiniest bit of blood near his mouth. Ugly, wretched, these words do not properly convey how nasty that possum looked. And yet...I felt bad for him. Had Leroy accidentally killed him? He clearly had just wanted a new playmate. I also couldn't help but notice that Mr. Possum was lying on my beautiful color blocked Indian quilt. It's been in the family for 20 years. Argg!

After throwing back my entire glass of wine, I felt a little peep of courage. I quickly, but gently Quilt-Wrapped the possum and walked confidently out to the backyard. I lay him down softly and opened up the quilt a bit, fluffing it up "just so" around him, so that I created a little "Possum on Indian Fabric" Tableau Art Installation. I then said a few prayers, b/c two years of Catholic School never leave you, plus it was almost Easter, so Jesus was on my mind. "Dear Jesus/God/Goddess of Backyards, I apologize if my dog Leroy killed your Possum, he only wanted to play. I hope he did not suffer at all. Perhaps he is not even dead and he is just up to his usual tricks. Please bless the little Possum. Amen" As I prayed, Leroy and Quinny sat by my side silently, as if we were all in church.

The next morning the quilt was Possum-less! Yes! It just goes to show you that even when you're a girly girl like moi, you can rise to the occasion and become a tough broad when you need to!

Happy Easter!

Vintage Dame Doll Advice

As the world goes to Hell in a Hand-Basket, (a fake, knock off, made in some hideous factory by children slave labour hand-basket), it is more important than ever to keep our dolls in a safe place - in case we need a little something to get us through the next round of screaming headlines. This lovely little black and white striped canister by Jonathan Adler is just perfect. It would look smashing in a vintage themed bathroom with black and white tiles and maybe bubblegum pink towels.

One issue I have with modern dolls, is that many of the ones on the market now all look the same. I long for the Valley of the Dolls Days, when each pill had its own distinctive look.


These days one can easliy grab for a peach colored doll and it might be for the prostate, for sleeping, for high blood pressure or for anxiety. We neeed to bring back the colored dolls - red, pink, blue, yellow...how else does the medical establishment expect us to keep ourselves healthy during these difficult times?

For doll popping, one must look stylish, here are two options: A 70's style caftan by Victoria Secret. Or, a late sixties, (movie was 1967), purple stunner - "Sparkle Neely, Sparkle!" available at Posh Girl Vintage.