September 13, 2009

Pretty Link Roundup {September 13, 2009}


Cheerful Sunday greetings, my sweet dears, how is this lovely September weekend treating you all? I sincerely hope the answer is “splendidly”. On this end I’m glad to report that I’m feeling a teensy bit better than I have been for past two weeks.

On Friday I briefly left the house for the first time in about sixteen days (I simply was too ill to do so before then). It was just a quick trip to the grocery store and pharmacy, but it was still marvelous to run a couple of quick errands. I’ve been resting for most of the weekend otherwise, but as I'm trying to make more time for my beloved passion, photography, I indulged in taking photos for a spell late Saturday afternoon.


{The cover of this 1942 edition of Popular Photography magazine is nothing short of stunningly pretty! It has inspired me to find or make myself a dainty red, bowed headband to wear as a means of ensuring my hair is out of my eyes while shooting, on the double. Image via StevenM’s Flickr stream.}


Between many reasons too numerous (and, I’m quite sure of no interest to anyone else) to list, the summer seems to have slipped by without allowing me to squeeze in time to shoot off nearly as many photos as I would have liked. Yet no sense in fretting about what’s past, as I always try to tell myself! Instead I’m just going to try doubly hard to be able ensure that I get to spend time every week behind the lens this autumn.

Linkwise (entirely homemade word), there's been oodles of terrific posts recently (it must be said, the vintage blogsphere is filled with continually amazing sites that deliver no shortage of stellar posts). From a novel solution to what to do when you’re short on a dancer partner, to a modern fashion designer’s alluring and creative vintage spin on autumn and winter wear for men, these links are hot off the presses and full of wonderful inspiration!


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* The Decade in Shoes: 1940s: The lovely Miss Rayne of Vintage Chic highlights a slew of fabulous footwear styles from the forties via an array of beautiful vintage shoe advertisements (most of which are in colour, to boot!).


* Inspiration Vintage Interiors: Melding a sense of almost fairytale-like wonderment with antique and vintage inspired elements, the interiors highlighted in this richly pretty post are sure to set many a daydream into motion.


* The GPO Telephone No.322: An informative post on an iconic mid-century British telephone appeared recently on the blog The Fab 50s, which includes helpful pointers on what to look for when buying one of these once widely found, now classic, rotary phones.


* Taxi Dancers: Have you ever heard of a “Taxi Dancers” before? No? Neither had I until I read this great post on Some Like it Vintage, which inform readers that Taxi Dancers where not Broadway hopefuls who moonlighted as cabbies, they were in fact people who one could hire (from the 1920s onward) to go dancing with, if a suitable partner wasn’t readily available. Such people were, as this article points out, “dancers for hire”, which seems like such a fantastic idea – especially if your significant other isn’t keen on hitting the dance floor very often.


* Fall Fashion Delights: The ever-gorgeous Jitterbug Doll shares some of the vintage fashion images that are fuelling her autumn wardrobe fires this season.


* Modern Boots with Vintage Style: As someone to whom the universe was not exactly kind when doling out feet, I was born with an odd shaped (they’re thick from top to bottom, if that makes any sense) and uneven sized pair of dogs. Thus finding shoes (let alone pretty footwear) can be something of a challenge for me! My owe saving grace since childhood however, has been boots, which tend to be cut more generously then shoes or sandals. Being a vintage loving gal, I’m naturally a fan of old fashioned styled boots and always enjoy spying modern versions that have a delightful vintage feel to them, such as the pairs in this post from Here’s Looking Like You Kid.


* Beauty Shops are in the Army, Too!: The always wonderfully informative blog Beauty is a thing of the past, share two pages from a vintage magazine that depict photos of the sort of on-base beauty shop options enlisted (US) women and military wives had available to them during WW2.


* Let’s do a little porch sitting: While front porches seem to be going the way of the dinosaur when it comes to modern home design, thankfully many older homes include these once commonplace front-of-abode features, and what better way to adorn your porch, if you have one, than with a vintage porch swing! Here Millie Motts shares colour images of vintage porch swings which would also look amazing in a backyard or anywhere outdoors you could find to place one :)


* Dolores del Río: In the latest edition of an ongoing series of posts devoted to glamorous, gorgeous and skilled Hollywood starlets of the past, Poke Salad Annie of Loose Leaf Tigers brings us interesting facts and many wonderful images of the irrefutably stunning, tremendously talented actress Delores Del Rio.


* Alexander McQueen Mens F/W 08/09: While I truly appreciate the time and artistry that goes into the creation of high end designer wear and haute couture, it’s rare that a fashion show steals my breath away entirely (due in no small part I’m sure, to the fact that I know I could never in a million years afford the pieces up for offer) and leaves me seriously impressed by the designer’s current offerings. However, over at Swing Fashionista I spied Alexander McQueen’s recent menswear collection and just about toppled off of my chair. Having nothing short of a full-fledged love affair with gentlemanly and dandy-ish fashions for men, I instantly became enamoured with the timelessly spectacular vintage inspired suits and separates McQueen is offering up for chaps this season. Though some of the garments are a tad over-the-top, many of the pieces speak of a nearly forgotten era of refinement and class that is sorely missing from almost all modern day men’s wear, and which I wish I could dress my own gentleman in every day for the rest of time.


Numerous wonderful blogs that I follow are currently holding giveaways at the moment. As nearly everyone loves the chance to win a splendid prize for free (especially during these budget weary times we’re living in), I wanted to share the following contests with you all:

* ~Welcome to Deluxville~ is extending readers the chance to win a thoroughly fantastic 1950s clock radio;

* Lemondrop Vintage is giving away an eclectically fabulous vintage charm bracelet;

* GypsyFox The Glamorous Housewife has some adorably festive Christmas themed wine charms up for grabs;

* Wasp Waist and Wiggle Skirts has a beautiful 1940s dress pattern that she’s offering up to one lucky reader.

If you’re also currently holding a giveaway on your site, please feel free to let me know in the comment section and I’d be delighted to add you to this list as well.

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As many a magazine editor and fashionista alike would be quick to point out, there seems to be a certain undeniably, virtually inherent fashion mindset that French women are blessed with that seems to elude ladies from other nations the world over. As a lover of French style (in everything from clothing to decor, food to films), I was smitten with the site Le blog du Stéphanie the moment I saw it. Sweet and gentle, sparked onward by vintage style and filled with wildly inspiration images, this blog is a true joy to behold.



Stéphanie dear, I adore your site and your amazing French style, which comes through in all you that you wear and post. Please except this week’s Your Blog is an Inspiration award with my heartfelt thanks for creating the splendidly beautiful site that you do! Your ethereal and charming pages have made me long to visit France even more than ever! :)

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Glimmering in the video spotlight this week is clip depicting a strikingly gorgeous fashion show from 1938, featuring the spring collection of English designer Norman Hartnell. Not only are the fashions themselves resplendently elegant, but the clip is in colour, making each expertly crafted outfit even more breath-taking to behold.

{Making Fashion (1938)}




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Sunday has all but come to a close, however I don’t want to say good-bye to it just yet. I think I’ll stay up a little longer and pursue some of my favourite blogs, perhaps gathering a few links already for next week’s Pretty Link Roundup post.

I hope that you each had a wonderful and serene weekend – did anyone do anything exciting or memorable? And that the coming week with grace you all with happiness and, if you’re in need of it, the onset of autumnal temperatures!

17 comments:

  1. Good morning my dear! Sorry to hear you have not been feeling well, but happy to know you are on the mend!

    Now you can get back to your photography :-) Have a wonderful week!

    xoxo

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  2. Hi Jessica, We dont seem to have had much of a summer in the UK so not been able to get any photography done either (unless my visitors like pictures of rain, rain and more rain!!!) Hope you are feeling better soon X

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  3. great to hear you are feeling well of late. I really enjoyed this week's link round-up! The one showing vintage inspired decor was particularly useful.

    xoxo
    Jill

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  4. I'm glad you're starting to feel a little better! Thanks for the links!

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  5. Hi darling, do hope your feeling better.

    You have given us a beautiful post today, wonderful links and the clip was such a pleasure to watch. Thank you sweetie.

    Take care,
    xoxo

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  6. Monday mornings aren't so bad when armed with a cup of coffee and your wonderful assortment of links. Glad to hear you're on the mend---take care!

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  7. What a lovely list of links! I had such a good time looking through there sites and I found quite a few blogs I'd never stumbled upon before through this post, so thank you so much. I especially enjoyed the link to the 40s shoes photos, oh I love the 40s. That 40s pattern in the giveaway is amazing, thanks for letting us know it.
    And I must say I adore French fashion, food, etc. so very much as well!
    I'm sorry that you haven't been feeling well these past couple of weeks dear! I hope that you feel 100% better soon :)

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  8. It sounds like you are finally getting better, yay!!! :-) Have a stupendously wonderful week!

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  9. I do hope you are feeling better. Take care. I wish you the best.

    I went to a cousin's wedding Saturday. It was fun. There were so much food, drinks & dancing there.

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  10. Hello, my dear Jessica! I am happy to hear you are a bit better and ventured out AND that you were able to spend some time with your photography. I'm enjoying your lovely market images now! Beautifully done! This is a wonderful post, so full of fun things to explore. Thank you and have a lovely day, my friend!

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  11. Wonderful links - I even found an additional blog I want to follow now.
    Fun fact: Valentino worked as a Taxi dancer when he was young.
    Here's a gorgeous recording of Doris Day singing "10 Cents a Dance" about the underside of life as a taxi dancer:
    http://www.last.fm/music/Doris+Day/_/Ten+Cents+a+Dance

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  12. Those taupe suede boots! *O*

    I hope Alexander McQueen's collection spreads all over the world... Can we ask our country to make those vintage coats tax-deductible?

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  13. Fabulous post! Love all the wonderful links.

    Best Wishes,
    Amanda

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  14. @ Some Like it Vintage, thank you very much for your caring words, honey!

    @ The Vintage Kitten, oh no, we have "so much summer" here, I would have gladly bottled up some of the excess and shipped it over to you, my dear, if such a thing were possible. Fingers crossed that you'll be blessed with a picture perfect autumn!

    @ Landgirl, thank you, sweetie! I loved that link, too! It's unceasingly amazing how lovely some peoples' decors are.

    @ Maggi, you're very welcome! Thank you for your kind words, sweet gal!

    @ Dustjacket Attic, thank you ever so much for your lovely words, my friend!

    @ aramblingfancy, awwww, that's very sweet of you to say. If I can help make anyone's Monday a tad more bearable, than I can kick off my week with a smile, too :)

    @ Lizzy, you're very welcome! I really strive to share a wide assortment of links each week when I compose this post, so it means a lot to me when someone mentions that they discovered new blogs/sites through one of the Pretty Link Roundup posts. So glad you enjoyed this week's edition, sweetie!

    @ Kathie, a wee bit, but I'll take a wee bit here and wee bit there, it all adds up if you give it enough time ;) Thank you, sweet dear, I really hope you're on the mend, too!

    @ Keith, thank you very much, my friend. How awesome that you had a wedding to attend. I just adore weddings, but come to think of it, haven't had the joy of attending one in a few years.

    @ "Anonymous", thank you very much for sharing that fun fact anf for the link, I will play it as soon as I finish writing this comment.

    @ PaperDoll, oooohhh, I know, aren't they just something else? :)

    I absolutely agree, I want the gentlemanly style he's pushing in his collection to gain momentum and become widespread once again, too!

    @ Amanda, thank you very much, sweet dear!


    Thank you so much to everyone for your fantastic comments! I hope that you're all doing well and having a great week.

    Big hugs!!!
    ♥ Jessica

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  15. Oh, Laverne & Shirley were taxi dancers in an episode I just watched. Hehe.
    That Alexander McQueen collection is amazing! Thanks for the link. I wish more men would dress like that ;]
    -Andi x

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  16. Lovely video and clothes. One thins has not changed for sure, models were as tall and thin then as they are now.

    I guess that's just the way of fashion.

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  17. @ Andi, that sounds like such a fun episode, I've never seen it before.

    I'm with you 110%, my dear, men the world over would benefit greatly from taking up the fine art of gentlemanly dressing once more.

    @ June, that's a good point for sure. I wonder if it was harder or easier for models back then to stay so svelte, in the pre-diet food industry, gym on every corner, calorie counting obsessed world of today?

    Thank you both for your terrific comments, ladies, I hope that you're each having a marvelous weeks!

    Oodles of hugs,
    ♥ Jessica

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