All vintage clothing and accessories in the shop are 25% OFF until January 1st, 2010! I'm making room for the new vintage goodies I've been stocking up for the New Year!

Click here to shop now!

Item description: This amazing skirt is a beautiful sepia-toned brown/black velvet, and gorgeous ! Sequined and hand-painted with sombrero, bullfighter and scenic motifs, it has "Guadalajara" in script on the front, and is a true, full circle. The back of the skirt is a duplicate image of the front. Shown here with a crinoline that is not included to show off the fullness of the skirt, there is a snap on the back of a 2" waistband. In excellent vintage condition, with just a few loose threads in the sequins, this is a beautiful holiday piece that would be fabulous belted with some heels or boots.
Price: $75.00 USD
Available at: Starlet Vintage

What inspires you? Sometimes I get asked this question and almost always I answer, "Vintage"... but when I say vintage I don't just mean vintage clothes or vintage dresses, it's a feeling, if that makes sense, a moment even.


I hope all of you had a lovely week so far! Mine has been quite busy with the holidays so very close! We leave to visit family on Wednesday and it's creeping right up, isn't it? Sadly, this year we did not get a Christmas tree. Strange we've been too busy to go get a tree (well, and all the rain in L.A. didn't help either). Will be vacationing for almost a week in northern California, hopefully we'll get some time to visit a vineyard or maybe spend a day in San Francisco, I am dying to go see "Wicked!" Most of all, I am looking forward to spending time with family and eating lots of food! *hehe*

Image credits: 1.] Shapeshift via 'thepulpgirls', 2.] Standing on the Shore by Waga27, 3.] Think Summer, 4.] Skinnywolves, 5.] Tumblr, 6.] Dailykos.com, 7.] Egotrippingatthegates, 8.] Design is Mine, 9.] oiseaujaune, 10.] >Tatielle

20% OFF VINTAGE GOODIES! Here's a sneak peek at this week's upcoming specials...



1.] Licorice Dress
2.] Book Binding Skirt
3.] Age of Trees Blouse
4.] Vintage Manolo Blahnik Heels
5.] Fall of Cleo Bracelet

Check back TOMORROW to see these vintage goodies in the WEEKLY VINTAGE SPECIALS section!

Oh! Be still my heart for I have fallen in love with Paris through the beautiful captures of photographer Alicia Bock. Why do I adore these photos so much? That soft amber glow, diffused sunlight, the tiny windows, a little hazy, dreamy... ahhh I wish I were in Paris!



You can purchase photo prints on her website or via etsy. BTW, her Etsy has many, many more beautiful photos so I do hope you will take a look! I can't even decide which I want to purchase, there are so many!

OO hooray! The mini feature for AdoreVintage has been posted on StyleSampleMag.com Thank you Tamia!



Check it out here: Shopping List Savior: AdoreVintage

I love the entire "She & Him" CD. Here is a cute little video of Zooey Deschanel's "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" song... isn't her white dress in the beginning so cute? My bet is that it's a vintage 60s dress (late 60s, early 70s perhaps). Oh Zooey, how I adore thee!

BUY NOW: Licorice Stripes Dress

I love stripes on sundresses. This vintage 1970s dress has contrasting vertical and horizontal stripes with various widths, but in a nice subtle way. I love how this dress could easily go from "Sunday Market" to "First Date" with a change of shoes, accessories, and handbag.

Where to buy: Adorevintage.com
Date: 1970s

Oh, be still my heart! These clothes are so absolutely lovely from clothing designer Juliette Hogan. It's a mix of late 30s elegance and 70s bohemian, but with more subdued colors. I'm in love...

Love the hippie carefree styles of the late 60s and 70s. Hope these inspire you to just relax, "go with the flow"...



"I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one. And I believe it could be someday it's going to come." - Cat Stevens

I love this vintage holiday card, so cute! I especially love the little lip kisses on the side. Someone should remake these so we can give them to our significant others.



Image sources: Paula Wirth

One of the best ways to learn more about vintage clothing is to study vintage sewing patterns. The illustrations on the front really give a feel for what women wore day to day. I usually look at vintage patterns to determine the age of a garment, very helpful when it comes to dating vintage blouses and skirts as sometimes they're a little harder to date than dresses. Anyhow, without further ado... a few vintage blouse patterns from the 50s for you to enjoy!



How many different types of collars can you spot? Do you notice how tailored and streamlined the blouses were in the 1950s? It seems they were always worn tucked into a skirt (with a banded waist or worn with a belt). The sleeves are never fussy and loose, cuffs seemed to always be present (no elastic!). I am swooning over the white Vintage Vogue blouse with the horizontal tucks, I would wear it in a heartbeat!

A snippet from a lovely Winter poem. You can read the entire poem here. Stay warm everyone!

Image credits: Photograph from We♥It, Illustration by Lisa Evans

After about two months of living in LA, I'm finally starting to feel like planting my roots in the ground (well until we move again...LOL) This means HOUSE DECORATING! The interiors posted below lean towards a shabby bohemian feel. Sometimes I really love that "pretty + messy" look and other times I suddenly want super streamlined, mid-century modern simplicity. There has to be a happy medium, right? More design and interior posts in the future as I move forward with turning our LA house into a home.





Image credits: 1.] Sandra Juto 2.] smile + wave 3.] Hello Lolla 4.] HB Gordon 5.] Encantada 6.] 56 Steps 7.] Ethan Ollie 8.] Solution Soap 9.] PaperNStitch 10.] omoo

Another great vintage advertisement scan from Sugarpie Honeybunch. I adore this ad. I like most vintage ads though because of the corny text. "Send you back shopping with ZEST!" The hats are quite cute too, they remind me of a cloche that's too small. *hehe* I really need to study up more on hat styles...

{ click image to shop }
1970s multi strand pendant necklaces, a Gossip Girl inspired bejeweled bib necklace, hippie rainbow beaded necklace, and my absolute personal favorite, a gold mesh snake arm cuff/bracelet inspired by Rachel Zoe.

Where to Buy: Adorevintage.com
Price Range: $12 - $49.99

BUY NOW: "Bettie Frills Dress"
Pretty little vintage 1950s gingham sundress in blue and white. Love the lace ribbon detail encircling the entire dress. I found this little beauty on our way to Sacramento for the Thanksgiving holidays. Unfortunately too big for me, otherwise I would have probably kept it to wear for Spring/Summer.

Wouldn't this be just so darling with little espadrilles and perhaps a contrasting straw belt. Ooo and flowers in your hair and you could pin it up with curls. Ahh, I just love vintage so much, don't you?

Where to purchase: Adorevintage.com
Date: 1950s

The clothes have a vintage inspired feel, some of them remind me of vintage Cacharel, a little Biba-esque, and a touch of David Hamilton.



Shop here: Nadinoo.

As a child I really loved going through my mom's McCalls magazine because sometimes in the back they would feature the "Betsy McCall" paper doll. I fully regret never ripping these out and saving them as when my parents moved overseas, all of those magazines were recycled. *sigh*

But joy of all joys, this morning I discovered a website where you can PRINT the vintage 1950s Betsy McCalls for FREE! HOORAY! Check it out here: Betsy McCall - The First Ten Years

***Don't forget to put thicker paper or thin cardboard behind the pages before cutting them out!