Drawing of an Old Era

 Rolling up my sleeves and using a few personal obsessions to start chipping my through a personal fear.

The obsessions: a love of early 20'th century illustration. More specifically the racy kind of tricolor proto pin ups that would appear in magazines like "La Vie Parisienne" or "Le Sourire" during the late 1910's-early 1920's, and of course all things rococo, (something those illustrators were pretty obsessed with as well, vive la panniers! ).

The fear: Drawing again after not having drawn anything of any scope in a good few years.

See I have a background in fine art. Got my degree in it, been studying it most of my life. But as drawing became a smaller part of my job, I fell into a lapse. Then after few years, became almost deathly afraid of what I would see on the page when I finally put a pencil to it again.

This past week though like I say, I finally plucked up the nerve and the pencils to see just how much rust was sticking up my drawing gears, and I started drawing up some stylized pin ups to get back into figure drawing, and something I love.

(Nerd note:) The backgrounds were loosely based on 18th century pleasure gardens  like Vauxhall and Ranelagh, and the names from breeds of roses.

So obviously the rust is showing, but it wasn't quite the cack handed scrawl II was expecting. things are already starting to free up within just these three. The lines flowing better and becoming more elastic, and things started to become more comfortable. There is hope after all!

Next demon to hopefully be banished by frothy frolicking figures I guess will be painting. The biggest "sucking at stuff I used to rock at" specter of all...

Quaintrelle Gifting

Quaintrelle do everything in style, even last minute gifting! For anyone looking for a last second holiday gift we have some new designs for patch boxes in at my online store, to go with our popular velvet flocked beauty spots. Little mirrored porcelain boxes with golden hinges just like the antique patch boxes of the 18th century. They were a popular gift in bygone days and make a lovely little gift in these modern times for vintage girls (and dandies too)

Our patches come in a selection of colors, and in a mix of shapes like  rounds, hearts, moons and stars, just like rococo court ladies, 1920's flappers and 1940s trend setters!

I'll be shipping any holiday order for these by noon tomorrow which still leaves time with priority mail.

A Paragon of Teatime Fancy

Assorted Paragon Teacups

I drink a lot of tea, tons of the stuff, decaf or I'd die amounts of it, and when I'm sitting down to a cup properly, I like to drink it in style! Starting with an ironic teacup buy back in high school (Old Country Roses from my days working in a fancy glass and china department) it's built into something a bit more opulent and a straight up obsession.

I've had to slow down acquisitions due to lack of space and fear the collection might get (ok has got) out of hand. I still have a "to get" list though for cups that fill a particular hole in my collection, and cups that are just plain "like woah!". One cup recently ticked from that list was "vintage Paragon teacup".

I love Paragon cups for a few reasons. First, there are so many unique designs, second  vintage flavor, and third and most importantly a lot of their cups were crazy over the top! Gold, gold, cool colors, flowers, more gold, and a lot of the time inside the cup designs. Which is a great opportunity for more gold more flowers and they look smashing shining up through a non milky tea, with of the band of the saucer showing around it like pool of amber awesome (Can you tell I love these things? You should probably just go and add "a vintage paragon teacup" to your list of stuff you need to have too).

So yeah, paragon cup was on my list, and yeah, I'd been hunting, but like I say limited teacup real estate remaining, and so many designs, it was hard to chose just one! Till I ran across this cheeky little thing....

It had all the design elements I wanted from my Paragon cup, bold use of gold, hand painted flowers, in cup designs, cobalt blue (another thing on my "to get" list)  and to top it off it was being sold as a trio! (I found more cool cup and saucer combos than trios, and the fact they didn't often name their patterns makes tracking down a matching side plate tricky) I was already sold on it when I read on to find this pattern is actually a re-production of a design they made for Queen Mary back in 1913. ROYAL TEACUP!  (Royal teacups are a special love of mine and covered by the "like woah!" clause)

According to the Paragon International Collectors Club the Queen Mary Pattern (# 8902) was first designed for a service presented to Queen Mary on a visit to the Paragon (then Star) factory in 1913.  The pattern was then re-issued in the late 20's to the public, with is where mine comes from (the stamp on my set date it to between 1930-1933) 
Turns out I got a pretty good deal on my little set, and that this is one of the few paragon patterns out there that came in a ton of different pieces and is relativly easy to hunt for (Paragon replica queen mary X). For me I don't need extra pieces, just the trio, but for anyone looking to collect a matching set (and who has deep pockets) it's perfectly possible with a little patience to collect a full vintage tea, or even table service fit for a queen!

You might also be used to seeing cups like these pop up on Pinterest, Tumblr etc all the time, now you know they're Paragon china (seems to be nearly always Paragon or Royal Albert in those things). If you're a vintage lover, tea lover, or just plain fan of fancy things I heartily recommend adding one to your wish list, you just have to find the cup that suits you best!

Don't Fear the Flapper (dress)

Queen of curves Marilyn Monroe as Clara Bow

 I decided to face a bit of a vintage fashion fear and obsession head on these past few weeks. That love/fear for me has been the 1920's. I love that period for style and decorative arts. One of my all time favorite designers is Jeanne Lanvin, and even as a period of history, it's fascinating!

As a fashion though it be daunting to wear. It's so counter my usual way of thinking. These were women throwing off the corset and the tyranny of the tiny waist. hemlines rollercoastered, and it really was the decade that set the pace for modern clothing. But me, I'm not all that into modern clothing. I love my corsets because for us they are a choice not a mandate, and my waist is one of the few things about my body I actually feel comfortable with. I know how to handle it and use it to my advantage when dressing. To wear the 20's I'd have to be willing to let my waist go (become invisible not actually physically go), and that scared the heck out of me, but still I recently set said on a voyage of flapper self discovery!

20's dames weren't all ultra skinny, and not necessarily ultra tall, something I always felt a person would need to be to pull the look off. Keeping that in mind I decided to pull my first 1920's dress into my closet and challenge myself to try wearing this decade to see how it felt.

My 1st dress is this one. A dropped waist (scary!) Nile green Charmeuse straight style dress with lace and ribbon roses for accents. When worn I was kind of shocked at first to see a straight figured person looking back at me, but found that the waist kind of reveals itself in movement, and all the motion in the dress has a surprisingly playful feel as a garment in action. The freedom of movement was the nicest part of wearing the 1920's. Though I did still pull on my long girdle to keep my line as smooth as possible it was very freeing to poddle about in.

I'm a pretty full figured gal, and really very short (just 5'0") but the style was more forgiving than I had anticipated, and I'm now largely over my fear of the roaring 20's as a look!

I'm loving my first 20's style flapper dress.  I don't think I'll be hanging up my waist cinchers and petticoats for good (I learned to love my 1920's lips but can't give up on my 1950's hips!), but I do think I'll be bringing more 1920's outfits and looks into rotation from time to time. I hope this helps a few more of you feel confident to give this look we love a try too!

They Let Me Eat Cake

Last weekend I got the chance to shake off some of my frilliest drawers, stiffest corset and favorite accessories from the Vivcore vault for a shoot with my best friend and model Kitty Lynne and the talented guys and gals at Capital Bombshell. The result is a candy colored rococo retro pin up shoot that puts some oo lala into the genre Du Barry was a Lady style!

Model: Kitty Lynne
Clothing, jewelry, fans, wig: Vivcore
Photography, Sets: Luigi Crespo 
Makeup: Jennifer Butt (you should see what she does with hair if we hadn't run out of time. Seriously, she's magic!)

I loved working on this shoot, and working on decadent projects like this. Can't wait to collaborate with Capital Bombshell again!

Want to make some pin up magic of your own? They are open for bookings, and I'm still selling the fashion!

Rococo Pants

Vintage fashion, antique fashion, there have been so many things done so well over the course of fashion history. I find a lot of the time when I think about fashion history, there are things I love about each and every era, and there are some periods that just did things better than others!


For me when it comes to silhouette I love the 18th century. It was so stylized, blown up and just plain magnificent. A total over the top caricature of femininity. I love the high heaving bosoms, the massive wide hips and exaggerated round bottoms. It was a silhouette that was impractical, imposing and really kinda sexy! Of course what was spectacular on the outside was a little heavy handed underneath. Not without charm, but not quite as tactile and seductive as we think of lingerie today. Of course however it was these foundations that made the shape so great!

When it comes to underwear I have to tip my hat to the Edwardians. There was some hardcore foundations going on there, but the pallet and treatments really made them look so dainty and delicate, no mater how much strain and coutille was in action.  Edwardian society was where beauty in the boudoir really came into it's own. Having fancy drawers went from being indecent temptation to a moral obligation! To be so darn seductive your man would never want to stray! Obvious social flaws and insults aside there, I thank them for the laces pastels ribbons and roses under our dresses.

And that is why I'm always unapologetically anachronistic.

My every day is mid century fem, but I love to play with historical styles and clothes. I've got quite the personal collection of stays, hoops, rumps and naughty garters, and these days the odd client who loves them too!

I recently finished off some panniers for a great customer and friend who'd commissioned some updated stays a while back, and recently ordered some hoops to match through the custom service run through the Vivcore shop . 

latest commission

complete silk trousseau with embroidery and handmade flowers

show ensemble

My very first set from 2007

Obviously these aren't so much daily wear items. For everyday I wear my various girdles, crinolines and relativly plain silk corsets that keep sleek under clothes. I do love making this kind of things for shows, photoshoots and other foundation enthusiasts though when ever I get the chance. I'd love to work more with burlesque performers and photographers looking to do something rather grand, and brides who are looking to make a real splash with a matching trousseau of foundations, gown and accessories. I just love an excuse to cut up some steel and hand set some rhinestones!

Perfumed Court

If there is one place on earth synonymous with elegance and decadence, it's Versailles! So perhaps when looking for a perfume that exudes these things you can't go far wrong with the perfumes the players of versailles themselves would have worn!

The good people at Perfums des Beaux Arts have made this perfectly possible for us courtly pretenders with their "Perfumed Court" collection. Most of the fragrances are now sadly discontinued, but some gems still linger!

The scents are a little heavier than todays more modern fruity fragrances, but for the quaintrelle out of time, that can only really be a plus?

Eau de Trianon is the lightests of the bunch currently available. Created back in the day for Marie Antoinette when she was spending her days around her favorite little palace, you really feel like you should be skipping through the grounds of her favorite the Petit Trianon when you wear it. I have a small bottle of this one and it's a great way to play make believe just like she did! It's has a touch of innocence and a whole lot of queen!

Eau de Coquette is a rather sensual, but not overly heavy scent originally created for the infamous Madame DuBarry. Like her it's rather sexy, a little playful bu pure decadence. I love to dab this one on when I'm running around on an evening dripping in diamonds real or faked, just like my favorite face from the Versailles roster!

Dresses and Dolls Oh My!

OK I'm back in the county, my body has adjusted back to the right time zone, so it's time to start blogging!

Whilst over in the UK for the past month (ish) we flew over for a few days in the Netherlands staying in the Hague. By pure luck one of the museums out there had 2 amazing temporary exhibitions running at that time with my name written all over them! A huge collection of dolls, miniatures and doll houses from the 17th century up, and a collection of fashion from the early 1900's to today, and their inspirations in fine art. Three things I love most in the world all together in one place!

The doll exhibition was the first bit we hit up. It really is amazing the details that used to go into these things. One of the first  things I noticed was a great Dior bar suit Barbie in all her 50's glamor. I love the suit in full scale, and it was captivating again in miniature!

A simmering fondness of Queen Anne dolls was heated up a little too. They had some wonderful 18th century examples all with their brocade dresses and fluffy wigs! One day I'd love to make one, but that's another project for another day.

The fashion exhibition was a real winner too. I loved seeing Schiaparelli's dresses and accessories in person again, and a little tableau of Vivienne Westwood gowns with an 18th century flare gave a bit of a taste of the recent Versailles fashion exhibit I messed. I never get tired of seeing beautiful silks in opulent settings!

Sure we had to walk over 2 miles each way in gale force winds and pouring rain, but I can safely say it was well worth it!

You can see more from the exhibition over on the Gemeentemuseum's website. XXSmall and Fashion ♥ Art. For now here are a few of the photos I managed to get whilst we wandered round...

(I promise a break from dolls next post and some more food inspiration instead!)

Fashion and Dolls

Théâtre de la Mode doll

As you know from a recent post I'm something of a doll fan. I'm not a serious floor to ceiling doll collector, but they are something which has been a particular soft spot of mine lately. I love them as a girl who used to play with dolls, but I also love them as a fashion designer!

Dolls have played a huge roll in fashion for centuries. During the 18th century french merchants de mode used to send out little poupees dressed in their latest creations to entice potential patrons with exquisitely made miniature replicas of their designs. In the 1940's dolls like Virginia Lachasse  from London and those created for the Théâtre de la Mode from Paris showcased the talents and workmanship of couturiers in the mid 20th century.

I've had a lot of fun recently playing out designing in miniature for Monster High dolls, after customizing a Slow Moe for Ghoulia (that letter jacket!) I turned my hands to designing a Sweet 1600 outfit for my favorite Zombie girl, and a Loch Less monster doll as a way to let lose with some UK monster and fashion pride!

Sweet 1600 Ghoulia

Lochturna Ness

As a designer working on a small scale is a great way to try out new things with little expense, and a fun alternative outlet to showcase work in a different way.

Dolls can also be a fun way of finding new styles to try for yourself! For the vintage fashion lover vintage and retro Barbie fashions can be a fun source of inspiration for your full scale fashion! As can some of the amazing Gene dolls out there.


 Make Your Own Doll!

I've had a tutorial on my site for a few years with tips on making your own ball jointed dolls, and this past weekend before jetting off to England to stay with my family over the holidays, I also added a tutorial for customizing fashion dolls! You can use the tips for customizing the freak fab Monster High dolls, but the same techniques can also be used to create your own unique Barbie dolls or which ever fashion doll speaks to you most! When it's all about expressing your style, it's always fun to find a doll that reflects it the best!

 There are some tips on how to wipe, re-root and paint your doll, ready for your miniature fashion adventures! Give it a shot and let your inner designer run wild!

The new tutorial plus extra photos of my 2 newest Monster High customs can be found on the Dolly Daydream site here!

Memoirs of Madame DuBarry

I've been on a crazy DuBarry kick lately, her film depictions her diamonds! (more on these soon) but most recently this wonderful 1950's book that just arrived in the mail today!...

If there's one thing I can't resist, it's a pretty book! I ran into a complete copy of the 1956 re-print of the Memoirs of Madame Du Barry first published in 1775 in France (and then banned). The book follows the 1777 English translation and comes in this wonderful dusty pink hardback book, with blue silk spine and silver stars tucked into a delightful marbled paper box sleeve.

Madame Du Barry the last mistress of Louis XV has kind of found a special place in my heart as possibly my favorite "character" from 18th Century Versailles. I read her more recent biography "Wages of Beauty" a few years ago and loved reading about her shoot to fame, and felt sad at her rather tragic demise. She was a colorful lady surrounded by so many colorful people in turbulent times.

This book I largely picked up because it looked like such a lovely object in itself, and from such an early source.

One thing that was a wonderful surprise to me when I opened it was the illustrations (I wasn't expecting any) there are several watercolors by Sir William Russel Flint, some with gorgeous dresses, some a bit more pin up courtesan ;P.

I know they say you can't judge a book by it's cover, but when it's a beautiful mid-century reprint, of a book that caused such a scandal, about a woman who was such a scandal I can't help but get good vibes!

I'm looking forward to giving this book a good read when I've finished my current book ("Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters, so glad I got that one in England, the UK cover is soooo much nicer than the US one)  For now though I hope you enjoy the  DuBarry pictures I'd not seen around before.

Vintage Princess de Lamballe

It's been a while since there was any vintage period costumes on this blog! So for all those Marie Antoinette fans out there, here are a few hand tinted (by little ol' me) photos of the lovely Anna Louise as the Princess de Lamballe in the 1938 Marie Antoinette movie!

The gowns in this movie were all designed by the marvelous Adriane. I can only imagine how dazzling the sets must have looked with all these amazing dresses walking around in full glorious color!

Like I always say, there's something so magical about period movies from the 30's-50's, the mix of the styles of the time, with the fashion history we love that makes such an irresistible mix. Glamor and opulence! I'm also a big fan of the costumes on secondary roles, they pop up so much less often so they are always exciting to see.

Spring Dressing Part1

Foxy Stole and Du Barry dress

As well as slowly busting out orders, new Spring updates are belatedly making their way onto the site. The first of the bunch is these 2 new dresses and one of my proudest achievements the Foxy Stole!

On the right the Du Barry dress is a 2 piece set inspired by the period vintage style featured in one of our earlier posts. Pinked crushed robings and lovers knot bows down the front. One of our most glamorous evening dresses yet!

Marilyn Chemise

The  second dressy treat is the Marylin Chemise, an extra vintage take on our popular chemise dresses. My favorite dresses from the 50's have always been the big party dresses with the sheer fabrics so I was particularly excited to be able to release this design today!

The perfect dresses perhaps with prom season coming up? Anyone should need ideas on a prom hair and makeup look to go with them should stop by  the Lisa Freemont Street Channel  to check out a great tutorial for just that!

All the new items are available from the Candy Violet store. We're in the middle of a bit of shuffle around  with the sites lately. We've moved the atelier items into the regular catalog (custom sizing still available through the custom salon), and will be re-launching Cute Salad soon with a whole new look and style so I hope you guys might look forward to that!

New colors