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.

Retro Belle

Not much to read today, but I know everyone loves a good retro photo or 4! I had the pleasure of shooting with the lovely Kitty Lynne the other week and snapping the following shots of our Mid Century Mode collection.

 

She's such a gem to work with, and always one of the funnest parts of being a designer. You can still snap up the dresses from the Vivcore shop, and stop by Kitty's page too for even more! There is also a quick interview with her from a few months back when we first started working together.

Wig Curious

I've been wig curious for a while as a great way to get over a few of my hair hang ups (up keep of red, permanence of black, thin hair and commitment issues). I was however a little apprehensive about finding the right one, and feeling confident all wigged out in public.

My biggest hang up was looking too "costumey". I really didn't want a nice outfit to be ruined by a Halloween looking wig, so I started scouring reviews and sites to find something that fit the following criteria...

1. A nice natural looking fiber, nothing too shiny
2. Retro style or styleable
3. Blended colors
4. Cute colors!!
5. Ideally a nice natural looking top
6. Not to pricey since I wasn't sure me and wigs were going to be BFF's or not
7. No crimping. Some wigs have backcombed hair between wefts, I feel it makes my head look big

Amazingly enough I actually found a wig that met these criteria, and then some. The Eowyn wig from Arda. Now it might seem odd to some that when trying to avoid costumey, I went with a wig from a company specializing in cosplay, but the great thing about the top cosplay wig company is that, 1: Serious coslayers don't want to look Haloween costumey either, and 2: Cosplayers want to muck about with everything to get the details just right, and that means styling their wigs too!


The wig I bought is a maroon red, in a hyperlon fiber which has a little shine in a natural looking way, a nice feel and is heat stylable. It also has a large skin top so you can create a realistic looking center or side part. The fibers are a mix of rich wine red a few kind of browny, blondy colors which I think adds a kind of natural dimension that a flat single color wig just doesn't have.

Right out the bag I was really happy, but it wasn't quite pin up ready yet. Using some hair cutting scissors I cut in shorter, slightly U shaped bangs, then going with a center part cut the rest of the hair into a vintage appropriate U shape from the sides to the back. Set the hair with my large and medium hot rollers, and voila! A retro pin up style wig was revealed!

The extra bonus of these wigs by the way, is that apparently they can be dyed with Rit fabric dye, so you can mix up your own colors, or create some fun dip dye effects etc.

It took a while for me to wear it for it's first outing. The wig is quite bit larger and fuller than my real hair (one of the reasons I wanted it), and I wondered what separates the super star looking wig wearer from the awkward looking wig wearer? The conclusion, simply swagger! If you walk out like you own it people will notice your glamorous style.

I recently placed an order for a 2nd one in dark purple. I'm definitely a wig convert!

I love my new wig!

Old Timey

For Xmas last year I got a beautiful vintage 50s watch as a gift. white gold with tiny diamonds and a super girly bow design it's the perfect watch for a girl like me! Still in the box with the manufacturers booklet and not a single scratch on it, looks like it had never been worn. From the engraving on the back it was given as a gift in 1952 to Hazel L Blow, before it was given again nearly 60 years later to me!

The delicate original workings lasted a short while, but then gave up as a 60 year old watch can often do. A little bit of TLC though and she's up and running once again! After resorting this watch and a few others I thought my little bit of experience might be helpful to other time travelers
 out there interested in adding an authentic vintage watch to their retro wardrobe...

 Vintage Watches
 Buying a vintage watch is kind of like buying a vintage car, once you find a model that's right, you may need to take some time and money to get the mechanics purring again. Here are a few things to consider when taking the plunge on a classic watch.

Replacing the Band
It seems ladies back then had tiny wrists, I have tiny wrists for a modern girl and still have trouble with the sizes of vintage watches. There are still vintage watch straps out there, and old designs made recently. Brands like Speidel and Hadley Roma do a wide range of vintage style watch bands and are fairly easy to find.

Things to look for on a watch band are the right type of connector for your watch, a good style to compliment the watch, and a good color match. Look for bands that are gold/white gold filled. These have a heavy plate on them, and will be a better match if you happen to have a gold/white gold watch.

Suitable replacement bands tend to run around $8-30 on average

Replacement Watchbands 1963

Getting It Ticking
Time can be cruel the the workings of a watch. More expensive watches will often have been checked over or serviced by a professional and be working in a manner you can trust (ask for a guarantee on the movement if you're spending a lot on a watch). Cheaper watches will usually be sold not working, or currently working with no service or guarantees (which means that they may be running right now despite age, but could stop at any moment or go on for a many more years to come, it can be a bit of a gamble)

It is of course possible to get a stopped watch to run again! Many good jewelry and watch repair shops can bring your old watch back to life. I've had a few vintage and antique watches fixed over the years the the rates seem to be around $80 (small repair) to $200 (complete new insides), so that is something to maybe think about when budgeting your purchase.

Crystals
I always look for a nice clear crystal (glass on the watch face), it is possible to have them replaced, but obviously with older watches that can be a little tricky, there are services out there that specialize in vintage watch crystals, but at the moment I don't have any experience with the costs or difficulties of replacing an old style crystal.

I really love old watches, especially the tiny all metal bracelet ones, they are such a pretty feminine way to keep track of time!

Cats Meow

I looks like the wonderful world of fashion is still as in love with the glorious cat eye sunglasses as we are. I'm thanking my stars and squirreling away enough pairs to match every outfit, and to tide me over when the inevitable quality cat eye drought returns.

A while back Polaroid launched their heritage collection with handmade reproductions of their most iconic sunglasses designs from every decade they've been in business.


This week I picked up a couple of pairs in the Broadway style that has just the right mix of mid century glamor and late 50's wackiness! They are smaller than most modern styles, and the cut away scroll work is a nice change from the usual rhinestone details we tend to see on modern repros.

For anyone looking for a pair of period perfect sunglasses at a less than bankrupting price point 6pm.com have these and other Polaroid heritage shades at close to half off. I've been tempted by the Marylin style as well but they are maybe a bit too close to the Tres Noir Ultra Luxs I have in red... If you're out looking for some saucy new sunglasses ready for Summer, it's a sale worth checking out!

Bling Shoe

Dita Von Teese's closet

It's true that even some of the outrageous shoes of days gone by pale compared to today's spectacular skyscrapers, it's true also that  one big influence on a lot of modern takes on retro style comes from neo-burlesque performers and modern pin up shoots. Meaning period accurate, or fetish tall it never hurts to put a little bling in your step!

On my recent UK trip I came home with quite the shoe haul Some vintage accurate, some 21st century awesome!

On a more period accurate look I was given these beauties from Giuseppe Zannoti for Xmas. They have a more walkable, retro appropriate heel, the gold touches inside the the leather straps and the ultra sparkly crystal fronts to me simply scream Jean Harlow! I love these puppies and I'll admit they feel like a vacation to wear something so simultaniously glamorous and walkable! These may well be the classiest shoes I own, so golden age Hollywood!

For the more burlesque inspired side of retro styling I came across these crystal encrusted 6" high crazy pumps from Kandee shoes! They have that performance extravagance, and invite "how does she walk in those?" stares. I've been dreaming of a shoe like this for years. Insane hights, different sized crystals over so soft suede. Perfect! They even have glitter soles in matching colors so no matter which angle you look at them they dazzle!

I was so smitten I got them in 2 colors. Purple because it's so pretty, and green for practicality (in the quaintrelle sense of the word), and because it's insanely beautiful. The floral dress was a vintage staple, and with a nice pair of green shoes you'll always have the footwear to match your favorite floral frocks by picking out the green in any stems of leaves, it's also a color that compliments a whole range of shades, pick up some green shoes and you'll be amazed how versatile they'll be. On top of that what girl born in May could turn down emerald slippers?! Not I!

Nice shoes are indeed like red lipstick, no matter how blue you feel or even if you're having a "feeling dowdy" kind of day, throw either of these 2 things on and you'll feel like a star!

Sale on Style

Holiday shopping season is here, so I have a swell sale going on over at my shop for any fans of vintage or just plain fancy style! I've picked out a selection of the items in our store which make the best gifts, and put them on sale for the season. Hopefully this will help you find gifts for the fancy peeps on your gift giving list, or to help you spice up your big holiday outfit this year!!

All the items in the sale make great gifts, and come nicely presented in our gold gift or velvet jewelry boxes for easy wrapping and added impact on opening! So you can pick up a deal and some extra va voom at the same time! Come stop by the sale section to find the items for you!