Pantone’s 2012 Color of the Year « Design Happens

Love Pantone's 2012 Color of the Year!!!!  It's HOT!!!


Pantone’s 2012 Color of the Year « Design Happens

Wild Thing, You Make My Heart Sing

My Backyard Gone Wild

Just for fun!!!  I'm sharing the most recent snapshots of my garden gone wild.  Even though I've not been tending to it, Mother Nature is on the blooming job!!!!

Vegas in May ---The Most Beautiful Time of the Year!!!!!

I LOVE IT!!!!!


Thank you Lord!!!









http://vintageinvegas.blogspot.com

Sew Many Memories

Vintage Trash to Treasure

Sometimes, if you are lucky, you’ll find other peoples trash in unexpected places, in a drawer of an old dresser you picked up at a yard sale, in a box marked free stuff at an estate sale, or maybe even from a friend who happened to be on cleaning-out frenzy when you stopped by her house just to say hello.

Often times, you pick up things for a song at a garage sale and if you are like me, you say to yourself ‘one day I’ll use this or that for project.’ And occasionally something else you are involved in inspires you to get creative and the scattered pieces turn from trash and stuff into a keepsake treasure--and something you can share with others.

That’s how my “The Makings of a Garment” display box came about. After months of planning, promoting, and organizing a major fashion exhibit at the Charleston Antique Mall in Las Vegas, it was finally time for a small team of my fellow dealers to join me for the installation. It took us days, a lot of energy, and in my case, total focus on the job at hand. Oh, did I mention loss of sleep?

I really needed to relax, at least when I got home in the evening. Still unable to just drop the total mind-focus experience, I decided that a small creative project just might be the therapy I needed ---and there went my thoughts right back to the fashion exhibit. Garments! Garment makers! !  The small but important items that contribute to the making of a garment! Yes, I had these items at hand, well somewhere close by that is.

They were the type of items familiar to me as far back as I can remember. My mother, Jean Moretti, and my godmother, Angie Muli, were both skilled garment makers. So whether I was at home or visiting at my godmother‘s home, there would always be a sewing machine, spools of thread in all sizes, good quality scissors, measuring tapes, straight pins, cards of special buttons, button tins, ribbons and lace, small packs of notions, patterns, trims and all the necessities a good seamstress would have ready to complete a garment.

When I was about 13, my Mom sent me to classes at the Singer Sewing Machine Center. I was a real novice so be assured there were no accolades given for the first dress I made. So much for that. Over a decade later, as a young mother on a small budget, I was motivated to try threading the needle once more. And I did that using the 1940’s sewing machine my dear mother handed down to me in the 1960’s. I still have it.

As it turned out, my gatherings of garment making items are all treasures from my own past life or someone else’s. Someday I’ll do something creative with this stuff  I’d say over and over again. It almost sounded like an excuse for not letting go. But, as I worked on my “comfort project” it became very apparent that the years of squirreling away vintage sewing items, the pincushions, the old zippers, thimbles, notions and such , served a duel purpose for me ---one, to hold onto memories, and two, to fulfill at least one of my “someday” dream projects.

I felt a sense of pride and contentment seeing The Makings of a Garment collection boxed and on display in the exhibit . To me, the final product spoke a tribute to my Mother, my Godmother and all those who labored to create and complete the fabulous garments featured in the 20th Century: 100 Years of Fashion Exhibit held in Las Vegas last Spring.


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Update: Audrey Hepburn's Couture Collection Sold for Hundreds of Thousands

Here's the link to an article with great photos of Audrey and the fabulous collection that recently sold at auction in London for about $250,000 U.S.

Love the photos!!!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1234361/Audrey-Hepbutn-Givenchy-couture-collection-sold-autcion-270-000.html

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Shop Outside the Box for Inexpensive Thoughtful Holiday Gifts

You're making a list and checking it twice or maybe even three times in these economic times. You have to cut your holiday shopping budget that's for sure. So do you head for the big retail malls? I don't think so. Maybe you could try one of those conclomerate retailers like Target or Wal-Mart for better deals? If you want to choose from the standard gift merchandise that's where you go.

On the other hand, if you are on the hunt for low-budget gifts with special meaning, step outside the box and shop for unique, yet inexpensive gifts at your nearest antique mall.

Here are ten gift ideas for budget gift buys that relay the message I was thinking of that special you.

1- A tea cup and saucer with a pretty vintage hankie for a lady - Combined gift $10. & up
2 -A vintage cookbook & linen towel for the chef - Combined gift $10 & up

3- A pair of vintage gloves & a colorful scarf for the fashionista - Combined gift $10 & up

4- A pair of vintage earrings, bracelet or a necklace for a jewelry lover - $5-$15 on up

5- A bud vase and romance novel for the romantic one - Both $10 & Up

6- A vintage ornament or an old holiday postcard for the tree - $1.50 & up

7- Collectible memorabilia items, i.e., Star Wars, Coca Cola, movie icons - $15-$20 & up

8-Vintage vinyl LP albums for the music lover - $2.00 & up

9- Old magazines, photos, posters, small prints, holiday cards - $1.-$2.on up
10-Books of all kinds, vintage buttons, patterns, purses & more - $4.oo on up

Get creative, think of the person you are buying for. A golfer? A button collector? A seamstress? A book lover? A history buff? A sports fan? That will help you choose a thoughtful gift that is just right for the receiver.

Suggestion: There are tons of affordable vintage/antique merchandise at large and small antique malls and shops all over the country. When you shop the antique malls, take your time, compare dealer prices, look for holiday sale discounts, there's a lot to see and choose from. If you shop without a particular item in mind, be prepared to spend some time browsing.

Happy Holiday Hunting Outside the Box!

Ellie Clinton Issa

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Audrey Hepburn's Fashion Collection Up for Bid

Icon's Fashions, Accessories and Letters Up For Bid

Fans of style icon/actress, Audrey Hepburn (who isn't a fan?) are opting for a chance to own a piece of the star's wardrobe when the hammer falls at next month's London auction.
According to The Independent, thirty-six pieces of Audrey's clothes, accessories and letters go up for bid on December 8th.
Included in the collection are two custom Givenchy dresses from Paris When It Sizzles and How to Steal a Million.

In the display photo here that I shot during a vintage fashions exhibit last Spring, Hepburn is wearing the black dress by Givenchy in her most famous role - Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Three years ago the dress sold for a whopping $783,541.12.

In the upcoming auction the dresses dating from 1952 to the late 1960's are expected to sell for just over $25,000. So the lucky bidder could walk away with a prized Givenchy for a fraction of the auction price of the Golightly dress.
Proceeds benefit All Children in School, a foundation supported by the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund devoted to educate 120 million children worldwide.


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Saving the Garment District-HBO

Broadway & Seventh Avenue at 39th Street in New York City

Photo credit Flickr: WallyG

Vintage Fashion Lovers and History Buffs:

This One's For You

On Monday night, October 19, HBO will debut the documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags a fascinating look at the history of New York City's Garment District.

According to Abby Gardner, author of an article posted in Fashionista, the garment district was once a major force in the city’s economy “but that has become less and less as the years go by.” The numbers depict the major changes over the course of the last 40 years. “In the mid-60s 95% of American clothing was made in the US. By 1985, it was 70% and now it’s only about 5%.”

While the hustle and bustle of NYC fashion design houses and showrooms are becoming extinct, this documentary offers a inside view of the garment center in its heyday.

Along with the documentary, a Save the Garment Center rally is planned for Wednesday October 21st at 12 noon at 39th Street & 7th Avenue at the Button & Needle Statue. (See Flickr photos above.)

Just about everyone should enjoy this "fashionating" piece on American history. Take a look at the clip on You Tube for a preview of the educational documentary which airs at 9pm Eastern on Monday night.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sd83tV1O9g

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