Valentines Day

SAINT     VALENTINE'S     DAY
❤  ❤  ❤

Whether you love it or you hate it - it's just around the corner.
And with this 'Spring' weather - it seems that Cupid is poised -
high above the tree tops, ready to strike on the unsuspecting

loveless and single persons at any moment!

DUCK!
duck. duck. duck. duck. goose!

There's no avoiding it now, ladies. You can either accept it and

wear a bit or red or pink in a 'homage' to the day, you can go all out and get your dream date-night dress for the lovely time out with that special man in your life - OR you could just seek shelter in your bed and like a birthday that you deny having after 25, you can wait for  it to pass. Right?

However you choose to spend the day - you should do it looking

FABULOUS.

The shades and tones of pink and red are absolutely endless.

And the items! There's something fluffy, something lacy, 

something sequined, beaded, see through, warm, feathered

furry, pin-tucked, printed, brocade, ruffled, full skirted, high

waist'd, zipped, snapped, buttoned and hooked!

Even as a single lady I'm finding this upcoming holiday to be just another wonderful excuse to dress up in my favorite vintage duds!

So treat yourself.

( PICTURED BELOW IS A SMATTERING OF MY RED AND PINK OFFERINGS FROM MY OWN ETSY STORE  )

what i wore - day one

DESTINATION

post office

WEATHER  - SUNNY AND CHILLY

The era stays mainly true to the 1960s.
The earrings are from an estate. (local purchase)
The sweater is mustard yellow and thrifted. (current )

The pencil skirt is a beautiful green tweed. (etsy find)
The shoes are amazing - Seychelles. (amazon and current)
The gloves are chocolate brown with a tiny  brown
 pearl for decoration (thrifted  and vintage)

All SO very simple.

Getting 'dolled up' doesn't have to mean digging into the

back of your closet for a ball gown. Simply pulling

on a wonderful button up and a high fitting skirt

can do the trick!

The coat. I've already been asked about this fabulous coat.

VERY 60s. Shawl collar.  Swing style. Three quarter sleeves.

Heavy and crafted from a floral tapestry fabric.

The pattern is just amazing. The colors  just give it a

'wild cat' in the jungle feel.

The coat was a gift from a dear friend in California.

It was actually purchased, with me in tow, at a vintage

store in Burbank called, "Hubba Hubba"

If you look at the reviews of the stores you might

feel terrified to step into the store.

The owner is a GEM. An absolute character. While others

felt insulted, I felt at home. She was  great to us - 

she even guessed our signs based on our interaction

with each other.

The prices were great and rumor has it the cast AND

the wardrobe department for MAD MEN shopped there.

That's it for now, beautiful girls!
♥ Forgotten Muse

A time and a place?

A TIME AND A PLACE

i think not, sir.

I've been told - by fellas - that there is a time and a place

for dressing up.

 i call bullsh*t.

If you know me, you know that I won't go out in sweats;

that wearing jeans makes me feel sloppy.

If you know me - you know that I love dressing up,

looking neat and of course, wearing vintage.

"I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing 

herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know,

 maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to

 be as pretty as possible for destiny."
-- Coco Chanel

We'll skip my awkward years of dressing and living

among the 'flock' and get right into the current me. 

That's more interesting anyway. ;)

One of my dear internet friends and a fellow fashionista,

Nora, suggested that I give my friends, fans and followers

a glimpse into my life -  it to my daily outfits, of which there

are many. 

I use every single day as an excuse for dressing up.

Whether I'm headed to the post office, the grocery store,

the thrift store, out on a date or simply getting take away.

I want to look and feel great.

Don't you?

It's a misconception that I do this for attention or for men.

if you're doing it right, then you're doing it for yourself.

Dressing should be done for yourself and no one else.

Sure, he might like that red dress of yours, but you

should only find yourself clad in it because it makes

you feel amazing.

I digress.

THEBOTTOMLINE

life is too short to not look and feel amazing everyday

♥ Forgotten Muse

A new year to look fabulous

New year. New resolutions. New blog posts.

I've been slack enough - expect new retrospective, witty banter

and previews this year! Take a look inside my ridiculously cluttered

mind, closet and work room. And don't forget - my followers
ALWAYS hear about sales in my shop first. 

If you're not already my facebook pal, what are you waiting for?

Friend me here!

♥ Forgotten Muse

Fur: Primitive VS Glamorous

Real or Faux
Love them or Loathe them?

Well apparently I'm still behind on this whole 'blogging' thing. If I'm not finding wonderful treasures then I'm taking Photos. Not taking photos, I'm editing. Not editing, I'm listing. Not listing? I'm probably asleep then. It' a rare thing, but this vampire does indeed sleep.

She might not have a social life, but she makes time for the sandman!

So... one of my consignors is moving and she called me to come look through all of these...amazing furs. Several collars, a silver fox coat, two sort of honey blonde colored minks. Beautiful pieces.

Several of which belonged to her mother, one super fashionable woman, who worked at a furrier in the late 40s and early 50s.

[pictured to right: 'The Millionaire' ]

And just so you know, I'm not advocating the murder of animals here. Don't get me wrong and by all means, don't attack me. It won't get you anywhere.

I know when fur or leather are brought up in some circles it creates this IMMEDIATE need to just...throw pigs blood on someone who happens to be wearing something not so vegan friendly.
Since the beginning of time furs, leather, bones and meat have all been used for survival.

[pictured to left: 'I've Been Spotted']

Do we NEED to wear real fur now to keep warm? Not always, no.

Does every person who wears a glamorous fur, murder baby critters in their downtime? Newp.

I've actually run across some fabulous vendors on Etsy who find animals that have been hit by cars or killed in some other way. Whether they're skunks or rabbits or possums. They take them and use the fur of that poor animal to create anything from hats to gloves to purses. There's nothing wrong with salvaging and I find it admirable, actually. This poor animal died and they're making use of something that would have been scraped off of the road and discarded.

My first fur.

Yes. I got my first mink as a gift from my dad when I was a few months old. He bought it in New York for me - a little mink cape with a sort of plaid pattern to it... and tails hanging off of it. Boy, did I used to think those tails were something special. He told me he bought it so I'd 'shut up'. Haha, apparently even at that age I was pretty open minded. "DID IT WORK!?" I asked him. "What do YOU think?" he replied.

I still have it and actually thought to add a photo of me when I was little, swaddled in it but um... I was a really ugly baby, so I'll pass on spreading my alien noggin' around the interwebs.

Of course, I no longer have a 'new' furs and even my little cape is considered vintage now at the tender age of 25.
I love finding vintage pelts - the smell, the touch and the history stored away in each discarded piece. Hats, gloves, jackets, capes & collars all waiting for a new home. For new history and new life. BUY VINTAGE!

If you adore that 50's glamour look, then seek it out! Whether you're thrifting or buying online, go for the good stuff! Skip out of those fresh furs and give an old treasure a new home!

[pictured below: 'Come Here Honey']

I'll leave you with a clip from my ALL TIME favorite TV show.
No one tops Lucy!If you don't own these on DVD, you should!

Stay tuned - I'll be posting more often - I hope!
<3 Forgotten Muse

and these are a few of my favorite things

Alright, ladies. Here I go.

I'm completely aware that I have a little bit of a 'following' here on blogspot, so I ought to make the best of it instead of leaving you hanging!

I do A TON of networking; from mailing lists to facebook to just handing out my cards all over town - I'm always searching for customers, consignors and estate services!

Blogspot is now another venue. Here I will feature sneak peeks, secret sales and tid bits of useless information!

So.

I have a thing for shiny, sparkling, fancy goodies.

brocade fabrics.

teeny iridescent beads.

golden sequins.

full skirts.

lace boleros.

ruffles.

shirt dresses.

So. I have been VERY lucky in the past to have a number of wonderfully 50s party dresses and formal attire. I don't know about you all but sequins, to me, are absoltuely NEVER out of style. They're eye catching in every aspect and they capture light and beam it right back off of you - causing all those eyes to look at you!

I haven't been to a holiday party since Christmas but walking in and blowing everyone away with my amazingly vintage outfit was the HIGHLIGHT of my night! It was a conversation starter and gave me a good opportunity to hand out cards and to get the skinny on other local businesses looking to team up for events!

Back to the clothing :)

Honestly. Look how many women are blind to the benefits of a great vintage outfit - they

settle for a mass produced dress with awful little rhinestones on it. Something they picked up at the mall for nearly a hundred dollars... sometimes more. But you, miss fashionista, what did you wear to the holiday shindig?

Certainly you saw the history that each each of your lovely pieces carried with it, when you picked it up :)

From the beautiful, taupe colored Persian lamb 50s coat that a woman from Germany once treasured.

There's even some balding on the left coat and pocket, where she kept her .. keys

perhaps? Maybe she was left handed to boot!

BUT This winter it will keep you warm as you snuggle up in that frilly frock, anxiously awaiting your dinner date for the evening!

Click here to go to the listing and make it yours!





And then there was this beautiful ... dreamy bubble gum pink gown the was likely the dress that earned her the title "Prom Queen" And what a Queen you would look like in such attire made for Grecian royalty! It flows. It shimmers. The scarf cascades and dances down your arms as you twirl through the ballroom... or the kitchen. Because I know I'm not the only one guilty or wearing her nice dresses around an empty house in the middle of the day. ...Right?

Find more information here!

This beauty was in such amazing condition and perhaps was only worn once back in the late 50s or early 60s. Did she want to go to the bosses party that night? Perhaps she was on her husbands arm because he was up for that big promotion at the agency and she wanted to look her best for the event! So in her beautiful little sleeveless top she went, the whole thing encrusted in metallic flower motifs, gems and odd shaped sequins. And today? It resides in California now; happy as a lark among the other jewels of the West coast!

This beautiful piece sold before I could write up this article - and it's actually the reason I began writing it in the first place!

The point is. When you see that one of a kind piece.. the cherry on your banana split... don't let it go! Buy it. Grab hold of it before it's gone. Before it's memories are gone because so many vintage pieces are truly one of a kind and if you don't swoop them up, someone else will!

<3 Forgotten Muse

SALE ALERT!! :)

Hey everyone! I'm getting ready to list a lot more new and lovely things but I'd LOVE to give some of my current stock, new homes!

Enter the coupon code 'sunshine' upon checkout and receive 15% off everything in my store!

I think I'm only running the sale through today so once the coupon code is inactive, it's gone!

Have your eye on something? Snatch it up before t's gone!