Peaches and Cream: Updated

Update: I found this gorgeous maxi dress over Memorial Day, and then managed to completely forget to photograph it, but it's too good not to be added to this collection.

1960s peach taffeta maxi dress with lace overlay

It seems that I've been drawn to the color peach lately. All of these items can be found at Inherited:

 1960s chiffon evening gown

 1960s oxford shirt 

 1960s Lady Lynn Creations embroidered oxford blouse

 1970s Jonathan Martin ruffled peach blouse

1980s Carry Back Ltd. skirt (has the palest tinge of peach)

1970s Studio I dress with lace jacket

How I Wore It.

I did a guest post over at the Lowcountry Artist Market blog about how I style vintage clothes. I focused on the 1960s Rosette Pennington New York brocade skirt and top set that I put up recently in the Inherited shop.

See all the outfit combinations here!

If the shoe fits...

The Inherited shoe collection has been growing, and I'm finally getting around to adding them to the shop!

 1952 Exquisite Footwear silver metallic sandals SOLD

1980s Salvatore Ferragamo tobacco pumps

1980s Salvatore Ferragamo for Saks Fifth Avenue tobacco pumps with suede detail

1960s Daniel Green Leisure Footwear dark coral suede tassleed loafers

Oomphies Cloudhoppers bright yellow woven straw pumps

 1970s "Nepos" Amalfi by Rangoni navy leather heeled sandals with kelly green piping

1960s Penaljo perforated cognac leather heeled oxfords

 vintage Karen Scott black velvet smoking loafers with gold fleur-de-lis embroidery SOLD

Thrifty home finds.

While on our regular thrift and junk haunts, we've recently found some pretty great things for the house:

 This cool, vintage Steelmaster index catalog drawer now houses all of our Wii controllers.

 I fell in love with this lamp at Target. A few months and $8 later, it became mine (with tags still on!)

This vintage portrait from the 1960s was too cool to pass up. $8.

If anyone else has come upon thrifted gems recently, I'd love to hear about them!

Mountain finds.

While in the mountains, we managed to get away for some solid thrifting adventures. There's gold in them hills!

1930s pale pink Forty Winks nightgown

 1970s Glen Harbour abstract print blouse

 1970s striped maxi skirt SOLD

1960s lace and turquoise silk cocktail dress 

1960s Rosette Pennington New York jade green brocade skirt and top

These pieces will be added to the Inherited shop as soon as I stop being so lazy.

Getaway

I've already shared this little video on my Facebook and Tumblr, but I thought I'd share it here too. I wish I'd recorded more of my time up in the mountains, but there's very little cell phone reception up there, so I didn't bother having my phone on me for most of the time. That, and I was so caught up in the fun of everything that I barely remembered to stop and capture it all! The first bits are from the drive to the mountain house, then a little bit of Maya and Steven playing football, then our time at the swimming hole, and finally, a bit of us around the campfire, which is how we ended each and every evening up there.

I miss it. I really, really miss it.  

Home again.

We got back from the mountains this evening, and I already feel depressed. I've been slowly unpacking, looking at photos from the week, and trying to wish myself back up to North Carolina. Here's a little collage of our afternoon at our semi-secret swimming hole/sliding rock area:

The water was icy cold, and only the bravest of us managed to be fully submerged in those pools. Time is best spent warming yourself on the sun-heated rocks and then wading slowly (or sliding with a splash) into one of the pools for a bone-chilling cool-down.

Running away.

Tomorrow morning, Steven and I are packing up the car and heading up to my family's mountain house, where we'll spend a week exploring, lounging, swimming, relaxing, eating and I CAN'T WAIT. Some of my Mom's family will be coming from Wisconsin and elsewhere to do the same. I am looking forward to nights around the bonfire, drinking beer and listening to my uncles, who are pretty fantastic storytellers.  I'm treating this week like summer camp. I'm packing books, my camera, ratty bathing suits, every pair of shorts I own, and maybe even my old journal to jot down ideas.

We're leaving first thing so that we can take our time getting there. Steven and I really enjoy taking the long way to so we get the chance to stop in small towns and peek into dusty shop windows, hoping to make a discovery. I'm also planning lots of small day trips to mountain town thrift shops and antique stores to look for the perfect pieces for Inherited.

See ya later, civilization! We're hitting the road.

LAM wrap-up.

Yesterday was the Lowcountry Artist Market--the first one I participated in as Inherited. 

Here are some of the pieces that were brought home yesterday by lovely gals:

 late 1960s nightgown

 1960s eyelet top

 1960s Lady Donlin oxford 

 1970s lilac top

 1980s signal flag blouse

 1960s pink lace dress

1960s A Mendel Creation hot pink dress 

1970s schoolgirl dress

1970s Christian Dior necktie 

1980s floral button-back top

It was a great success and so much fun!

My baby.

A week ago, my baby sister graduated high school, and the week before that, she turned 18. I am so, so proud of the woman she's becoming and I know she's going to accomplish great things. 

At the same time, I can barely handle that this gorgeous, intelligent, talented woman is the same baby sister I prayed and pleaded for for the first 10 years of my life. It's been amazing watching her grow, though, and I can't wait to see what amazing path she takes through life. 

Lowcountry Artist Market: June 2012

Next Saturday, June 16, is the Lowcountry Artist Market and  Inherited is one of the vendors! Vintage, handmade and edibles will all be available right in the middle of downtown Charleston at the Music Farm.

The Lowcountry Artist Market blog is also hosting a giveaway, so take a peek, do some Facebook liking, and you could be a winner!

The threads of history.

One of my favorite things to do when I find vintage pieces is to to as much research as I can about the item, from the style to the designer, to whatever other information I can dig up. At first, I thought this dress was an anonymous, unlabeled piece, as many vintage items are. But then, down in the lining of the dress, near its hem, I saw a label with the name "Renee Firestone" in script.

After a short amount of searching, I learned that she was a well-known fashion designer in America who went on to teach fashion design at the University of California in Los Angeles. But before that, she lived a life filled with more horrors than one could imagine. Born to a Jewish family in Czechoslovakia in 1924,  at the age of 19 she spent over a year imprisoned in Auschwitz, losing all of her family (including her 16-year-old sister, who died at the hands of Dr. Mengele) except her father. Despite the unimaginable horrors she faced, when she came to America in 1948, she created a life for herself and her family by creating beautiful things.Now 88, she is an outspoken Holocaust survivor, speaking out whenever and however possible so that the stories of those who did not survive would never be forgotten. 

This dress is a simple piece. The tasseled collar is the focal point of the front of the dress, with the  a deep-V back and buttons adding some detail to the back of the dress. While this dress was most likely created in the 1960s, it has some elements obviously inspired by the Roaring Twenties, and is a fun staple for any closet.

More importantly, its designer triumphed over tragedy and became an outspoken voice for the victims of the Holocaust, and that in itself gives this dress a whole new meaning.

Click here to watch Renee Firestone's survivor testimony.