The Hippo-what?

Steven Fiore + The Lovely Few = a musical party in your ears and heart

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A family visit.

My family spent the past week (my sister's final Spring Break of high school) with us in Charleston. Though I wasn't able to take any days off to spend with them, evenings were filled with family dinners, dusky beach walks, Mario Kart races, and lots of laughing. Even though it's a lot quieter and calmer without the whole brood here, I already miss them.

(Clockwise from top left: a Monza lunch date with my sis and her boyfriend / paparazzi-style shot of my folks strollin' / a sunrise Easter service on the pier at Folly Beach / the Pip doing a somber impression of the Easter Bunny.)

A colorful closet clean-out.

I don't know about all y'all, but every time I buy new clothes, I feel the need to make room in my closet. Maybe the years of living in notoriously small-closeted Charleston homes have trained me to constantly edit. Some things I give to my sister, others I donate to local thrift stores, and then I put the more fun things up on eBay. Here's my latest ROY G. BIV selection:

See all my eBay offerings here.

Pins and Needles (Urban Outfitters) sheer red blouse

 J. Crew wool/cashmere bright orange cardigan

Gap gold dolman sleeve draped blouse

American Eagle Outfitters chambray moto jacket

Lauren by Ralph Lauren silk menswear-inspired blouse

Ella Moss fringed shimmy-shimmy top 

Anthropologie racerback tiered chiffon tank

Leifsdottir ruffled wool straight skirt

Elevenses (Anthropologie) gray wool pleated skirt

Gap European Fit draped dress

 Elizabeth and James relaxed boyfriend-fit blazer

This weekend's theme: Mad Men.

Looking at this weekend's activities,  my excitement for the two-hour season five premiere of Mad Men has been obvious the past few days:

 

peacock blue early 1960s bridesmaid dress (with removable over-skirt and matching veiled fascinator!) / bar stash for tonight's vintage cocktails / Art & Copy (a great documentary about the creative rise in advertising in the 1960s) / vintage-themed Newsweek 

Fundays.

Steven came back from Nashville/Columbia on Saturday afternoon, and we immediately launched into having the most easygoing fun we could manage. We started by meeting up with people at Taco Boy. I love spotting David Boatwright's murals all over town, and I especially adore this sort of mixed media mural in Taco Boy's patio. After that, we met up with Elizabeth, Andrew, and Elizabeth's lovely house guest, Caroline, at Bin 152 for some more imbibing. We completely lost track of time there, and barely managed to make it to goat. sheep. cow. before it closed. We got four amazing cheeses and a baguette, which is an ideal dinner, if you ask me. One of our selections was Ewephoria, which is a sheep's milk cheese like Gouda, and it was aptly named, to say the least. If I ever become lactose intolerant, my quality of life will decrease 87 percent. I have charts to prove this. Before we left downtown, we picked up some macarons for the road. With our cheeses and baguette and cornichones, we watched Martha Marcy May Marlene, and now Ashley has been replaced by Elizabeth as my favorite Olsen. 

On Sunday, we got completely whacked out by daylight savings, and ended up not getting our biz together until 1pm. We went to our safety spot, Rue de Jean, for brunch and a Bloody Mary. Second Sunday was happening on King Street, and I always use this as an excuse to shop too much. But, whatever. I got some cute pants from it. And other stuff. Oops. Then we met up with Elizabeth and Andrew for another Bloody Mary, this time at Thoroughbred Club. We wrapped up the day with a beer at Closed for Business -- I'll take any excuse to have a White Thai from Westbrook Brewing.

What a weekend.

P.S. Every time I see this gorgeous vintage Mercedes, I am filled with jealousy. It's officially on my Christmas wish list for eternity.

Being my own model.

This is a 1940s evening dress that I found recently. A royal blue full-length slip goes under a sheer, beaded dress. Both the top dress and slip have side zippers. This dress is not in perfect condition and has a few holes and tears, so I may just keep it just to look at and sigh over.

This is the turquoise goddess dress from a previous post. An armless mannequin doesn't really do this dress justice. The beaded collar on this dress is all the jewelry you'd need, but a little extra bling never hurt anybody.

This mod little dress is something else. The beaded pockets and neckline are so intricate. I also love the barely-there tint of sea foam/spring green. 

After watching all the episodes of Mad Men all over again in anticipation for its Match 25 season 4 premiere, I have even more appreciation for this dress. If Joan weren't a redhead, she would have totally worn this dress.

This 1940s navy day dress is so delicate and lovely. It is completely sheer, so it would need to be paired with a full slip. The lace collar is in perfect condition and the same lace lines the sleeve edges.

This 1940s party dress reminds me of something from the English Regency period. It's silk satin with the most lovely swirly details. I also really like the open back and girly sleeves.

This taffeta and velvet 1960s wiggle dress is my most recent find. It also comes with a velvet and beaded sleeveless top/vest, but I like the dress by itself much better. Simple and structured.

This 1940s/1950s day dress is such a favorite. It's comfortable, flattering and in perfect condition.

This 1950s/early 1960s beaded cocktail dress has a little bit of discoloration, possibly from sun damage, but it's nothing that a little box of Rit dye couldn't fix. That back draping detail is something else.

Most, if not all, of these dresses (along with a lot more vintage clothing) will be available for ogling next Saturday at the Lowcountry Artist Market at the Music Farm!

Lowcountry Artist Market: First of 2012

The March 2012 Lowcountry Artist Market is next weekend! I've been adding to the seek vintage rack and can't wait to share my finds. One of my favorite is a 1940s sheer beaded gown (it has a tiny train!). These will be photographed before next weekend and put on the blog, hopefully.

 None of these pieces have been added to Etsy yet, so you Charlestonians have exclusive access to the pieces.

Also, new for this market--I'm doing a spring cleaning of sorts. There will be a $5 bin of great vintage skirts, dresses, coats and blouses.

My February 14.

Instead of one card, Steven made me a laundry line of four  *  gypsy jazz, namely Django, is vital for cooking (I think his swingy sounds infused into the food)  *  I cooked up arroz con pollo for Valentine's dinner

Not pictured: the requisite flowers (in a 1940s glass milk bottle--he's perfect) and stack of chocolate bars. I'm starting to really dig this holiday.

How was your Valentine's Day? And don't forget... if you're in Charleston, come out to the Valentine's Day Hangover at Pure Theatre tonight!

Valentine's Day Hangover.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Valentine's Day was never a big deal, until last year, when I met this dude who has now been my boyfriend for nearly a year, which is pretty strange and wonderful.

Anyway, said dude is having a show the day after VD:

Here's a song that I'm pretty partial to...




If you're on the other end of the spectrum, there are more than a few songs about relationship blues in his repertoire...just visit Steven's Bandcamp for a taste.

One last announcement (for now).

Tomorrow is the the Pop Up Shop!

Michael Mitchell

438 King Street

10am-4pm 

Hope to see you there!

A sky blue sheath.

This dress is such a darling. It's that perfect, springy shade of blue. This otherwise simple sheath dress makes the neckline the focal point, with its beaded collar detail and diamond-shaped keyhole cut-out. This is also a minor detail, but this dress is sewn at...how do I put this delicately? The bust has pointed seams that are made to accommodate the bullet bras that were ever-so-popular in the 1940s-1960s.