Inspiration LA Comes to Brooklyn Expo Center

While Valerie was be-bopping around Berlin, Jean made a bee-line for Brooklyn and Inspiration LA's New York installation.

First stop was Liz Baca and White Mike's booth. Since Liz and Boo-Boo (their famous one-eyed Pomeranian) were running a separate booth at A Current Affair, another LA vintage show going on at the same time in another part of Brooklyn, Mike was holding down the fort in Green Point.

Initially feeling like a fish out of water, I gradually got into it and embraced the outdoorsy gestalt. Case in point, Mike rocks a casual urban rocker look, rather than the vintage dandy style of the traditional East Coast shows.  Below, he shows a down-filled balaclava.

Inspiration LA, dubbed "Let FreeDamn Ring", began as an annual gathering in Southern California for vintage enthusiasts from around the globe and had been held on the Queen Mary. Curator Rin Tanaka brought the two-day California show to Brooklyn Expo in Green Point. The goal was to bring together international vintage exhibitors offering rare, unique and one-of-a-kind merchandise on exhibit and for sale. The focus was on American vintage apparel manufactured from the 1900s-1980s, vintage-inspired contemporary fashions & accessories from local boutiques, major corporate American and international companies, artists and artisans, hot-rods, motorcycles, antiques, records and audio equipment, as well as soul music.

This Times Square shirt was hanging in the back of Snappy Gabs' booth.

Nearby was this long sleeved version with a skyscraper inspired print.

According to Inspiration LA's website, the vintage event concept is to “buy and sell inspiration.” Many street apparel products, mainly vintage American fashions manufactured from the 1910s to the 1980s, were displayed throughout the expo center. opportunities to view so many hard-to-find vintage items. Most items will be “for sale,” except for special exhibition decorations.

Andrew Nguyen and his friend Tony had the scoop on the LA version and on the East Coast vintage auto and motorcycle scene,

The Archives, a vendor with whom we were familiar from its women's dresses and hats at the Metropolitan Pavilion's vintage shows, had a both filled with men's an women's sportswear, unlike its usual dresses and hats

The Archives' men's size 13 canvas and rubber Converse athletic shoes were in pristine condition.

Whiskey Grade from Cleveland, OH featured an eclectic combination of Harley Davidson cycle gear, vintage helmets and lunch boxes, contemporary gloves, tee shirts and extremely well-priced women's clothing ($40 grey cotton dresses).

It is the place to go for custom motor cycle gas tanks like this one.

And, with a name like Whiskey Grade, how could it not feature bourbon, in this case, the artisanal Widow Jane, Wapsie Valley, pot brewed in Brooklyn, NY from ingredients (non-GMO grains of rye and barley) grown in New York State.

Finally, a familiar face in a dapper outfit!  Regular readers will recognize Gregory from our prior years' Easter Parade posts. (You know, the handsome gentleman in top hat and tails and a walking stick with a carved white rabbit handle.)  Needless to say, his look was perfectly put together, right down to his gloves.

One of the most interesting and most unusual booth's was that of Nicholas Gamarello, posing here with his partner. A Squadron Artist, his booth was a treasure trove of fine art, rock and roll, jacket art, flying relics, squadron heraldry, aircraft nose art.  He hand painted the luggage behind him with "Over Under Sideways Down - Yard Birds Tour".

The top painting behind us shows David Bowie with a dog's body.

My favorite is this Rolling Stones piece of luggage. The central image is from their "Exile on Main Street" album cover.

Sugar Shack, specializing in vintage clothes and music gear, had this amazing clown costume. Just in time for Halloween.

And these graphic hammer and scythe red, black an yellow men's shoes.

When I ran into the only other traditionally vintage attired gent I'd glimpsed that day, it turns out he knows Gregory.  Figures these birds of a feather would stick together.  Blake Canham-Bennett is a self-professed "hatter" (Blakesby Hats) and "dandy" hails from Australia.

Long after I'd arrived home, I was surprised to discover that Louise Doktor was at the show.  I'd never seen her, but later noticed her in the background of this shot, taken in Juniper Vintage 860's booth.

In the same booth, the owner described how she had acquired the entire collection of hand-tooled craft work from a husband and wife from Vermont.  These beautiful bags were well-priced at $38.  Although there were a few exceptions, the prices at this show were much lower than the Pier Show and Manhattan Pavilion's vintage show.

Metropolis Vintage had the flapper-era dandy's uniform:  raccoon coat and boater!

It also had that 1950's staple, the poodle skirt!

Vintage Martini (vintage.martini@aol.com) from Dallas, TX had a lovely three-piece pink snakeskin set of hat, handbag and gloves.

And the hat had the original receipt from T.H. Williams and Co., Austin, Tex. purchased by Mrs. John L. Russell of Bertram, Texas dated 1-8-49!

Shanana Mil & Co from Torrence, CA had military wear.  This WWII leather embroidered and painted jacket was one example.

Another item from its Experimental Garment collection was this navy blue cotton Marine Nationale long coat.

In the opening shot, I was standing in this booth, Megamiori Denimes, which is one of the "concept" brands featuring 100% made i Japan thick cotton denim which has been "aged" to soften the fabric.  The striped pair at the left reminded me of prison garb from "Brother, Where Art Thou?".

It also featured unisex jewelry crafted from cotton denim fabric with brass fasteners.

The next West Coast installation is scheduled for February 12-13, 2016 at The Reef in Los Angeles.  When I exited the Expo center, heading back to the R train at 36th Street, I discovered La Gamin, a French creperie just across the street, which had delicious crepes, mushroom risotto and pomme frites.

I had fully intended to go the next day, Sunday, to A Current Affair, the other LA-curated vintage show underway in another part of Brooklyn until life intervened and I had to attend a wake in New Jersey instead. I missed 10 mannequin styled by Elisa Goodkind from StyleLikeU, Liz Baca and many other friends and familiar vendors. Sigh. Perhaps next time.  Ciao!

Sacramento aka Mis Papelicos Takes New York by Storm!

We were thrilled when the day finally arrived when we could meet Sacramento who was visiting New York from her native Malaga, Spain. We have been following each other's blogs and Instagrams for quite some time, so we were thrilled when she emailed us her plans to visit New York and her wish to meet in person. Click here to view her blog.

The opportunity to meet her stylish daughter, Rebecca (who lives in Berlin), was an added treat!  We made a day of it.  Our first stop was brunch at Cafeteria on 7th Avenue at West 17th street.  Although it was sunny, the weather was brisk with a strong breeze, so we opted for an inside table.

Next stop?  We headed to The Museum at FIT to view the exhibition "Fashion Underground:  The World of Susanne Bartsch".  Just outside FIT, we met these lovely Swedish women who stopped to chat before we all went inside.

The Susanne Bartsch exhibition is up until December 2nd and features seminars and other events, so if you plan to be in New York, put it on your itinerary. You won't be sorry. Check out our coverage of the opening night gala, click here.  While our guests viewed the costumes for the first time, we took advantage of the chance to see the mannequins, wigs, jewelry and outfits up close, with a much smaller crowd than opening night.

As if this weren't enough fun for one day, we still had a third stop to make -- a party hosted by Debra Rapoport and Stan Satlin at Westbeth!  Could life get any better than this?

When we first met at Cafeteria, Sacramento remarked that she and Rebecca were surprised to see how few New Yorkers "dressed", opting instead for sneakers and sportswear.  We assured them that the crowd at Debra's would dress and would not disappoint.  Check out Elke and Debra and we're sure you'll agree.

Carol Markel, wearing a Eugenia Kim turban, shared the sofa with Nonnie Balcer,  who was wearing a felt coat from the Lincoln Center Craft Show.  Besides painting and designing and making jewelry and hats, Carol has embarked on designing fabrics and a line of dresses. Talk about a Renaissance woman!

Jaclyn Katz, another guest and new friend of Debra's, joined our host Stan Satlin, Joyce Carpati and Ilona Royce Smithkin for a photo. In a departure from her signature white pearls, Joyce surprised all of us by wearing a terrific necklace made and designed by Carol Markel.

Debra started a wonderful tradition in honor of the late, great Lynn Dell, by suggesting that we all go around the room and tell everyone a little about ourselves.  Last to go in rotation was Goia, a budding shoe designer who reached out to Debra by email and whom she invited to the soiree.  To the left in the photo is Carol's husband, artist Richard Cramer.

Ilona's attendance was one of the highlights of the evening, signaling her return to NYC from Provincetown. This photo captures her perpetually positive attitude, wonderful sense of humor and colorful fashion sense.  And, did we mention Sacramento's grape necklace, which she designed and made herself?  And her platinum top knot, which features prominently in her NY Instagram selfies, is her signature hairdo.  She embroidered the flowers on her skirt.

Miriam, another of Debra's guests, was visiting from just outside Washington, DC. Assuming New Yorkers all dress in black, she dressed in black and charcoal. Boy, did we surprise her! We're just sorry we can't show you a better shot of her beautiful woven metal earrings.

While Jean and Nonnie were admiring each other's hats, they were happily surprised to learn they were both made by the same milliner, Amy Downs!

Jewelry designer Diana Gabriel wore a bright red silk top to complement her red coral necklace and earrings.

Shona, visiting from Melboune, Australia, was yet another of Debra's guests of honor.  We just had to show you her fabulous stockings -- which everyone commented on and loved -- and her great black patent shoes. She accessorized her dress with a black pair of squiggle enamel earrings and brooch.

Had to share this photo of Sacramento and Elke, who was proudly celebrating the birth of her grandson.  Elke's necklace is made of yellow rubber-like petals that feel like the real thing. And check out that arm of Bakelite!

Valerie snapped this shot of the trio of visitors heading home on the E train. Rebecca, Shona and Sacramento -- we loved meeting you and getting to spend some time with you and are looking forward to your next visit!

Unavoidedly Delayed

While Valerie is frolicking in Berlin, Jean is stuck in Reagan National Airport, trying to get to Chicago. Needless to say, Tuesday's post will be delayed until Sunday. Enjoy your time off!

We're in Today's New York Times!

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We're in today's New York Times Style Section in Bill Cunningham's On the Street! This week's theme was "Autumn Collage".

Bill takes our picture all the time but rarely publishes it. Sigh...Today he did. We're the closing shot in his video (entitled "Four Seasons", as you can see above) in a photo he took of us at the opening night party for "Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch" on Thursday, September 17 at the Museum at FIT. We're both in red and black, and we're both in the bottom row of the hard copy paper.  A different photo of Valerie actually appears in the newspaper, which he took of her before the Georgine runway show during New York Fashion Week.

To view the video, please click here.

What we're wearing:
Jean is wearing a Brigitte jacket; Comme des Garcons skirt; Amy Downs turban; red Keith Lewis Studio earrings from Portfolio Art Gallery in Columbia, SC; red vintage wooden and plastic chokers; red Bakelite and resin bracelets and rings; and red leather Tignanello cross-body bag.

Valerie is wearing a vintage snakeskin hat labeled Lederer, Monies earrings, Ivan Grundahl dress, Zana Bayne bustier, vintage black lace gloves, Yayoi Kusama bag (MOMA/Uniqlo collaboration).

ALL AROUND MY HAT

This is going to be a fun post because we get to spotlight two of our favorite subjects: hats and Judith Boyd, better known to you as the Style Crone.

Earlier this year, you will remember (or click here if you don't) Judith came to New York and we all got together at Carol Markel's home.  On that trip, Judith brought each of us a marvelous hat.  That alone was (to quote Olive Oyl) "so utterly, utterly!"  

But better still, Judith had picked them up at the final closing sale of Brigitte NYC, which we had recommended to her on a previous trip here.  A marvelous store whose products were as creative and original as the eponymous Brigitte herself, it was absolutely dedicated - in spirit if not in official policy - to women of a certain age.  Among her many brilliant ideas, Brigitte had a habit of salvaging materials from her scrap heap and making one of a kind hats out of them.  They were simple in construction, but had the same effect as a cherry has, cresting an ice cream sundae.

Above is the wool hat she gave Valerie, laid flat.  It was recently brought out of storage now that temperatures have begun to drop.

If that were all, the post would end here.  But you know how we love to experiment, so below is the same hat, shifted incrementally around the head.

It works no matter what you do with it, and each way it looks like a different hat.

Here a tip of the hat to Judith, who ferreted this hat out of a huge pile of hats.

For those of you who are curious, the tag is at the big round end.  (Raise your hand if you thought it was at the small straight end.)  Readers, of course you can't get this kind of mileage out of all your hats, but you'll never know till you try.

Experiment!  (When no one who might laugh is looking, of course.)

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Did you recognize the title of tonight's post from the song by the 1970s folk rock band Steeleye Span?  Enjoy the song and the '70s clothes, below.




(Click here to see it full size.)  Enjoy the handsome young men in their de rigeur long hair and dark mustaches of the period.  Valerie used to have an armlet just like the lead singer's.  And back then it looked just as good on her as it did on Maddy Prior, seen here with her hair parted straight down the middle, also de rigeur back then.

ANNUAL LOOT ACCESSORIES SHOW AT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN

It's not common knowledge that the Museum of Arts and Design has, on its second floor, numerous drawers of art jewelry that members of the public can pull out at will (the drawers, mind you, not the jewelry), and be bedazzled by anywhere from one grand work to ten tiny works of stunning art in a space no larger than a coffee table book.   For visitors inspired by these drawers to have works of art jewelry for their own, once a year MAD puts on LOOT, an exhibition and sale of international art jewelry whose breadth and originality make LOOT a must see each fall.

While Jean and her husband attended his school reunion, Valerie went to report on LOOT.  This year, there were fifty-five artists, so we can't show you everything, but we can try to give you a taste of this very enjoyable show.

In the opening photo is an agate neckpiece by Petr Dvorak, a native of the Czech Republic living in Austria.  Below is the neckpiece on its display stand.  The simple construction allows the piece to move easily on the neck, but the simplicity of the design gives no hint of the amount of work that goes in to creating the finished product.  It was such an honor to wear it for a minute!

Early on, I ran into Debbie Adamson, who does wonderful things with rubber.  Here are two of her pieces, made to look almost like chunks of driftwood.  That's fellow artist Hayley Beckley on the right, wearing one of the beautiful cloth collars she brought to LOOT.  More on that in a moment.

Here are Debbie and Hayley, wearing two of Hayley's neckpieces.  Over Hayley's shoulder, you can see more of her work on the wall.

Nearby were Anastasia Su and Martin Lesjak, of 13&9 Design, who trained as architects, and work in corian, a material often used in surfacing.  Here, Anastasia shows off a cool modernist corian collar and earring.  The earring is pierced in the traditional place, but hooks over the ear in a completely non-traditional way.  They also made some positively wicked sunglasses.

Yu Hiraishi showed painted brass accessories in bright colors and bold designs partly derived from juxtaposing small brass squares at unusual angles.

Nicole Schuster, who works in oxidized silver, says she gets her inspiration both from the geometric shapes found in both nature and shapes found in cities.  Here, one ring encircles each finger, but have the appearance of two rings.

Aprosio & Co., from Italy, specializes in Venetian beads and Bohemian crystals.  While they seem capable of making absolutely anything, including a black beaded bag decorated with three dimensional beaded chili peppers, let us show you one of the gorgeous winged insect brooches with delicate beaded antennae, jaws and legs.

Most of the artists are their own best models, and wear their creations to great advantage.  Here, Mary Samoli, who works in gorgeous yellow gold, shows some of her designs.

Hitomi Jacobs works primarily in silver and pearls. The tassel at the base of this neckpiece is made entirely of tiny seed pearls.  She also had coral and turquoise pieces, made with equally small, or smaller, beads.

Gustav Reyes is doing beautiful work in wood.  Here are two of his pieces.  Mr. Reyes probably surprises everyone when he demonstrates the flexibility of the coil bracelet, the result of a special process.  Given its ability to stretch and then return to its original shape, the bracelet could almost be compared to a Slinky, although its asymetrical shape is more interesting.  The bi-level burled wood ring is made of "salvaged wood from other crafts people".

I didn't get to speak to Eva Franceschini about her perforated silver, but I marveled at the delicacy of her work.  Notice that several of the pieces are painted.

Angela Fung calls her work "kinetic semiprecious stones and silver".  Since the work is still while on display, Angela had to show me what makes her work kinetic.  The bracelet on the left is a kind of modified spring.  It expands to fit the arm, and shinks when taken off.  On her other arm is a square bracelet with three parallel rows of gutters (for lack of a better word), between each of which a semiprecious stone can zip from one end to the other as the arm moves.   Like many of the artists, Angela has an interesting and surprising background.  If time allows, we hope you will take a look at the artists' websites.  The path to becoming a jeweler can be as unusual as the jewelry.

Silvie Tissot, left, designs, and Christophe Tissot executes Silvie's designs.  Their daughter is, to say the least, their very effective sales representative.  They have a long and interesting background, which you can read more about here.

On my arrival, LOOT's curator, Bryna Pomp (right), was wearing a stone necklace from one of the displays, but when I ran into her again she had exchanged it for another.  Left is Eva Franceshini; center is Olivia Monti Arduini, wearing her light-as-a-feather necklace of chain matte porcelain.

Monies had a display as well, but I didn't want to interrupt a sale, so instead of showing you their dramatic statement pieces (which you can see here), we can show you Joyce Williams, the perfect representative for Monies.  Don't forget to take a closer look at her glasses.

Here is a necklace of silver ellipses, each different from the next, by Ute Decker.   The matching bracelet, which can be worn several different ways on the wrist, can also be added to the necklace with a simple snap, to make a great centerpiece to the necklace, as well as add length.  According to her website, Ute regularly writes and speaks on ethical jewelry.

Here, Ute wears another of her silver neckpieces, which can also be arranged in multiple different ways.  With her is Chiara Scarpitti, who made the delicate necklace of white fiber on metal frames she's wearing, as well as the hexagonal brooch.

I was happy to find Danielle Gori-Montanelli, Here sporting a brooch of sharpened purple pencils made in her signature felt.  Earlier, she had been wearing a spray of red felt polka dot mushrooms, and reported that a LOOT visitor reminisced about quite enjoying eating those mushrooms in the '60s.  I'm wearing one of Danielle's neckpieces, and on my arrival I saw a client of hers wearing one of Danielle's felt hats.  Never one to stand still, Danielle is now making miniature felt furniture, so new none of them are on her website - yet.

Jean Power is a beading whiz, and is so advanced that she has developed new techniques of her own.  "Are you familiar with the Bead Society?", I asked her, thinking its members would surely love to know about these new techniques.  Not only was she familiar with the Bead Society, she had taught a class there the week before LOOT.  I'm always the last to know.

Here are two of Jean's proprietary techniques.  What may not be clear in the photograph is that the designs are three dimensional, not flat.  The stars hold their shapes by virtue of their own tension.  The angled beads are a series of twenty triangles painstakingly sewn together, and given a little assistance with a single large bead inside.  Jean says she's done it so long now that she can sew the edges together by feel, without looking.

Evren Kayar, from Turkey, has a line out called Constellations, made of silver, gold, and stones.  They come in necklaces, earrings, and rings.  The rings can be worn singly or in groups, and come in several colors.

My last stop was with Emily Kidson, who specializes in laminate and inlaid silver.  I liked so much of her work, much of which had a mid-century modernist look about it.  Emily was kind enough to forward this picture for our use.

If you're in the New York area, mark you calendar for next year.  Keep the end of September and the beginning of October open!