Catching my breathe!

     Sorry I haven't written lately but my last show pretty much kicked my 'patootie'!!  We were at the Houston Vintage Festival which was at the 1940's Airport Terminal Museum and Hangar.  We were in the hangar with numerous other vendors and, although we had a good time, it was a fairly slow show for those of us who were not in the main building.
     The hangar was not air conditioned and trust me, it's still WAY hot here in Texas in mid-September!! The promoters were awesome, they did an excellent job advertising and bringing in the people---kudos to them!--but the layout was just not cohesive enough for a great show for the vendors in the hangar. 
     The main show was in the air terminal museum which is where the crowds flocked---our hangar was 2-blocks away from the museum and people just didn't much want to walk in the heat or even ride the pedi-cab's! 
     All-in-all, we did ok.  Made a little money, met some wonderful vendors and nice customers and had a pretty good time!

    Here's just a few pictures I managed to take: 


    

My new friend, Odette

Our booth!!

My crazy son



Contestants for the Miss Houston Vintage title

Me showing of my great vintage clothing!

She really looks like Marilyn!!

Another contestant

great DJ!!

fantastic live entertainment

And of course, my wonderful grandson, Brayden---doing his thing as Capt. America

God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, My Kitschy Closet



 

Movin' on Up!!

     Fall is usually a VERY busy time for me.  This is the time when those hot temperatures start to cool down and folks begin to think of the holiday season, i.e. Thanksgiving turkey dinner (or Tofukey if you are a vegetarian like me--and yes, there really is a food called 'Tofurkey'!!) and lots of Christmas joy!

     As of September, I will be attending 2-shows/events each month until January....Whew!!....it makes me tired just typing it!  Here is a quick glimpse of my schedule for the next 4-months:
                   
                                         Sept 11th - 13th --Winnie Trade Days, Winnie TX
                                         Sept. 19th - Houston Vintage Festival, 1940 Airport Terminal Museum

                                         Oct. 9th - 11th - Winnie Trade Days, Winnie, TX
                                         Oct. 22nd - 24th - Gypsy Market, Spring TX- Klein Multipurpose Center

                                         Nov. 6th - 8th - Winnie Trade Days, Winnie TX
                                         Nov. 13th - 15th - Fleafest - Lake Charles, Louisana

                                        Dec. 4th - (tentative date) Insperity Holiday Market - Kingwood
                                        Dec. 11th - 13th - Winnie Trade Days, Winnie TX

     As you can see I've got quite a busy schedule this fall!  AND I work a full-time REAL job!!  But I really, really love resale, especially vintage clothing & accessories--it makes my heart go 'pitty-pat'.  I've got my Winnie show this weekend---I've got a permanent shop there---and then next weekend is the Houston Vintage Festival.  I'm very excited about this shop as it seems to be mainly vintage/retro clothing and such.  And it's in a 1940's air terminal as well as a 1928 hangar---now that is way cool!!!!  I'll be sure to let you know how that one goes. 

     In the meantime, here are just a few of the wonderful vintage items I will be taking to the Houston Vintage Festival:

Lovely double-knit tunic top from the 70's

This is only one of the over 30 vintage cowboy shirts I will take to the show!

The picture doesn't do justice to this lovely 1950's dress

This is a great dress from the 1980's

A fantastic groovy 60's dress--just needs some white go-go boots! 

another great vintage western shirt

This is a very sweet 70's summer dress



A little bit of this, a little bit of that!

Thanks for reading my blog and please leave a comment and let me know what you think!



God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, My Kitschy Closet
www.mykitschycloset.etsy.com



                                
                                        

                                

Welcome to the 80's!!!

     I thought I would use my second post to enlighten us on a unusual and very cool fashion era the 1980's!!

Bubble hemlines were big!!

This is one of my items for sale in my etsy shop--  www.mykitschycloset.etsy.com 

 

     French designer Christian Dior created a lovely red bubble hemline dress in 1956:

     And the 1980's wasn't just about the bubble hemline, oh no!   Read this article I found on a wonderful website - www.vintagefashionguild.org  --for more information about an era of BIG!!


     "One word comes to mind when you think of the 1980s: BIG. Overconsumption, oversized and just plain over-the-top were cornerstone features in this decade of excess and materialism. It was a time of abundance, optimism and unabashed greed.
Shoulder pads returned to fashion in a super-sized version, and the “power suit” reflected women’s emerging status in the workplace. The term “Yuppie” was coined as an acronym for the Young Urban Professional who was a career driven, 20-30 something male or female, obsessed with upward mobility, money and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. Casual wear for the Yuppie set was collegiate or preppy with khaki pants, traditional blue blazers, crisp white shirts, polos by Izod Lacoste and Ralph Lauren and cotton cardigans draped over one’s shoulders, loosely tied in front. Designers boldly emblazoned their logos on the exterior of their designs and their clothing became elite status symbols.
Glamour in the 1980s, as depicted in the popular TV shows Dallas and Dynasty, translated to bedazzled evening wear studded with sequins and beads. Hair was permed, teased and coiffed to ever larger proportions and extravagance. Makeup was bold and colorful, as was jewelry of the era which featured large statement necklaces and long, dangling earrings which grazed the shoulders.
In contrast to the more conservative and affluent set, youthful counterculture was defining their own style. Music continued to have a strong influence on fashion, particularly with the emergence of MTV which brought music fashion to the masses. Numerous pop music stars became style icons as well. Underwear as outer wear, popularized by Madonna, infused street fashion with women donning crinolines and lacy bustiers. New Wave music and the corresponding New Romantics style trend was further popularized by London designer Vivienne Westwood, who embraced historical fashion with the use of corsets and bustles and later created the mini-crini. Music legends like Annie Lenox, Boy George, David Bowie and Grace Jones blurred the lines of androgyny in fashion. Japanese fashion designers continued to push fashion barriers exploring gender-bending, sculptural, avant-garde silhouettes.
The fitness boom of the 1980s, as part of this self-conscious and self indulgent decade, spawned a fashion trend that took dance and exercise wear from the studio and gym to the runway and the street. Jane Fonda sported neon leotards and leg warmers in her exercise videos and women soon embraced them as functional fashion. The aerobics craze influenced designer fashion with Lycra and other body conscious fabrics and styles infusing the dress designs of Azzedine Alaia and bodysuits by Donna Karan. The movie Flashdance inspired women to wear tight leggings paired with oversized, baggy sweatshirts with the necklines cut to drape casually off one shoulder. Designer Norma Kamali created an entire collection fashioned of sweatshirt fabric. Jogging or track suits became socially acceptable as casual day wear.
1980s style with its juxtaposition of trends, variety and influences created a unique legacy of fashion and anti-fashion. It is emerging as an era of sought-after vintage for its unique characteristics and lasting impact.
Written by Vintage Devotion"

     Be sure to go to their website for more interesting stories/history on fashion.

     Here's a few more pic's of fashion from the 80's:

Could those shoulder pads get any bigger?!?!
 

Uhmmmmm.......ok?
 

Is this Adam Ant?!?
 

     As you can see, the 80's fashion scene was very.....unique!  Big hair, big shoulders and wear it with attitude!!


And as I leave you, here is a great reminder of the music of the 80's-----Cyndi Lauper!!

Please be sure to join my blog and follow us on facebook as well---and don't forget to leave a comment, tell me what your favorite era is!!!

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, My Kitschy Closet

www.mykitschycloset.etsy.com

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hello to everyone out there in the blog-o-sphere!  My name is Pat and I am a textile artist---at least I consider myself to be one!!

I've worked with many different forms of art medium over the years and finally found my 'niche' with fabrics/textiles, trims and such.  I LOVE vintage fabrics and trims but have found that so many have not aged well---dry rot is a particular problem if the item wasn't stored properly! And yet, while the overall condition of the item is questionable, there are still many good sections that can be reclaimed to create something beautiful.  And that's what I try to do with my purses---use vintage fabrics, trims and more to create something useful from something no longer useable. 

And I'm in love with all periods of vintage clothing, although I do favor the 1930's - 1970's (and maybe some 80's too--those clothes are crazy cool!)

I will be blogging as much as possible and hope your will enjoy my posts and follow me here and elsewhere.  I will be posting tips on removing stains that seem permanent as well as things like conversion charts comparing vintage sizing to current day sizes.

There will be instructional posts on how to make purses from worn-out vintage clothing and so much more!

Please consider joining my blog as we take a walk down this adventure we call life!

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, My Kitschy Closet

Please enjoy a few pictures of the treasures I've found--I will post pictures of my purses soon:

1890's skating coat

Vintage square dance dress

1960's Go-Go dress-groovy!

Beautiful 60's day dress

One of many of the men's shirts we sell

A great looking double knit tunic top

And of course, my wonderful grandson, Brayden!!