I love meeting you all + gratuitous outfit post

Yesterday was a great day at work. La Rosa was bustling with customers and my oldest daughter, Ashley, was in the city with her friends and stopped in the store to visit me. It was great to see her since she has moved out of the house several months ago, I don't get to see her more than once a week. Ashley purchased a darling 40s one piece play suit that buttoned up the front.


As I wrapped up Ashley's purchase, a lovely young woman walked in with a big smile on her face. She told me she is a reader of my blog and came in because of the dress in my window display. Her name is Melissa, and I quickly retrieved the dress for her to try on. Normally it is against policy to remove anything from the windows after they are dressed, but for a "fan" of my blog,  I made an exception. I also gave her a few other dresses to try, but I think it was fate that the one she came for fit her perfectly.

Melissa and I. Melissa is wearing her new dress!

It is exciting to know that I have such sweet and beautiful readers.

Now for the gratuitous outfit post...

 

This dress is another Dorian purchase. I was thrilled that my 1950s teal plastic flower earrings matched the teal stars in the pattern of the dress. For all you larger ladies, there are still beautiful 50s dresses in larger sizes (up to 40 or 42" waist sizes) available at Park Place Vintage on Lincoln in San Jose. 

 

For the Pake Muu lover, and an outfit post

Take a gander at these.....

Here is a picture of me at work yesterday. I'm wearing a vintage atomic cotton dress I bought from my friend Dorian. It has splashes of coral in a gold, bronze and white pattern. My favorite detail are the white atomic stars scattered all over. I paired it with an ivory and gold cardigan.

Here is a close up of the pattern where you can see the stars and the color:

Booze Broads and Hotrods 2012

Well, we really had to work hard this year for the amazing line up. When I say "we" what I mean is Rachelle, who is doing the booking this year. 


We had originally booked a double headliner Nick Curran and Roddy Jackson, but last month we got the horrible news that Nick's cancer had returned and he would not be able to play for us. Scrambling, we were really worried we wouldn't be able to book someone equal to Nick. 


Rachelle some how was able to find it in the budget, to book the ORIGINAL Planet Rockers! 

As for the rest of the line up....the Legendary "Central Valley Fireball" original 1950s recording artist. Roddy was discovered when he was 15 by Sonny Bono and had some big hits in the late 50s. 

You can get hotel information at our website, but time is running out to get the Bombshell Special room rate. There is a benefit to getting a room, besides being able to stumble to bed when the show is over....free happy hour drinks from 5-7PM and a free breakfast. 

Vending spots are still available, although I think there are only a few left. All the info you need is here:
Bombshell's website 

Mahalo, from La Rosa

At La Rosa, we received a big delivery of Hawaiian dresses, shirts, and bathing suits Friday, in celebration of my window designs. My boss is a fellow lover and collector of vintage Hawaiiana. Lucky me! That means amazing Kamehamehas, Hales, Paradise and even a couple Shaheens showed up at the shop. Full circle skirt styles, sarongs and several Pake Mus. Various sizes, even a plus size.

Take a gander at these:

 

Some of my favorites:

My first Window Displays at La Rosa....

Doing my first windows at La Rosa was a challenge, and very gratifying. At Time Zone Vintage, I used to style windows (choose the clothing, accessories, and make suggestions) but I was not the one who physically moved and dressed the mannequins, or put the wall coverings up, etc. 

I was given a budget of $100 per window, for props, but was able to find most of what I needed in the shop or from my boss' warehouse.  Total cost was $27 for the supplies to mimic a beach. My theme was 1950s travelers, packing and then on vacation. I know it was a basic and unoriginal theme, but I wanted to keep it simple my first time.


Window one: I dressed the female mannequin in a pink, 1950s gaberdine suit with a reproduction "Sun Surf" Aloha shirt. La Rosa carries these amazing reproduction Rayon shirts and I wanted to demonstrate that these shirts can be worn by women. The male mannequin is wearing a 1950s short sleeved button up casual shirt and fleck coat. There is vintage luggage, including a western hand tooled leather train case. I also put some shoes and jewelry in the display. 

Window two:  I planned out a tiki/holiday window. The male mannequin is wearing a vintage 1950s Campus rayon shirt with the names of old Downtown Las Vegas Hotels on it. The female is wearing a vintage Cole of California swimsuit, white embossed lace over the shell of the suit. All elastic back. I paired it with a reproduction "Sun Surf" Aloha shirt.


This window was a bit more challenging for me since I had to drill some of the bamboo to the wall and figure out how to do a beach. It was fun figuring it all out and then proving to myself I could execute my vision. 

I almost have the store completely ready for Spring. My next window display won't have to be until June and I am already planning 1920s "Gatsby" or "Boardwalk Empire" theme.

Working in a Dream....

After a very exciting first week working at La Rosa, I am having a leisure filled Sunday, and I can't wait to show off some of the photos I took of the shop. 


I have spent a portion of this week, changing up the shop for Spring, and preparing for the Viva Las Vegas shoppers I expect to invade in the next few weeks. My second day, we received two racks of spring clothes, so I pulled and sent to back stock a lot of winter treasures. On one of the racks I discovered several 1920s and 1930s gowns, all in pastel chiffon and silks. I decided to use them to replace the heavy velvets that were on the wall above some of the ladies gowns. Boardwalk Empire fans, prepare to drool!

In the process of changing out the stock, I decided we needed a spring like Ladies 50's-Madmen pastel display above the cash register. 

La Rosa gets many brides looking for something "different" than the traditional bridal dress, so I created the "Bridal Inspiration" rack. 

My next task, in the merchandising department, was to change out the menswear. With Viva Las Vegas quickly approaching, I thought a 50s Men's arrangement to showcase the types of 50s menswear the store carries.

 

I am quite proud of the menswear. I thought to myself, "What would I want to see Frank wearing in this store?" as the tool to put the outfits together. 

Some of the items in the store are almost historical pieces, or actually ARE historical. There is a large selection of Edwardian:

There is also a large selection of western wear that was from the "Grand Ol' Opry:"

What upscale Vintage shop would be complete without a large selection of lucite purses and bakelite? Also, an abundance of Victorian-1920s accessories:

I will be changing out the windows next week and will update the challenges and hopefully triumphs of my first La Rosa Window display.

My big news...

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I had some big news about my "dream job."
Drum roll, please....

I am the new manager of La Rosa Vintage on Haight Street in San Francisco.

My friend Oran has vacated the position he held for 10 years, as manager of LaRosa, to open his own shop. I never dreamed I would be hired, or even thought about applying for the position, until a few weeks ago. Let me tell you how it all happened....

During my trip to Southern California, my friend John was selling at the Rosebowl Flea and told me that the owner of La Rosa, Werner had asked him if he could recommend a replacement for Oran. John told me he wanted to recommend me. I was flattered but thought about the commute and the fact that I work very close to the skate park. After some meditation, I left it to "Fate." If it was where I needed to be, it would happen.

When I returned to work on Monday, the computers were down and my boss sent me home. By the end of the day they were not working and she told me not to come in on Tuesday. That is 2 days without being able to work without pay. I decided to email Werner and also gave Oran a quick call about the position. He told me I would be great and gave the company a good recommendation. 

By Friday, the computers were still not working and so I scheduled an interview. Werner and I hit it off. He liked my experience, maturity, and vintage knowledge. This is a full time position, with regular pay, not trade. 

I was so happy when I worked at Time Zone. The opportunity to wake up knowing I will be doing something I love, is my biggest motivator. There is nothing I love more than to help someone find the perfect vintage ensemble, and La Rosa is filled with so many beautiful things. 

Here is an article and a blog written about La Rosa:

MSN article

Retro Madness blog

Here are some pics I found online. I will post my own pics of the shop in the coming weeks:

DeWeese....REALLY?

I gotta throw it out there.

DeWeese cotton sundresses....$100-$250!?!?!?

First of all...the style of sundress I am complaining about was manufactured for at least 20 years, maybe longer. There are a LOT of them out there. They are not rare. I have one that I picked up for about $18 last year in an ebay auction.Now, I suddenly begin to see these dresses sit on ebay buy it now and etsy for months and months because the sellers clearly don't know the market, or their product.  Maybe one of these common dresses sold at an inflated price once upon a time. A perfect vintage DeWeese sundress, with a sought after color pattern, MIGHT be worth $75 at the VERY most. An ordinary one, with ugly colors, should not be sold over $100. That is stupid for the person who buys it and greedy for the seller.

Girls, do your research before you pay too much for an ordinary vintage piece. Don't let greedy sellers get away with it.

This dress is for sale on Etsy for $250. UN-FING BELIEVABLE

 

Familiar faces....

Someone posted this movie trailer on my facebook page the other day. I had to do a double take and watch it a few times because I saw a familiar face!

One of the delinquents in this movie is Morris Everett, aka, Little Mo' from Little Mo and the Dynaflos.

Hello again...

Some of you may have missed me. Some of you may have forgotten I ever existed...regardless, I am still here, although I have not had much time or felt the inclination to blog lately. 


Since the fall, I have spent a majority of my time and energy into my son's skateboarding. I became involved in a parent group that saved our big skate park from city budget cuts. You can read some of our press in the local paper, the bay area news channels and even ESPN. 


ESPN article
TV coverage
Print coverage


I even went and spoke to the city council about how my son's life has improved since he started to skate at Lake Cunningham.

Anywho...we won the battle and a lot of charities have stepped up to help support the skate park. 


Now for some personal details...


I have still been planning Booze Broads and Hotrods with the Bombshells. We have a big announcement to make soon, and it is exciting! I am planning on going to Viva and I went to Long Beach to attend the Inspiration show on the Queen Mary and the Rose Bowl Flea. I forgot that Alameda is better for clothes than Rose Bowl, but I digress. I bought a great Cowichan sweater from my buddy Lloyd and had a good visit with my friend Lucky in Long Beach. I also got to hang out with Dorian and Mike at the Rose Bowl. 


Here's a few photos:

Lucky and I

Mike with his tiger sweater and me with my dog (I tell myself it's a wolf)

Micah, Jim, Me and Dorian

I have some more big news, but I will wait until next week to announce it. A few of my good friends know, but let's say that I have landed my dream job! 

Cheers until next time...I swear I won't stay away so long again.