this baby is finally paying off

I love vintage Fisher Price toys. The Chatter Telephone, the little people: classic, adorable design. Sometimes I get lost in an eBay hole looking them up, but they can get really expensive. When Grug emailed me to let me know that Fisher Price have rereleased some of their classic toys from the 1960s and 70s, my first thought was, "I'm so glad I have a baby right now so I can pretend I'm buying these for him!"

The record player and the TV are adorable, but I restricted myself to the two that I think will get the most play, not the ones that would look best on my shelves. I cannot live without this milk wagon, and I think the sorting and removing and replacing will be fun for Peanut:

AND IT HAS CHOCOLATE MILK. AND ORANGE JUICE. And I cannot resist the idea of Peanut banging away on this piano like Schroeder:

We're going to give them for him for Christmas, which seems fitting as neither the toys nor the holiday are really for him at this age, they're all about us pretending they're for him.

My mum also found him an old Chatter Telephone which he likes, although he would have absolutely no idea what it is. I love the idea of babies playing with toy versions of completely obsolete technology. Someone less lazy should write an essay about it.

vintage baby: the horror

If you have a lot of spare time that you would like to get rid of, may I suggest getting pregnant, going to Etsy, and typing 'baby' in the vintage section? This will also help you get rid of any pesky money you have lying around.

However, in amongst the adorable lurks... the horror. Let me show you some of the things I have seen, and can never unsee. (Click on the image to buy it, IF YOU DARE.)

OH GOD NO

 

Why do people think crying dolls are so cute? This is seriously upsetting, although that might be partly because they look like Dr Moreau-esque half-monkey creatures.

These things are called Plumpees, and they reflect a very different attitude to childhood obesity.

SINISTER.

I WATCHING YEW! HEE HEE HEE!

Well there's the opening credits for the next season of American Horror Story.

This thing is a bank. It works because once you drop money in, you never want to touch it again.

An adorable depiction of BOUNDLESS RAGE.

You better pray, kid.

my etsy favourites: things i'm not allowed to buy

I have too many Things. Some big things, but mostly small things, things that don't have any use and take a lot of dusting. My husband was looking for some Useful Thing the other day and found a ceramic cat playing a violin. For some reason this was the last straw and he is now convinced that I have too many things. (I agree, but that cat has REAL WHISKERS. And several bandmates. I'm not getting rid of the cat.)

So when I see Things on Etsy that I want, I add them to my favourites. It's like walking around a shop, filling your cart and then abandoning it. It's almost satisfying.

Plus, I have all these Things ready to buy when I move into a mansion.

op-shopping

Today I took the day off, and went op-shopping. It was wonderful.

 

Two classics.

 

I have a huge collection of Little Golden books, but there's always room for more.

This amazing, hand-crocheted owl tea cosy was at a tiny little church op-shop I'd never seen before and happened on by accident. It's kind of jammed on because my teapot has a weird spout, but you get an idea of the awesomeness.

I bought its sister too. Is this an owl? It doesn't have the feather 'ears', or a beak...

Vintage Tupperware is a current obsesssion. It's hard to find these lovely decorated ones!

 

The avocado green containers are my favourites (along with the bright orange ones).

And I couldn't resist this teeny tiny glass unicorn. I'm only human.

street style: perrie

Today I took my first proper street style photo, ie someone who isn't one of my mates! Turns out that well-dressed people are actually very intimidating to approach, and asking complete strangers if you can take their photo is really hard. But when I saw this girl's outfit I took the chance!

 

And guess what: she turned out to be a total sweetie!

I love everything about Perrie's look: the rad white lightning dress, the cute white handbag, the single red earring. She even had beautiful bakelite-style bracelets!

To me, this is the best side of style and clothing: having fun putting together an outfit, and wearing it with confidence and panache. Bravo!

illustration: 1966

 

Girls in a 1966 Sears catalogue, advertising 'The Urchin Look.' I drew this from an image in one of my favourite sources of inspiration,  Everyday Fashions of the Sixties As Pictured in Sears Catalogs (thanks to the lovely Sara for the tip!).

whuuuuut

Etsy search "vintage sewing pattern collar" brought this up and it filled me with awe. Who designed this? WHO BOUGHT THIS PATTERN, BOUGHT IT, MADE THE COLLARS AND WORE THEM? Imagine walking down the street and seeing someone with one of these collars on. Your reaction would probably be to a) look for their minder and b) avoid eye contact.

I think they cut the photos off at the nose because the model kept rolling her eyes. Still, even just her lips tell the thoughts going through her head:

B: "Okay, this is a little silly, but it's wearable, I guess."
C: "Wait, what?
D: "Oh, come on."
A: "I'm just going to pretend this isn't happening."
E: "I hate you."

The collar/dress combo is just perfect, too. Nothing says elegant and attractive like a shapeless dress to go with your enormous novelty collar!

Please go buy this pattern, make it and send me a photo of you wearing it in a public place.

P.S. The seller also has awesome patterns like this and this. I ain't hatin'!