Birthday Burlesque and Black Friday Score!

For my birthday a few weeks ago the Saint and I went to see a local burlesque troupe, the Peek a Boo Revue, who were performing with Satan's Angel, a performer from the heydey of burlesque, who is also known as the Queen of the Flaming Tassels. I had a blast! I enjoyed the show and the flaming tassels must be seen to be believed. Satan's Angel doesnt take it all off, she does a dance routine and  does a trick with her fabric cape, she spins it around so it looks like she is inside of a spinning cylinder, very cool.
All this talk of burlesque reminds me that the new issue of Bachelor Pad Magazine is out, feast your eyes below:

Now, onto Black Friday. I am not a Black Friday shopper but the Saint and I were out of town to visit relatives and we decided to head to the grocery store. There was a Goodwill across the street from the grocery store and the sign said "Black Friday Sale: Everything 50 off." I started campaigning to go to the shop. We were in foreign territory and who knows what kind of splendor could lurk inside this thrift shop? And at half off! Plus, when would I ever get to shop there again? We were 250 miles from home. The Saint was driving so  I had to do a little begging and he agreed that I could do a quick pop-in. So what did I find? This AWESOME vintage overcoat for, are you ready, $8!!!!!!!! That was the half off price. And, drumroll please,  I look terrific in this coat! It fits! Its black and royal blue wool. The faux fur collar is a bit much but it snaps off. I am so excited about this score. I doesnt have any tags inside so I dont know who made it. I havent found anything vintage in a thrift shop in ages so I am psyched.

Senior Prom 1958

I had a lousy day so the movie Senior Prom from 1958 was just what I needed. It has all of the idealized 1950s era things that I love. Ah, simpler times. Everyone is polite, has a cool car and no one curses. It's prom time at college and that means great party dresses with stilettos, and killer music from Les Elgart (his album Elgart Au Go Go is one of my all time faves), Jose Melin, and Louis Prima and Keeley Smith backed by Sam Butera and the Witnesses. No cheap cover bands for these kids, no way! Everyone is dressed up, drives Thunderbird convertibles or woody wagons and breaks into song at a moments notice. Alot of this was hokey but thats what makes it so fun today. For me, anyhow, The Saint says movies like this must have been made for children, old ladies and losers. Feast your eyes on the party scene below. You cannot see anyone's underwear and no one is in sweatpants.

Great femme fatale outfit below, I aspire to look this bad ass.

Here she is again with Mr. Preppy, who was the bad guy in the movie. Plaid bowtie and cummerbund, great!

 Crowd shot at the prom. All white tuxedos and flat tops, cheering for Louis Prima. I want to jump into this movie and steal all of the dresses.

Cookin' in the past

I procured some old cookbooks on my last trip to the flea market. Of course the covers fell off as soon as I got them home.  I got Baker's Famous Chocolate Recipes, from 1936. I've probably gained five pounds just from eyeing up all the fantastic desserts. Next is the Health for Victory Meal Planning Guide from 1944. The recipes tell you how to deal with food rationing during WWII.

 Below is The Lunch Box Cookbook from 1955. I also got a booklet called How to Do Your Wash Automatically , from 1940 by the Bendix Co. I didnt know they had automatic washers as early as 1940. They must have been quite an expensive luxury. Lots of photos of happy houswives, plus a discussion of typical varieties of dirt and how to remove stains.

The latest Bachelor Pad Magazine is here!

The latest issue of Bachelor Pad Magazine is here, featuring not only the best in pin-ups and burlesque, but a fine article by none other than moi. Check it out at http://www.bachelorpadmagazine.com/.

This past weekend The Saint and I went to the pre-WWII hot rod show at the Simeone Foundation auto museum in Philly. We were quite excited to see hot rods and I hauled a batch of  magazines with me so I could pass them out to people. Well, we got there and there  were only about 10 cars, 3 vendors and zero spectators. Tumbleweeds rolled by as we checked out the meager kustom kuture offerings. I only handed out 2 magazines. The museum is very nice for car buffs and I had a good time. Its really too bad that people dont support these events.

I'm flea market shoppin and I aint stoppin

This past weekend The Saint and I went to Adamstown PA, the self-proclaimed antiques capital of the world. We went to Shupp's Grove, a terrific outdoor antiques market in a tree lined grove, a very pleasant place. They play oldies music on a loudspeaker. The place also has decent bathrooms, always a plus in my book. Anyhow, alot of the vendors were having 50% off sales. I got this nice divided minty green bowl, on the bottom is says Marcrest, ovenproof.

I also got a pair of 1950s  asian figurines, which you may feast your eyes on, below. They were $2 for the pair! I must have sowed some good karma somewhere along the line because stuff like this is unsually priced much higher.

We then had lunch at Stoudt's Brewery, a brew pub with a flea market and an antique mall attached! YES!!!! There arent enough exclamation points in the world to add to that YES. This place is run by people of vision and foresight. Keep the men busy in the pub and the ladies can shop out in the back, unencumbered by typical complaints of "what do you want with that? Why are you buying that? Can we leave now?" Instead it's "Keep shopping, the game isnt over and I need to finish this beer."

So, given this excellent environment, so condusive to hunting for goodies, I came away with this vintage "Hukilau Wear" Made in Hawaii  thick cotton barkcloth shirt. I stole it at, are you ready, $6! WOWEE ZOWEE!

10 Followers! WOWEE ZOWEE and some new purses

I am so excited to learn that I have 10 followers! This is quite an event since I do not know 10 people in real life who share my retro interests. Actually I don't know any who share my retro interests so you can imagine how thrilled I am. However I am unable to see who my followers are, I can't see anyone else's followers on other blogs and I can't see the follow button on other blogs that I would like to follow. These functions just disappeared one day. Can anyone tell me what to do about this? I do not have any computer skills so I have no idea what to do.
I am the Doc Severinson of handbags and I found some new ones, below. The beaded one is in the original box, which says La Regale hand made. The bottom of the box says Made in Japan, so I know this is 1950s. The gold bag has a cute shell shaped clasp.

 Below is a gorgeous vintage Avon compact, lipstick case and mini perfume bottle set. All in a black velvet box. Such luxury! I really despise how everything today is cheap plastic. The compact has a mirror, an unused puff and a space for  powder. The lipstick has a used red in it, so I have to put one of my own in there. But since Im not going anywhere fancy there is no hurry.

Penguin Pool Murder

Last nite I watched a movie from 1932 called Penguin Pool Murder. Who killed the nasty Wall Street mogul and dumped his body in the penguin pool at the zoo? Plenty of suspects, plus plenty of great vintage style.

Below is the mogul's wife (a suspect, of course) in her fabulous bedroom. I love how people in these old movies wear gowns just to hang out at home. I guess they have maids to do all the dirty work. I really like the decor and the vanity table.