These past two weekends have been a big batch of fun.
This past Saturday was the opening of a new vintage themed club, The ChitChat Club. Apparently they had a previous location but had to close down. It was a buzz all over the vintage 'scene' about this place opening, so I decided to check it out.
I decided to wear my
brick wool crepe dress. It's 40s, and not too flashy for public transit. I used to live in the neighborhood of the new location, so I took the subway there.
*This is the post cubby wall from the old reception desk.*
Apparently the old building is being restored and this club is located in one of their three ballrooms. The space was beautiful and the club was located on the lower floor. What I couldn't quite tell was if this space was permanent or not, because the bar was just a tiny corner in the back.
Oh the bar...Not only was the line a mile long, there were only 2 bartenders AND NONE OF THEM KNEW THE DRINK MENU!!! I mean the menu was filled with special concoctions, and they didn't know any of the recipes. I mean there were owner created recipes and the bartenders were reading off sheets.
How tacky is that?
The night did have some fun parts even though it opened an hour late. I almost wanted some of my cover charge back for that. There was a projectionist who played some vintage jazz shorts from the 20s and 30s. Those were great. Also, the band Stompy Jones was a hit. Honestly if it were not for the band, I think the night would have sucked. As far as openings goes, it was so much fun, but I wish it had been planned better.
The night did have an added bonus for me. A friend of a friend gave me a ticket to the Vintage Clothing and Textile show happening in Burbank the next day. Cool!
The event was being held in a big complex that housed a dining hall, an ice rink, a bowling alley and a few other things. And it was busy. Our event was in a few rooms in the back of the complex and we managed to find it not from the lamely posted sign on the outside wall, but by a side door. A poorly guarded side door after walking nearly completely around the complex....in the rain.
It was nice just walking around and looking a much of the stuff that ws overpriced. One booth had these lovely fabric sample cards and one card had nearly 30 3x5" sample swatches on it. It was cool, but their price was $50 and I was not gonna pay that. Plus the lady looked at me like I didn't have any money, or didn't know what I was looking at. I hate when vendors try and size me up like that.
I didn't buy anything, just looked. I had never been to that textiles show and frankly I thought there would have been more textiles. It was mainly vintage clothing and quite a few sellers that I know were there from the other big vintage show in Santa Monica. I'm just glad I didn't pay to get in.
A friend called me and picked me up and we went to a local vintage clothing store called
Playclothes. My friend had wanted to take me there for a while. It is indeed a wonderland. There are a lot of real good things there, fairly priced. I looked through their patterns, mostly 60s and their fabric, which was quite nice. I bought a couple of pattern and some flowered seersucker. Its already cleaned and ready to become a dress soon.
From there we went to a local
vegan bar and I had beer and a 'sausage'. We both like that place.
This weekend was our monthly visit to church.
Well, Church of Sinatra. Its a monthly vintage cocktail party that around here is hosted by a friend of mine. Sometimes they are fun, often depending on the mood of the host. You know how drama can be. This time was more fin than usual because not only was the host in a good mood, it was also the 4 year anniversary of the LA branch, and he pulled out some great spirits.
I wore my newly finished
30's sport blouse and a RTW black linen skirt. I looked lovely :)
A real nice rum, and two types of absinthe. We ended up calling that 'bottle study'. It was great. There was just a good mood of all those gathered, so we all just went with it.
Today was the Santa Monica Vintage Expo, but I'm opting out of this go round.
I'm broke and because I went to the textile show last week, I feel like I've already seen most of what's there.
*whew*
I'm beat.
I'm just gonna chill the rest of the weekend and sew. Yeah, that sounds nice.
This past Saturday was the opening of a new vintage themed club, The ChitChat Club. Apparently they had a previous location but had to close down. It was a buzz all over the vintage 'scene' about this place opening, so I decided to check it out.
Oh the bar...Not only was the line a mile long, there were only 2 bartenders AND NONE OF THEM KNEW THE DRINK MENU!!! I mean the menu was filled with special concoctions, and they didn't know any of the recipes. I mean there were owner created recipes and the bartenders were reading off sheets. 
The night did have some fun parts even though it opened an hour late. I almost wanted some of my cover charge back for that. There was a projectionist who played some vintage jazz shorts from the 20s and 30s. Those were great. Also, the band Stompy Jones was a hit. Honestly if it were not for the band, I think the night would have sucked. As far as openings goes, it was so much fun, but I wish it had been planned better.
The event was being held in a big complex that housed a dining hall, an ice rink, a bowling alley and a few other things. And it was busy. Our event was in a few rooms in the back of the complex and we managed to find it not from the lamely posted sign on the outside wall, but by a side door. A poorly guarded side door after walking nearly completely around the complex....in the rain.
Well, Church of Sinatra. Its a monthly vintage cocktail party that around here is hosted by a friend of mine. Sometimes they are fun, often depending on the mood of the host. You know how drama can be. This time was more fin than usual because not only was the host in a good mood, it was also the 4 year anniversary of the LA branch, and he pulled out some great spirits.
I go fairly often and Im sure I've yammered about it too. This Sunday was pretty crowded and I met a lot of new vintage folks. Plus, I had the best Mai Tai Ive ever had. They have a kick ass bar with bartenders who know and love the art of spirits. Its a rare and beautiful thing.
This night I wore my Gardenia Dress and it was a hit. But you know what, I felt miss dressed. The Gardenia dress I now know feels like a fall dress, not a summer one. And sure, it was cool, but when I went home and looked through my wardrobe, I felt I was missing something. Then it hit me. I need more evening gowns.
I've been wanting to make this pattern and what better reason, right!? I even have a great solid coral colored rayon that I can make a coordinating wrap with! Yes! I love it when things come together like this!
The event is know as the Fedora Lounge Queen Mary event. Its been going on for 8 years now, and is mainly an annual get together of members of a vintage online forum (The Fedora Lounge) who share their collective know how about all things vintage.
Here I am on Friday after just getting to the ship. We walked around a bit and visited the Observation bar where I had a bit of food. Some other Loungers arrived, including one of the moderators and his two sons. 
Isn't he the cutest!
That evening was our formal dinner, and for it I wore my 30's suit made from my repro pattern. I was very pleased with how it turned out. It was a hit. I even made a beret and used some of my flowers in yellow to make it pop! Here are a couple of pictures of me on the ship, and more of the finished suit can be seen on NVL.
Tomorow, Saturday!
The Bahooka restaurant has been around for a long time. They have over 100 aquariums.
Here is my friend Heather with the main attraction, Rufus. He was adorable and lovely gentleman working fed him a carrot for us. Rufus was aglow. He *loves* the attention.
When we all sat down in the party room, all our drinks came to us on fire! 
I had two zombies, a classic rum Tiki drink. They were pretty okay.
There are us gals in front of the diver head. It was a fun time.
Oh! is that skirt not the most delightful! The pants are 'regulation', and that tabbed collar is just the bees knees. Alas, this adorable pattern is not my size. Its a 34 bust, and Ive listed it in my etsy store.
Above photo by John
This last photo by Jen.
I went through 3 outfits, finally choosing a wool tweed skirt I made, a rayon blouse I made from a modern SImplicity repo pattern, some 20's cotton lace stockings I got a few years back, my good ole 40's shoes, a tan wool button up I got at the thrift store 5 years ago (love that sweater), my NRA MOP pin that was a gift, and the 20's inspired cloche in my etsy store.
I was very comfy and warm. I was also surprised by the compliments on my outfit. Someone even said, "Wow, you look very depression era today." YES!!!!!! I got a lot of compliments on my cloche, even a designer pulling me aside and saying I should sell them. Good idea!
She bought her dress from the Woodland Farms Antiques booth. I was able to tell the lovely lady how much I and some of my friends adore her online store. She is a real nice lady.
