
I am one of those typical bloggers who love to check out their stats, and when I did, I noticed a lot more referrals from a friend’s site more than usual. Being my typical self, I was inclined to investigate.
It turns out that my fellow blogging buddy Eclectic Epherma has himself won the award, and has been ever so kind enough as to pass it on to me! Thank you dear Bruce, for not only being wonderful in awarding me, but for also answering with my blog as your recommendation to follow as the answer of a question from the blogger who awarded you. I am very happy and humbled you thought highly enough of my blog to pass it along to others!
If any of you have not visited Bruce’s blog Eclectic Epherma, please do yourself a favour and do so now. He covers a little bit of anything in the range of the Victorian era right through to the Fabulous Fifties. Quite work a look if I do say so myself!
Now, if you are not well acquainted with how this award “works”, I have been given eleven questions by the blogger who bestowed this honour upon me to answer, then I must give eleven random facts about myself, as well as nominate eleven other blogs and create a list of eleven questions they must also answer if they choose to accept the award. So, let us get to these questions, shall we?
Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging because I felt I wanted to share my journey into the realm of everything vintage with others right from the start. I also felt like I had a lot to offer others in terms of my knowledge of both history as well as hair and makeup, so that I could help people to understand the eras they loved and their context of it, as well as how to achieve the proper look and keep my readers looking as beautiful as they can be. I feel as if my blog is not aimed strictly at women (I feel being awarded by a member of the male gender displays that much), but being a woman I naturally have a knack in writing about more of the feminine perspective of things. I try not to have one dominate the other overly so, but sometimes I can’t help it π
Is your family understanding about your love of vintage and your desire to blog about it?
My family tends to be most understanding of the things I do. Most know that when I speak of my family, I mostly mean my Mom – she is the only family member I am very close with, and it was her mother (my grandmother) who ignited my love of vintage, although little did she know at the time.
What country would you most like to visit?
Since it is one of my life’s ambitions to move there someday, I think the best answer to this question is England π
When did you discover vintage?
As I had mentioned before, it was my maternal grandmother who ignited the passionate fire of vintage within me at a very early age. I remember being only single digit in age and hearing my grandma regale me with stories of her younger days from the 1920’s even up into the mid-1960’s, often stopping to say, “Oh, I should probably quit babbling on, you are probably bored to death hearing any of this”. Only I would hop up and down to deter her from stopping, almost screaming at her to keep going. I could never get enough. When she came out with the boxes of old photo albums, I instantly felt like I was home, as if it were my life she were recalling instead of her own. I never felt so much excitement yet so soothed as when my grandma would do a show & tell of her earlier days. I realize now that is where my love of vintage began. I so wish she were still alive to see how I dress and style my hair, and to keep hearing those same stories she used to tell me dozens of times over, because I’m sure even still hearing them dozens of times more would still never be enough.
What’s your favourite vintage shop?
I can’t honestly say I have one. The selection of “vintage” in NYC is so poor that you would be appalled at how such an “everything” town could be so lacking in good vintage. Unfortunately, a good many hipster has changed the stock of “vintage shops” into concert tees from the ’70s or ’80s and maybe a few ’50s or ’60s skirts that are woefully paired with Doc Martens and one of those concert tees. I mostly shop for my vintage online, at either eBay or Etsy.
Is there a lot of vintage in the city where you live?
Vintage clothing from the eras I love, no. If you hit the jackpot and do manage to find some decent vintage, then it is grossly overpriced. You want $300 for this plaid 1950’s day dress, you say? No thanks. I could just sew one myself from a vintage pattern with vintage fabric for much cheaper π For vintage culture/history, NYC is top rate. This area is just so rich in history that even if you lived here your entire life you still could never take it all in. I am currently reading (or trying to read – damn you school and all your required reading!) a book entitled “Over Here! New York City during WWII” by Lorraine B. Diehl, and it has been such a breathtaking look into my city during one of my eras of most piqued interest. I would suggest the book to anyone even though I haven’t finished it yet – you would be both disgusted and amazed by what you discovered within its pages.
Did you discover new hobbies or interests after you discovered vintage?
Of course I did! I never used to be too interested in fashion history, but now I have read up so much on it (as well as beauty, but I believe that falls under the umbrella of ‘fashion’ for all intensive purposes) that immediately upon seeing a dress listed on eBay or Etsy I can tell you as to whether or not it is indeed to decade it is being flaunted as being. Sometimes I see some dresses being advertised as being from the 1940’s when just a glance makes me laugh because I can instantaneously ascertain that those shoulder pads are way ’80s, as is that peplum. Just the pattern alone screams “AQUA NET!” I’m all for saving a few bucks and buying an ’80s-does-’50s or ’70s-does-’40s frock now and then, but that’s only when I myself can genuinely be a bit puzzled as to its decade of origin. If it is apparent that Molly Ringwold may have worn it in “Pretty in Pink”, then it’s a total no-go for me.
I have also become more of a dΓ©cor aficionado, and although I do not have much to decorate as of right now, I am currently trying my best with my ’50s barkcloth curtains, kitsch collection, pin up girl sheets, and the like. I am also aiming high in hoping to learn how to knit soon; I bought myself an original 1941 beginner’s guide, and I have already inquired about a class to take soon. Let us just see if school will allow it – that’s another question!
What famous person from the past or present do you think you look like?
I’ve been told that I look like Marilyn Monroe a lot. I have no idea how, but I think the fact that it comes from guys who want to go out with me and already are aware of my love of all things Marilyn tells you all you need to know on that front. Other than that, I have no idea. Does anyone think I look like an Old Hollywood actress? I get told that I look a lot like a young Kirstie Alley, and if here in NYC the 80’s is considered vintage, then there’s your answer LOL.
I have also gotten told I look a lot like Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, as well as Katy Perry more often than not, like I had mentioned in my Campus Katy Perry post a few days prior.
Who is your favourite author?
It really depends on the genre we are talking about. But a pretty good bet for me usually is D.H. Lawrence, whether in poem, short story, or novel format.
When you sit down to compose a blog post do you plan/think ahead or just write off the cuff?
I tend to write mostly off-the-cuff. I believe my best writing is done that way, as it allows for a free flow and and genuineness to come forth that “structured” or pre-planned posts just really don’t offer. I like to offer my readers information and new ideas, but also I think the best way for me to put all of that forth is to write without some silly outline nearby like I have to follow a GPS map to a destination. That is also how I write songs. I enjoy writing the most that way, and I believe my best work comes from that style. I’m not saying outlining and planning is a bad thing, because for other people that is how they work best. I am just saying that for me it is cumbersome, and therefore it feels more like “work” to me, which I have never wanted.
Sometimes, I have ideas for posts I plan ahead on, such as for tutorials and the like, but I never pre-plan it every step of the way. Everyone has a method to their madness and that is mine π
If you could be a fly on the wall for any event in history, what would that be?
Oh my word, that is such a great question but just entirely too open-ended. Maybe I’d like to be a fly on the wall when FDR gave his “Date Which Shall Live in Infamy” speech, or when my great grandfather came through Ellis Island all by himself in 1896 at the barely grown age of 19. Maybe I would be interested in seeing how the Olympics were back in 1936 when they were held in Berlin, or to be in Times Square during VE Day. Maybe I could be behind the scenes of the filming of “Gone With The Wind”? Maybe in Hitler’s bunker during his last few moments in 1945? Or on Lexington Avenue during the filming (or fake filming, as it was just a publicity stunt) of Marilyn’s famous skirt scene? Or just see how an everyday housewife made it day-to-day through the war knowing half of her heart was in grave danger fighting for his country half a world away, constantly afraid of receiving a telegram or uniformed officers at her door? There is just too much to choose just one moment. Way too much!

And now, here’s 11 facts and little tidbits about yours truly. It’s hard for me to think of anything so sorry if some of these are kind of boring π
1. I cannot sleep unless I am in a room where it is almost completely dark, fairly cold (65 degrees Fahrenheit is perfect), and totally silent except for a white noise machine. I also need to wear earplugs.
2. I must have my closet organized by type (pants, then capris, then sweaters, long sleeve shirts, 3/4 sleeves, short sleeves, then dresses), with all garments facing in the same direction. I can’t hang an item up and just leave it if it’s not according to this rule.
3. I always start out sleeping on my stomach.
4. I am the tallest in my family at 5’11”. The rest of my family (mother, father, and sister) are either 5’9″ or 5’10”.
5. I am related to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on my father’s side.
6. I was born and raised in New Jersey.
7. I have had 4 orthopaedic surgeries – three on my right knee, one on my left shoulder.
8. I love the movie “Kingpin”.
9. I am 75% Dutch, 10% English, 10% Swiss, and 5% Scottish. Yes, I have it down to percentages π
10. I speak French fluently.
11. I don’t own a car. Owning a car in NYC is more of a hassle than it is worth! LOL.
And now, I shall bestow the Liebster Award unto the following blogs:
Delancey Dame Vintage
Bunny’s Victory
Chronically Vintage
Va Voom Vintage
Atomic Redhead
Lost in the 1950’s
A Thrifty Mrs.
Oh So Lovely Vintage
Fat Mum Slim
The Rockabilly Girl Next Door
Retro Chick
Here are my 11 questions for them to ponder over:
1. What started your romance with all things vintage?
2. What made you start a blog about it all?
3. What is your favourite vintage item you have acquired so far?
4. If you could own one item of clothing from an Old Hollywood film, which would it be and why?
5. Would you rather live back in your favourite era(s) or would you prefer to stay in present day? Why?
6. If you could be a female historical figure, who would you be and why?
7. Same question, but as a male historical figure and why.
8. How do you come up with topics to write about?
9. What nationalities/heritages are you?
10. Do you pre-plan posts of write off-the-cuff?
11. Where do you see the future of your blog? What would you like to see it as being in about one year? What about five years?
I tried to come up with original questions, and ones that could help you as well as your blog, as well as other bloggers out there who may need some guidance. Plus it is just kind of fun to see how others work π
Thanks again to Bruce of Eclectic Epherma for bestowing me with this award! He has a fabulous blog that I would have awarded him with this award again, but then it would just be redundant and a never ending circle LOL. I hope my question answers and 11 factoids were interesting at least – I tried to keep it vintage or rockabilly related but without having too narrow of a scope. Congratulations to all of the winners I chose to give this award to! Some of you may have received this award before like I had a few months ago (and I was just too busy to accept to do the whole post, blargh), so it is your option as to whether you want to do another post or not. I just wanted to let all of you know that you are amongst a small group of my favourite blogs that I read consistently and love. I don’t have much time to read many blogs because of school and a new study I am involved in, but I think the 11 blogs above epitomize the vintage/pinup/rockabilly blog world and have tons to offer its readers. I also love the theme of this award, because it is a “feel good” award, allows your readers to know more about you, and the best part is you get to pay it forward. All of you are great and are what keep me going and striving to make my blog the best it can be!