Nou Nou Vintage

keep out the cold

2010-01-31T09:36:00.000-05:00

this weekend, despite tempting blue skies, the temperature stayed below freezing, and let's not even mention wind chill. the funny thing is, i have been warmer yesterday today than i have so far in all of january. why? because when the radio and the television are constantly warning me that it is COLD outside, i actually dress appropriately for the weather. i layer fleeces, coats, scarves, hats, ski socks, leggings under jeans, and so on. most of the time, i try to deny that it is really cold by under dressing (it doesn't work).

in keeping with my new winter lesson, it seems that i unconsciously have been seeking out rabbit fur coats and jackets. i found several last weekend at an antique shop that were in terrible condition so i had to pass them up. since then, i swear that these coats have all snuck into my heart.

1. 1970's vintage rabbit fur jacket; swaneegrace

2. vintage white rabbit fur jacket with fox collar; mayvenshop

3. vintage rabbit fur hooded bomber jacket; allencompanyinc

black & tan

2010-01-26T17:04:00.001-05:00

while i was taking photos for the shop yesterday, i realized that these made a great outfit:

these will be in the store later tonight!

coming soon

2010-01-25T16:48:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I decided to keep the longer black skirt with pockets... though I almost stole the black felt belt from this skirt for myself too!

2010-01-24T19:31:00.000-05:00

This weekend I housesat for a friend, so instead of pretending to be productive, I got to hang out with these guys:

I spent a lot of the weekend chasing them around trying to take pictures. They were a little shy at first, but they warmed up to the camera pretty fast.

...and tomorrow I will update the shop and try to catch up from my little "vacation".

some family heirlooms

2010-01-21T14:35:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I volunteered to help my grandparents pack up some of their belongings to move into a new apartment. They moved once a few years ago, so there was minimal sorting involved, mostly just folding and putting things into boxes. As I helped my grandmother clean out her walk-in closet, however, all sorts of treasures began emerging. My father's first piggy bank, my grandmother's certificate of good attendance from 1930 (when she was 14), a colorful Oscar de la Renta scarf, and so on. But one thing I found struck me as quite puzzling.

This hand sewn nylon blouse has a red dragon embroidered on the right breast, which to me seemed to clash with the flower embroidery on the collar and sleeves.

I asked my grandfather about it, who explained that he got it during World War II when he served in the Philippines. He told me that the blouse is constructed from parachute nylon. I love the seams sewn down the back of the blouse.

We also found this cuff, which is made from an extremely lightweight metal with a mountain and some characters etched onto it. We think that this is made out of scrap metal from airplanes.

On one side, it says KINEN, which according to Google means commemoration, memory, or prayer. On the other side (I could not get a good photo), it has the date: 1946.

I have been looking without much success for more information on souvenirs from the Philippines. If anyone has any more information, I would love to learn more about these!

decisions, decisions

2010-01-19T18:30:00.000-05:00

Last week, I found two beautiful black, wool skirts from the 1950s. One was a little smaller than the other. One was slightly longer. Each had different accents: one came with a matching wool and leather belt and the other had exquisitely tailored pockets. I have been looking to no avail for a high-waisted black wool skirt for a very long time, but I couldn't justify buying both, and I just couldn't decide which I loved more.
Eventually I made a deal with myself: I would buy both, and keep whichever fit better and post the other in my Etsy store. Today, I tried them both on...

...the first skirt fit perfectly! It's hard to see in the photos, but this skirt also has an adorable matching belt. I also prefer the length of the skirt better than the other. So I decided to keep this one...

... and it fit perfectly, too! While I initially didn't like the length of the skirt, the slit in the skirt makes it more wearable. Also, more importantly, I LOVE the pockets on this skirt.

So now I have some serious decisions to make.

zaidin, take me back!

2010-01-19T11:04:00.000-05:00

one of the many things i miss about granada.

a few more things to come...

2010-01-14T11:20:00.000-05:00

this can be my wedding ring.

2010-01-13T22:27:00.000-05:00

courtesy of VeraMeat Jewelry

bemvindo!

2010-01-13T20:24:00.000-05:00

hi! i just started up my own vintage shop on etsy today, and i can't wait to see how this adventure turns out. here are a few pictures of the items that i have added so far. unfortunately i haven't been home recently during the daylight hours (thanks, winter) so i don't have many pictures of items that i haven't yet posted. hopefully tomorrow will be nice and sunny and i will be able to put them up then.