Pinks and Greens

I have been slowly building a collection of cheesecake military uniforms, and for this year's Rockabilly Rules event, I decided it was high time I joined the Army Air Corps. Vee Vin Tage made my 'pinks and greens' uniform, using chocolate and tan gabardine along with buttons from a WWII uniform and an 8th Air Force patch. After pairing my uniform with a vintage garrison cap and a pair of brown heels, I was ready for duty!

These photos were taken by Matt Carson at his studio--I hope you like them!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

The Honey Sisters

I've always loved the image of the three ladies used on the Jergen's boxes and jars, and since my two dearest friends happen to be a brunette and a redhead, we thought it would be fun to recreate that scene.  Doug Monce of Atomic Age Pictures photographed us, and we were quite pleased with the end result!  

The original image graced the cover of Vogue in 1939, and served as Varga's inspiration for the Jergen's packaging (I wish Jergen's would 'update' their cold cream packaging to this design, wouldn't that be a treat to have on the vanity!)

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

Mood Indigo

I took a mini-vacation over the holidays, and I confess that I’ve been struggling somewhat to get back into the swing of things again! I feel I’ve taken enough of a break now, and I’ll be regularly posting from here on out.

We’ll start the New Year off right with a post featuring the wonderful Blue Velvet Vintage! I’ve been doing a bit of modeling work for BVV, and would like to showcase the most recent ensemble that I received from her. This stunning, 30-style midnight blue satin gown was a treat to wear; the design is curve-hugging and very flattering with its bust-to-hip ruched design. Heavily trimmed in rhinestones, it is as jaw dropping from the front as it is from behind—check out the dramatic back! Pair this gown with a fashionably warm faux fur bolero, long gloves, and rhinestone jewelry, and you have the perfect Old Hollywood look.

You’ll note my blonde hair—though these photos were taken before I took the red plunge, I’ve since washed out the red tint that I tried out over my vacation. I thought I’d give you a mini update of the process—I used Roux Fanciful in Lucky Copper, applying the liquid first. The trick is to apply this section by section, blow drying your hair in between applications. It certainly helps to have a friend assist you with this process to be sure every section is covered completely! To keep the color fresh and to touch up the root area, I used the Fanciful mousse in the evenings before setting my hair. I was very pleased with the overall look, and when I finally washed my hair, the color came out fairly easily—I’d say 90-95 percent. There are some lingering, faint pink streaks in my hair after two washes, but I like the effect and imagine that these will disappear completely in another couple of washes. The only complaint I have about this product is that it is messy—it is water soluble, so you have to be careful not to get it wet, and when you brush your hair, red “dust” ends up everywhere. I also noticed that it transferred slightly onto clothing, but the marks it left came out easily with water. Anyway, it was a fantastic, no-commitment way to check out a new color! Though I don’t plan on permanently changing my blonde hair anytime soon, I would definitely use this product again for a fun change again in the future!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Happy Holidays from Blue Velvet Vintage

And Atomic Age Pictures and me!

For Blue Velvet Vintage's holiday page, I modeled the glam Honey dress by Trashy Diva. This swing dressis very aptly named, for it's one honey of a dress! Fashioned in cherry red stretch cotton, it features a spectacular--and very Marilyn--shirred shelf bust that will turn your assets, whatever their size, into one traffic-stopping silhouette! Draped straps and a higher back allow you to wear this dress with a regular bra (always a plus, I think) and the circle skirt is perfect for swirling on the dance floor (and I guarantee that you'll be bombarded with requests to dance when you wear this dress.)

Stop by Blue Velvet Vintage and snap up a Honey dress for yourself!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

The Goldfield Belle

I headed out to Goldfield Ghost Town last Saturday with my friend and photographer Matt Carson, as the weather promised to be perfect, and we decided a western shoot would be a fun shooting adventure. The weather certainly delivered—it was cool and overcast—and we had a blast there. I'd never been to Goldfield, a mining camp that began in 1892 and faded away in 1898 when the gold dried up; the town had a brief resurgence in the 1920s before finally dying in 1960s. Goldfield Ghost Town was created in the 1970s to give people a taste of what the Old West was like. We also stopped at the Superstition Springs Museum, which is home to the only two buildings that remain from Apacheland, a movie studio built in the 1960s that was sadly destroyed by a fire in 2004, and the Mining Camp Restaurant, which opened in 1961. I enjoyed our tour so much I brought my Sweetie there the next day to go horseback riding (sadly, I forgot my camera, but suffice it to say that I was probably the most dolled up trail rider they'd ever seen. I do think my horse Max appreciated my efforts, or at least the scratches I doled out!)

Anyway, I put together two glamorous western outfits befitting the Hollywood past of these locations--the first is one of my all-time best scores, a 1940s-50s corduroy bolero jacket and matching skirt embroidered with brown and tan 'flames' (I found the set at Buffalo Exchange on my lunch break one day, the two pieces had been separated and I nearly screamed out loud when I found the skirt and then the matching jacket.) The second is a colorful hand-painted and sequined Mexican skirt, paired with a red off-the-shoulder top by Bettie Page. I wore both with a trusty black cinch belt and my newest purchase, fab black suede 40s platforms from my dear friend Annie.

I supposed I've chattered enough, so on to the photos!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Ghostly Grable

For Halloween, Doug Monce of Atomic Age Pictures and I decided to do a spooky little shoot at one of the local cemetaries. I put together a ghostly pinup outfit with a 1940s midriff sweater and 1950s black velvet shorts (both eBay finds), my fave Remix Rita platforms, and a black dahlia in my hair. With a little photo trickery, I became a ghostly Grable ;-)

Weekend in Havana

I recently had the opportunity to model some hair accessories made by Andy's Eye Candy. Andy makes some of the prettiest hair flowers out there, which made it very hard to choose which ones I wanted to wear! I decided to go with a set of her fruit clips, as I didn't have anything quite like them in my arsenal of hair flowers. She sent three different clips--one made with a banana, papaya, and apple; one with an orange, starfruit, and peach; and one delightfully over-the-top pineapple! These clips are large, colorful, and fun, and I think they make for a refreshing twist on what to wear with your Hawaiian outfits. For the shoot I did with Atomic Age Pictures, I decided that the only way to go was to put together a Carmen Miranda-esque outfit, so I paired a vintage yellow and white polka dot tie top with rumba sleeves (from Matilda's Vintage Closet), a brightly colored cotton plaid sarong (from a vendor at VLV last year), and grass green Remix platforms trimmed in 1940s fruit shoe clips (an eBay find). A matching fruit brooch (from a local antique shop) and a bevy of Bakelite bangles (the carved butterscotch bracelet was a gift from my dear friend Annie--it belonged to Lana Turner) finished off the look; add in a banana tree and an orange grove and your have yourself a "Weekend in Havana"!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Cover Girl

A few weeks ago I worked with photographer David Zickl on a project for Phoenix Magazine; we had been hoping that our photo might make the cover, and I'm pleased to say that today I found out it did! David had been given an assignment to shoot one of the winners of the magazine's "Best Of" awards, and since he'd been given the winner of Best Tailor (Scottsdale's Fifth Avenue Alterations) he had the idea to style a model like Charlie Chaplin for the shoot. I'd actually worked with David a couple of years ago, when he photographed MacAlpine's Soda Fountain for an issue of Arizona Highways, and he contacted me to see if I was up to his latest challenge. Of course I said yes, and after being outfitted in proper Chaplin attire by Matilda's Closet, we shot our glamorous take on "The Little Tramp".

xoxo,
Amanda Lee