Vulture Mine Photo Shoot

Last Saturday, Matt Carson and I decided to take a trip up to Vulture Mine for a shoot. We had been once before about a year ago, and found the place to be a fantastic setting, with wonderful old buildings that though slowly decaying, made for wonderful backdrops. The faded walls popped brightly on film, and the history of the place is quite interesting. This trip, we were disappointed to find that a number of our favorite buildings were now roped off, as they had been deemed unsafe to enter. It's true that you enter them at your own risk, as they are indeed disintegrating, but it was odd that other spots, where half the building had collapsed, were still accessible. At any rate, we found a new building that we hadn't seen before, and it proved to be an excellent shooting location. Anyway, here are the results of our adventure!

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

Jazz in AZ Big Fall Swing Dance

On Sunday, Jazz in AZ hosted a big band dance at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort. The stellar nine-piece band, conducted by Auggie Mendoza, featured the group MayneSwing (a trio of sisters who sing in the style of the Andrews Sisters) along with Sinatra-style vocalist Vito Mayne (yep, he's the brother of the MayneSwing sisters--there's plenty of talent in this family). It turned out that photographer Doug Monce's brother, Denny, was one of the trumpet players in the band--now there's another family that is bursting with talent! I sold raffle tickets for the Big Apple Raffle (the winner will receive a trip for two to New York, including an evening at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola--doesn't that sound like fun?), and wore a fabulous original 40s cigarette girl outfit provided by Matilda's Closet. The hat was made for me by the lovely and talented Jennifer of The Pin Curl Diaries, and I also wore my favorite black velvet pumps. All in all, it was a fun evening that I enjoyed being a part of!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Latest Finds--Polka Dot Platforms

Okay, I am supposed to be saving right now, but when I came across these marvelous 40s platforms I just had to bid! I mean, I really did need a pair of white shoes to replace my current pair (which I adore but are too delicate to wear except for photo shoots these days), and it really is hard to find white platforms in a size 7.5. Especially ones with ankle straps and cute polka dot cutouts! So, I think I was justified in snagging these, don’t you think? ;-)

I'd love to hear about your latest finds--what has found its way into your closet recently?

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

OOTD

I have't posted an OOTD photo in ages, so I made sure to take one today! This is a typical look for me when the weather cools off--sweater and skirt combos are classic and easy to put together in a rush :-)

1950s pale pink cashmere sweater with button-trimmed collar
1950s black wool skirt
Narrow patent belt
Black patent 40s-style heels
Lucite 'A' brooch
Pink and yellow floral reverse carved lucite earrings

Making Room in My Closet

I've been cleaning out my closet again, and have started listing some of my collection on eBay. Right now I have a fab 40s western dress, a deco 40s dress and jacket combo, and a couple of pairs of platforms up--check 'em out and maybe you'll see something that needs to be in your closet!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Hot Rod Girl

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to shoot with photographer Ron Ricci, and I'm really happy with how the photos turned out! The shoot took place at DRT Automotive, and the Boston Bad Boys provided some amazing cars for the models to shoot with. We also had the chance to work with new designer Celena Garcia of Krabbie Gurl, who had sewn up some super cute pinup looks for us to wear! Ron is a very talented photographer, and his assistants Joleen and Maryam made the shoot run incredibly smooth. I hope you like my latest work!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

I'm wearing my own wardrobe here--a 1940s yellow linen sun top by Koret of California
1950s black velvet shorts with rhinestone buttons
Remix platform heels
1940s carved bone earrings

The Final Frontier

My Sweetie played a Halloween show on Saturday night, and we decided to dress as Captain Kirk and Yeoman Rand. My Sweetie found his costume at Easley's (how I love that place--I've rented so many cool costumes there, and scored a couple of amazing vintage pieces there as well), and I had mine made by Sherry of Silk Surroundings (the same seamstress who made my ghost costume for The Pinup and the Poltergeist).

Here we are posing with my Sweetie's two daughters--aren't they pretty? His younger daughter went as a flapper (I did her makeup) and the older daughter went as Katy Perry :-)

xoxo,

Amanda Lee