Hawaiian Honey

Doug Monce of Atomic Age Pictures and I worked on a series of Hawaiian-themed shots--as you can see, we were very much influenced by Varga's Hawaiian girls! In this set, I am wearing a WWII-era hula skirt made from parachute cord, which came from the museum collection of Matilda's Closet. A couple of well-placed leis, 1940s wooden hibiscus earrings, and a pink and yellow tropical flower in my hair complete the look (I'm wearing LipSense in Blu-Red too). This is the first in our new series of cheesecake images--I hope you like these as much as we do :-)

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

One of the pinups that inspired us

Sticking to those New Year Resolutions--eBay Goodies

1940s purple and hot pink crepe evening gown

Well, I pledged that I would organize my clothing collection in 2011, and here's my first round of eBay listings! I've listed a little something for everyone--from a 1940s glam evening gown to a classic 40s day dress, with a couple of stellar western pieces for good measure. Let me know if you see something you like--more items to follow in the coming weeks ;-)

Swinglindy's Auctions

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

Aqua and brown pinstriped 1940s day dress

1940s-50s dusty pink and forest green western skirt used in television work

My best gal pal Jere helped model this stunning turquoise western suit by Ranch Maid

Book Review: Mildred Pierced

I love to read, and often spend my lunch hour with my nose in a good page turner. A few months ago I stumbled on a series of hardboiled-style detective novels set in 1940s Hollywood. Written by Stuart M. Kaminsky, the books star a detective named Toby Peters who always manages to find himself working on celebrity cases, none of which could ever be called run of the mill or straightforward. Mildred Pierced, the second to last book in the series, involves Joan Crawford, who is about to start working on a movie that she knows will put her back at the top—Mildred Pierce. Unfortunately, Ms. Crawford is the only witnesses to the death of inept dentist Sheldon Minck’s, wife—who just so happens to have been shot with an arrow while Sheldon is out practicing his archery skills. Ms. Crawford wants Toby Peters to get to the bottom of the mystery while keeping her name out of the papers—for such publicity would definitely put a wrench in her career plans! Sheldon, who rents a tiny space in his dentist office (torture chamber is the better term for it) to Toby, wants him to prove his innocence even though he was at the scene of the crime with crossbow in hand. The end result is a witty tale with just the right amount of twists and turns.

I find the Toby Peters series to be a fast reads with snappy, creative storylines. Kaminsky is an author who knows his history, especially Hollywood history, and that makes the series a good pick for retro lovers. I enjoy his detailed descriptions of people and places, which serve to bring the characters and stories to life very vividly, and I definitely appreciate an author who loves the past as much as I do!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Fashion Inspiration: Paulette Goddard in "The Cat and the Canary"

A couple of weeks ago, my Sweetie and I watched the 1939 movie "The Cat and the Canary," starring Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope. This lighthearted spooky comedy was a delight to watch, and not only because of Bob Hope's fantastic wry sense of humor (which never disappoints, I have to say.) Paulette was a lovely actress and is an absolute vision in this film, and oh, what a wardrobe her character has! She is outfitted in everything from snappily coordinated daywear to a rich, creamy satin nightgown, which meant I spent the entire movie wishing her outfits were in my closet! If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it--the storyline is cute and entertaining, and I'll bet you'll be wishing her wardrobe was yours too!

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

The keyhole neckline on this dress reminded me of Able Grable's "For the Boys" frock

This gingham frock was one of my favorites--I wonder what color it was?

Ruby Red Lips

I'm wearing Lip Ink Energy Red in this photo

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been a long-time fan of Lip Ink liquid lipstick, and Riika’s comment on another post inspired me to write a full-fledged review about it.

I’ve been a loyal user of Lip Ink for three years, and it is pretty much the only lipstick I wear anymore. Though I do adore Besame’s lipstick (Red Hot Red is my fave shade), and though I admit to the occasional impulse purchase tubes of ‘regular’ lipstick (just bought Revlon’s vintage-style tube of Fire n’Ice), I almost always reach for my Lip Ink! I love not worrying about my lipstick smearing, bleeding, or transferring to my coffee cup (and of course my Sweetie appreciates the fact that he can kiss me and not end up wearing lipstick too!) Over the years I had tried a number of indelible lipsticks—Cover Girl Outlast, MAC Pro Longwear, Revlon Colorstay—and was never very pleased with any of them. For one thing, they felt like I’d just applied a thick layer of lacquer to my lips. They also cracked, peeled, and dried to a lighter shade (and for someone who is addicted to bright red lipstick, having your color fade to a dull shade of red just won’t do.) On a whim I tried Lip Ink, and found it to be a true stain—but one that was comfortable to wear. The color stays true, it doesn’t crack or fade, and it’s non-drying as well (I find it actually heals dry lips.) I also find that it photographs like regular lipstick (instead of looking like you’ve applied a coat of paint to your lips), and so I wear it for nearly all of my photo shoots and fashion shows (it’s fantastic to not have to worry about smearing your lipstick on your clothing.) My favorite shade is Energy Red, a rich 1940s shade that I think of as very “Hedy Lamarr”, though I am also fond of Red (a bright pink-based red), Hot Pink (a shocking pink shade), Fuchsia (a deep raspberry shade), and Coral (a bright, true coral shade).

Lip Ink is a two-product lipstick—you apply a layer of color, let it dry for a few moments, and then top with a coat of their Lip Shine gloss. If you decide to try Lip Ink, I do recommend picking up a tube of Lip Shine as well—I love the LemonMint flavor—but unlike the other type of long-wearing lipsticks, you don’t need to reply it multiple times over the day to keep the color from cracking off. It just moisturizes and adds a nice shine to the lips. Lip Ink also sells a remover for their product, as most cleansers won’t take it off—but I discovered that plain ol’ rubbing alcohol removes it with ease. I realize that this sounds very unglamorous and drying to boot, but as I said above, there is something in the color that keeps my lips nice and soft (and my lips definitely are on the dry side to begin with), and I’d rather save my pennies for another tube of color or shine.

Lipsense Blu-Red
Now, I will say that it appears as though Lip Ink has changed their formula slightly, as the lipstick isn’t quite as indelible as it was when I first started wearing it. I still prefer it to regular lipstick hands down, but I do wish they would go back to the old formula! This led me to another product though, a similar liquid lip color made by Lipsense. I ordered a tube of Blu-Red over the holidays to compare (I read that this is Christina Aguilera’s favorite), and I find that in terms of staying power, Lipsense beats Lip Ink soundly. Applied once in the morning, I don’t need to touch it up all day, though I do refresh the gloss after lunch. There are two things that I don’t like as well though—the smell/taste (a horrid fakey rose scent that unfortunately lingers), and the finish (it dries to a very tacky finish, though the gloss remedies this fairly easily.) But on the whole I’ve been very pleased and will most likely purchase this again (I’d like to try the Cranberry shade next, I think.)

Lip Ink Red
So, that’s my two cents on this subject—I’d highly recommend either of these products to anyone on the hunt for a long-wearing red lipstick!


xoxo,
Amanda Lee

We Can Do It!

A few months ago I worked with Hardwood Pinups on this iconic Rosie the Riveter image--he was doing a series of Rosies and asked if I wanted to be one of the models. Of course I said yes, as the "We Can Do It" illustration is one of the most enduring images of WWII, and I had never done a shoot with this theme. And of course, Mr. Hardwood is a fantastic and fun photographer to work with, so I was more than happy to work with him again! Last week he sent me the finished image, and ironically, it turns out the woman who was the face of the original Rosie had just passed away. I am sharing this picture as a tribute to her and all of the other Rosies who served our country.

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

New Year's Wishes

Happy New Year to all my followers--I wish all of you a wonderful and exciting 2011!

My Sweetie and I celebrated in a low-key fashion last night; his band was booked to play until 10:30 out at Pinnacle Peak Patio, and so we weren't able to take on the town until it was almost the new year. We did have a nice dinner at FEZ, and I got to wear my favorite Christmas gift from my Sweetie, Vivien of Holloway's aubergine satin sarong :-)

I have two resolutions for the new year--the first is that I aim to update my blog on a daily basis, or at least several times a week. I'm working on some weekly ideas that should make my blog more interesting for my readers, and I'm looking forward to posting each week! My talented sis has offered to help me by taking photos for me, which will be fab as my forte is really in front of the camera, instead of behind it! Also, my brother-in-law was able to help with some computer issues that were it making it a major pain to upload photos to my posts--a big thank you to him!

My second resolution is to really work at organzing my collection. I'm sure my collector followers can relate--when you get into collecting vintage clothing, knick-knacks or anything else, at some point your collection outgrows its home! So, my goal is to get my collection in order, paring down what needs to (read: keep a lookout for the eBay auctions I'll be posting--I'll be parting with some goodies) and figuring the best way to store the rest. Wish me luck, readers--I'm gonna need it! ;-)

What are your resolutions for 2011?

xoxo,

Amanda Lee