The Hotel Congress Incident

Two weekends ago, I attended Tucson's Dillinger Days with my friends Veronica, Lana, and Doug. The event, known as the "Hotel Congress Incident," is one we like to go to—the Congress is always a treat to see, even if the event festivities drag on a bit. Mostly, we enjoy seeing the turnout of fabulous vintage cars, checking out the other attendees' ensembles, and sneaking in a bit of vintage shopping.

This year, I outfitted my two best pals in retro clothing from my wardrobe. I'd just received a package from the fabulous NudeeDudee, and the two tops she sent were perfect for a 30s look! I wore her navy blue and white striped sailor top, paired with a retro red skirt borrowed from Veronica and blue 40s heels. Veronica wore the gingham wrap blouse with a blue skirt from her closet, and a vintage bluebird pin borrowed from me. Lana wore Jitterbuggin's delightful green and white floral feedsack blouse, with tan 50s wool pencil skirt that I thought had a bit of 30s flair to it and red accessories.

After lunch at HUB Restaurant and Creamery, we headed over to Razzle Dazzle Vintage. I did my best to restrain myself (by visualizing the immense sale pile occupying my guest bedroom) and came home with lovely 1950s jacket accented with beaded "fireworks" designs, a yellow satin late 1930s blouse, and red 1940s-50s box purse trimmed with white saddle stitching. Not too shabby and still within the allowance I gave myself!

After an hour or so at the store, we were all shopped out and headed home. Of course, as Lana and I are big coffee drinkers, we stopped at drive through coffee shop for a caffeinated treat. I went with the cherry cordial frappe, which turned out to be a sweet way to end the afternoon!

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

Dark Alley

Atomic Age Pictures and I recently partnered up with the fabulous Blue Velvet Vintage to model some of her newest dresses. The first piece I modeled is the divine Courtney Coat Dress by Trashy Diva, a swingy, double-breasted design that can be worn both as a coat and as a dress. It features a wide portrait collar and fitted three-quarter sleeves, and is made from a satin finish stretch cotton. The Courtney is the perfect lightweight coat, and can be dressed up or down. It also has the fabulous distinction of being worn in a episode of True Blood.

To get in the Halloween spirit while playing up this dramatic piece, Doug and I decided to create spooky noir scene straight out of a 1940s film.--I'm quite pleased with the way we captured the essence of the Courtney!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Happy Anniversary, Able Grable!

The Betty Amanda, the frock that started it all!