Stormy Weather

On Saturday I modeled in an informal fashion show for Matilda's Closet, at the Glendale Jazz and Blues Festival. Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy, which put a damper on the event attendance. The other models and I still had fun though, even as we braved the rain and hail! Here's a photo taken by Garry Wilmore; I'm wearing a 1950s red cocktail dress and Persian lamb wrap, both of which are for sale at the shop.

After the show, I couldn't resist trying on this 1950s Asian lounging set--isn't it the loveliest shade of green?



xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Scrub Me Mama (with a Boogie Beat)

Thought I'd share a clip (filmed by Doug Monce of Atomic Age Pictures) from the Centennial Fashion Show--my fave dance partner, David (he dressed as John Dillinger in the show), and I performed a short dance demonstration to the song "Scrub Me Mama (with a Boogie Beat)" to close the show. I hope you enjoy it!

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

Happy Birthday Glendale!

The city of Glendale just celebrated its 100th birthday as an incorporated city, and hosted a three-day affair in honor of this milestone. And what better way to party than by including Matilda's Vintage Closet’s "100 Years of Fashion" show?

The show, which featured 19 models and 50 outfits, was the biggest production the shop owners have put together, and included ensembles from the 1870s-1970s. It was a success and definitely well-received by the audience! So far, I’ve received a handful of photos—I’ve included a few here and will be sure to add more later!

xoxo,
Amanda


I'm wearing the Harlow ensemble--this is one of my favorite outfits for the show!

My dear friend Dawn, a talented and vivacious local artist, makes the best 20s gal! She really dances up a storm and shows off her charming personality when on stage :-)

My good friend Nikki also wears a 20s look in the show--isn't this royal blue frock a stunner? Nikki can really rock a cloche hat, too--I think she needs to wear them more often!

Co-owner Rose showed off her Hustle skills with one of the models in this wild 70s look.

Tokyo Girls in Action

A short clip from Friday's show, filmed by Twisted Manga--I'm wearing a 1940s sarong style dress in navy and yellow tropical print rayon (an early Matilda's Closet find of mine), along with sand-colored linen 40s heels, a yellow fakelite bracelet, and a pink and yellow double hibiscus in my hair.

I hope you enjoy it!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Tokyo Girls at the Phoenix Comicon

The Tokyo Girls performance this weekend was a complete success--our practice and dedication really paid off! So far, I have only received a couple of pictures from the shows this weekend. This one was taken by my good friend Garry Wilmore, who attended the Saturday performance. You can't see my whole outfit, but I wore a fab reproduction sailor outfit made by Allure Originals, along with a "dixie cup" sailor hat that belonged to my uncle's son. I'll be sure to post more photos as soon as I can!

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

Arizona Matsuri Festival

A few photos from the Tokyo Girls show at the Matsuri festival, which took place February 27-28. For this show, I wore a white cotton faille dress dating to the early 1940s, with multicolored 40s platforms and telephone cord purse, and red Bakelite jewelry. Our next Tokyo Girls show will be at the Phoenix Comicon at the end of May; I've never been to Comicon before--it should be quite fun!

xoxo,
Amanda

All photos taken by Zemnick Photographer

In the Mood

The Phoenix Art Museum’s current fashion exhibition is an amazing 1940s collection called In the Mood. The museum is also hosting a wonderful WWII lecture and event series in conjunction with the exhibit, the first of which took place last Wednesday. I was able to attend with several friends, and suffice it to say we had a grand time!

When I say the exhibit is amazing, I mean that the pieces on display are utterly droolworthy! With everything from killer platforms to striking cocktail dresses in the collection, it was hard to pull ourselves away; there were quite a few pieces I would like to have in my own closet! I am definitely planning on attending the other events tied in to this show, schedule permitting; with titles like “Rosie the Riveter and the Arsenal of Democracy” and “From Duty to Beauty”, how can I not go? If you happen to be in the area, do try to go!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Summer Wishes and an Update Promise

I must apologize for my lack of VLV follow-up; we had a grand time but I haven’t gotten any pics back yet. Of course I did bring my own camera, but I can never remember to use it. Plus, I spent much of the weekend carting around at least one extra bag (though I did try to behave when it came to vintage shopping, really I did!), which made it difficult to manage taking photos as well (indeed, I can be a bit of a klutz.) I will say that it was a fab weekender overall, and I hope to go back next year! I’ll also add that the fashion show was quite the fun experience, though I missed most of the show as the designer I modeled for was the second to last entry in the program, and we had to wait backstage until show time. I did meet some lovely ladies though, and saw many amazing designs! Stephanie of Dottie’s Delights is a real doll, and so talented! I daresay I could have taken home her entire collection—it’s truly amazing! Here’s one photo of the group, for now!

Anyway, since I’ve gone and disappeared for ages again (and with no excuse really, just been busy with work and such) I thought I’d do a little post on my fashion inspirations of the moment. A wish list of sorts, you could say! Soon I’ll follow with photos and a recap from VLV, as well as some updates on my recent sewing projects :-)


Because I think a gal can never have too many nautical fashions, a sailor dress or playsuit is most definitely on my season list.

I’m in search of fabric to make up this darling pajama set—something tropical, I think.

I’ve been lusting after these tooled wedges from Remix for ages. I have a near deadstock 40s pair in red, but I’ve gone through three vintage pairs of natural leather heels—for some reason these just don’t seem to last through one or two wears for me! So, I think a reproduction pair is in order, especially to wear with peasant blouses and skirts this summer.

A tie top and shorts set--I do have this set almost finished, so that will be ready to be put into summer rotation soon!

Another bolero from the wonderful Dixabilly was on my wishlist—she just made up this bolero for me in a cherry red shade. I’ve worn it three times already; as the weather heats up, the air conditioning in my office becomes more and more arctic. Having a sweater handy means that at least my arms won’t get frostbite!

I’ve also been on the search for a new snood, like this one—the seller is customizing this design for me, and I am excited for it to arrive! Snoods are wonderful for days when your hair refuses to cooperate, or when it’s sweltering and you don’t feel like fussing with it!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

P.S. Don't forget to enter the Name This Frock contest--there's only a few days left to do so! Those of you who've already entered have submitted some wonderful names--it's going to be hard to choose one!

Coming Attractions

I am excited to report that I will be modeling in the Viva Las Vegas fashion show this year, for the fabulous designer Dottie's Delights. This is actually the first year I will be attending VLV, and it will be an honor to hit the catwalk there, especially wearing the exquisite Dottie's designs!

Hope to see you there!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Technicolor Tokyo Girl

I just received several photos from the Tokyo Girls fashion show taken by official photographer Mark Zemnick. I'm quite thrilled with how they turned out, and I hope you like them too!

Tokyo Girls and a Military Show, Oh My!

This past weekend was quite busy for me—it was packed with two shows and two photo shoots!

On Friday I appeared in a TCCE Land of the Rising Sun Tokyo Girls fashion show, performing as a 1940s glamour girl along with six other models who represented other facets of Japanese fashion culture. The show was a brief teaser and networking event for an upcoming, full-length show in February, and we all had a lot of fun giving the audience a taste of fabulous fashion!

I wore one of my favorite WWII-era dresses, a cream and black rayon crepe cocktail gown studded in rhinestones and featuring a fabulous surplice bodice and figure-hugging skirt (found at Matilda’s Closet, of course). I wore it with a cream belt (borrowed from another 40s evening gown), nude fully-fashioned stockings (Magnolia Hosiery), black gloves, a black jersey tilt hat, and my favorite black velvet baby doll pumps. Rhinestone jewelry completed this look. (All photos copyright Zemnick Photography.)

The next day, I attended a military vehicle show and assisted fellow pin-up Brenda Lee during the military surplus auction. This turned out to be quite a bit of fun, and I think it is safe to say that the two assistants really helped in upping the bids *wink*

I wore the cheesecake Marine uniform V Vintage created for me, along with my favorite 1940s navy blue platforms. (All photos copyright Jensen Perspective Photgraphy.)

On Sunday, I had a fun shoot with Matt Carson, and on Monday I had a Valentine’s Day shoot with Atomic Age Pictures—stay tuned for photos from both!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee