Buying and Selling Vintage.

I have started buying and selling vintage clothes and accessories. What else is a vintage gal to do while she is unemployed and searching for work but to model vintage and to buy and sell it too.


Currently I sell it at my house and it is through exclusive invatation and by appointment only - so far I have sold several items each time I have had people over. Which keeps me busy hunting for more, it's great because I like hunting for it and I enjoy getting it in fixing it up making a few calls and snap! Turn around time has been great. All in all it sells pretty well and that is also because I keep my prices very reasonable.


Then last Saturady I had my vintage at an open house, one of my photographers (Frank Desantis) has a studio at the Towne Storage Building and every year all of the artists have an open house prior to holiday time. There were 20 different artisans selling their wares there this year. I was invited to attend and I asked if I could bring my vintage to sell (because I like to think outside the box) and my photographer said that would be great because he was promoting and taking orders for his new vintage theme pin-up calendar. I am in this calendar as Miss April and Miss July so we were able to cross promote each other. I was so happy because I sold a whole bunch more vintage and met a new photographer to work with plus made some new friends along the way.


I will be showing and selling my vintage again at a burlesque show coming up in the first week of December so stay posted I will let you all know where and when my different venues will be plus I will still be showing on a regular basis at my house.

Interview with Matt Deckard of Matt Deckard Apparel.

Matt Deckard


Matt's client: Dave Vanian
of the punk band The Damned.


For this month I chose to interview Matt Deckard of Matt Deckard Apparel. I decided on Matt because of his keen sense of style and his wonderful sartorial knowledge. I really enjoyed doing this interview; he is both witty and charming. From the very moment I had him on the phone I felt like I was talking to a good friend that I have known forever.


Now for a little back ground on the Matt Deckard Apparel Company: Located in Orange County California and traveling across the US. The suits are bespoke and made by appointment only and require meeting with one of the tailors before ordering. Shirts are available bespoke or made to order in sizes. Go to the website at: http://mattdeckard.com to see the styles available to be custom made just for you from hundreds of high quality fabrics from around the world to choose from.


Now it's interview time:


BROOKSIE: Thank you so much Matt for participating in this interview, I really appreciate it. When did you first develop your sense of personal style?



MATT: It was during my high school years when I was about 15 years old, I really admired golden era movies and how the men in them dressed. I was inspired by the fit of the clothes back in the day of those movie stars, such as Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, and Humphrey Bogart.



BROOKSIE: How long have you been into things of the vintage nature?



MATT: I really started to get into vintage during the swing movement of the late 90's, even though I did not swing dance at the time, I loved the clothes and enjoyed spending time with others of a like mind. Soon after that I got into swing dancing because for me it was a natural progression. In this day and age I have noticed that the sense of occasion is lost and there is now a complete lack of dressing up in society.



BROOKSIE: Why specifically ( besides having a love for clothes) did you start your company Matt Deckard Apparel?



MATT: Due to a frustration with clothes fitting right, nothing off the rack fit well at all, so I decided to go with custom made suits and even they did not look, feel, or fit right. The tailors all seemed to have one shape fit all attitudes. Even though suits are still being made nobody was really doing suits in the styles of the bygone eras that had pretty much became a lost art. So, I found some tailors that were willing to work with me and to be trained to resurrect they suits of yesterday for the modern man of today. My suits are designed around each individual's anatomy, with comfort and a sense of balance being high priorities. Each suit really is personalized, accentuating the positive and minimizing the flaws. Integrity of craftsmanship and quality of materials are also very important to me and my company.



BROOKSIE: In one sentence describe your clothing line?



MATT: Suits for the man of action.



BROOKSIE: I know we have a few things in common and one of those things is a love of the 20's and 30's, why are you drawn to this particular time period?



MATT: The romance of those eras is a big part of it along with the clothing from that time - they seem to go hand in hand.



BROOKSIE: What advice would you give gentlemen on how to look sharp and well dressed?



MATT: Quality is always luxury but luxury is not always quality. For example go to one of your big name high dollar department stores. Take a real close look at a big name designer suit. Because of the name we equate it to luxury, yes this is true but take a closer look at the suit, what kind of fabric is it made out of is it thick or thin? Take a look at the construction of the suit and last but not least look at the fit, be honest how does it really fit? Does all of this luxury really equal quality? Then ask yourself what are you paying for, just a name or true quality?



BROOKSIE: When did you start Matt Deckard Apparel?



MATT: Late in 2007.



BROOKSIE: Here is one last question for you - what is your all time favorite thing to do?



MATT: Swing dancing of course.



This concludes this month's interview, thanks again Matt it was a pleasure interviewing you. Here is Matt's website again: http://mattdeckard.com.

Live Art Event!

I am going to be a model in a Live Art Event - here are all of the details:


Live Art, Draw, photograph, or paint our amaizing subjects!

Saturday November 7th 2009 1-4 pm at Floyd's Coffee (including beer and wine) all ages at:
110 NW Couch Portland Oregon 97209 (1st and Couch Skidmore Max stop).

With model preformers 11/07:
Mistress Lee (continuous contemporary costumed short pose)
Brooksie (3 hour pose with one of Mandy Apple's Mini Top Hats)
Host Frankie Tease

Anyone who reads this post who is in the Portland area is invited to attend.

Dia de los Muertos Celebration

So yesterday I did end up going to the dia de los muertos celebration and I will have to say that it was so incredibly awesome! They let me build a little altar in honor of my dad who passed away about a month ago (incase you missed the post that I made regarding that). It was very much a family oriented thing, there were so many children there, everyone from little babies all the way on up to teen agers. I went on my own which was alright, I met so many really neat people there. The staff members of the Someday Lounge (where the event took place) were so friendly and attentive. I also helped out with decorating the main altars on stage. I dressed up in a kind of a Spanish dancer kind of an outfit, I wore my hairpulled back into a chignon with a beautiful Spanish comb and a red rose. I marched/danced in the parade which was led by a Samba band, so it was hard to not dance. Then back at Someday they showed vintage dia de los muertos cartoons for the kids and had hot chocolate. I got my face painted like a skeleton. One of the ladies that works at Someday took some pictures of me and she said she would e-mail them to me. As soon as I get them I will download them onto my blog so all can see. If anybody is interested to learn more about dia de los muertos check out this link to this blog: The Mysterious Life of a Metropolitan Housewife, she gives a great explanation of the tradition: http://living-vintage.blogspot.com/2009/11/all-souls-day.html

Have a Happy Halloween Everybody!

This year I have personally decided not to celebrate Halloween and to celebrate dia de los muertos instead. This will be my second year doing this. Last year I made a dia de los muertos altar with a paper mache' skeleton (Esperanza) and a paper mache' red devil (Julio) in my studio apartment and I had crepe' paper skeletons hanging around, candles lit up and I made some collages in honor of the tradition also. I proceeded to go around Portland taking pictures of other altars around town and added them to my collages.

This year I am going to a community dia de los meurtos celebration on Nov. 1st at the Someday Lounge in NW Portland. They will be starting off with making sugar skulls, building a community altar, then a parade from down town to old town, costumes, live music (a few different bands - one which is leading the parade), movies, tamales, and hot chocolate! Sounds like my kind of festaval. I can't wait for tomorrow to come!

Brooksie goes to the largest antique show in America!

Yesterday I went to the Palmer Wirf's Portland Antique Show with a couple of my vintage pals. Palmer Wirf's Portland Antique Show is America's largest antique and collectable show. It is located at the Portland Expo Center and it happens three times a year, in October, March, and July. I try to go at least twice a year. July is probably the best because not only do they have three halls inside filled to the brim they also have about just as many booths set up outside. This year they had 1026 booths all crammed together in two halls.

Every time I go I dress up in full on vintage attire which is not really anything new for me, most days I get dressed up in vintage attire. I went with two very dapper gentlemen also dressed up in vintage suits. Every time we go to this show people fawn all over us and tell us they love that we dressed up. The vendors usually end up giving us a discount because they want us to buy from them.

Sorry I do not have any pictures but I can describe what I was wearing... A British tweed (brown and cream, trimmed in chocolate brown velvet-I would say that it is post war either late 40's or early 50's) ladies suit, skirt and jacket. I had on sheer seamed stockings that are just hair darker then nude (which is great for wearing with fall tones) with a black seam and cuban heel with that I had on my couture Donald J. Pliner aligator repro 1940's peep toe pumps. I wore my hair pulled back into a chignon with my bangs rolled under and I have a pair of cute earings that are perfectly round and they match the chocolate brown velvet trim of the suit.

I bought this tweed suit last July at the antique show when it was about 90 degrees out and nobody wanted to even think about wool tweed except for me (even though I was sweating at the show I knew one day I would be very, very cold again because I get really cold very easily) they were selling the suit for $15.00 because for one it was wayyyy out of season. I asked if they would take $10.00 because I would have to have the jacket altered. They said yes...well, when I went to pick it up from my lady who does alterations about a week and half ago she said the suit was a most excellent find (she had no idea what I had paid for it) but she had said that it was made with couture techniques which means it is of the utmost highest in qaulity! I love the lable is says: Exclusive British Tweed tailored by Handmacher. I got so many compliments on my outfit and so many questions, like I do every time that I go.

While I was there I picked up a few very nice things: 2 pairs of Givinchy seamed stockings (nude with a nude seam - never been worn, still with box and stickers on the stockings), a very cute small red velvet 40's/50's hat with a cute little embellishment on it, a beautiful 1940's black velvet skirt with rhinestones and a black embroidered small rope like pattern that is on the front only and goes from the waistband down a little more then half way down the front of the skirt... the skirt has a tear in it so it will have to be taken up some which is ok because I think it is a little long anyways plus this skirt will go perfect with a top that a lady that I know gave me a couple months ago - the top is 1940's black rayon with buttons down the back and short sleeves and it also has rhinestones in a diamond pattern on the chest right in the center with the same rope style embroidery, she gave it to me because it does not fit her anylonger and she knew I would appreciate it because I am always wearing vintage. The next thing I got at the show is a pair of super cool 1950's cat eye sunglasses they are a really pretty pearly green color like a cross between a jade and an emerald they have green lenses and have rhinestones up in the corner of each cat eye. Then last but not least I got a very pretty vintage red (my favorite color) glass bead choker (the beads are very dainty pretty - not a big chunky 70's choker more like a pretty 40's or 50's one) it is hand knotted in between each bead, the bead sizes are varigated to go from the smallest in the back to the biggest in the center plus it has a couple of rhinestone rondelles in there also. Hmmm it looks like I have a theme going on this time....40's/50's velvet, rhinestones, and jewel tones. I don't think you can beat that!

Interview with the lovely retro pin-up model Mandy Apple.

I contacted Mandy Apple this month because she makes these cute little top hats and I wanted one for a shoot. So, she invited me to Kelly's Olympian (Sunday the 11th) in down town Portland because there was an event going on and she was going to have her hats there for show and tell and sell, of course. Her persona online in the pin-up world is dynamic and I want everybody to know that in real life she is an absolute living doll!

Here is my interview with her:

BROOKSIE: So, Mandy how long have you been a retro pin-up model?

MANDY: I had my very first shoot in March of 2007 (just over a year and a half), all though for some reason people seem to think I have been doing it for much longer.

BROOKSIE: Who or what inspires you?

MANDY: GO-GO Amy of course! She just takes my breath away. My honey purchased a weekend pin-up class birthday held at one of my favorite Rockabilly/Pin-up stores ever, Cherry Red in Salem Oregon. The first day was the how to's of pin-up such as hair, make-up, wardrobe, props, etc... all brought to you by the best red headed, burlesque performers, seamstress, extraordinaire. The second day was a whirl wind of girly madness, I walked in the door to be whisked away into hair, make-up, wardrobe and I endured one of the most embarrassing moments ever! Only because I had never been made up to that extreme before, especially in front of a camera but, as I warmed up, it truly was a turning point and I honestly fell head over heals in mad LOVE with everything vintage. After the class I purchased some books and spent a lot of time in the library to get the looks and outfits just right.

BROOKSIE: What inspired you to make your mini-top hats?

MANDY: My get away is my bedroom where I can get creative with sewing outfits and coming up with ideas for shoots. One day I was looking for the perfect hat for a burlesque looking outfit I made. I went to every craft and fabric store and just could not come up with anything. I finally went back to the big fabric department type store and asked if they had anything different. She pulled out a mini top hat from behind the counter and I fell in love with the idea. Knowing I did not like the cheap look that it had I gave it back to her and I grabbed some blue sparkly fabric that matched my out fit and headed home. To my room I went, I made the first hat out of cardboard, it worked very well for the shoot, light weight, easy to decorate, then as I went home and kind of tossed the hat down in exhaustion from the shoot, I realized cardboard just is not going to work. I have experimented for a while with other products but now I use a durable laminated material, that I cut out using my own pattern I made. I shape each piece then I cover each piece with fabric of choice. I then construct all the pieces into one of the cutest little hats ever. Decorating them now that is a breeze, I just go with whatever I feel, unless I have a custom order.

BROOKSIE: How long have you been making these wonderful little hats?

MANDY: About six months.

BROOKSIE: Who does your awesome pin-up hairstyling and make-up?

MANDY: I usually do my own hair and make-up if it is a vintage/pin-up shoot but if it is anything else, funky or edgy then someone else has to come to the rescue.

BROOKSIE: Do you have any words of wisdom for any wannabe retro/vintage pin-up models out there?

MANDY: Start younger than I did! Tehehe, I am now 30 and I am the old lady in this industry. Study what you like and do it right. Practice, practice, and really what they say is very true, if the pose does not hurt, it is not looking right... arch HARDER!

To check out Mandy's mini top hats go to: http://www.modelmayhem.com/applesminitophats.