Lazy Sundays at The Depot

The tall Mill Clock

Hi there all! So the PLM (platonic life mate) Lenore

and I went for lunch this afternoon and then decided to take a stroll through our favorite antique mall in Concord, NC. The Depot is a place I shop often; I have bought everything from furniture to clothes to decor there. It was an old mill and train station that has been converted into thousands of booths full of goodies! There is even a small lunch counter in the middle of the store!

Check out this fun Admiral TV!

Sigh, feels like home.

Look at this FAB trunk I found with a pin up girl in it!

Isn't she gorgeous!

All in all it was a fine and lazy Sunday afternoon; the only thing I bought was a vintage scarf with lady bugs on it! Well, onto the next thing. Tomorrow is Movie Review Monday....wonder which one I will pick?

Vickixoxoxoxo

When Vintage and Nerdom Collide!

Captain's take selfies too!

Hi there all....so many of you might know my love for vintage knows no bounds, but many of you might not be aware that I am a huge nerd! I love comic books, superheroes, Sci-fi, Fantasy....etc. One of my greatest loves is Star Trek; so what better way to combine two things I love than by making the vintage 1960's Scant Dress from the original series?

The "scant" dress in all its glory on Lt. Nyota Uhura. This is right in line with the 60's style of being super short, almost tunic like in style.  

A close up reveals intricate seaming, as well as letting us get a good look at her insignia patch (over the heart) and rank braids( at the wrist).

So after much research and finding the right braids (amazon)  and pattern and fabric I began my process....The pattern I was using, and for the life of me I can't find a link to it, was the original pattern. The pieces were not intuitively put together, so figuring it out was kinda crazy. Also, I didn't want to cut my original pattern so I traced it out onto paper first.

In the end though, it turned out amazing and I really love it. I made one for my PLM (platonic life mate) Lenore; who of course is my Vulcan first officer.

Lenore and I posing for our own original Star Trek series which we titled as "Armistice"

A great outdoor shoot after a local Con.

Possibly my favorite shot of this outfit! Taken by a friend of mine at HeroesCon 2016 in Charlotte.

I wanted to include a shot from the original series which shows and ensign in the gold scant dress. Here Captain Kirk shows his great 23rd Century attitude when someone questions having a woman on board, in the crew.

How do you get to cross your special interests into one another? Have a vintage or vintage inspired cosplay? If so, share below!

Thanks,
Vicki
xoxox

Keeping that Bombshell Blonde!

So many people seem to ask me about my hair; what do I use on it...how do I keep it looking so nice...etc. So here are my Tips and Tricks to keeping your Bombshell Blonde at it's very best!

Dazzling blonde!

So, I have been been this blonde (almost white) for ten years, with a short year and a half break when I went back to my so called natural color. Honestly I feel my best, brightest, and most sassy as a blonde....it is like my soul mate of hair colors. I actually do my own bleaching (which is up to you) salons work just as well but I can't keep paying people (every four weeks) for something I know I could do at home. Now if you are starting with bleach on already colored hair I would HIGHLY recommend going to a salon or stylist. When I reverted to blonde from a dark brown this last time I went to a professional. Now that it is just the roots (which bleach much better because there is no other color put into the hair, just it's natural color) I can do those myself. 

Yesterday in the office at work; you might recognize Miss Phoebe Nyx

I go to Sally's Beauty Supply and buy their Radical Bleaching Kit. It really works well and I have used it for years. What makes the saddest is when I see beautiful women with fried, orange, awful looking bleach jobs....and there are simple ways to avoid that:

1. Go to a stylist if you are not comfortable bleaching your own hair. Seriously if you are not comfortable or have no experience in coloring your own hair at home then there is NO SHAME in going to a professional.

2. Buy after treatments for your hair ( I use the Ion After Color Creme) This is a thicker than normal conditioner that will help restore moisture to your damaged hair.

3. Use a Purple Shampoo and Conditioner. Seriously! I use Shimmer Lights ( which is not an expensive brand) to "tone" my hair in shower. Purple is the opposite of yellow so the more you wash with a purple toned shampoo/conditioner the less yellow your hair will be. This is how I get my white hot blonde to be its best. A small warning, you can leave your conditioner on longer maybe a min. or two but if you leave it on longer than that you will start re-depositing color back into your hair (you will end up blue or purple).

Shimmer Lights Shampoo and Conditioner. Seriously this stuff is DARK Purple.

Color Wheel, just for reference.

Lastly I would like to say that no matter what hair color you have or want to have make sure to take care of your hair. I know doing a lot of vintage styles I can be really hard on my hair so I make sure to give it a break every now and then. All the hairspray and back combing and pinning can really take its toll. 

So, my Bombshell Bloggers....what are your tips and tricks for maintaining your mane?

Vicki

xoxo

Movie Review Monday : Hidden Figures

Hi there all! So for this week I would like to review the film Hidden Figures. I just recently had the chance to sit down and watch it with my mom. It was a slow weekend and it made for great vintage watching. For those who have either been living under a rock or have never heard of Hidden Figures; the film tells the story of three brilliant African American Women and their struggle in the male dominated world of mathematics in the 1960's. The film cuts tense scenes of protest and dealings with police officers with warm heart-ed humor and sensitivity. 

Title characters from left to right Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji Henson), and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer).

All three women portrayed in the film were actual engineers and mathematicians for NASA's Space Program in the 1960's. Taraji got to sit down for a chat with the REAL Katherine G. Johnson before filming began to talk about her experiences.


One thing I noticed and loved with the costuming choices for each lady really represented their individual style and did not look like some 'uniform' representing an era. Mary's clothing was a bit tighter, sexier....more va va voom befitting her personality;while Katherine's wardrobe seemed preppy and a bit closed up but still had personality. Dorothy, the mother hen type though with attitude, dressed in clothing that might seem basic but always had some sort of neat detail. Check out her outfit in the above picture...a solid column of green but the bow and brooch detail really do stand out. 

Now I have to mention that shirt waist dresses and the like were not uncommon in the 60's but they were also not the cutting edge of fashion either. These were more at home in 1955 than in 1961. It serves a purpose that though Katherine's clothes are in good shape they are in effect a bit older. 

The few scenes we see away from their work environment we can really see the personalities of these ladies shine through. Their chemistry and charm on screen makes for a few good laughs in a serious script. Mary had some lovely head scarves in her rotation, most of which were complimentary to her outfits but not Matchy Matchy. 

Another thing I enjoyed were all the jewel tones they put Katherine in while the rest of the NASA team was in stark black and white. It just serves the purpose of reminding the audience that she is seen as an outsider, as different, as less than.

Here are the actresses with their real life counter parts.

Rotten Tomatoes has the film listed as Certified Fresh at 93%! Many might not be aware that the source material (besides real life) was a book called Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly. She is quoted as saying about the differences between her book and the film:

"For better or for worse, there is history, there is the book and then there's the movie. Timelines had to be conflated and [there were] composite characters, and for most people [who have seen the movie] have already taken that as the literal fact. ... You might get the indication in the movie that these were the only people doing those jobs, when in reality we know they worked in teams, and those teams had other teams. There were sections, branches, divisions, and they all went up to a director. There were so many people required to make this happen. ... It would be great for people to understand that there were so many more people. Even though Katherine Johnson, in this role, was a hero, there were so many others that were required to do other kinds of tests and checks to make [Glenn's] mission come to fruition. But I understand you can't make a movie with 300 characters. It is simply not possible."

If you haven't had the chance to check out this great period film give it go!

Vicki
xoxo

My Classic Car Restoration Project

Hi there all. So long story short my dad and I share a love of classic cars. Dad owned upwards of 10 or more classic cars and drove them quite often. He loved, more than anything, British Sports Cars from the 60's.....that being said, my dad passed away in November of 2016 and the project car that we were working on has now sat for quite awhile. He got to the point where he couldn't work on it anymore and even though I know the basics (or he could explain something to me and I could do it) I can no longer work on it solo. My plan is to scour the area for good local places and finally get this beauty finished. Dad left me our project car, which was one he drove in the 60s and 70s....Let me introduce you to my 1963 Triumph TR-4 Convertible.

back driver's side....everything is backwards!

Under the dash, wiring.

Trunk lid is hanging out off to the side.

Look at that classic fender!

The engine isnt in bad shape.

Triumph Globe hubcaps, which I have FOUR, and they are very hard to find.

Passenger side and fender.

Look at this beauty! Also her color is called British Racing Green.

The new dash pad is one of the last things we did.

So, hopefully I will have her in a shop soon and can get her back on the road. This one is a sentimental project for me; bear with me as I'm sure posts for this will be few and far between.

Thanks again as always.

Vicki Vegas

xoxoxoxoxo

Vintage and Repro Shopping Day

Hi there all! So last night was Swing Dancing and today has been a shopping extravaganza! I will hopefully have the video for last night up as soon as I am done editing it. So, onto my shopping haul:

So there is a place here in Charlotte in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood called Buffalo Exchange. It is a trendy place where you can buy and sell old clothes and shoes and the like. They often have some neat vintage pieces; and stuff that will work for Rockabilly and Pinup.

I got these white snub toe style shoes by Jessica Simpson. $16

This Torrid dress is a fun print with a small crinoline hemline. $25

The rest of Plaza Midwood was having an outdoor market type thing this afternoon so I hit that up with a friend and found some vintage jewelry pieces for cheap!

Found this cute set for $5.00!

Look at these cute leaves in a style which reminds me of Coro or Lisner.

Vintage Black and White striped dress which I found at Kitchy Kool, a clothing store inside an antique mall call Sleepy Poet. I am removing the sleeves because they dont suit me personally.

Another cute find at Kitchy Kool, a shear scarf which should be perfect for doing head wraps!

After that we headed to Torrid where I picked up some cute navy shorts.

I got this fit and flare top in a fun floral print (I can also wear it to work!)

Last and certainly not least I got some black and white polka dot shorts which will be fun for pinup and rockabilly stuff.


All in all it was a wondrous shopping day and I really feel like these pieces are going to get alot of use. Please if you live in the area check out Plaza Midwood, check out The Sleepy Poet Antique mall, SHOP LOCAL.

Vicki Vegas
xoxoxoxoxo

Looks this week and some vintage buys

Hi there all!

I kinda realized the other day that I haven't posted any of my recent outfits or purchases. What kind of style blog am I? So here are a few things from this week:

Purchased this set of fun card suits in sequins! What glamour gal doesn't need more sequins!

This was a fun and springy look from this week. I paired this lime green top with navy pants, wrapped my head in a floral scarf and threw on some statement hoop earrings!

Saw this kitschy applique on Etsy.com and I had to have her! Snagged this for less than 3 dollars. I will most likely find a black skirt or sweater to stick her on!

Today's look is ALL Marilyn. Tousled curls with a true vintage grey cowl neck top and dutch print skirt.

Here is a look at the skirt, shirt combo. I wore my fabulous 4$ white wedges that I found at Value Village; however, one strap broke and needs to be re glued. So, white flats it is then!


When I head out to dinner and then Swing Dancing tonight I will change into my 40's style flats and frilly bobby socks. You should always wear flats for swing dancing, preferably ones that tie on or have a Mary Jane style strap.

Stay tuned for my upcoming video tonight!

Vicki Vegas
xoxoxoxoxo

Vicki Vegas' Tips for Flawless Skin!

Hey there Glamour Guys and Gals,

Today I am going to be giving you my tips for great skin. As we start to get deeper and deeper into Spring and then Summer I thought I would share my favorite tips about keeping skin clear and healthy. Ready?

1. Drink LOTS of water. I know people hear this all the time and even I don't get my "8 a day" glasses but drinking water is the key to making sure your skin is hydrated, full, and clear. Seriously, if you are worried about the quality of your skin the easiest and cheapest way to help is by drinking enough water.

2. Wear sunscreen! Skin cancer looks good on no one. The sun can also cause age spots, discoloration, sun burn and peeling. Have you ever seen an older lady who has clearly tanned her whole life? What does her skin look like? Soft, I bet not. You should try to put on sunscreen even in cloudy weather. Many makeup brands are now adding SPF to their foundations, and it is a smart way to go. What does it hurt to put on a little sunscreen?

3. Get plenty of Sleep. I know in our modern, go getter kind of world that getting a full 8 hours for most people seems impossible. Without enough sleep you will end up with puffiness, redness, dark circles and tired skin. I personally believe in a good life balance....stay out late one night? Get more rest the next day.

4. Find a good moisturizer. No skin post would be complete without saying that your skin needs hydration and a little help in the form of a good moisturizer. Don't get just anything either. go to your makeup counter or the like, and ask questions. Do some research. I personally use Renewed Hope in a Jar Dry.

5. Last and certainly not least: Listen To Your Skin. Everyone is an individual and listening to your body is very important. If you seem to be having dryer skin or patches of redness or even more breakouts than usual....listen to what your face/skin is telling you. You might need to seek the help of a doctor or dermatologist. Either way make sure you are in tune with your body. I tend to stand in front of the mirror at least once a day and take a long calming breath. Then I open my eyes and honestly access my face. "What's going on today/" I ask myself...

If you are having a bad skin day or even a bad skin week/month/year just remember that your cells are regenerating and that time really will help all things.

There you go my friends. I hope you found this helpful!!!

Vicki Vegas
xoxoxoxoxo

Friday Night Swing: Five Dollar Dance with Gottaswing Charlotte!

*whoops misspelled the street name, silly goose. It is spelled right below!*

Bring five dollars and your dancin' shoes for Gottaswing Charlotte's Five Dollar Friday Dance.

2101 Shenandoah Ave. Charlotte, NC 28205

"Relive the great Big Band Era from 1935-1955 with music from the likes of Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Cab Calloway and Louis Prima. Have a favorite song from this era? Email it to Info@GottaSwingCharlotte.com, and "Savoy" Joe Polsgrove will do his best to play it for you!

Admission is just $5. Doors open at 7 pm and the introductory swing dance lesson is from 7:30-8:30. No dedicated dance partner or dance experience necessary. We look forward to dancing with you!" ~From their event page on FaceBook