Rockabilly Radio

Hey there Ducks and Dolls! Forgot your ipod? There is a streaming site of just Rockabilly music called Rockabilly Radio. I've been listening to it a lot lately while I have been packing for my move.

50,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong

Okay, maybe I'm not Elvis and I don't have 50,000 fans (yet) but I did hit the 50 mark! As promised, I pulled a random name from my 50 followers for a special treat and the name pulled from my brown derby hat is.........

[The original winner did not confirm and a new name was pulled. I will post it here when the win is confirmed...]

What is the special prize?

A $10 gift certificate towards anything in my online etsy store Tart Deco!



Keep signing up blog readers because once I hit 75 followers I will be having a big, BIG vintage giveaway that you don't want to miss!

Find Your Man

Joe Bonomo was one of the world's strongest men and grew up with Turkish Candy wizzes as parents, yet he wrote a string of Beauty and Charm booklets in the 50s. While I would take much of his advice with a grain of salt I still love finding tidbits from his books online. They have great pictures and show a side of rockabilly lifestyle that is just nifty!


One of my favorites is the booklet entitled "How to Find Your Man."  The very cool blog Beauty is a thing of the past has some scans from it and it is a good read.

What's on Sale? 2 Dresses and a Top

This cute little sundress is considered junior-sized, but is available in plus sizes up to a 44" bust. The best part? It is $34.99. Can I get a what, what?!? Available in red and blue plaid on the PacificPlex website.

Noodle around on their site and find some other gems for a similar price, like this Black & White Chiffon Ruffle Dress. Also $34.99, this dress screams Hollywood cruise to me.








One last deal.This 50's Rockabilly Polka Dot Top is.....wait for it..... $19.99 and goes up to a 48" bust!

I have a feeling I will be ordering from this site soon. If anyone orders or has ordered from them, please let us know the quality and fit of the clothes because these deals are almost too good to be true.




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Blog News, Giveaway & a Special Treat!

Hey there readers! There are some exciting new things that will be happening over the next week or so! If you haven't noticed yet I have started to do some small modifications to the Tart Deco blog. Some of this is based on your input from the survey and some is just out of necessity to streamline the look of the blog and make it easier for my hip readers to find things.

So far most of the changes have been in my sidebar area. I have combined and/or reworded some of the blog labels to keep like things grouped together (especially wedding posts) and cut down on the space they took up. I moved a few sections around to make it easier for people to follow or subscribe and I plan on updating my amazon music and book boxes more regularly.

If you haven't added my blog yet you may want to do it soon because I will be hosting a BIG giveaway when I hit 75 followers (hint- think vintage domestic goddess package). Tell all your friends! As a special added bonus I will be giving away an extra prize to one of my loyal readers (picked by random) who signed up before I hit 50 followers. I am at 43 right now, so hurry up and add me!

Orange Poppy Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!! (closed)

Orange Poppy Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Grosgrain blog has done it again! She has picked a unique and beautiful shop to highlight and host a giveaway called Orangepoppy. The accessories are incredibly glamourous in an understated way and would look great with a vintage dress or wedding gown (hint hint brides!). Even if you don't enter the giveaway, visit the Orangepoppy shop. My favorite so far is the Red Lipstick necklace. Her work has such a Belle Epoque air to it as well and these accessories work for many time periods.

What's on Sale?

Even though the poll is still open so I can't be 100% sure, every single person so far has said they want me to highlight rockabilly items for sale online. So I have decided to add a weekly post called "What's on Sale?" that highlights a few items I feel are good deals for rockabilly folks. Chances are I will lean a little more towards women's clothing as the majority of my readers are female, but I will make sure not to ignore the fellas as my beau hunk needs some textile loving too :)

My first spotlight item is super special to me as one of my bridesmaids wore this dress (with a few modifications made by me) in my wedding. It is a dress from Torrid called the Black and Red Plaid Secretary Dress. Right now it is on sale for $50.98 and they still have sizes 16-20 left.

The dress is comfy as it has a slight stretch to the skirt. As you can see from the picture of my bridesmaid, I added a red organza ruffle to the bottom of the skirt for extra sass. I also added in some triangle panels to the skirt to make it just a little more full for dancing and movement. This dress is super cute any way you look at it, so if you are a curvy girl, get one asap!

Don't like plaid? Get it in Black and White too for just a little more ($68) in sizes 12-26. Paired with a colorful stretch belt, this can be hot and cool at the same time. (Why am I craving a McDLT now?!? OK, I just dated myself...)

Vintage Fruit Bracelet Giveaway (closed)

This adorable vintage 50s fruit bracelet is being offered in a giveaway on the delightful Tales of a Retro Modern Housewife to celebrate their 150th blog follower, so they must be doing something right! This blog is chock full of fun vintage tips and lots of photos. So if you haven't come across it yet in blogland, now is a good time to start reading.

Vintage Dream

Since I was a little girl I have had dreams about finding secret closets in houses or compartments in attics that house vintage dresses all in my size. Last night I got as close to that as I ever have! My husband and I recently started the process of moving from our cluttered one-room apartment to an upper in a house built in the 1880s. We also get the entire attic to ourselves which runs the span of the house. Unfortunately there is quite a bit leftover from prior tenants up there and my niece and I decided to go through some dubious looking boxes last night before we threw them out "just to be sure."

Am I glad I did! I was able to find a few bags full of vintage clothing and linens that I may be able to save or repurpose, including 50s shirt dresses. Unfortunately they are all tiny, tiny sizes- so no luck with that part of my dream. Once I launder them and get them in wearable condition I will put them in my store and post about it here.

One item I will most likely not sell is an Art Deco drop-waist flapper dress made in peach chiffon crepe with a handkerchirf skirt trimmed in lace (similar to the middle dress in the picture). It has flutter sleeves which unfortunately are ripping in the armpits (one of the reasons I will probably keep it) and a side seam that is closed with snaps and hooks. There is no label, nor is there any indication there was one, so I believe this is a homemade dress, especially because much of it is hand-sewn. My goal is to restore it and frame to put in my sewing room. I am in the process of taking pictures and will post them as soon as I can.

Step one in restoration is washing it. The material is fragile, but it has a distinct odor and needs to be laundered. I actually think it would be worse to not wash it as whatever is on it is stiffening and breaking down the fibers of the material. I am still researching different laundering options, but my instinct is to handwash in room temperature water using a small amount of woolite (or silk detergent if I can get my hands on it). I don't trust a dry cleaner to be able to handle this dress, unless I took it to a specialist which I think may be a little overkill in this case. The dress is amazing, but not unique enough to warrant an excessive amount of money, plus my instincts tell me it isn't necessary.

If I try to handwash, I will use towels underneath the dress to lift it out of the water when washing and rinsing so I don't put excess strain on the material. I will also add a small amount of vinegar to the rinse water to neutralize any leftover soap. Then I will sandwich between two towels to roll out excess water and let dry flat on yet another towel. Once the dress is dry I plan to let it hang on a padded hanger to let it aerate and see what shape it is in. Hopefully this will be enough to soften up the fibers again and get the smell out. If not I will attempt a second washing with a little more detergent and a longer soak time. If this still doesn't work, I may stop here as I don't think the dress will survive an Oxyclean bath. I will try to post after each step to let you know if my instincts are correct :) Wish me luck!