Moving Sale!

MOVING SALE! I got a job in North Carolina and now I have to move across the country. My gain is your gain- everything in my shop is 30% off until December 5th! Use the coupon code HAPPYMOVE.

Here's a preview of what is available right now:

Sweet Nothings: Women in Rockabilly Music

Janis Martin, 1956, Age 15

Image courtesy of the WRVA Collection, Library of Virginia

After 6 1/2 years of graduate school and much blood, sweat and tears, my Master's thesis "Sweet nothings: women in rockabilly music: LaVern Baker and Janis Martin" has been published and is available for download (free!) online through my university. It is 99 pages of rockabilly goodness, focusing on LaVern Baker and Janis Martin, of course.

Lewin-Lane, Stephanie P., "Sweet nothings: women in rockabilly music: LaVern Baker and Janis Martin" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. Paper 11. http://dc.uwm.edu/etd/11

The most exciting part is that I was granted permission to include transcripts of several interviews with Janis Martin, and her mother Jewel, that have never been available for scholarship. This was through the generosity of documentary filmmakers Beth Harrington (Welcome to the Club) and Elizabeth Blozan (Rebel Beat: The Story of L.A. Rockabilly).

Do yourself a favor and check it out. It's an easy read, if I do say so myself!

Shabby Apple Sale

Shabby Apple has a new line of clothing that I just adore! It's called Highclere Castle and it is glamorous, with a vintage flair. Kind of like Katherine Hepburn meets Marlene Dietrich.  Right now they are having a sale. Click the picture below to get 10% off.

Craftsy Classes on Sale until Sept 17

Just got an email today that Craftsy classes are on sale for $19.99 until Sept. 17th. So many rockabillies are DIYers so I thought I'd put this out in the blogosphere. Here are some of my faves:

Sew Retro Perfect Bombshell Dresses

Drab to Fab Furniture Upcycling

Product Photography Primer

Red Hot Plus-Size Rockabilly Dress

Modcloth has an adorable plus-size dress that is fun, flirty and RED. It's called the Singing Shirley Dress. The cut looks comfortable and conforming to your curves. At $49.99 the price can't be beat.

Sweet Revenge by Tart Deco

This dress would look super cute with this Tart Deco hairflower...

Vivien of Holloway Hiring

For any of my readers that live in London (or want to and need an excuse to move), the amazing vintage reproduction fashion company Vivien of Holloway is hiring! It looks like they need various positions filled, and they say they are looking for "candidates with a passion for vintage, a hard-working ethic and an open personality. We’re recruiting in many areas from office administration to the shop floor."

If I hadn't already spent $140,000 and the last 7 years getting two Master's degrees to be a librarian, I might think about it...

If you worked there, you would be seeing beauties like this all day!

Sin In Linen- Rockabilly and Tiki Linens

I just came across the Sin in Linen website today and it is to die for! Why sleep on everyday sheets when you can rock it up, right? I can't wait til I am done with graduate school and get a day job so I can buy some of these lovelies. They do have a sale section though, so maybe I don't have to wait.

They carry bedding, kitchen, home decor and bath items. They also have baby bedding! I also like that it is a woman-run business and they have a great tagline- "Try Something New in Bed!" Doesn't get any better than that...

Plus-Size Rockabilly

I put together a fun Etsy treasury today with some great plus-sized rockabilly items available right now. Its called Rock Your Baby and if you get any of the items, you surely will!

Rock Your Baby- Plus-size Rockabilly

Pin-up Playlist

I may have mentioned once or twice that I am now writing for the fabulous magazine Victory Girls, which is a vintage-lifestyle magazine based out of Madison, Wisconsin. My latest article is on 40s & 50s music to play while you get ready to go out on the town. I put together a playlist for people to listen to the tunes, and here it is:

Be a Part of Rockabilly & Country Music History

A while back, I did a post on the documentary Welcome to the Club, which is a film on women in rockabilly music, by Beth Harrington. Lately, I have been in contact with Beth about my Master's thesis on women in rockabilly music and she told me about this amazing new project she is working on called The Winding Stream. The documentary is an in-depth look at the Carter and Cash families and their music. If it is anything like her previous work, this film is going to be amazingly good.


Here's where you come in...

The documentary is in phase two of editing and they are raising funds through kickstarter. They need to raise $50,000 by the end of June to be able to move on in the project. There is something pretty special about the pledge perks that I want to point out to anyone thinking about pledging- if you pledge $50 you get a copy of Welcome to the Club, which is out of print and at $80 on amazon right now! I already have a copy and I'm thinking of pledging that amount just to get another one!

Rebel Beat: The Story of LA Rockabilly DVD Review

 

I picked up Rebel Beat: The Story of LA Rockabilly to use as a source for my Master's thesis and quickly fell in love with it! Chock full of interviews and archival material, this documentary not only covers LA rockabilly, but also a history of rockabilly overall, especially after the revival in the 1970s & 80s. The music selection is great and if I wasn't already in love with Big Sandy I would be after watching this film! I also love the inclusion of rockabilly culture and how it has affected new generations, even if just for fashion.

What's on the DVD you may ask? Here's a short blurb from the website that pretty much sums it up:

"Rebel Beat" interviews over 30 promoters (including legendary Rockin' Ronny Weiser of Rollin' Rock Records), musicians (including Glen Glenn, Ray Campi, Big Sandy, Dave Gonzales and Janis Martin), car customizers, DJs and dancers, plus features rare archival photos, vintage TV clips and music montages that highlight the fashion, cars, pomps, ink and dance moves of the pussycats and hound dogs of LA Rockabilly, a strange family who share the distinctly American bent to define reality on their own terms and an LA creativity for casting the past with the hand-picked heroes, making for one hell of a party.

You can go to the website for more in-depth coverage of what is on the DVD and to buy it. At $12 (including shipping) the DVD is a steal. The filmmaker Elizabeth Blozan (Betty B) is passionate about the material and an all-around great gal, so please support her efforts!

As an extra bonus, Betty B has made some outtakes available online. Here is my favorite:

Heyday Giveaway! (closed)

In the Heyday is offering one lucky person a £100 Heyday voucher! This is an amazing giveaway for anyone that loves vintage reproduction clothing and it's open internationally. Go to the blog post to enter. Ends April 1st.

Triple Victory Roll Tutorial

Arthelia's Attic posted about this video on facebook by Amanda Lee and I LOVE it! Just in time to practice for Viva Las Vegas 15. I almost wish I didn't have my hair cut into a 1920's bob last month.



There are more of these vintage-loving gems on Atomic Age Picture's youtube page. Also visit Amanda's blog The Call of the Jitterbug Doll.

Adorable Retro Aprons- Carolyn's Kitchen

Navy Petite Apron $56

I have been a fan of Carolyn's Kitchen for a while, but they just came out with a new line of adorable polka-dot aprons that I LUV! They even have matching garters. Make sure and sign-up for their newsletter for specials.

Vivien of Holloway 10% off

Peggy Lee Day Dress

Hey gals! Vivien of Holloway is having a Mother's Day Sale and will give you 10% off until March 19th with the code VOH_MOM2012. I bought the dress above during their last sale and I always get multiple compliments when I wear it. Here are a few of the dresses I have my eye on next:

Sarong Dress

50s Halterneck Luxury Dress

 

Viva Las Vegas Tickets Going Fast!

According the Viva Las Vegas facebook page, there are only 500 tickets left. Don't wait to buy 'em kids! Buy them here on the website.

Wish I could go, but alas I am still a Grad student and broke. Next year I will be there rockin' it up, so keep it warm for me. UPDATE- The 4 day tickets are sold out, but there are a few places that still have them for sale. You can see the list here.

Janis Martin's Rockabilly History Lesson

IN the course of looking for material for my Masters thesis on Janis Martin and Lavern Baker, I found this wonderful video of Janis Martin explaining how integral Ruth Brown is in the history of Rockabilly music. Apparently the video was recorded to be used in a documentary "Rebel Beat: The Story of LA Rockabilly" but the director couldn't get rights to the music. In the clip, Janis first sings a Ruth Brown song called "Long As I'm Movin'" and then demonstrates the similarities of how the main lick from that song translates into the standard Rockabilly lick used in "Good Rockin' Tonight," which she also performs. This is such a wonderful clip to me and really shows how invested Janis was in spreading Rockabilly music and its origins.

1912 Titanic Sewing Project

I have joined a new exciting sewing project sponsored by the Vintage Pattern Lending Library. With the upcoming 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, VPLL is tackling one of the Library’s archives largest projects- the scanning and digitizing of the patterns and magazines of La Mode Illustree – once France’s foremost publication of fashion.

We will be starting with the April 1912 Issues, which are the ones closest to the Titanic date.  Afterwards, we will be working through the rest of issues in the hopes of completing the full year by the end of 2012.Participants are split into groups and given random patterns to create using original instructions.

For more information, visit the project blog- http://vpll1912project.org/.Visit my 1912 page for updates on my projects.

Fabulous Vintage-style Wedding Dress on Sale

I haven't posted a vintage wedding post in a while, so I thought I'd make it up to you by posting about this lovely Sweetheart Corded Dress by J. Peterman. It is on clearance right now for $148 and they have all sizes available as of today, up to an 18 (43" bust- 35" waist). Isn't it adorable? Pair it with a cute bolero and it would work any time of the year!

Vintage Style Pom Pom Hat Tutorial

I just LOVE this adorable pom pom hat featured on Grosgrain! The tutorial is easy to follow and very visual. I am thinking that there are so many other materials one could use for this. Perhaps tulle or chiffon for a more elegant feel? Or maybe recycled sweaters?

Washing Vintage with Va-Voom Vintage

The absolutely charming Brittany at Va-Voom Vintage just posted a very thorough and informative blog post about washing vintage, including a breakdown by fabric. Do yourself a favor and visit the post here!