Old-School Veronica Lodge Rocks A Lady Tie

I was browsing through Archie’s Sunday Finest a few weeks ago and stumbled upon this awesome illustration of Veronica in a black Lady Tie! It totally made my day. I also discovered that my style is basically a complete imitation of late-40s-early-50s Ronnie Lodge. I will post more illustrations of her awesome outfits from Sunday’s Finest soon. They are pretty incredible.

I also recently stumbled upon this slightly newer (but still old-school) Archie panel featuring a more goth Veronica, and again, it reminded me a lot of my own style (further evidence of my unbeknownst Ronnie style theft). Notice Archie and Jughead being total tools per usual.

♥ Veronica Forever ♥

Vroom! Vroom!

[Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4]

Badass Babes in Bomber Jackets

[photo source]

“Six U.S.O. Girls wear A-2 jackets belonging to the 90th Bomb Group, a.k.a. “Jolly Rogers,” under a B-24 bomber.”

Read more about the history of bomber jackets here.

Bad Ass Style Inspiration: Suspenders

I’ve always wanted to pull off suspenders, but I just can’t figure out how to do it. I think this may stem from the fact that I really don’t like wearing pants. Even though I wear dark denim jeans now and then, I really feel more comfortable—more like myself—in a skirt or a dress. I can’t help but be a little jealous of how awesome and badass these ladies look in their trousers & suspenders:

Maybe what I need is a pinafore like this one:

To be continued …

[Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4]

Drum Fever

I have been in love with vintage drums since I was a teenager. My first kit—the kit I learned how to play on—was a cobbled together set that I slowly pieced together one drum and cymbal at a time over the course of about a year. The heart and soul of that kit, though, was a vintage oyster shell Slingerland 26” Radio King bass drum. My best friend Tasia and I dreamed constantly about finding the matching kit to that thing. We were really obsessed, and that obsession lead to other vintage discoveries—Rogers, Gretsch, Ludwig and Pearl.

Here in Portland we have a really incredible vintage drum shop called Revival that is filled with so many swoon-worthy kits. This is the store that Tasia and I dreamed about as teenagers. It’s the closest thing to getting into a time machine and going to the shop pictured above. It was at Revival that I found my new kit—this bad boy from the 1960s:

that has these amazing red oyster pearl wraps:

Yep! That’s right—I’m the proud new owner of a gorgeous vintage drum set. I think I’m in love!

[Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4]

Bad-Ass Style Inspriation: Tuxedo Love

[Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Bad-Ass Vintage Street Style

[photo source]

Some badass vintage street style to kick-off your Friday on the right note.

Time Machine Lust: Café de L’Enfer

[Photos from Here]

Le Café de L’Enfer was a Hell-themed café in Paris’ red light district, created in the late 19th century and operating up until sometime around the middle of the 20th.

A hot spot called Hell’s Café lured 19th-century Parisians to the city’s Montmartre neighborhood—like the Marais—on the Right Bank of the Seine. With plaster lost souls writhing on its walls and a bug-eyed devil’s head for a front door, le Café de l’Enfer may have been one of the world’s first theme restaurants. According to one 1899 visitor, the café’s doorman—in a Satan suit—welcomed diners with the greeting, “Enter and be damned!” Hell’s waiters also dressed as devils. An order for three black coffees spiked with cognac was shrieked back to the kitchen as: “Three seething bumpers of molten sins, with a dash of brimstone intensifier!” —National Geographic

Incredible! I am amazed and delighted at all the thought and attention to detail that went into this marvelous &  meticulously designed experience. It’s apparent that somebody had a vision—and went all out to make something unique and totally bad-ass!

Currently Coveting: 1940s Spider Shoes

Aren’t these vintage suede peep-toe shoes amazing? They are lovely in brown, but I maybe someday I will find pair in black and they will fit my feet perfectly. I can dream, can’t I?

Spotted on Pinterest via Typical90sChild.

Vintage Style Crush: The Teddy Girls

With their slicked-back quiffs and tailored jackets, John Lennon’s teddy girlfriends in Sam Taylor-Wood’s biopic Nowhere Boy (2009) are the rebellious antidote to the boys’ mouthy machismo. Teddy girls were the first British female youth group, and their rebellion has until recently gone quite undocumented. But with Nowhere Boy and an exhibition in 2006 called “The Bombsite Boudiccas,” which featured pictures Ken Russell took of London Teddy Girls in 1955, film and photography is shining a light on this bangin’ girl tribe.

Instead of getting pissed and causing trouble, Teddy Girls caused a sensation with what they wore, which was a fastidious combination of 50’s rockabilly and haute couture, resembling Edwardian-era fashions. Girls combined pencil skirts and rolled-up jeans with tailored jackets, often adorned with velvet collars or cuffs, flat shoes, clutch bags, doo-rags and elaborate quiffs. Smoking, riding bikes, and kissing boys was the extent of the rebellion, but they sure looked good doing it.

—Betty Swallow Blog

[Photos Source]

I stumbled across this wonderful discovery via Alex’s lovely Pinterest page.