Happy New Year!!! New Year, New Blog!!!

So... here it is. One of my New Year's resolutions (although I'm not really a resolution type of girl). This blog. I've been wanting to start one for some time and here is my big chance. Hopefully I can keep it up on a regular basis. Only time will tell I guess.

Since it's my first post I thought I would start by telling you a little bit about myself and what's inspired me to "go vintage". This post is also for people who know me and have noticed my recent...ummm... change. So here we go. Brace yourself, as this may be quite long...

Well. A little about myself. There really isn't much to tell. I'm 31 and live in Brooklyn, NY. I'm originally from the south (Louisiana) but moved here because I'm a dancer. And now a dance teacher. Mostly ballet. I have been with my "Honey" (trying to keep some things private lol) for 10 years now and we're more in love today than when we first met. I know that's a little cliche but its true.  Random fact: I have, a probably, unhealthy addiction to Christmas and anything related to it. Just thought I would put that out there.

Now comes the point where I explain my seemingly new obsession with all things old. If you knew me growing up you may realize that the obsession is not really all that new. My mother is also a dancer so therefore I grew up on musicals, Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn. I LIVED for Nick-at-Night (now TVland lol) as a kid. I would stay up well past my bed time watching "Mr. Ed", "The Donna Reed Show", "My Three Sons", "I Love Lucy", The Dick Van Dyke Show"... well you get the idea. I would watch the same episodes over and over, learn the dialog and try to imitate the women I saw on them. I think I was the only 8 year old who thought Lucy's dresses were Divine and wished she could see what they looked like in color. I loved everything from the movies, to the music, to the fashion of the 1950s.

My love of old times continued through my teen years but was not as prominent. I still preferred old movies and musicals to the newer ones, but being a teen you try to fit in as much as possible. And then, I was considering a career in dance so I spent most of my time and energy eating, breathing and sleeping ballet!

Fast forward a few years to my 20's. I never really felt pretty in my 20's. My self esteem wasn't the best, even after meeting "Honey". I tried all the cute clothing trends I could but although, thanks to my dancer's body everything fit well, I wasn't comfortable in what I was wearing. I felt that everyone looked better, had better hair, did their make up better and were in general more attractive than I was. It was the most frustrating thing ever. I would go shopping for hours and come home with nothing because nothing interested me.

Now jump ahead 10 years later to age 30. I was online trying to figure out what to wear to "Honey's" and my 10 year anniversary. I knew I wanted something girly. So I started researching and somehow came upon Whirling Turban. Whirling Turban, if you never heard of it, is this MARVELOUS clothing company that specializes in vintage reproduction clothing and wedding dresses. They were sooooo beautiful. I was hooked. Obviously, being a ballet teacher, I can't afford Whirling Turban prices but I was hooked. I started searching for 1950s style dresses. Found one, then I thought... I should match my hair and makeup to the dress.

When the dress came I loved it! I never felt prettier! I decided to keep it going after the party to see if I really liked it or if it was a fluke. And low and behold I LOVED it! I think the mid century look suits me. I love pin curling my hair and trying out victory rolls. I love shopping at vintage and thrift stores. Not only does it save a lot of money but I always love what I buy. No more H&M and the such (although, I still dig Topshop). I like to say that I'm fashionably out of fashion. I don't try to "keep up with the Joneses" because I march to the beat of my own drummer. And it's fun. I'm relatively new, so I'm still building my wardrobe. I have a LONG way to go but I'm having fun along the way.

Now this doesn't mean that I've taken on all aspects of mid century life. I'm decidedly modern in almost every other aspect of my life. I'm a VERY liberal girl. I LIVE for drag queens and horror movies! I took what I like about vintage life and threw the rest away lol! (We all know that 1940's and 50's life for the average African American was not always a picnic.) I'm still working on "Honey" about getting vintage style furniture for the apartment. I may have to compromise on that one though.

So what can you expect from the blog??? Well, anything that interests me that I think may interest others.  Hopefully, when my wardrobe fills out, I can start fashion posts. I also want to have little history tidbits and photographs from bigone eras.  Also recipes... since I LOVE baking!!

There it is in a nutshell. My life. I know this was super long and I probably left some important things out but in the words of the great Scarlett O'Hara "Tomorrow... is another day".  I'm still working on the look of the blog so bare with me. Also expect loads of pictures in later posts!!!

Until next time...

xoxo
LaToya