April Links To Love

April 30, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, Blog Links to Love, Old Hollywood Articles, Marilyn Monroe

It's been a while since I have compiled a list of interesting links for you all to read. I have found quite a few really cool ones like 16 Leave it to Beaver Secrets and one about a wedding gown made from the bride's husbands parachute from WWII.

I also found the link about Marilyn's London Portraits to be exquisite and a bit haunting. I can't help but wonder how anyone could be that physically beautiful and she really was.

I hope you enjoy what I have found and let me know which links you enjoyed the most.

A Vintage Nerd, Blog Links to Love, Old Hollywood Articles, Sophia Loren







A Vintage Nerd, Blog Links to Love, Old Hollywood Articles, Marilyn Monroe







Vintage New York: Automats

April 21, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, Automats, Vintage New York

What is a Automat? An Automat is like a combination of a fast food cafeteria and a vending machine all in one. Unfortunately, the last one that existed in New York City closed in April 1991. Can you just imagine taking your lunch break from a busy day at the office and walking to your local Automat and putting in some coins to get your fresh, warm meal all ready for you to eat? I think this system sounds so nifty.

At the beginning Automats only accepted nickels, so you could purchase a hamburger for a nickel or bacon and eggs for two nickels. Not only were they affordable meals but the perk for customers was that they were able to see what they were going to buy. All you had to do was drop your nickel in the slot, turn the knob, lift the hinged window and there was your meal.

To me, the Automat was like a grown ups cafeteria. Proper ceramic plates, cutlery that isn't plastic, and the feel that you are eating in a nice restaurant yet you were not breaking the bank. Fast and affordable. What is not to like?

A Vintage Nerd, Automats, Vintage New York
A Vintage Nerd, Automats, Vintage New York
A Vintage Nerd, Automats, Vintage New York
A Vintage Nerd, Automats, Vintage New York
A Vintage Nerd, Automats, Vintage New York

Pouring your own freshly brewed coffee into a nice ceramic mug is a rarity in our Starbucks world. The Automats were indeed something special. Now if only I could go back in time and tell my 15 year old self to get on the train and head to the Automat before it gets shut down. Darnit!

A Vintage Nerd Supplementary Reading: 


AVN Novelty Handbag Picks for Spring

April 15, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, Kate Spade Novelty Handbags, Novelty Handbag Lookbook

I think adding cute to your wardrobe has always been a dreamy thing to do for any girl at any age. Kitschy is cute and fun and stylish. It adds the pop to your little black 1950's dress or that conversation piece that makes others take notice.

We are all guilty of searching endlessly for vintage novelty printed skirts, dresses, fabric, and accessories. Finding that piece that perhaps only a small handful of people in the world owns is very exciting.

I honestly think that is why in the fashion industry unique lines like Vivetta, Orla Kiely, and BOB by Dawn O'Porter are priced so highly is because they want you to feel as thought not everyone will be able to snag these pieces, therefore you will continue to stand out fashion wise. I get it. I do.

Ironically those three companies style their clothing with a modern 1960's twist and truly their items are gorgeous. But until I win the lottery I will just continue to admire them and drool over their pieces from afar.

Kate Spade and Betsy Johnson are designers that I am more familiar with and although they are not known to be on cheap end of the spectrum they do often have reasonable sales. I do know that when you order from Kate Spade they always include a coupon for you to use on your next purchase which I find to be really cool.

I am sharing with you today some really good quality kitschy handbags that will add that bang you're looking for. Although some are pricey, I can attest that they are very good quality and pieces that will last you years and years to come. So when you cannot find cool vintage novelty, kitschy handbags you can turn to Kate Spade and Betsy Johnson and know that you are getting pieces that not everyone is walking around wearing and still maintain that level of uniqueness that we all love so much and we get when we are wearing our vintage best.
A Vintage Nerd, Kate Spade Novelty Handbags, Novelty Handbag Lookbook
A Vintage Nerd, Kate Spade Novelty Handbags, Novelty Handbag Lookbook
Do you like adding kitschy to your vintage or vintage inspired wardrobe? If so, what are your favorites? Hats, handbags, glasses, shoes? What do you think about these pieces? Would you wear them out in your vintagey best?

Remembering Patty Duke

April 14, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, Remembering Patty Duke, 1960s Actresses, Patty Duke, Old Hollywood Blog, Classic Film Blog

When we lose someone we lose a bit of ourselves, when we lose someone like Patty Duke we lose a little bit of Old Hollywood. In the past few years a bevy of classic film and television stars. Its a loss to the world of cinema and those of us who admired their work.

I started watching classic television shows on my own by the age of nine. Thanks to the channel Nickelodeon and other various channels I had my choice of 1950's-1970's shows to enjoy while growing up in the 1980's. I watched Leave to Beaver, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, I Love Lucy, Lassie, The Odd Couple, Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, and so many more. One in particular that I enjoyed was a show called The Patty Duke Show. I was memorized by her talent and not to mention that the show was so much fun to watch.

As the years went on I saw more of Patty Duke's films and then I learned of her battle with mental illness. After she wrote her autobiography. Call Me Anna, my respect and admiration for her grew in leaps and bounds. Here I was struggling with my own disability, quietly and in many ways I was alone in my own suffering. So for me to see someone of her status come clean so to speak about herself in that way just really inspired me. I looked up to her even more since then.

Back in 2013 I attended an event called Chiller Theater. I try and attend once a year because you get to meet a lot of film stars from yesteryear and you all know how much I love that stuff. I knew Patty Duke was going to be there and she was on the top of my list of people I hoped to meet. And meet I did! My daughter was five at the time and we went on the line to meet her. Patty and her husband were so kind to me and my daughter, its something I will never forget. You can read more about it HERE.

A Vintage Nerd, Remembering Patty Duke, 1960s Actresses, Patty Duke, Old Hollywood Blog, Classic Film Blog

Patty Duke was a special one-of-a-kind lady. If you have never watched any of her work I hope you will one day. Not only was she a master at her craft but someone who helped shed the light on mental illness. The world is better because she was in it.

A Vintage Nerd Supplementary Reading:



Must See TV: Manhattan

April 05, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, Manhattan TV Show, Period TV Show

I typically steer away from a television show when I find out that it has been cancelled or that the story lines have been left dangling. I wasn't sure I could get into Manhattan. I gave the first episode a go and I honestly dragged my feet to watch it and was indifferent at first. At first. Then when I heard that the season wouldn't be renewed after season two I really had to decide if I was still going to go for it and I am so glad I did.

Like I said, I usually don't want to invest my time into a show that is going to never have its proper ending but honestly this show is worth your time. Set in the 1940's in a desert in New Mexico where the U.S. Army and the country's most intelligent scientist gathered together to build the Atomic Bomb.

The writing and the characters are memorizing. Based in truth but over dramatized for television you watch the characters sway from good to not good to really bad and then back to good. It doesn't get you dizzy watching but it makes you think about the idea of being a good person and doing the right thing and how easily your focus can change. I found that underlining idea in this show to be fascinating.

I sometimes struggle with that idea too. If a person does one bad thing, does that make them a bad person? If a seemingly kind person who thinks what they are doing will save the world but willingly involves themselves in the death of innocent people, does that make that person a bad person? Even if its for the greater good.

There are so many great characters from the scientist to their wives and lovers. The show did bring in a modern topic into its story line that I am noticing quiet a few era themed shows are doing. I'm not saying its good or bad or that those things didn't happen but I do think its the networks attempt to attract younger viewers into a show that was set in the time of the grandparents or better still, their great-grandparents.

A Vintage Nerd, Manhattan TV Show, Period TV Show
A Vintage Nerd, Manhattan TV Show, Period TV Show
A Vintage Nerd, Manhattan TV Show, Period TV Show
A Vintage Nerd, Manhattan TV Show, Period TV Show

The show is basically about those involved in the making of the atomic bomb, all the people around them, and all the secrets everyone has to keep for the sake of winning the war.

I say go and get your hands on this show and then dive straight into it. The stories are powerful and shame on the network for not giving us a third season or at least a tv movie so some loose ends could be tied. But it is one of the most thought provoking era themed shows I have watched in a long while. It really did continuously make me take a look at human nature in a refreshing and daring way. I'm so glad I gave it a go.

A Vintage Nerd Supplementary Reading: 







 
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