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.

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?

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 Supplementary Reading:

Call Me Anna: The Autobiography of Patty Duke

A Brilliant Madness 

Official Patty Duke Website

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.

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: 

The Making of the Atomic Bomb

Bomb: The Race to Build

The Manhattan Project

Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie

Trinity: A Graphic History on the first Atomic Bomb

Color Footage of Bomb Test

Footage from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan

By now many of you know my love for Boden clothing runs deep. Its high quality without breaking the bank, their pieces are a blend of vintage and modern that I just love, let alone that their pieces are just beautiful.

Last Fall I shared my Boden picks with you and I thought I'd share some for the Spring. The Spring hasn't arrived yet here in New York but we are all hopeful and eagerly awaiting it.

I have to say that so far I have been happy with everything I have purchased from them which includes dresses, tops, cardigans, blazer, and a jean jacket. I have yet to try out their accessories or coats but I hope to at some point. I hope you enjoy this little dash of Spring vintagey inspiration coming your way.

Each of these pieces can be easily paired with some vintage accessories like jewelry, a head scarf, a handbag, shoes, or hats. Put some 50's curls in your hair or a 60's bouffant and you can complete the perfect vintage look for Spring!

I really love the blues and yellows that they have in their shop this season. Its hard to decide what to get and what not to get but I can tell you this, these pieces last.

Chepstow Jacket///Broderie Top///Isabelle Skirt///Sadie Sunglasses

Relaxed Linen Tee///Denim Overalls///Relaxed Linen Popover///Favorite Crew Cardigan

Sophia Shirt Dress///Easy Linen Tee///Sailor Jean///Vintage Boyleg Swimsuit