Catch of the Day: February 7, 2011 Jewelry Casket 1904

I found this on eBay and my mind was filled with a hundred memories. They must have made a million jewelry caskets like this, because my grandmother, her mother, and all her sisters had one. Most had the gold wash warn off, and the pot metal underneath peaking through.  Rarely would the original satin and braiding be in place. But this one! This one is magnificent, and the roses on the lid!  Magnifique!

The bottom of this one bears the stamp, "4/4 1904" and "170".  If I'm not mistaken, that means that was the fourth of four done on a day that produced four, and that there was a a total run of 170 of this design. 170. That's all.  Imagine them only making 170 of something now. Imagine making something, from start to finish once, much less four times, in a single day now. Imagine a time when one made entire things, and didn't just insert tab a into slot b.  Imagine, in other words, the world before Henry Ford.

This caskets has survived the last 107 years without chips, dings, dents, cracks, or even impairments in the operation of it's hinges. The light blue lining has defied the moths and remains, though some stuffing is coming out. The seller believes the lining to be silk. So do I. Not because I've touched it or smelled it or even examined it's weave.  But because 1904 was a time before rayon or acetate. Silk was what they made such things with in 1904. And so silk, I believe it is.

It measures about 3 1/2" tall, about 4 1/2" long and about 3" wide.  That sounds about right. I know how it feels in your hands. It feels like the youth of people who love you. It feels like femininity honored when femininity was still, well, feminine. It feels like lace corsets and pantaloons. It feels like the rustle of petite coats and the cultivation of skills like embroidery and piano playing. The making of things which Jane Austen called of "little use and less beauty", but I disagree with her about the beauty.  Seen from a time when almost nothing is really hand made, the beauty shines like a diamond.

This nostalgia is shipped only within the U.S. and takes Paypal.  Unfortunately, paypal does not get you back grandmothers, great grandmothers, and aunts. Fortunately however, the gold wash never wears off memories and moths do not nibble at the heart.

The jewelry casket is offered by Mfcatt for an opening bid of $39.99.  The nostalgia is brought to you courtesy of my grandmother, her mother, and her lovely sisters - of whom one precious sister survives. It is priceless and while I will often share it, you may not have it.  I keep it locked within the vaults of my heart. And though I keep it, mostly it keeps me.

Never let anyone tell you that love dies. It goes on and on and on and occasionally shows up on eBay in the form of a rose covered jewelry casket washed in gold.

Happy shopping, my kittens,

Second Hand Roze

Catches of the Day: February 6, 2011 An Embarrassment of Riches

Oh kittens!  The pickins were thick at eBay today, and I decided to just write about all the swell finds I ran across.  So get yourself a cup of coffee,  settle into your favorite chair, and let's have a nice little vintage find chat!

My first catch of the day today is this snazzy, novelty belt from the 1970's. I suppose it's a love it /hate it thing, but I love it. The belt is leather, smooth on top and suede on back.  It's 1 5/8" wide and measures 37" hooked and is non-adjustable. It should be relatively easy to fit these onto another belt that is your waist size if you want. Found on eBay, this incredible belt is said to have lost most of it's gold coloring and is in need of a paint job. I have a different idea:  Loose all the gold tone, and go with the pot metal.  It's much cooler anyway. I think fingernail polish remover would do it.  If not, then rough steel wool definitely will, though it may require some elbow grease.

This incredible find of coolness is offered by maggie-magnolia for an opening bid of $14.99. Art Moderne Lovers,  See their Mikassa Studio Nova sugar and creamer.  Divine!

This 1949 Silver Fox Collared cashmere sweater is just stunning.  Made of flawless inky black cashmere, and smooth, supple, and lovely Fox Fur,  this fabulous sweater is a steal at a time when cashmere sweaters (without fur) go for $200.00 a piece. Found on eBay, this magnificent sweater was made by Bernhard Altmann and features a "V" neck along with dainty and classic single pearl shank closures at each cuff and at the bottom of the sweater. The sweater is roughly a size 6-8, but please read the measurements to avoid disappointment.  Offered by Jonque for an opening bid of $49.99.  

The have seller has a lovely selection, including an original Ungaro blouse for which (s)he is asking a mere $34.99! It was a quick trip to my favorites.

These "fish scale" shoes from the 60's just knocked me out when I ran across them on eBay. If they were in my size, I'd be all over these puppies like white on rice.  Alas, they are a size 6AAA. If, however, you too, are a size 6AAA this is your lucky - win the lotto - red letter - day!  Made in Spain of actual fish skin, these shoes have handwriting inside, the only part of which that means anything to me is that they are made by someone named Phillipe. There is a tiny chip on the outer edge of the left heel cap, but otherwise the outside of these shoes are clean. There is an eensy, teensy, oh so tiny, bit of discoloration to the insole, but doll, your feet will be there.  "The outside fish skin suede looks clean and really good overall" (seller).  Offered to us by zanymiz for the insane price of $9.99.  Zanymiz seems to specialize in cook books and the occasional what-not.  Aren't we lucky this was one of her what-nots?

And while we're on the subject of shoes, would you just look at these fabulous Prada pumps? Could you want something more in a shoe?  Your size?  Okay, well these babies are 8 1/2.  So maybe if you couldn't squeeze your toes into the fabulous fish scale suede above,  you can stretch out your arches in these lovely roomy Prada's that are chic in a shoebox.  Made of buckskin, these babies have pointed toes, a snappy strap, and the Prada logo embossed on the silvertone buckle. But frankly it's the gromets that got me from hello. There are some slight variations in the shade of the buckskin, but the insoles are impeccable, so I'm inclined to think these variations are natural and not the result of any mishap. Though I must mention that the bottoms of these shoes show definite wear, or is it that someone tried to write their initials in pencil on the soles?  Whatever the case, you can be sure these shoes are getting the attention the name "Prada" commands.  Due to close at almost 8 pm on Sunday, the price is bound to rise.  Offered by yntdrum for the current price of $42.00.

During the second World War, everyone made do with less of everything. And I do mean everything. So suddenly, when the war was over, there were actual surpluses of things again. Things like gasoline to drive about with. Things like actual cars.  Things like food, sugar, and stockings. Things, even, like fabric.  The first to take advantage of this surplus and design wonderfully sumptuous, luxurious, full dresses was, if I have my fact straight (and I could be wrong about this part) was Christian Dior. The House of Dior put out a line of a clothes where skirts exploded from the waistline,  were rich and full at the bodice.  Women became walking hourglasses. And it took crinolines, those wonderfully multi-layered, starched petite coats, to make the skirts stand out to their best advantage.  When showing their new line,  one of the fashion magazines (and again, I'm fuzzy about this part), I think it was Vogue said, "Why, it's a New Look".  Viola!  "New Look" was born.

This, my darling kittens, is a "new look" coat. Made of a lovely eyelash mohair wool fabric with streaks of red and green across a black background. All this surplus meant that one could cover one's  buttons in the same fabric as one's coat or jacket, and this has been done here.  Notice how skillfully the garment is pulled in at the waist. Notice the imposition of the hourglass where one may not even begin to exist!

Done by the master herself, Lilli Ann. What's amazing to me, is that the seller of this coat doesn't seem to realize this is a thing to capitalize upon.  She doesn't mention it in the name of the auction.  She barely mentions it at all.  Thank God she included a photo of the label.

The Vintage Fashion Guild places this label between 1946 - 1947.

The coat is fully lined with black acetate satin (hand wash it and I'll kill you). It has slashed pockets, a notched collar, princess seams... I could go on and on. The seller has set the size at an approximate size 10.  Alas, it is missing two buttons.  Two other appear to have been reattached (though I hardly consider this a fault).  I would suggest dealing with the missing buttons by taking the top two, and folding back the collar.  One might try to steal some fabric from a hem and cover a couple of buttons, but I would do this only after consulting a specialist, which I am not. There are four tiny moth bites in the front below the waist.  These are truly tiny to not be visible in the second photo shown, and should be easily mended. The label needs to be tacked on 3 sides, and I laud the seller for not doing this herself. It must have been awfully tempting. Beyond these small flaws, the coat is in amazing condition, and the price reflects this. Offered to us by KimVintage, a treasure trove herself, for the Buy-It-Now price of $550.00.

Back in the day, when a lady went out for the evening, she needed only a few things.  A reliable gentleman companion. Some cigarettes. Some Lipstick. And some mad money in case the reliable gentleman companion turned out not to be so reliable. Hence: the cigarette case. Oh! How I wish I had been at the estate sale where this turned up before it came to eBay! My mother had a case just like this.  It was fitted with a lever sort of thing to hold the cigarettes neatly in place.

And then the whole thing folded up into something glamorous!  

This one is in amazingly good condition.  Not only is the snake chain still pristine, the body of the purse is pristine.  Usually there are bits where the gold has flaked off, or where the shiny body has been scratched.  And to still have the lipstick holder!  Oh my!  What a find!  This one even still has the original cloth which protects the purse.  The seller, God love them, is worried that there are spots on the cloth.  I am amazed the cloth exists at all.  Brought to us by VintageAlaModeSF for the Buy It Now Price of $69.00.

                    *                    *                      *                     *

Now I'm going to have to break one of my rules.  I'm going to have to list more than one item from a seller.  It's a recent rule.  I've broken it before.  But I really broke it once, and wrote - what turned out to be - almost an advertisement for a vintage dealer.  I'm not doing that any more.  I don't get paid to do that.  And my mother told me a story once about free milk and a cow...

But...

Would you take a look at this?  I actually thought the "peek a boo" lingerie look came in style in the 80's.  This is from the 40's or 50's. And isn't it lovely?  I adore the color (you know I'm fond of bronze). I adore the lace.  I adore the way they worked red thread into the hooks for the little satin buttons. And I am so tickled that they still have the original belt. As a matter of fact, if there's something I don't like about this blouse, I haven't found it yet.

The matching tafetta camisole has a side metal zipper so it could fit nice and snug. The camisole has 3 tiny pinholes in it, all of which become invisible when the lace over-blouse is worn with it.  Most tragic of all is the two tiny breaks in the lace which are shown below:

My advice?  Wear it anyway.  It's gorgeous.  I wouldn't even begin to make apologies for any part of it.  At worst, wear a scarf around your neck.  At best,  pin your hair up proudly and go on.  

This lovely work of art is also brought to by VintageAlaModeSF for the buy it now price of $215.00.  The seller is also accepting offers on this fabulous blouse.  Beauty such as this is rare and should be rewarded.

Think if you've seen one piano shawl, you've seen them all?  Maybe.  But when was the last time you saw one at $27.50?  Of course, this one on eBay will be accepting bids until 7:45 PM Pacific Standard Time (That's 4:45 if your on the east coast),  but this may go cheap, and it's lovely. The seller is uncertain of age or fabric, so don't get your heart set on a silk Victorian shawl, but what you will get is a gorgeous shawl 44" square.  Brought to us by Bond475.

And -at last!- something for the men!  This vintage 80's woolen genuine Levis jacket's auction closes on eBay tomorrow as well.  With a nice worn indigo color and wonderful woolen fleece,  this jacket is a no brainer.  Nothing is more classic than a Levi's jacket.  It's the jacket you reach for without having to think about what to wear.  Masculine.  Sexy.  American.  Every since Levi Strauss discovered that his indigo died tent making material sold better as pants than as tents, Levis have been the staple of any American wardrobe.  When the Soviet Union was the Soviet Union, what did people smuggle over as a symbol of American Freedom?  Levis. As timeless as James Dean and died with Freedom as well as Indigo, the Levis Jacket is something every man should own.  This one, offered by thejeffandtammyshow, this is absolutely the cream of their vintage crop.  With a single bid and a price set at $9.00, someone may get a bargain!

From a $200 Kate Spade to a $3500 Hermes,  Vogue's list of purses for the coming season all have one thing in common:  basket weave.  This lovely little bag from eBay has turned a rich nutty brown with age, and was woven beautifully.  Made of bamboo, the weave is still tight and the bag is in excellent condition.  Measuring 8" wide, by 4" deep, by 6" high, (I can only assume the difference between deep and high is the height of the lid) this handbag has a strap long enough to be a shoulder strap and also long enough to wear across your body. Offered by everydayflowermart for an opening bid of $24.99

These Christian Dior (CD) Art Glass dangle earrings are up for bid on eBay until today at 4:50 PST (not exact!). As you might imagine, Christian Dior's name has brought more than a little attention. Having received 5 bids as of the time of this writing, the current price is $61.57. The art glass drops are about 1 and a quarters inches long and are a yellowish green with a mottled brown inside. Dangling from a mesh type chain; there are even air bubbles caught in the glass!  Brought to us by Rhinestone-Diva who has a lovely selection of jewelry, including a Boucher book piece.

And that kittens, is what I found in a casual browse through what's closing today. I hope I've made some vintage shopping converts. I don't think clothes and jewelry get much cooler than this. 

So happy shopping kittens,  every day at eBay is a new day!

Second Hand Roze

  

Catch of the Day February 5, 2011 60's Mod Turtleneck Dress

The "dress" shown above is being marketed as, well, a dress on eBay.  I'm not that brave. Any more. Or perhaps the back of my thighs just ain't what they used to be.  At any rate, I would wear this with leggings.

I looked far and wide for leggings for you. Okay. Actually, that's not true. I looked the one place I knew I would find a lot of leggings: Sense of Fashion. I found that you can put all sorts of swell things under that dress, at all sorts of prices.

Coming in at a whopping $125.00 (which is 50% off!), you can do the op art thing from costelloanddonola:

Or you can do sort of the impressionist thing from QOOQOO for $60.00:

But I'm a punk from back in the day.  And old-school punk, we used to sharpen up our fingernails and shred our stockings,  so naturally I'm pretty fond of this pair from "distressed leggings" from Trinity Fashion (the old school punk thing):

Of course, it's worth mentioning that I am leaving out a whole world of colored leggings, lace leggings, leggings with cute valentines on them, or bunnies, or "adorable flower leggings".  It will be a cold day in hell when I wear anything that could be called adorable. (Sorry mom). This is not to mention leopard leggings, which would be a fine choice, are available for the most reasonable price from Newport News and which I've blogged before. 

But the sweater thing.  The sweater is the thing as they say, and so let's talk about the sweater.  

Despite being listed as vintage and 60's, it's brand new and has never been worn.  Try not to hold that too badly against it, as it is rather lovely, and does have that vintage je ne c'est qua. 

It's being sold in Australian dollars, so it's starting bid of $17.99 is somewhat deceptive.  It's really $18.18 in American money.  But chin up, that's not nearly the sticker shock of, oh say, British pounds.  

They aren't telling us what the sweater dress is made of, which usually means nylon or some other polyester cousin.  Sorry.  It is a lovely sweater/dress/thing.

And just to reinforce my feelings that one should wear something under this lovely creation, here's the view from the back.  (Imagine bending over).

It was really my intention to input a little poll thing here where you could vote on which leggings you liked best.  Alas.  I can't figure out the HTML to get it to show up in this blog post, which - I know you'll be shocked to know - I did not get at 5:15 AM to write.  So instead I'm asking you to tell me.  Which leggings would you choose and why? Come on out and have an opinion.  Even if it's for adorable.  I won't agree, but then again, I won't bite either. 

And on that note kittens, I shall wish you happy shopping, and warm legs.

Second Hand Roze

Catch of the day February 4, 2011 Coolest Eyeglass Frames Ever

I had promised myself I wasn't going to do it anymore.  In fact, I was actively Not Looking at Eyeglass Frames when it happened.  I was struck dead by this pair on eBay.  Now, don't be too angry with me.  Think how stunning they're going to look with that skunk coat!

One of the temples is stamped SUNMODES SRO. The color is a checkered, glossy black and white print and solid black on the inside.  They say something at the auction that means nothing to me about size, so all I can say is if you understand these things, read the auction.

They are old, dead stock (can you believe it?) from a optometrist. 

I think they are so cool, I could just die.

Offered by egamon where they have more cool eyeglass frames than you could need in a lifetime.  But this is the cream of the crop.  The creme de la creme.

Current price $24.50 and climbing.

Happy Shopping little kittens!  And stay warm!

Second Hand Roze

Catch of the Day February 3, 2011 Fur Coat

I couldn't help myself from blogging about today's catch.  It's unusual.  It's imaginative.  It's gorgeous, and it's... well... it's skunk.

Fitting somewhere in between a full sized coat and a duster, this lovely (and it truly is lovely!) coat is some fashionistas dream waiting to be scooped up off eBay. No way will you ever walk into a party and find someone else wearing your coat.

And just look at the markings on it!  It's magnificent.  For anyone worried,  I did the obvious thing and wrote the seller to see if it has an odor. She wrote back, "I'm sure they did when they were alive, but they don't now!"  (She's a delight too, which is always a plus in a transaction.)

Finally, I just wouldn't be it justice if I didn't show you the full impact of the back of this marvel.

Can you believe how gorgeous a coat they can make from those little pesky critters?

Offered by eBay vendor's koko1954 for the Buy It Now Price of $1499.99.  Seller is also accepting offers.

I wish you happy, furry, soft and luscious shopping!

Second Hand Roze

   

Catch of The Day: 50s Elegant Deep Pink Party Dress

Ah, it's February, and a young man's (not mention a young lady's) fancy turns to shades of red and pink...

This lovely deep pink (dare I say it. Schiaparelli pink) gown is just what the doctor ordered to spread a little color into the drab land-scape. Found on eBay, I'm sure I shock no one in stating my preferrance that this gown had been photographed with a crinoline. The lines would have been so much better!

The deeply fitted (boned?) bodice is one of those that enforces curvaceousness on even the most uncurvaceous young lady. The deep "v" of both the front and back almost give the gown the same silhouette as a strapless gown. Imagine it with the necklace I featured a few days ago! What a show-stopper.

The classic bow at the dropped waist serves to emphasize the femininity of this already strikingly feminine dress. The fabric is made of a smooth, beautifully draping satin which (s)he believes to be rayon.

Here's a view of the back of the dress:

A modern size 4-6, this dress is in immaculate condition. If only all 50s dress were so well preserved.

Offered by redhousevintage. It closes tomorrow and is yet to see it's opening bid of $34.99. Don't let this get away kittens! This is premium ball of mice!

Happy Shopping!

Second Hand Roze

Catch of the day February 1st, 2011 Vintage Compact

My ex-husband used to say it took a lot of accoutrements to be female. Once I saw this gorgeous Kotler and Kopit Compact on eBay, I knew he was right. Resplendant in pearls and rhinestones, this compact is ready for a night on the town. It's got style.  It's got rythmn,  Baby, this little number has bling!

The seller, 745sainthelens, is so meticulous that she actually noted that most of the powder is gone. Dear, it's okay that the powder is gone. No one buys these things for the powder!

The back is somewhat more sedate than the front, featuring a brushed gold smooth face.  I was able to detect some small flaws in this backing, but the front is impeccable.  Not a single missing or darkening stone.

This lovely compact may be your for the Buy-It-Now price of $55.00, or the seller is accepting offers.

Forgive me, constant readers, but it's been a while since we've discussed making offers, and I think it's time we did.

Making an offer is an opportunity to get an item you want at your dream price. I've been amazed at how cheaply I've been able to get some things. The trick though, is not to insult the seller. So the first thing you do is acknowledge the value of the item. It's sometimes helpful to say something like, "While I realize how wonderful ... a bit of whatever it is that you have ... really is, and I regret this is all I'm able to offer at this point. This is only if you are offering significantly less than what they are asking. If you are offering more than 2/3 the asking price, no apologizing is necessary. Be prepared for a counter offer. Or be prepared to buy at that price. NEVER begin negotiations with something you do not intend to ultimately buy. This is a waste of everyone's time. After negotiations are completed, write the seller and thank them!  Do this even if you are not able to agree on a price. You have taken up their time, and you owe them this. Be courteous and be fearless.

And with that kittens,  I shall bid you a good day,

Second Hand Roze