Why did I buy this?

So I spotted this hideous dress at Sal's the other day:

and was equally attracted to/repulsed by it all at once.

First, I've been obsessing about ruffles lately (more on this in a future post perhaps),

but more so, ugly as it is-- I thought it was a potential cheap/bad shimmery dress that I could turn over quickly for New Years this week.

What clinched the deal for me was actually the unique craftsmanship.  The person who made this 

dress did not have much in the way of sewing skills, and they did not have any ruffling attachments.  Not only is much of this dress hand sewn (crude hand stitching with blue thread all over the place inside), the ruffles are finished with wire and electrical tape!  

How craftastic is that?

Yards and yards of crude ruffles made this way! They laid wire down along the fabric's raw edge, and then crimped over the electrical tape as though it were a sticky-backed bias trim.  (And let me tell you, it did not behave like bias, and did not stick well to the cheap metallic fabric at all.  I spent about 90 minutes glueing, primping, shaping, fixing it.)

This amazing piece of unique modern folk art is now available for purchase, for a mere $30.

Happy New Year!

I'm baaaaack.

I know. Really long blogging hiatus.  Rest assured, I have only neglected the blog, not the shop or the never-ending search for treasures to put in it.  In fact, I'll start purging the blog file with a brief show-and tell of items that I picked up this summer while out riding my bicycle (the major distraction this year that had me neglecting blog and millions of other things). I stumbled onto several random yard sales I wasn't even looking for.

Blue silk velvet 1930s bias-cut evening gown.   Turned the bike around for a yard sale in Claverack that clearly had nothing at all for me, but I decided to ask the seller if she had any old clothes lying around. She went into the house and brought this out.   The price was reasonable enough that I didn't mind finding out it had holes in it after I got it home; 'cuz it fits me and Izzy (window mannequin).

New (but old) leather sandals in original box --from Tom and Mary's sale in Taghanic.

 I didn't have a bike rack yet and it took me EIGHT weeks to go back and pick them up after I asked them to hold them for me.  "uh, Remember me?".  Very sweet people.

Carpet bag purse.  Route 9H estate sale.  Very likely manufactured at the Pocketbook factory up the street here in Hudson.


Remnants, children's books, flower-power recipe file, awesome vintage novelty hankies:

(great Lakes, Palm-reading, and How-to speak spanish!)

And last but not least, vintage neckties, purchased at a Tuesday garage sale, on a back road in Ghent:

I know, the price is embarrassing, but what are you gonna do? I gave the lady a dollar and told her to keep the change.  Still felt like a thief.

Red white and Blue

The red one *Just* sold. The white and blue ones are still available (as well as several others). The air-conditioning is on.

Brimfield Bound!

I'm making a major de-cluttering effort this week; headed to the Brimfield Flea Market in Massachusetts with a big van-load of draperies, tablecloths, dishtowels, tchotchkes, artwork,  ephemera, odds,  ends, etc etc etc.    All the stuff I would love to be selling in my shop but simply don't have enough space for.    Here's a tiny sampling of some of the stuff I've dug up from the hoard:

vintage knitting books and mags

                                          vinyl Barbie cases

                                           Vintage 70s Spider-Man sleeping bags

                                                scads of yummy textiles

                                                    including an electric SHEET (?!)

   and a Roadster bedspread:

Scads of antique lace trims (which I have lovingly measured and packaged)

                                                      A Remington Portable Typewriter

                                                       

and a few pieces of choice clothing, including these amazing old lace up Renaissance-y boots.

                                                

If you're a Brimfielder, come stop by at the Meadows, along the west side fence.   I'll be there hanging/selling with Meri of Sideshow, Tues-wed-Thursday.  Weather's supposed to be gorgeous, and I'll be making my traditional Brimfield Penut-butter and Jelly sandwiches (BYOmilk).
 Five and Diamond will be closed on Thursday and will re-open Friday the 13th.    Seeya!

new Signage

Though it still needs to be sealed/weatherproofed, I finished my new sidewalk sign this week.
This is the sign that sits out on Warren Street (Hudson's main drag) and brings foot traffic up one block to the shop at 5th and Diamond (aka Columbia) Street.  A lot of people have told me they would have never known about my store without this sign.

Anyway here is side A

inspired by this 1927 Metropolis Poster:

And this is side B

a more direct rip-off of this wonderful sheet music graphic for Smoke Gets in Your Eyes:

Happy Spring!

A tiny sampling of pictures taken in the shop in the last 3 weeks. (Most of these things are sold, but the the black velvet gown, green party dress, the yellow day dress, and chiffon dress with open balloon sleeves-- are all still available.  I also have the white unform jacket in a larger size.).   So much fresh merch---- so much ironing to do!  

The peek-a-boo Abe shirt

Often when I'm hunched over needle and thread behind the counter in the shop I'm really just goofing off with my own clothes.  For example, this is the new Peek-a-Boo Abe shirt I've been playing around with lately

 It was a plain button down shirt that I liked simply for its soft cotton lavender stripes (plus it was already sorta nicely beat up).   I more or less rehashed it into a practical summer blouse with a bunch of one-of-a-kind details.

After cutting off the sleeves and mending a few holes

 I (1) made exterior armhole facings in contrasting stripes

(2)  derailed the stripes on one side of the collar for a sort of cubist mitered look,  

 (3) made a checkerboard-ish patch for the left pocket,  and
(4)  made an asymmetrical flap out of one of the leftover cuffs for the other pocket.



I opened up the top-stitching on the cuff/flap and inserted a 5 dollar bill, folded almost exactly to the size of the flap.  I sewed it back together, opened up a little porthole for Abe's face, and finished it off with white bias tape.    The idea here is to have a secure pocket that A) an ipod would not fall out of during a bike ride, and B) could hold a hard-to-get-at 5-spot to cover me in a flat tire or dehydration emergency.  I'm pretty sure I've rigged it so the only way of getting at the bill is to open up the stitching or cut the cloth.  We'll see.