Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

Halloween Photos From NYC

November 5, 2015

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These are just a few photos I took on Halloween in NYC. My friend and I hung out over at Café Reggio on MacDougal Street rather than try to see the parade on Sixth Avenue. It was really crowded I am sure and this way I knew my foot was safe from getting stepped on since it is still recovering from surgery.

There were lots of costumes that revolved around normal everyday clothing. Most of those consisted of some sort of Day of the Dead makeup and hats. From where I was sitting I was at more of a profile angle so I didn’t take photos while I was seated – only of one couple that stood still for a bit to be photographed. It was a very good view of costumes from there.

One of my favorite costumes was a lady dressed in all vintage black and grey and she looked like a women who rose from the dead. That was a cool costume. We wanted to go into Washington Square Park but I forgot they close the park on Halloween after dark. Later on as we walked up to 14^th Street to get the train we ran into lots more people with costumes and that is when I could take a bunch of photos.

It was fun to be down in the Village again for Halloween. It is always crowded but except for 14^th street it wasn’t too hectic. Union Square was really fun though since there were a bunch of people there in their costumes that had probably just finished the parade and were hanging out posing for photos. I think Halloween is fun. It allows people a chance to be a bit wild and giddy. Even I wore costumes and had crazy makeup on. I don’t dress up every year but it was fun to do it since I hadn’t in a while.

I wore a loungewear pantsuit from the mid-1980’s. It was from J. Crew and I think it makes a good scarecrow outfit. I still had this stored at my mother’s a while back so when she moved I took it and I was surprised it still fits. I have lost some weight the last couple of years when I developed an allergy to gluten and gave it up.

I finished that dress I upcycled so I will try to get that post to you in the next few days. I hope you are enjoying fall as much as I am. I think it is just beautiful. I will be glad when it cools off a bit though. It is slightly strange that it keeps going up to seventy degrees over and over in October. I want some real fall weather before the winter comes!

Vintage 1970’s Blue Dress With a 1940’s Look

October 30, 2015

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I found this blue dress at Dusty Rose Vintage Warehouse in Brooklyn, NY. I had to dig through a barrel to find it since the shop often sells to wholesalers. Eventually I would like to have an Etsy shop, hopefully in the not-so-far-off future. I could use a sideline income and that is right up my alley of fun things I’d like to be involved in. So this was my first visit out there, basically to see the warehouse, and this is what I found that I decided to keep for me. It looked my size and sure enough when I tried it on it fit perfectly; however it had these weird puffs on the shoulder, Gibson Girl style, and I didn’t think it worked with the short sleeves and my little frame. If I wear a Gibson Girl style I like it long sleeved. So I gathered up the excess puff and stuck it below the seams and created a small slanted seam on the sleeve. I doubt anyone is going to get that close to see the seam, you do what you must to make things work!! Now I am happy with the dress.
I didn’t realize until I was getting this post together that I’d done two outfit posts in a row in blue dresses. I am really into blue again. Last year I did a post, “Am I Blue?”. I am still embracing wearing blue again. There is something strangely comforting about wearing it after all those years of not wanting to wear blue. I wanted to rebel against its conformity, its uniform look, and now oddly enough I find it appealing. I like its simplicity, and it is not black, which I get tired of in New York City. Sometimes black is so elegant but I just feel like it is not right for me on a regular basis. Even with the blue I like red, yellow, white, and orange to brighten it up.
I really like the first picture since not only am I wearing blue but my hair is getting longer and flowing and it was blowing in the wind. For years I alternated between growing my hair and enjoying that liberating feeling of chopping it off and not embracing my longer hair. Now I just wish it would grow faster. I have resorted to everything but the kitchen sink to get it to grow faster. Mashed bananas, olive oil, vitamin E oil, coconut milk, honey, literally I am going all out to get it to grow!! When I was young I wasn’t allowed to cut my hair for years and years. My father was controlling about that so when I grew up I kept up this alternating pattern of growing and chopping it off. For years it was super short. The last few years I am just thrilled to have soft pretty hair, so I doubt I am cutting it short for a long time. My mother keeps hers rather short and she is going to keep it that way forever she says. No, my mother isn’t with my father anymore so she wears her hair how she likes it!! This picture represents two things I wasn’t so comfortable with for a long time – the color navy and letting my hair down for any real length of time. Well things certainly change through the years.
Another reason I liked this dress is that I have noticed so few women working in accounting wearing floral dresses. It is to the point that I am not totally sure if florals are acceptable at work anymore, particularly in accounting. This dress I feel is feminine and floral; yet the navy gives it a very conservative look. So I think it is a good one to blur the lines with. These are things I have to consider when I buy a vintage dress and would like to wear it to work. Obviously if I end up with a large finance company it won’t work unless it is summer, but in most offices I think it could work. Are there any other ladies feeling frustrated by lack of florals in office attire? I am sure I am not the only one, so if you have any comments on this please let me know.
I went outside and took more close-up pictures. These things happen when I am taking photos on my own, so that is why there are two different hair styles, on two different days. The jacket is more a 1950’s style but it works with the dress and I found that little vintage pin at a shop in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn.
Well I hope you are enjoying fall and perhaps have something fun planned for Halloween. Our weather here has gotten warm again but the leaves keep changing. I have been able to go out on longer walks and am getting some physical therapy for my foot now. Hopefully I can get out and take some more shots at some nice parks or something for the blog soon!!

Spooky Vintage Halloween Photos

October 28, 2015

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Vintage Halloween Images from Flickr

October 23, 2015

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Halloween again! I found these few vintage photos I wanted to share on here. I am not sure what I am doing on Halloween this year. I was hoping to go to the Village and go to a coffee shop with a side street view of the costumes. In the past that has been the best way to actually view the costumes since I am vertically challenged about seeing the parade. Last year I spent a couple of hours perched on a metal police barrier trying to catch a view by being raised up. I still didn’t get as good a view as I had in the past on the side streets. So I think I will return to my old route. Plus with recovering from foot surgery I have to be very careful in crowds for a while, not to get stepped on! I am now at the point where I can walk around for a while and don’t need the cane finally. If you don’t live in New York City you might not know how crowded and nuts the NY Halloween parade can be. Often it is the case that even some subway stations get shut down due to the crowds.
I cannot think of Halloween without thinking of my daughter Emily as she was growing up and all the Halloween costumes, or even just costumes in general for shows or school functions. So I have posted one of her as a toddler in her adorable pumpkin dress our neighbor made her, and another two of her as a fish for a show. The fish costume was made by a friend’s mother. I still have the little pumpkin dress, in the event that I have a grandbaby someday who can wear it!
If I get to see some great costumes from the NYC Halloween parade I will of course post pictures of them later on. I am thinking I will be a scarecrow again since it is a relatively simple costume to put together. I always think scarecrows need hay though and it isn’t easy to find hay. I may have to be a city scarecrow and go without hay sticking out of my sleeves or socks.
I hope you enjoy these vintage Halloween images. The last picture is not a vintage picture; however it was the best picture I took of a costume a few years ago on Macdougal Street, just a block away from the parade. That lady had a seriously good Pinocchio outfit!
Well I hope you are enjoying the beginning of fall. I for one am thrilled that summer is biting the dust. The humidity in New York is rough on me. I do like all the outdoor activities that are easier to do in the summer in New York though. I miss the kayaking already! I do enjoy the change of seasons and the leaves in the street, the bundling up in sweaters, hot cider, all of those little things that follow suit once the air gets crisp and has a bite to it.

June Lang

Betty Grabel 1935-1940

Brenda McNeilly’s Art Deco collection

Emily when she was a toddler