Ack! My Cup Runneth Cver

Too many boxes of goodies are taking over my office! I've been a collector of mid-century modern for many, many years and NEED to open another Etsy shop for housewares, knick-knacks and kitschy items ( website too)  My hold-up is ....a name. But I am terrible with names!  What do I call it??

Everything but the pillows, is vintage

Alfred Shaheen Jump / Catsuit

On a shopping trip over Summer, I found this unusual mid  60's Alfred Shaheen Hawaiian catsuit / jumpsuit. The fabric is the same as his Hawaiian dresses from the 50's to 60's with  similar detailing. My internet search has left me empty on any information about it but I did locate another one like it that was red and silver and sold on Etsy some time in 2013 - The ties were sewn down in the back, and on close inspection I see that someone has released these to make a halter tie. If you have knowledge on this Shaheen jump / cat suit please feel free to follow up to my post. Any help would be appreciated.

Vintage Alfred Shaheen Jumpsuit Catsuit 
Made in Hawaii

New Website

We're working on a big redo for our website! 

Here are a couple of old and new dresses still for sale: 

All available at this time @ bombshellbettysvintage.com 

Vintage 50's pink petal bust Hawaiian dress

1940's pink swing suit with deco accents

New with original tags Alix of Miami Tulip wiggle dress

1940's Early 1950's Black Crepe Draped goddess dress

1950's Black lace cocktail evening dress by H Liebes

New website almost done...

50's Floral Halter Swing Dress@ www.bombshellbettysvintage.com

 New website is almost done

Spring Change

Spring means Hawaiian dresses!

@ Bombshellbettysvintage.com
 

1950's Kamehameha Hawaiian Dress

1940's cocktail party dress

1950's pink lace day dress

Hehehe...a wonderful Lucy gif =)

90° In The Fall?

Ahhhh Fall...finally! Been trying to get in the Fall-esque mood. It's kinda hard to think about jackets and knits when it's still 90 degrees out- Working my way into the mood, a little black dress always helps =) 

New items on their way...

70's Lilly Diamond evening gown - new with tags

Early 1950's silk style day dress

Early 1950's black wedding party cocktail dress- One of my favorites!

Super FUN - 1950's black crepe cocktail party dress - 11 gores in the skirt! 

Sparkly knit 1960's evening shell tops 

   

1940's WWII Parachute Wedding Dress

1940's WWII Parachute Wedding Dress - Smithsonian Collection

1940's WWII Parachute Wedding Dress 

 Out and about yesterday I came across a 40's wedding gown. One of my favorite eras for wedding dresses BTW. Got me to thinking about one of the amazing treasures I would love to have in my personal collection, a 1940's Parachute Wedding Dress. These dresses were made from the parachutes used in WWII. Because fabric was scarce in the 40's during WWII, the bride-to -be would have her military man bring back the parachute and then the bride would have her dress made out of the chute silk. So romantic! Here is a dress made from a WWII parachute donated to the Smithsonian's Collection...

August 1944-
 Hensinger, a B-29 pilot, and his crew were returning from a bombing raid over Yowata, Japan, when their engine caught fire. The crew was forced to jump. Suffering from minimal injuries, Hensinger used the parachute as a pillow and blanket while  waiting to be rescued. He had saved the life-saving chute and when he proposed to his girlfriend Ruth in 1947, he offered her the fabric to make into a dress. The couple was married July 19, 1947. The dress was worn by the their daughter and by their daughter-in-law before being given to the Smithsonian.

Sneak Peek New Items This week

For sale at: bombshellbettysvintage.com

Some new vintage items being listed this week:

1940's Coco Suede Platform slingbacks...

I'm throwing in a matching wool handbag

Vintage 1950's 1960's Emerald Green Damask Party Dress

Vintage 1940's Raspberry Wool Steel Studded 2 pc. Suit

Vintage Late 1930's to 1940's Black Velvet Gown

What is a Parure, Demi- Parure and a Grand Parure?

Vintage and antique jewelry...
  
  Doing a little bit of drawer cleaning and organizing jewelry made me ponder  the question of what is a parure, demi- parure and a grand parure? Parure is a  French word commonly used to describe a set of three or more matching pieces of jewelry. They became popular in the 17th century to show wealth or status. It was used as a fine jewelry term but is common to be used by collectors of vintage costume jewelry sets. 

• Parure is a matching set of jewelry of three or more pieces
• Demi- Parure is a set of 2 items (necklace-earrings etc.)
• Grand Parure is a complete set of matching jewelry. In the 17th century this usually contained a tiara 

Wikipedia describes a parue as:  "A matching suite of coordinating pieces could include a necklace, a comb, a tiara, a diadem, a bandeau, a pair of bracelets, pins, rings, drop earrings or cluster stud earrings, brooch and a belt clasp that might be worn over a fine dress" ....whew! =)  

Josephine in her Grand Parure