Flashback Summer

Last First Day of School Outfit

28 August 2013

This morning my friend texted me and congratulated me on my last first day of school.

EVER.

Meaning, today marks the last time that I will ever begin a new school year.

I am a bit sentimental about it (because I really love my university), but I'm also excited. Where will I be next year at this time? What will my life be like? So full of possibilities.

So, while still keeping those questions and positivity about the future in mind, I'm going to enjoy this year to the fullest, enjoying all the "lasts" and making great memories to remember fondly, deep relationships to cherish for years to come, and continuing to build a strong foundation of character and knowledge on which I can build my adult life.

dress, bakelite: flea markets in Michigan

brooch: Awesome Finds

shoes: Payless kids

lucite purse and scarf lining: Relics Antique Mall

makeup: Estee Lauder and Almay

Intercultural Vintage: Middle East Novelty Prints

20 August 2013

The Middle East has always had the reputation of mystery, exotic adventures, and magic in the West. Even back in the day, some gorgeous novelty prints captured what is perhaps the most recognizable aspect of the Middle Eastern cityscape: the dome and minarets of a mosque. (Though churches also have some of these features, e.g. the Hagia Sophia.)

I would love to find a skirt like the one below, or fabric like these! I'm especially drawn to the yellow dress at the bottom. Which one is your favorite?

Vintage + Middle East = love.

Ack. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Following prints from here

Source of below

Source

For Sale here:

Bunches of Brooches and Other "Awesome Finds"

18 August 2013

When I was in Michigan, my Grandma took me to a store called Awesome Finds. It's a small boutique/flea market/home decor type of shop run by a mom and daughter team.

The shop has a great selection of pretty jewelry. Most of it is 1950s and later and doesn't include a lot of plastics, but it's wonderful stuff, indeed! My grandmother gifted me these brooches, jewelry, and earrings (real jade!):

I'm going to combine the scottie dog pendant with the blue and diamond rhinestone bar to make a cute pendant. I think it'll work, when I get around to it!

Lady In Red.... Trousers

16 August 2013

I posted last time about my new bakelite and included an outfit along with it. In this outfit were my new red trousers:

Flashback Summer: Lady In Red... Trousers - Butterick 9779

I really, really like these pants. They're made from the Butterick 9779 pattern, "Junior Miss Proportioned Pants". (This pattern has a shorts option as well, which I posted about here and here.) They were quite tricky to adjust to fit me correctly, but now that I've got the adjustments, I'll make them again with no problems!

For anyone who wants to try this pattern, I thought I would include my thoughts about it and the changes I made, in case it would be helpful.

Fabric:

I used an old curtain panel to make these pants, and I think it's a linen-like fabric, a looser weave that's still a bit thick. This worked well, but I would definitely recommend using a sturdier fabric, especially if you want to have a snugger fit, and a small stitch length. I'm a little nervous about the loose weave coming apart at stress points.

Fit:

These pants were slightly above my waist size, so I brought it in a bit on the waist darts. I also brought in the hip a bit because the pattern has a more rounded shape than my hips have.

I also had to alter the back to accommodate my apparently larger bottom using this tutorial from the Coletterie.

Lastly, I had to shorten the torso. Though the pattern comes in tall, medium, and short, the short pants (proportioned for 5'3" women and under) were still long for me in the torso.

Other resources:

Pants Fitting Basics

Pants Fitting Cheat Sheet from the Coletterie

New Sponsorship Opportunities at Flashback Summer!

14 August 2013

The time has come, my friends! Presenting... an opportunity to sponsor Flashback Summer! Spread the word about your blog, shop, product, or service right here!

After much Google searching and learning, I now have advertisement spaces available here! Now, I realize Flashback Summer is not a huge blog, thus I'm starting out with some sponsorship packages that will be easy on the wallet and great for your blog stats!

For only $5 a month, you'll get:

- A 200x150 pixel space on the right sidebar

- 2 Facebook posts on the Flashback Summer Facebook page

- 2 pins onto my Pinterest boards

- Highlighted in a sponsor post

- Opportunity for a guest post (if you want to!)

Flashback Summer currently averages between one and two hundred views a day, and these numbers (along with followers on Facebook, Bloglovin' etc.) are growing! This blog is under a year old (started in October 2012), and its readership has been steadily increasing!

The cheaper pricing is perfect for anyone wishing to advertise, from the experienced blogger seeking to reach new people to the new Etsy shop looking to send traffic directly to its products. It's five bucks; that's basically the price of a coffee, for a MONTH of advertising! I'm currently offering five slots, so if you would like to sponsor Flashback Summer, check out the Sponsor page tab now!

My First Bakelite!

13 August 2013

On one of my recent flea marketing adventures with my grandmother, I was on the search for affordable bakelite.

I have searched everywhere.

I haven't ever actually run into any real bakelite in my shopping trips (or so I had thought), but I had theoretical knowledge about how to determine its authenticity (smell, weight, etc.). I wasn't finding anything I thought was real, until I looked in a corner case of a crowded, small-town, Michigan flea market...

A. SHELF. OF. BAKELITE.

And it was real. I won't lie to you, I squealed a bit and clasped my hands together in delight. It was heavier than normal plastic, smelled funny, had the right colors! I was elated! Then I saw that the average price for a bangle was around $60. Well.... I scanned for the cheaper, thinner bangles and opted for one of those. As well, I got a cute pair of yellow earrings and a lovely dress clip (also my first!), thanks to my grandmother. I now have a whole set of yellow bakelite accessories!

I then decided to compare some of my "fakelite" bangles with the real one, and to my surprise, one of the bangles that I wasn't sure about was a similar color and weight to the bakelite one I bought, and it smelled funny, too! I realized I actually already had a bakelite bangle all along and didn't know it! Wonder of wonders, I have TWO bakelite bangles! What a great surprise, eh?

These are some of my favorite accessories ever. As I was telling my family, "This is BAKELITE! This is the holy grail of plastic jewelry! I'm a real vintage lover; I have bakelite! BAKELITE!!!"

So, as I close this post, I wish you all the luck of the bakelite in finding some (more) for your own accessorizing delight, hopefully in the corner of a tiny mom-and-pop shop, beautifully colored, and cheaply priced!