Much needed post-VLV 15 post!

Yours truly holding up a 1950's gold lame' "Mr. Blackwell" jumpsuit. Can you say- killer?!

So, it has been awhile since I got back from Viva Las Vegas... I felt that it's time I did a little wrap-up post about it. I managed to take a bunch of pictures, of which you can see on my Flickr here.

That's the best part about going for me, taking loads of pictures. I just love to see what people are wearing. This year, I was fortunately enough to meet allot of my international customers from the UK and Australia, which was such a treat! Everyone that I met was super sweet and so lovely- it made me feel so good to have such wonderful and appreciative clientele.

I wasn't totally into any of the musical acts this year; it would have been cool to see Duane Eddy at the car show, but we skipped it. I don't think any Viva performance can top Wanda Jackson on my birthday 2 years ago. That was the ultimate. We did however catch the burlesque show on Friday and 2 Charles Phoenix slideshows, so that was cool. 

Charles Phoenix and I have met before, we shared a dressing room a few years ago at Tiki Oasis here in San Diego and he introduced me before I performed burlesque. When I first met him, he was wearing a neon pink raw silk suit- needless to say, it was love at 1st sight. He is one fabulously sassy man and if you're a fan of vintage kitsch, you need to catch one of his slideshows. Here's a pic of when I first met him, and then a pic of us at VLV this year. Check out that Easter suit! (He loved my lame' outfit by the way, and wanted to know all about it.)

I'm not a big gambler, in fact, I didn't do any gambling this year- but lord knows I blew enough money as is! Between shoppin', drinkin', and a whole lotta eatin', this weekend is no joke on my pocketbook! :-) But hey, I got to wear outfits that I will never get to wear again all year, so that's worth it, right?

So basically, I recommend just look at my pictures on Flickr to get a feel of the whole weekend. That's more fun than me rambling on and on about this and that. You'll get to see my obsessive wardrobe changes, killer outfits on others, and all around crazy vintage weirdness/goodness.

Outfit of the Day: Stormy Weather

Outfit for a rather chilly and blustery 58 degree San Diego wintery day. Brrrr!

What a goof.

So, what the heck am I wearing? Well....

• 1940's Hand Knitted Sweater - For sale on Butch Wax Vintage's Etsy here!!
• 1970's Classic Black Velvet Pencil Skirt - A true staple to my wardrobe. I wear this a ton.
• Vivienne Westwood Clear with Gold Glitter Rubber Sling-Back High Heels - I love these to no end, I wish I would have gotten 2 or 3 pairs. Fairy Princess shoes for sure.

 Here's a closer look at what the shoes look like. LOVE!!!

• 1950's Brown Chiffon Scarf in my hair - My hair is so gross today, like seriously, y'all. I had to special order my hard-to-find hair dye and I've been waiting on it. I have huge roots and it's just a mess. So a scarf is an easy fix for me. Presto-bad-hair-begone-o!
• Faux Gold Clip-On Hoop Earrings - A recent buy from the swap meet this past weekend.

 I thought you all might also enjoy seeing some recent little scores of mine...

A darling mint-condition 1950's hand painted Mexican circle skirt for a child! It's marked a size 2 and it has a "Tel-Art" tag! So cute, I just had to snatch it up. And now my Mexican prostitute doll can model it. I scored this for $26 at a local second hand boutique.

2 wonderfully aged-wood framed vintage Native American painted pictures. I love the bold colors and simplistic nature of them. They're signed too, which is cool. I scored these both for a total of $20 at the swap meet.

Butch Wax Style: 1960's "Old Lady" Biker Babe Chic

I have a friend, Leonard. He's in his early 60's now. He looks like the epitome of Santa Claus. He's an old biker dude. Ran with the Hells Angels and other various bike gangs all of his life for as long as he can remember. He comes out from Albuquerque, New Mexico and stays with my boyfriend and I for about 2 weeks, 2 times a year. 

Anyhow, so he always calls people's girlfriends or wives their "old ladies." "My old lady" this and "My old lady" that. One day, jokingly, I flat out told him that I thought it was plain rude, and if Jason (my boyfriend) ever called me his "old lady," I would deck him a good one. Leonard explained to me that it was a bikers term of endearment for their lady. It wasn't meant to be offensive. 

So anyways, that brings me to this morning. I'm sleepy eyed, in my big ol' bathrobe, looking through one of my favorite blogs, The Selvage Yard, and what do I see? An entry on the photography of "Old Ladies" aka Biker Babes from the 1960's, taken by the photographer Billy Ray in 1965. You can see and read about the whole thing here, with the really fabulous moody pictures. Quite brilliant, really. Gotta love that teased-out platinum blonde hair- obviously helmets (of the safety variety, that is) were not required back then! Ha!

Here's a few other really great "old lady" biker babe pics that I found randomly browsing online. I don't know if they were also taken by Billy Ray, but my guess is most likely. Gosh, this one of all of the girls at the bar is just too good. Look at those hairdos and outfits! And the broken nose! Man, wouldn't you love to know that story...

 

It also reminded me of one of my most favorite B-movies from the 60's, She Devils On Wheels. Leonard also loves really bad b-movies from the 50's and 60's. I was really excited to show him this one. Well, he hated it. Maybe it's because it's purely based on an all-women biker gang, and they're all such awesome man-eating b*tches. Whatever... it's so good.

And I'll leave you with a little montage of vintage biker babe images...

Inspiration! Words to live by.

JUST WATCH. You will smile and be inspired, I promise.

"Advanced Style" is one of my most favorite blogs ever. The creator, Ari, his mother used to shop in my old work. She always commented on my style and would talk lovingly and so proud of her son. I love what a phenomenon his blog has become; how he now has published a book and is about to release this film. I can't wait to see it. If only my Nana was still alive to go see it with me, she would have loved it. I can confidently say that she's 99% of the reason why I am the way I am today. "Advanced Style" is spreading such a great message. These ladies don't want to be or look like anyone else, they take great pride in their individuality and celebrate it. 

I couldn't agree more.