Happy New Year!

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I would like to thank all of you who read my posts here at Vintage Me (all 96 - yeay!) and wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May 2012 fulfill all your dreams beyond expectations!

Christmas in LA!

My mothers home is so cozy! She has always loved to decorate and she loves to cook and bake too. As we got close to Christmas ( in Sweden we celebrate on the 24th - Christmas Eve) the baking got serious ! :)



The living room. My mother has such an eye for detail and she loves shabby chic!



She decorates from her heart with the things she loves.



Tada! The Christmas tree was so pretty (and full with gifts!) !



Our Christmas table was set and ready to go!



Mom picked her beautiful Tomte (Santa Claus) plates from Swede.



Mom and me Christmas 2011!

Merry Xmas to all!!

At The Cicada Club!!

So finally, I went to the Cicada Club! As I don't have my own transport here in LA I managed to persuade my mother to join me. And I invited my new sister-in-law too!!



The evening we went there was a Christmas show on.



Excited!



Since the first picture was dark, we re-took it with a flash and I ended up having the obligatory red eyes. Later at home I tried to Photoshop my eyes darker which ended with me looking sort of like a glamorous raccoon... ;)



What a beautiful club! Lots of vintage styles even though many dressed in more modern attire.



The enormous chandelier that graced the ballroom! Oh, all the little delightful details.



And there was music and dancing!



And performing!



My Mom thought it was great!



Together we spent part of the evening commenting on what people were wearing.



And my beautiful sweet sister-in-law looked absolutely "Mad Men-esque" in her late 50s, early 60s dress.



Even though I didn't dance, the music was great !



And everyone on stage looked quite glamorous! The show was actually broad casted just like it would have been in certain clubs back in the day.



I lend my fur wrap to my sister-in-law for an added vintage effect. Doesn't she look absolutely amazing!!

Cesária Évora - The barefoot Diva - dies at 70

Cesária Évora, known as the "Barefoot Diva", always performed without shoes as she sang traditional music of the West African island nation of Cape Verde. It was a complex, soulful sound with an infectious beat. She started singing as a teenager in bayside bars on the West African island nation of Cape Verde in the 1950s and won a Grammy Award in 2004 after she finally took her music to stages around the world. Cesaria Evora died Saturday. She was 70.

Évora was born Aug. 27, 1941, on the island of Sao Vicente. Her mother was a cook and her father was a musician who played guitar and violin.

She grew up in Mindelo, a port city on the island where sailors from Africa, America, Asia and Europe mingled in what was a lively cosmopolitan town with a fabled night life. The local musical style borrowed from those cultures, defying attempts to classify it.

In 2000 Évora told the Associated Press ;

"Our music is a lot of things. Some say it's like the blues, or jazz. Others says it's like Brazilian or African music, but no one really knows."

Évora was 7 years old when her father died, leaving behind seven children. When her mother was unable to make ends meet, Evora was placed in an orphanage at age 10.

At 16, when Évora was doing piecework as a seamstress, a friend persuaded her to sing in one of the many sailors' taverns in her town. She soon was performing all over the islands and became a local star.

After Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal in 1975, the nightclub scene waned. Évora "had three children from three different fathers," she later said, and was struggling to raise a family. One of her children died of a fever.

At 34, Évora quit performing and moved in with her mother. A decade later, she came out of retirement when a group of Cape Verdean women in Portugal offered to bring her to Lisbon. By the 1990s, Évora was an international star known for never wearing shoes onstage. There was no higher calling to her shoelessness, no showing of solidarity with the hungry and the poor, she had said.

In 2001 she told the Washington Post ;

"In Cape Verde, lots of people are like me. They just don't like to wear shoes."

Évora sang traditional music of the Cape Verde archipelago, a former Portuguese colony. She mainly sang in a language known as Crioulo, a Portuguese Creole sprinkled with West African words. Even audiences who couldn't understand the lyrics were moved by her stirring renditions, her unpretentious manner and the music's infectious beat.

Her singing style brought comparisons to American jazz singer Billie Holiday and the great French singer Edith Piaf. "She belongs to the aristocracy of bar singers," French newspaper Le Monde said in 1991, adding that Évora had "a voice to melt the soul."

Évora's international fame came late in life. Her 1988 album "La Diva Aux Pieds Nus" ("Barefoot Diva"), recorded in France where she first found popularity, launched her international career.

Her 1995 album "Cesária" was released in more than a dozen countries and brought her first Grammy nomination, leading to a major concert tour and album sales in the millions. She received a Grammy in the World Music category in 2004 for her album "Voz D'Amor."

Évora was the best-known performer of the bittersweet "morna," the national music of Cape Verde. It is a complex, soulful sound, mixing an array of influences arising from the African and seafaring traditions of the 10 volcanic islands.

Cesária Évora died at a hospital in Mindelo, on her native island of Sao Vicente in Cape Verde, her label Lusafrica announced on its website. It gave no further details. Évora retired after having a stroke in September. A heavy smoker, she was diagnosed with heart problems in 2005 and had open-heart surgery last year.

Information on survivors was not immediately available.



Rewritten from the obituary in LA Times.

Vintage shopping in LA !

Here I am relaxing in my brothers little "get away" ...



But don't let the sunshine fool you. Los Angeles has been coooold!! And subsequently I was ... sick for awhile :(



But as soon as I was well I went vintage shopping. And what a treasure this shop turned out to be!! Atomic Closet in Covina outside of LA ( my mother lives that way) at 563 s. second ave, Covina, CA 91723



You know how many shops claim that they are a "vintage" shop, but when you enter their idea of vintage is 1980s rayon dress... Well, this was a true vintage store! Excellent selection of dresses from the 40s and 50s, beaded cardigans, little hats, menswear etc.



This is one of the owners the sweet and amiable Chrystal!



And this is her husband Chris. The both of them were super nice ! And my oh, my did I shop!



A 1940s homemade dress.



Look at the pretty material with little pink rose buds!



Two 40s blouses in cream and apricot.



A pair of amazing gabardine (mens!!) trousers that fit me to a T!



This beautiful coral sweater!!



Unfortunately the photo doesn't show the cardigans real colour...



This Mad Men looking "blouse", think Joan ;)


A little hat.



I just love this tiny velvet delight!


And another little hat decorated with bead work.



Which i instantly fell in love with! But wait a minute... No?? It cant be! Or can it??!!



OMG! OMG! Its an Elsa Schiaparelli! :D



Assorted knickknacks, two pair of retro sunglasses, a red snood, sweater clips (finally!) and the cutest little head vase.



Isn't she cute! I got her a little cheaper because she is supposed to wear a hat. Chrystal told me that head vases started as a way that husbands would present bouquets to their wives - isn't that cute! But the gift of the day was that my mother split the costs with me as a Christmas present - thank you Mom!! :)

And I thought I was going some where warm...

Image from here.

Hi Vintage Lovers!

I am in LA, but the weather is so cold that its making me shiver! I'm in my Moms house and have yet to figure out how to connect to her internet provider, so bear with me! Right now I'm on her computor, but I will soon be back on my own computor bringing more, much more to the table! :)

But on a quick note... 95 followers is v-e-r-y exciting, soon I have 100! When that happens we will have to celebrate with some grand give away! :)

One day I went shopping...

One day I went shopping and look what I found...



This cute little hostess apron.



This beautiful and amazing (brand new!) black morning gown with a deep burgundy satin lining!



This 1940 - 1950s hat ( needs a little fixing and cleaning).



And these amazing , never been used before, shoes! Took them to my fab shoemaker to have him take a look and he told me what I had not dared to think... that yes, they were indeed a 1930s pair of shoes!! They're so comfortable and are destined to become my new dancing shoes as I venture into 2012 with the aim to swing dance in heels ! :)

Did you pick up any goodies lately?