Black Friday & The Vintage Blow Out Sale On Ebay

DAHLINGS –

It’s Black Friday, and this week the vintage sellers on (ugh) Ebay are having a Vintage Blow Out Sale. Everything–clothes, jewels, accessories–is on sale for $19.99 or less, mostly less.

I myself have listed some things in my little shop. Do go have a look, won’t you? Remember, it’s cheaper and safer to shop online!

For example, this fascinating estate ceramic earring and brooch set, probably Japanese in origin:

Or this pretty sheer printed rayon 1940s dress with a gathered skirt and large pockets:

Happy shopping! Just type “VBO” into the search subject line and use “ending soonest” in the drop-down menu instead of the diabolical “Best Match”. You’ll be up to your eyes in bargains before you know it.

And if you are looking for a truly MASSIVE bargain, I’m selling over 100 pieces of men’s and women’s vintage clothing and accessories for less than $4.00 a piece. Hard to believe, I know, but there are Oscar de la Rentas, mint condition thigh-high stockings, and men’s suits by Hart, Schaffner & Marx in these lovely brand new cardboard boxes:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=390012275554

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky The Wonderdog

Bringing Beauty to Washington, DC!

DAHLINGS –

With the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Obama, the media has begun squawking away about the impending “return to glamour” and “re-emergence of Camelot” and similar nonsense. Female politicos are panicking. Suddenly there is tremendous pressure about not appearing their best in the new administration. During the Bush administration one could look like a billy goat and it did not hurt one’s credibility. In fact, it helped.

But with the elegant Michelle Obama becoming First Lady, suddenly all of the Capitol Hill femmes, particularly those of high profile and dumpy blue suits, are terrified that they will be scrutinized as closely as celebrities. That could mean appearing in the pages of “US” magazine in the “Why Did She Wear That??” section. And then how could you get your appropropriations bill passed?

So, your faithful correspondent and an entourage of assistants were whisked off to Washington this past weekend with a truckload of designer fashions! We were booked into several suites in the fabulous Willard Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, a mere block or two away from the White House. My hand still aches from signing all of those confidentiality agreements!

Our floor had to be “Secret Service Cleared” so that all of the luminaries could be fitted in comfort and safety. Several lady Secret Service agents requested their uniforms be tailored in a more shapely cut. My seamstresses had their work cut out for them (pardon the pun), particularly because of the body armor and holsters.

The biggest obstacle to my work was not the figures of the women–I believe there is beauty in every shape and size, as you well know. It was the mindset: rigid conformity to outdated fashion norms, fear of change, fear of appearing “weak” if wearing anything too feminine. Since you, my faithful readers, know that I do not appear “weak” in the least, even wearing a wisp of chiffon and stiletto heels, you also know that these fears were simply too maddening! Several times I had to retire to the hotel’s Round Robin Bar for a quick mojito to quell my rising temper.

Difficult clients are one thing; but difficult clients with immense legislative power must be handled with tact and delicacy, something I could only manage with some alcohol sloshing through my system.

If I may opine for a moment, I believe that suits are detrimental to women in politics. For one thing, female politicians have to wave all of the time. And we know that suits bunch up and pull over to one side when a woman waves–particularly if there are shoulder pads. Now, we are used to men looking that awkward, but women should be spared. Hillary Clinton, if you are reading this, please do stop wearing suits! You have such lovely curves, why not a dress now and then?

Oh, and the Inaugural Ball gowns…MTV is hosting the Inaugural Ball, which also wreaked emotional (and public relations) havoc amongst the women. High-neck? Low-neck? Contemporary look? Conservative? (You try getting a Republican who isn’t Sarah Palin to wear a fitted, low-cut gown…a recipe for blinding migraines, mon chers.)

However, I was flown back from Washington, the trunks empty, my coffers bulging, and my wrist aching. If I have just a tiny bit of impact on how women in Washington look, that is all I ask.

That, and a hefty fee.

God Bless America.

Ciao,

Elisa & Bucky The Wonderdog

Super-Sized Beautiful Clothes At the House of Style!

DAHLINGS –

I’ve just returned from Washington, D.C., where my services were urgently needed (to be detailed in a later entry).

While I have been away some of my staff have been laboring to get some lovely pieces listed.

There are a number of new supersized garments just waiting for the fuller-figured fashionista in my (ugh) Ebay store. Such as this beautiful velvet minidress or long shirt in bright lipstick red, 6X:

And this glittery gold top, size 10X:

For dreamy, glamorous nights, this satin robe, also in lipstick red, 8x:

(Hint to the gentlemen: this is also in gold, and either would make a simply luscious gift!)

There is much more to come, dahlings, so keep checking back at Elisa’s Bodacious House of Style. The direct link is to your right under my picture.

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Just In Time For The Holidays – A NEW Venue!

DAHLINGS -‘

I’m extending my global reach yet again, with yet another fine shop! You might call it an outgrowth of my flagship store, The Mad Fashionista’s Plus Size Boutique on Specialist Auctions.

This is The Mad Fashionista’s Plus Size Boutique on Fashiondig, where the elite meet to spend money, even in the recession. Their approach is different from both SA and (ugh) Ebay in that they do the packing and shipping. Since my assistant is completely inept at both (have you ever seen a young woman break down in tears because her hands are wrapped in packing tape?) this will take some of the burden off of my perfectly formed shoulders.

Here are some lavish delights I have listed there so far, custom-made for a tall, buxom, elegant woman (like moi) in the 1950s and 1960s:

Sheared Honey Beaver Ski Jacket, XXL Tall, Near Mint!

Dazzling Gold Silk Jacquard Wiggle Dress with Matching Jacket, XL, Mint!

In addition, this beautiful beaded black and silver gown by Jovani from the 1980s:

And this super-chic Audrey Hepburn-style 50s fur felt velour platter hat by Best & Company!

Simply click on this blog entry’s title to be taken to my new store! It is a shame this is the Internet, otherwise I would be there to greet you with a glass of champagne. But do go take a look round and pretend I am there, that will take away some of pain.

Happy shopping!

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

More About Tziporah Salamon And The Fabric Of Her Life

DAHLINGS –

I am sorry this could not be posted earlier, but Ms. Salamon is a very busy woman and it had to be done by my least favorite form of communication, email.

One memory I had noted during our conversation was, that when she was a young girl, she would choose her outfit according to her Vera scarf for the day. Her long hair was worn in the low ponytail that was popular then (the early 1960s), parted in the middle, and she would choose the scarf of the moment. Then build her clothing around the scarf. That same rule holds true today, although the process is a bit different.

“I loved hats and found that they completed an outfit,” she recalls, “So I started wearing them and then realized that I usually started with the hat and worked my way down, creating the outfit to go with the hat – and most of the hats are small, brimless – they just suit me better. I am always refining the look and it still continues – it’s just that now I pretty much know what looks best on me and stick to it.”

Tziporah has literally thousands of hats in her apartment, both on display and in pristine white hatboxes throughout her apartment, carefully conserved in acid-free white tissue paper. As as noted earlier, it took a long time for her style to develop.

“It was a lot of trial and error. I loved the Japanese designers immediately – Yohji Yamamoto, Comme de Garas, Issey Miyaki. I would have worn them exclusively, but could not afford them so I turned to vintage. Because the stuff was unique, relatively reasonable in price and much better made than contemporary clothes. I learned that I loved to dress like a Middle Eastern boy – one from Egypt or Palestine or Morocco – Jewish or Moslem it didn’t matter as they basically dressed alike. Then, I fell in love with Chinese clothes. The embroidery just made me so happy to look at it. So I came to realize that I loved ethnic clothes more than European/Western garb. They were more exotic and spoke to my heart and soul. “

Ms. Salamon considered a career in fashion, but thought better of the idea, although she works as a stylist and teaches classes on how to dress. The idea for “The Fabric Of My Life” came through a class she teaches at Parsons twice a year, Dressing As An Art Form. Which she certainly does!

Eventually she developed the class into her current one woman show, which she has performed to enraptured audiences all over the city, in theaters, gardens, and now the Off Broadway Boutique. Once again, here is the information:

THE FABRIC OF MY LIFE
The performance will be one night only at one of the most glamorous shops in New York, the fabulous Off Broadway Boutique!

Mark your calendars, readers: Friday November 14th at 6:00 PM.

Admission is FREE, and not only that, wine and cheese will be served. The audience is invited for an evening of fashion, fun and shopping. It is located at 139 West 72nd Street. The web address is http://www.boutiqueoffbroadway.com/, so you can take a look at some of what they have to offer. RSVP to: boutiqueoffbroadway@verizon.net.

After this, Tziporah Salamon plans to continue to nurture her blossoming career as a stylist and teacher of chic. If you wish to learn more, please do visit her website at http://www.tziporahsalamon.com/. As she herself states, “What I love doing is teaching women how to dress: how to develop their own personal style and dress for their bodies and lifestyles, how to be creative with clothes. I want women to have more fun with clothes, to be more daring and not be afraid to stand out and look different.”

And that is marvelous advice for women of ANY size, dahlings!

See you tomorrow, dahlings!

Ciao,

Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Regarding Link Exchanges, Dahlings…

DAHLINGS –

If you want me, you’re going to have to pay for it.

Recently, your faithful correspondent has been deluged with request for “link exchanges.” Some are appropriate for my site, others are obviously automatically generated by those things called search bots. The links I show are the links I choose to show because I enjoy the content therein. There are other worthwhile links, and it seems the only practical solution is this:

IF you want your site on this blog, you may place an advertisement linking back to it. Do not ask me for a “link exchange.” Instead, contact my staff for advertising rates.

This is the new policy going forward, dearest readers, and I do hope it will keep my sidebar from getting too bogged down. And moi as well, of course.

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky The Wonderdog

Tziporah Salamon Off Broadway November 14th!

Entering Tziporah Salamon’s apartment is akin to entering an opulent grotto, filled with tapestries, adornments, pictures…Asian, Turkish, 1920s: something to feast your eyes on everywhere you look. As Bucky and I lounge on a divan covered with a “suzani,” a spread from Uzbekistan, and many cushions, gazing upon shelves of books, purses, and incredible hats, Tziporah enters her sitting room like a creature from another time and place.

She settles me in with a cup of green tea and a dish of figs and dates, and shows me pictures from her life. My eye had been caught by a student ID saying “Lynn Salamon.”

After the family moved from Israel to America when Tziporah was nine, “The other kids made fun of me because of my name,” she says. “The most popular girl’s names were Linda and Susan. Susan? No. I wanted something more sophisticated. So I chose Lynn. I told everyone, my name is Lynn now.” Tziporah uses the word “sophisticated” a great deal, and it suits her.

She handles her body like a dancer, wearing a black fringed tunic and matching fringed pants, barefoot with red toenails that match her red lipstick. Her brown hair is cut short, the better to go under the tight small hats she favors. Sitting on the floor, Tziporah shows me photographs as she narrates her life story, which will be explored in more detail in a later entry.

Speaking of which, that life story is going to be PERFORMED by Tziporah Salamon as “The Fabric Of My Life,” which is described as a “sartorial autobiography in which she uses stories, anecdotes and costume changes to tell the story of her life in clothes.”

THE FABRIC OF MY LIFE

The performance will be one night only at one of the most glamorous shops in New York, the fabulous Off Broadway Boutique! Mark your calendars, readers: Friday November 14th at 6:00 PM.

Admission is FREE, and not only that, wine and cheese will be served. The audience is invited for an evening of fashion, fun and shopping. It is located at 139 West 72nd Street. The web address is http://www.boutiqueoffbroadway.com/, so you can take a look at some of what they have to offer. RSVP to: boutiqueoffbroadway@verizon.net.

You can trust moi when I say that Off Broadway has some of the most marvelous things in New York, including designer and vintage clothes and jewelry. I will certainly be in attendance.

Tziporah has (like moi) been profiled in The New York Times, and was the “star” of the April Manhattan Vintage Show (cf. my earlier entry) where we first bonded over her matchless style. She is also a favorite subject of Bill Cunningham, the street fashion photographer of The Times. Her website is http://www.tziporahsalamon.com/.

With her father a tailor and her mother a seamstress, Tziporah was born into a family where clothing was the focal point of existence. Another entry will be coming soon about her life and style evolution, and most important, the clothes! Oh mon Dieu, the clothes! I’ve seen them in person, and I’m still vibrating with desire. The coat shown in the last picture is from the Ottoman Empire. Among her enormous hat collection are hats from Dior, innumerable 20s beaded cloches, and many small ethnic embroidered hats from throughout the century.

Treat yourself to her matchless style and make sure that you come to “The Fabric of My Life.” It is a chance to see a woman like no other in a setting where you can drink for free and shop as well. Can life get any better?

Well, George Clooney could be there, but a girl can’t be too greedy. More to come about Tziporah soon!

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Photos by Carole Cutner

Barack Obama Elected President!

DAHLINGS –

I held a gathering of selected friends, both Democrat and Republican, to watch the election results. As the evening went on (and the cocktail consumption increased), the Democrats grew louder and happier and the Republicans grew quieter. Finally they went into the corner of the room and started muttering amongst themselves. Ever the gracious hostess, I adjured them to return to the party, but “party” was definitely the wrong choice of words. “We did, and look where it got us!” one of my guests snapped at me.

I chose to overlook his rudeness and return to the center of the room. When Obama was announced the winner, there was an eruption of cheers both in my living room and out on the street. His speech was quite stirring (even if the occasional cutaways to Oprah Winfrey and her strangely drooping false eyelashes were a distraction). Even your faithful correspondent found herself smiling and brushing away a tear or two.

The only questions I have after last night are:
What was Michelle Obama thinking with that dress??

Here is a graciously stylish woman, wearing a black and red fright that made her look like she had what the tabloids love to call a huge “baby bump”. Had she been temporarily possessed by Sharon Osbourne?

What will Sarah Palin do with those clothes? My guess is that they will be donated to the Palin Foundation For Empty Closets, located in Wasilla. Call it intuition.

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Remember to VOTE, Dahlings!

DAHLINGS –

They are warning here in New York City that the lines will be long at the polling places. I did my level best to convince the local officials to allow me to vote from the privacy of my own home, or at the very least provide a chair for me to sit in comfortably while I waited, but no. I refuse to wear flats, even for my country. There is a limit to patriotism.

Of course, I could try to be there at 6 AM, when my local polls open, but really…! It’s all I can do to arise before noon, how can they expect a woman to be there at such an ungodly hour? How bourgeois. Be that as it may, Bucky and I will be there tomorrow, ready to cast my/our vote. If I have to mill around with the great unwashed, so be it.

People who proudly proclaim they don’t vote are beneath contempt, in my unhumble opinion. Perhaps nothing profoundly different will come of this election, but that does not allow one to remove oneself entirely from the democratic process that America was founded upon. (Having to think all of the Deep Thoughts I have had to in recent days has given me such a long-lasting, pounding headache I simply cannot wait for this all to be over.)

When it is, I can give myself over to the truly important thing in life: Fashion In The True Sense.

Unless, God help us, Sarah Palin gets into office. Imagine: one malignant carcinoma away from the presidency.

I shall see you at the polls…but please do not approach me.

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog