sLeapin' Leopards

I could make a week's worth of blog entries on my Vanity Fair leopard print collection alone.  Today, you get to see some of the sleepwear.

This little nighty was a super el cheapo find at a resale chain in Austin. I love pleasant surprises, like when buyers don't care (or don't know) about things I love and price them el cheapo.

I've found the hip hugger panties and tap pants, just in case I feel matchy-matchy.

I usually just use the tap pants like bloomers for swing dancing so no one sees my skivvies.  I suppose they could make the nighty like shorty jammies if I wore them together.

I have these jammies on Etsy, although I'm tempted to keep them myself.

With a chill in the night air lately, I gotta stay cozy somehow.  I might as well do it in style.

It's Sleep Week!

I know when I began this blog, I promised you a "Lingerie Week".  You can thank my apparent ADD for that not happening yet.  The shorty pajamas I posted about yesterday (a week late themselves), coupled with my longing for a full night's sleep since about March, have inspired me to post about vintage sleepwear all week.  It's Sleep Week!  I know, I knowwww- it doesn't sound quite as exciting as Shark Week, unless you're sleep deprived or love vintage sleepwear and loungewear.

Let's start with a piece Evelyn gave me.  Back when we worked at a resale chain together, she would wear this piece layered with lots of other things, pinned up to create texture and show colors of pieces underneath.  (We're creative types, me and her.)  In my ubergoth dreadlocked youth, I still harbored an affinity for vintage that went waaaaay back- it just had to be all black for a while.  And so when I saw the nightgown incorporated into her ensemble, I said "If you ever get rid of that, I love it."  When Evelyn purged her closet, she remembered the suggestion that I thought had been in vain (and forgotten), and passed it along to me!

It's an old Kickernick gown, and the little bow on the bust bundles an applique bouquet between layers of sheer nylon.

Speaking of appliques... Being a Texas gal, I have a special place in my heart for yellow roses.  This Vanity Fair piece has appliqued lace roses at the bust and hem.

Yellow is not my best color.  I do not care.  I love it.

Some of these nighties are so pretty and dress-like, that ladies sometimes mistake them for dresses.  A dear, sweet, very fashionable friend once told me she needed a petticoat for a vintage dress she recently bought.  We went shopping at a few local vintage stores in search of one, and when she brought the dress in to try with a petticoat,  it turned out to be a blue nightgown like this with different embellishments.  Then again, I used to wear vintage slips with combat boots and religious jewelry, so who am I to talk? ;)

Are You Not MEN?!

In my weekend wanderings, I met a lovely couple.  The lady makes customized hula hoops, and the gentleman designs men's shirts.  Being a small-scale designer myself, we discussed fabric and production while I perused the available designs.  Had I been a man or had one to shop for, I certainly would have bought one of his shirts for several reasons.

First and foremost, all of his designs are made in the U.S.!  I love that.  Like myself, he never wants to outsource production and would prefer to pay American people a living wage.  It does keep cost higher, but frankly, you pay about the same retail price for clothing manufactured overseas.  (For example, I do love Trashy Diva, but was disappointed that their dresses are not American-made, which I expected for the prices.)  Not only are Flameless Shirts made in the U.S., but (clapclapclapclap) deep in the heart of Texas!

Designer Brooke Wilton makes classic men's shirts with a vintage-inspired style, unusual modern fabrics, and cool details (right down to the buttons!).  Some of the shirts are allover print, but my favorites are actually the accent ones like this Japanese wave print.  The print is even on the underside of the button placket, and I love the diagonal split pockets!

This is one of my favorites, and soon-to-be discontinued because the fabric is out of print:

Jellyfish!!!!  Maybe it's because I'm from the sea myself (as a little girl, I aspired to be a mermaid when I grew up), but I love this to bits!

The construction is high quality- you can tell he works with skilled seamstresses to make shirts that are built to last.  He pays attention to detail and includes print in unexpected places like button-placket facing, and chooses unique buttons to complement each print.

And so, to all my guy friends wanting custom western suits, the answer is still "no".  Sorry, I'm not doing all that interior hand-stitching.  I do recommend checking out FlamelessShirt.com or their Etsy store for locally-made high-quality menswear that's out-of-the-ordinary. 

All photos courtesy of Flameless Shirts