From Amber
It all started on Monday the 22nd when, after a hectic morning of packing, cleaning, cooking, and trying to entertain our toddler through the chaos, Graham and I took off for my snowy home town of South Lake Tahoe. The Volvo was full of luggage and gifts, the chains were ready to be slapped on the tires, and there were abundant snacks to get us through the stormy drive.
But first we had to stop by Lucia's, to pick up massage gift certificates for our families. She was standing in front of her house wearing the *cutest* little outfit, packing her Volvo for a trip tp the Bay Area, and smoking a hand rolled cigarette:
First thing I did as we drove over Echo Summit and into the Tahoe basin (after hours of traffic) was to call my friend Megan. Meg and her fam always have the best parties, period, but their holiday parties are especially fun. After dinner with my family I set out to drive, at about 15 MPH through a blizzard, over to their house. My good friend Lindsay was there too (the three of us have been homegirls since we were kids), along with various other kith and kin type folks.
Including Auntie Doe, Megan's mom Kathy's sister. Doe is a lawyer and has never had children so… she's got money to spend on clothes! I wish I had gotten a picture of her, in high heeled black boots, tight black leggings, and a big furry colorful vest. I ended up looking through the rooms in the house for old time's sake and coming across Auntie's Doe's clothes hanging in a closet. Among the many fabulous pieces, this was my favorite:
A seriously unclear picture, I know, but actually the best of the many Megan took of me. This coat looked totally vintage, but Doe had recently purchased it at Nordstrom's. The label is a total throwback, referencing The Fillmore- 1960s San Francisco premier venue for seeing acts such as The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, etc. (My mom was lucky enough to live in the Bay then and saw all of those acts and more there!).
The tag also references Ken Kesey's hippie bus (called Further)/wild road trip adventure/proto hipster art & music extravaganza social experiment as documented in Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. (All of which reminds me of how Megan introduced me to the Dead in middle school- and don't think we all didn't dance to some Dead tunes that night!- and how she did her author report junior year on Ken Kesey and inspired me to read One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, one of my favorite books).
It's like American Apparel's vintage inspired line California Select, which provides vintage style in newly made garments. Everything old is new again:
Now onto Christmas. Or, in our case, Christmas Eve, which was when we had our Christmas celebration in Tahoe, so that my little fam could get to Auburn for Christmas Day with Graham's mom and her husband.
Okay, so, like many a gal out there, I have been ever in search of The Perfect Gunne Sax Dress. This one I found recently on Etsy, favorited, laid in bed all night dreaming of, and woke up to find that it had sold
But then something akin to Christmas miracle happened! I had just been having a Convo with
Calico Vintage on Etsy. She did not have this dress for sale there but, in response to my question about the pros and cons of selling on Etsy and eBay (she does both) she sent me her eBay link and lo and behold- there was the very same dress!!!
I immediately sent the link to my mom, who has a weakness for Gunne Sax from her old flower child days and who I knew was searching for a xmas gift for me.
And mama came through! I asked to open it early that day (we were doing presents after dinner) so that it could be my Official Christmas Dress. And 'twas. And 'twas glorious:
Lovely lace-up velvet bodice:
Burgundy lace trimmed skirt:
I just love it! Unlike so many Gunnes, this one is truly wearable. It's not too ornate or over the top, and it's just perfect for a winter day. Here I am trying to show off the skirt a little more and playing one of Mycie's new musical instruments, also courtesy of Grammy:
Here's the whole fam, and the tambourine:
Oh, and Mycie's dress! Graham sewed it for her that morning. It's the sweetest little plaid wool jumper (I want one too!). Here's a better shot of it:
Awesome! Love the photos and all the news. Great dress.
amber, this is too fun. mycie is adorable in all her little outfits but i love that hula pose! the gunne sax dress is perfect for you. i’m on a quest for my own perfect gunne so i can relate to your dismay (on the one that got away) and the joy (at the one that was meant to be). if graham sells those hats i gotta get one. keep us all posted!
happy holidays to all the violet folklore clan and kin!
xoxo
susie
The dress is perfect perfect perfect Amber and that photo of you holding Mycie is awesome, it looks straight from the 70′s! Oh my gosh, that little hula outfit!!! SO incredibly cute! Those hats that Graham makes are so cool. Glad to see you guys had a fun Christmas!
Graham. Oh, Graham!
btw, thanks for the tip on the calicovintage ebay store. i found the PERFECT gunne sax dress for myself and couldn’t be happier! i made sure to let her know you were the one who clued me in. i haunt her etsy store but there are so rarely dresses in my size. i couldn’t believe she had the corset style with velvet in blue and in my size! call it kismet.