Shabby Chic New York City

I have long been a fan of Shabby Chic, so on my recent trip to New York City a visit to this famous brand was on my priority list.  Somewhat hidden away on a side street in Soho, we took a few wrong turns before we finally found it and stepped inside to see the beauty of Shabby Chic in the flesh instead of in the pages of Rachel Ashwell's beautifully photographed books.

And it did not disappoint. The shop is divided into a series of rooms, each with a different decor but all of them distinctly Shabby Chic.

A mixture of old and new fabrics, furniture and accessories, Shabby Chic's delicate palette was upheld throughout. After hearing a friend's experience with snooty staff in the L.A. store, I steeled myself for an uncomfortable visit. But the NY salespeople could not have been nicer.

I did not know where to look, it was all so gorgeous.  Just look at that ruffled hanging lampshade. Quintessential Shabby Chic.

Happy Valentine's Day

A Merry Christmas to You!

This vintage card sent one Christmas almost 100 years ago says it all:  "A Merry Christmas to you!"

The sender's penmanship is awe-inspiring!

And the two-cent stamp a cheery Christmas red!

Victorian Dinner Party #19

I thought it was about time that I showed you what I wore for the Victorian dinner party. This amazing blouse was given to me by a dear friend when I was a teen and probably dates back to the 40's or 50's. It has the most amazing ruffled and lace trimmed jabot and cuffs.

The fitted tapestry jacket with black trim was a thrift shop score just a week or so before the party.

The skirt too was a thrift-shop find.

I found a dress that had a ruffled skirt that I made into a sort of bustle. Luckily the colour in the top stripe matched the teal of the jacket.

I padded the bustle to make it stick out a little.

A view from below.

And underneath the skirt was a pair of real vintage bloomers with lovely lace trim.

And lacy tights, because you can never have too much lace!

And to complete the outfit, a pair of lace-up leather boots that I have owned for over ten years. They were perfect for the occasion.

Victorian Dinner Party #18

The decor for my Victorian dinner party extended to the main bathroom of our home. I hung a makeshift clothesline over the tub and hung a collection of vintage children's clothes.

Airy white cotton embroidered baby and toddler's chemises and dresses were hung with old fashioned clothes pegs.

Lots of exquisite embroidered details are there for those who take a closer look.

Victorian Dinner Party #17

After dinner, but before people stood up to move around, I brought out this reproduction set of of a Victorian-era game called "The Comical Game of Who?"  Cards are divided between the men and women and ridiculous questions are asked in numerical order and the response is given by the holder of the next consecutive card.  It is an innocent game with wording that provides a sense of Victorian attitude. With everyone feeling relaxed and well fed, all got into the spirit of the game and was actually great fun, resulting in lots of laughter, mostly as there were several hams in the room and because of the game's silliness factor.

After the game of Who?, the men retired to drink cognac or brandy, and the ladies with their liquers sat down to have a tarot card reading and a reading using special flower spirit cards, both in keeping with the spiritualism that was sop popular in Victorian times. It also worked very well with the Halloween timing.

Victorian Dinner Party #16

This lovely two-volume set of  Le Marchand d'antiquites, the French version of Charles Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop was published in Paris in 1942. It was a hostess gift given to me by friend R. at my Victorian dinner party. How wonderfully appropriate was that, and I pressed into service as part of the decor immediately.

A stamp on the title page reveals that it was part of  the "Location de livres francais et anglais" in Paris at one time...

with its location on the shelf marked by the consecutive nos. 523 and 524 on labels affixed to the spine.

There are lovely marbled covers clearly showing a well worn patina...

as do the covers' edges and wavy pages. All of these signs of its age come together to make a beautiful artifact, which exudes the feeling a past time. 

Victorian Dinner Party #12

 By collecting together vintage objects, I was able to creative small vignettes which added to the "back in time" feel of the party. Here, beautiful old wooden spools of thread were paired with metal thimbles and two tiny shoe pincushions, creating a sewing-theme vignette.

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These Victorian leather baby shoes, compete with tiny black buttons, joined a vintage wooden shoe-making last. By grouping like objects together, it is easy to create interesting displays that add layers to your decor.  

Victorian Dinner Party #9

The coffee was served in this demi-tasse set, given to me by a dear friend about 20 years or so ago. I think this is the first time that I have used it. Its black and white with gold pattern was the perfect accompaniment to the table setting. Some things are just meant to be.

 

Out of the blue, M. offered me these tiny gold spoons, exactly the right size for the cup and saucer's diminutive proportions. The camel at the top of the spoon works well with the Victorian theme, as the Victorians were great travelers to exotic places.

Victorian Dinner Party #7

Some antique alphabet blocks spell out Victoria on the mantle.

A selection of items were gathered together into a vignette for effect, providing a suitable backdrop. This clock looks old but is actually an inexpensive thrift shop score.

An old print about October was a lucky find in a thrift shop, only a couple of weeks before the party. Even better, it cost the very reasonable sum of $1.99, including the matting and frame.

The poem is appropriate for Halloween and the past, with its mention of chill October winds "sadly sighing, when the leaves in circlets fly, all seems dead or dying."

  

Victorian Dinner Party #6

These are the take-away gifts that my guests received as they were leaving the party at the end of the night. Inside the Victorian cones was a combination of  "tricks and treats", tricks such as a plaster skull, sticky eyeballs, scary hands, a mouse and a spider; and yummy baked treats: meringues, almond crescents and madeleines. 

The loot was wrapped in black-and-white printed tissue paper in which was placed a layer of parchment paper. The cones had black ribbon handles.

The cones were made with black construction paper and reinforced at the seams by patterned contact paper in a suitable Victorian motif. On the black construction paper areas I glued images that I had photocopied from the 1901 Eaton's catalogue, cutting them out and placing the masculine items on the cones for the men and the ladies' items on those for my female guests. 

Here are some of the ladies' cones.

  And here is one for the men.

They were all a llittle different from each other.