Vintage Fashion in Black

Welcome to Vintage Black Friday ... here are some last minute Halloween costume ideas ... all inspired by black vintage clothing/accessories and vintage glamour gals ... also welcome to my latest addiction "Polyvore" ... I advise you NOT to go to this site if you need to get anything accomplished today ... I started this blog post at 6:00 am, it's now almost 11:00am ... get my drift? ... yeah, five hours later ... there's not a lot of time left for talking/typing!! ... enjoy the inspiration and costume ideas and when you have some spare time on your hands this weekend ... go play here ....



p.s. Happy Halloween!!

Inspired by Marilyn Monroe by monChanel ♪♫ featuring Valentino

Audry Hepburn in Funny Face by The Jacket Junkie featuring Coach accessories

Lucillle by monniewood featuring Marc Jacobs shoes

Ava by Elkie featuring Hermes bags

Handing out treats

I know what everyone is thinking ... that I forgot something, right? ... well you're wrong, I didn't forget ... I'm a little behind that's all!! ... I promised treats for last Friday's VBF and I'm here to hand out the goodies today. Not an easy task since ALL participants have been blowing me away each Friday with new black finds and inspiration ... I'm also surprised to see the growing number of VBF Gypsies playing along each week ... it's been a fun game/party to play and we are half way through playing it ... I'm already dreaming up the next party idea in my head, I'll save that one for after the holiday rush! Okay, okay .... I know blah, blah, blah ... here are last week's treat winners ... remember these are "picked" from completely random ideas that come to mind ... you never know what will win a treat!

Miranda from 'The Sobbing settee' ... for being the only participant from Europe, The Netherlands to be exact.

Claudia from 'Mockingbird Hill Cottage' and Marsha from 'Sassy Mini Dolls' for being two of the most loyal and faithful commenters. (sp?)

Laura from '52 Flea' for being the 26th person to join VBF, the number 26 because it's my birthday .... and second for this magical post ... one of my favorites to date.

Debra from 'Common Ground' for "raising the bar" of VBF, so to speak ... I'm sure her beautiful and extensive posts have not gone unnoticed by all participants!

Will the above mentioned, please, please, please, drop me an e-mail at: gypsybrocante@gmail.com with your mailing address so that I can send off your treat asap ; )

Also, don't forget each and every comment, each and every week on my post, will enter you into the grand prize of a $50 Black Friday shopping spree at Gypsy Brocante ... not to worry, the brocante will be well stocked by Black Friday!!

Want to enter another fab give-away?? ... go check out fellow VBF Gypsy gal, Anne, of 'Fiona and Twig' she's celebrating reaching over 200 followers!


That's all for now ... I have a lot more catching up to do!!

Vintage needlepoint

Hosting Vintage Black Friday each week has made me realize how quickly the weeks are flying by, could someone please slow things down a little bit? Just a little is all I'm asking ... My VBF item today is simple, but it is one of my most treasured pieces I own ... it is my Great Grandmother's black needlepoint footstool. I'm not sure if she did the handwork herself, but I do have vague memories of her resting her feet upon it as she did her mending {ok, she was really watching General Hospital ~ but I'm trying to create a 'feeling' here!} ... I do treasure it ... even in it's torn and tattered state of repair ... it is one of those pieces that "speaks" to me, {I'm being serious here} it's simple, practical and served a purposed, but still beautiful in it's own right.

I'm contemplating about using this as my 'inspiration' for simplifying some areas in my home. Weeding out the unnecessary items and paring down to essentials ... practical and purposeful but beautiful ... that would be a challenge to say the least ... I'm a huge visual person ... if I like the way it looks I'll put it there, even if it doesn't serve a purpose ... hmmmm maybe it's purpose is only to please me? .... like I said I'm contemplating!

{click photo to enlarge}

That's all I'm sharing this Friday of my vintage black collection .... I'm going to concentrate on handing out treats today to Vintage Black Friday gypsy gals ... you never know what might inspire a surprise trick-or-treat!




Not enough eye-candy you say? ... I did pick some of my favorite Vintage Black items from Etsy last night ... have all the eye candy you want!

One last note ... run on over to Garden Antqs Vintage and wish Theresa a happy anniversery, you don't want to miss her super give-a-way!

It's All About Me!

I'm on a party train .... and I'm lovin' it! Today's party is "All About Me" ... yup, just me ... well, kinda because after I'm done talking about me I'm going to run on over and hear what all of you have to share about what you did for you!! {does that make sense??} Confused? ... here's how this one is goin' down ... the talented and creative Natasha Burns is our hostess today and the creator of this party that's all about me ... the challenge was put to us {me} awhile back to do something just for yourself .... not for someone else ... for you ... purely for fun ... just because you deserve it.... time out for me ... for example I make jewelry {among a zillion other things!} a lot of jewelry and I feel lucky/blessed that people like my jewelry, buy it, wear it, and enjoy it ... that's ALL GOOD, in fact that's GREAT! .... on the flip side ... do you think that I "own" one of my pieces for myself? Nope. I can't tell you how many times I get dressed to go somewhere {it does happen on occasion, I'm not ALWAYS working in my PJs} ... and I can't find a single necklace to wear!? ... very frustrating! ... so this leads me to Natasha's challenge, I'll make a necklace "just for me!" and I did, the one below ....

I made my necklace with the Halloween spirit in mind ... using all black elements ... the repurposed black vintage brooch reminds me of a dusty old creepy spider web full of harvested shiny rhinestones ... the same for the matching earrings further up on the necklace, just past the black rhinestones and black rosary beads ... for a touch of whimsy I added a little black lady spider gathering just one more rhinestone for her collection. {she's got great taste!}

Today the Gypsy Prince and I are going out for a little Halloween fun with a playdate ... to an amusement park that is all decked out for Halloween .... and for me, since it's all about me ... I'll be decked out as well ... wearing my new spider necklace!!

A reminder ... there's another party tomorrow ... VINTAGE BLACK FRIDAY ... I'll be handing out treats!! Everyone is invited to link up and join in, click on button to the right, hope to see you there!



Don't forget to stop by all of the other "all about me" participants and thank you Natasha for such a wonderful challenge and party!

Me? Party Girl?

Blogging has turned me into a "Party Girl!" ... today I am participating in the "I'm a Flea Marketeer Party" hosted by Flea Market Style ... {WHEN is this new magazine coming out? anybody know??} ... well, today is all about SHOWING OFF ... show off your fabulous finds from flea market shopping, digging, hunting, and chasing down all of those treasures you unearthed and want to share with others who truly appreciate them ... and all of your hard effort put into finding them!! Sounds like fun, huh? Let's go .... here is my latest acquisition, a set of tole ware sconces in the most perfect vintage condition ... the paint has a well worn time enhanced patina, chippy and flaking ... the colors are in my favorite palette of faded pinks, greens and creams with that ever so pleasing touch 'o rust ... pure shabby elegance!



At the moment I am using them as part of my Jewelry display ... they are now dripping with necklaces made from even more found flea market treasures ... I have a client who wants to purchase my newly acquired sconces ... this is going to be tough ... I so do not want to part with them ... will I find another set I like as much? ... I'm undecided what to do ....

Thanks for taking a look ... I'm off to see what everyone else scooped up this weekend ...

A Hauntingly Magical Celebration

A long awaited party has descended upon us today ... "Halloween ... a Hauntingly Magical Celebration" ... hosted by A Fanciful Twist it's the biggest bash I've attended to date, well over a hundred bloggers participating! A little intimidating to say the least ... what should I share with blogland? .... and although I supposedly live in a very old haunted house I don't even have a spooky tale to tell. Then it occurred to me I could share with you some pictures from our family vacation this summer ... I haven't shown these to a single soul, I didn't want to stir up any controversy ... however they are perfect for unveiling today ... We spent a few days exploring Savannah, Georgia ... which as you well know to be terribly haunted .... We didn't see anything unusual, didn't feel anything unusual and thought "haunted, yeah right" .... then I downloaded my photos and images began to appear ... literally ... Take a close look and I'll let you be the judge ... haunted or not?

feel free to click on photo ... for closer examination

The last picture was taken right before we left ... I wonder if we had any extra passengers on the way home? There does seem to be a little more "activity" in this old house since we have returned home from vacation ... and our little Gypsy Prince has taken to a new "imaginary" playmate ... Hmmmmmm ... this could be an interesting Halloween this year ....

Black Wrought Iron

Vintage Black Friday is here .... I LOVE black old wrought iron, any shape or form ... it can be ornate or simplistic ... shiny with black lacquer or chipped, rusty and peeling ... doesn't matter I adore ALL of it! But ... I don't own a single piece of iron fencing {mine is white picket}. I do have some candle sconces, planters, small decorative items ... just not the big, heavy, massive impressive stuff ~maybe one day when I live in a French or English mansion? Since I have no photos of my own I tried a new mosaic maker at Flickr, oh this is dangerous ... I feel hours slipping away and no dinner again .... enjoy my mosaic!! This week I'm giving away some surprise gifts to a few chosen comments ... let's hear what you have to say!!

click on mosaic to enlarge

1. HWIBW (Happy Wrought Iron Bokeh Wednesday:], 2. HWIBW (Happy Wrought Iron Bokeh Wednesday:), 3. wrought iron, 4. wrought iron, 5. Enter of your free will, 6. Wrought Iron Railings, 7. Wrough Iron Star - Texas Capitol, 8. Wrought Iron Fence, 9. Iron Bokeh ~, 10. Iron Gate, 11. Wrought iron gate, 12. wrought iron gate, 13. en.trance, 14. St johns lutheran church wrought iron gate_5367, 15. Iron like a lion in .... Darmstadt?, 16. Red Berries and Black Wrought Iron, 17. wrought iron door, 18. Wrought Iron Railing, 19. Wrought Iron Fence, 20. Wrought Iron House, 21. Lafayette Cemetery, 22. Wrought Iron, 23. Salvation. (Wrought-Iron. Monochrome Series #2), 24. Decision. (Wrought-Iron. Monochrome Series #4), 25. Wrought Iron Fence

Join me at the Soiree

Getting ready for the big soiree tomorrow night!! The shop has been primped, primed and is ready to party!! ... below are just a few photos of what is to come ... we here there is a Nor' easter coming as well, but that won't dampen our Gypsy spirits, we'll be there with bells on ... come and join us! There will be prizes {LOVE prizes} ... FREE studio time for you and a friend ... food, fun, fortune telling and SHOPPING!

Click on picture to enlarge

Stop by and say "Hi!" ... hope to see you there ; )

Don't Talk To Me Before Coffee

Friday already??!! ... time is flying by ... happy V.B.F. !! ... here's something that will make you smile, my friend Beth {aka "Gypsy Fish"} calls me just about every morning on her way to work to say hello, talk a little shop, and complain about our husbands ... this morning we have our usual convo and she says to me "Happy VBF!!" ... mind you I woke up late today,hadn't had my coffee yet, so I'm thinking to myself VBF?, what the "F" is she talking about? ... she continues to chat away ~she usually does most of the talking anyway ; ) ... the whole time I'm trying to figure out in my pea sized brain what she said to me, I don't text or "talk" computer shorthand much and most the time I'm too embarrassed to ask "what does that mean?" .... then ... OH! a very dim light bulb appears ... Wow! she's saying good morning to her "Very Best Friend" ... she's never referred to me as her "BFF" ... how sweet ... so I want to make sure she thinks I'm her "Very Best Friend" ... and ask her "what did you say?" ... of course she's already 3 subjects ahead of me and I have to explain myself .... she starts laughing and says "DUH ... Jill it's Vintage Black Friday" ... lessons learned, one, make sure I have my coffee before chatting with Beth in the am and two, if I don't get the lingo DON'T ASK ... I could have just kept believing I was her VBF!

{click on pictures to enlarge}

Here's what I have to share today ... from top to bottom: Vintage yard measures~ I have a whole jar of these, again love the black graphics. A collection of black chippy really old door knobs ~ I saw these at the flea this past weekend I thought they were very cool. They could have been mine for $5.00, but again I have to start asking myself "do I really NEED them?" ... no ... Graphics on vintage Bingo cards, reminds me of my Grandmother, she LOVED to play bingo and I loved to play with all those little ink bottles she had! A small portion of my black and white antique cabinet cards. One of my vintage dress forms found at auction a few years back. A black shiny but chippy painted bank deposit box, hmmm I wonder what the contents used to be?

I'm off to visit all my VBF's joining me today for VBF!!

Dreaming of Texas and Antiques

Wish I could have been there ... these past few weeks I've been longing to be elsewhere, not just anywhere ... somewhere special, exciting, and enchanting ... Texas ... Round Top Texas to be exact. I'm sure you all {ya'll} know just what I am talking about ... "those" antique shows, markets, venues, pastures FULL of junque ... One week every Spring and Fall I spend ample amounts of time on the computer perusing various "creative~Antique~type" blogs drooling over posts about the shows, admiring all the displays {works of art!} ... the furniture ... the unusual ... the people ... the parties .... the cowboys and cowgirls ... the list goes on and on!

This past summer I was contacted by Donna from "Virgins, Sinners and Saints"... a "soulfully hip company" ... asking me If I could fulfill a wholesale order of my Gypsy slip dresses for her ... to take to ROUND TOP of all places!! She said she liked my look and thought they would work well with her line ... I said "YES!!" even before I heard all the details ... maybe I couldn't get to Round Top personally, but I felt like I could at least send a portion of my "gypsy spirit" along with my dresses ... {I would have packed myself into the box if I could have} ... I spent a week with my hands in dye ... they looked like a blueberry pie! Donna was wonderful to work with ... we had a nice telephone conversation one day and she invited "to show me around round top" ... she has NO CLUE I am totally going to take her up on that offer ; ) .... she also promised me pictures from the show ... in the meantime, like I said, I've spent hours stalking the internet for glimpses of all of the Texas goodness ...

One blog I follow regularly is "Tongue in Cheek" ... you know Corey Amaro, the fabulous American woman who meets and marries fabulous French husband and lives happily ever after in the south of France ... who takes the time to blog everyday and share her life with us ... AND gets to hook up with friends and go to Round Top Texas to eat, breath and live antiques while away from home? I knew you would know her. Anyway, I realized she was blogging everyday from her post at the antique fair ... so first thing every morning I would get my coffee and sit down to scope out her blog ... then it happened on September 28th this was her post ...I had to do a double take ... LOOK! someone is wearing a Gypsy Dress!!

photo source Annie at The Bunny Bungalow

Theresa, Cory, and Theresa

Okay now I had to get more info and off on my hunt I went ... I sent a note to Corey inquiring about the woman in the photo ... totally did not expect to hear back from her {don't know why I get such a case of anxiety when I contact people who are "blogfabulous" }... well she did send me a sweet note back telling me who was who, etc. etc ... and I quote "... I saw more than one person wearing your dress... in fact a group of women at the Blogger Party were talking about it...." My jaw hit the floor oh and THEN she proceeds to tell her readers where they can find my dresses ... my impression of Corey is now not only is she "blogfabulous" but she is genuine, the real deal, and a very kind person ... thank you Corey!

Off to the Bunny Bungalow blog ... where I find and meet "Annie"...to learn she is not "the one" wearing my dress but rather the "photographer" of the dress picture ... another kind and generous blogger who helps point me in the right direction on my mission ... hop by her blog for more pictures of Round Top activities!

I arrive at Garden Antiques Vintage and I eye up "Theresa" ... nope, not "the one", not whom I'm looking for, but so glad I stopped by ... check out her eye candy from the show! ... and a video, hey do I spy with my little eye another Gypsy Dress? Theresa is an amazing creative antique dealer who also just so happens to host the well known blog party at Round Top.

Yes! This is who I'm looking for "the one", "The other Theresa", "Tot" ... from Time Worn Interiors!! ... is this some sort of name game they play in Texas to confuse us "Northerners"? I'm still not positive I know her real name ... but what a doll she is ... she EVEN mentions me on her blog! Thank you ... hmmm, I'm going to call you "the one" ... Thank you for liking my dress, buying my dress, wearing my dress, and writing about my dress ... most of all thank you for letting my Gypsy spirit have a bite of that Texas pie they call Round Top ... I'll savor the taste for a long time!




ps ... please take a moment to check out all of the amazing pictures and stories the above bloggers have to share ... they truly make you feel like you've experienced the biggest antique fair in the world ... and if you have any other must see links, I'd LOVE to see them ... send them my way!!

Another Vintage Black Friday

Good day ... good Vintage Black Friday!! ... I'm very pleased we have more V.B.F. Gypsies joining us this week, all the more delicious treats to share. I am truly amazed at all of the black I have to share ... partially the reason I like to do a collage photo {for those of you who asked, I use: www.picnik.com , very fun and beware addicting!} ... you can always click on the photo for a larger view. Here's what I have to share this week ...



From upper left to right ... One of my favorite vintage black purses in black quilted satin and simple jeweled clasp... very Holly Golightly. Two more vintage purses ... one stitched Victorian the other a sequined number. A big 'ol round black vintage hat box from New York ...{ Shhh...found in the trash} A black felt wool vintage western/prairie style hat ... a little too small for me, I wonder if it will stretch? LOVE it! Black {almost} cowboy boots to match. Black rosary beads ... notice the crosses are missing, I use these in my jewelry designs ... they don't last long around here! A big black rhinestone brooch, missing stones ~ makes it all that much better ~ character they say! Lastly a HUGE jar of vintage black buttons, again I usually have a large stash of these for jewelry making, they're great for charm bracelets.

I know I'm posting a little early ... only because I want to make sure I have "all the time in the world" to visit each and everyone of you that participates in Vintage Black Friday tomorrow ... see you then!!

ps.Don't forget to leave comments {more chance to win!!} .. and make sure to visit the other bloggers listed on the right.