I spend countless hours every week looking for new finds for the shop but this week I decided to spend a little time looking for new finds for my own closet. I found some really amazing things and fell in love with two new vintage stores here in Seattle in the heart of Ballard a northern Seattle neighborhood.

I found the cutest 1940's jacket and suit here at Trove. I have yet to get a picture of me in it yet. Isn't this the cutest shop. The owner is a sweet heart as well

http://trovevintageboutique.tumblr.com/

I also ventured into Lucky Vintage today which is just around the corner from Trove. Lucky vintage has a large selection of men's wear as well whereas Trove is more focused on Women's wear. I found so many lovely things here today as well but sadly nothing in my size.

To be honest most of my personal vintage items are from Ebay. I love winning! I get a fair amount from fellow Etsy shops as well. I can typically find more things in my vintage size 16-18 online but was reminded today of how awesome it is to try things on and fall in love in a dressing room. 

Here are a few of my new online dress finds. I outta stop buying myself clothes, I don't have enough occasions to wear everything and when I do go out I tend to grab my same rotating favorites again and again. 

This wool and rabbit collared suit is in mint condition. It is so gorgeous, I need to make an effort to wear it soon before spring officially arrives.

This dress is lovely as well. It fits me like a glove and is made of the prettiest rayon chiffon. I love Chiffon, I just can't get enough of it. I can't stand the nylon stuff though. It never hangs right and feels so slippery.

After a long day of vintage shopping with my husband we decided that it was time for a treat. We needed a drink too. What to do? Go to Hot Cakes in Ballard for boozey shakes and hot molten chocolate cake. These shakes were so freakin good. Bulleit bourbon, salted caramel, homemade whip cream and a slight sprinkling of sea salt. Heaven.

It's been a while since my last post. I have been a busy bee but my husband and I finally got some time to go out on the town with two of my favorite family members, my mum and brother. I took them to The Pink door in Pike Place Market's Post Alley. It is an Italian restaurant that includes trapeze and cabaret. I love the soft warm lighting.  Here are a few photos from our evening.

                                                                 
                                                                 During dinner

This is my little brother, he lives in Santa Cruz so we don't get to see each other as much as we would like. This is after dinner and few Vespers.

This is my wacky mother. She lives in Ecuador so to get my mom and brother in town at the same time is rather rare. After dinner we ventured down to the Dillar room which is a few blocks south.  I would love to do a photo shoot here some day.

By this time we were all starting to feel the warmth of the libations hence my brother wearing my fur ear muffs.

My husband giving me a smooch for the camera

In the rest of my spare time I have actually been working on job number two, DottieMaeVintage. I have this crazy goal to make the etsy shop my one and only job in a year. Every penny I make goes right back into the shop to build inventory and drive more traffic. It has been a lot more work than I ever imagined but I like it so much and really hope that I can ultimately achieve my goal.

These are some recent finds and new additions to the shop

I am seriously considering an even stronger emphasis on vintage lingerie especially bras. I always new how much I loved vintage lingerie but am completely blown away at the demand for essentially used underwear.

That all for now, Ciao!

So many lovely layers of Tulle! It's a good thing most of my store is not in my size, I wouldn't have a store!

Anyways, this arrived a few days ago and I just got it listed and up in the shop. There are seven layers! Seven! Droooooool. I wish the pictures did it more justice. One of these days I outta get a nicer camera.

Lingerie Porn

Lately I have been drooling over vintage lingerie and therefor purchasing a lot of vintage lingerie for the shop. I may not be able to wear much of what has survived the 50's and 60's but that does not make it any less fun for me to collect. I have been contemplating designing my own circle stitch bullet bra, I wonder if there is a pattern for something like that floating out in the universe somewhere waiting for me to find it and then waiting  again for me to learn how to sew a bit better. How hard could it be? Teh, probably pretty hard. If only I did not need to sleep, I would get so much done and be able to devout so much more time to my aspirations and hobbies.

So, so, so incredibly gorgeous

I love the 60's

I love not only their lingerie but also their hair!

What's your bra size?

A good outfit starts with a good foundation. I have more bras than I can ever wear and not far behind in the shaper and girdle department. I am also very into proper fit and I feel that most ladies are wearing the wrong bra size. Bra sizing has stayed pretty much the same since the 1950's. Women continue to listen to the rubbish that Victoria's secret and other such companies dish out to them. Being such a bra fanatic be it vintage or contemporary brassieres I am always on the hunt for a better fitting bra. Being busty has it's pro's and con's and one of the downfalls is finding pretty things in your size. The biggest downfall is finding vintage bra's in that department you will have to adhere to traditional bra sizing unfortunately unless you are looking into getting yourself a vintage Pennyrich.

Now, let's talk a bit about sizing. Most American bra manufacturers tell you to add 4 inches to your band size right. Take a moment and stop and think about that for a minute. Your band is supposed to support 80% of your bust with the straps doing the other 20% of the work.  How well do you think a band 4 inches bigger than your rib cage is going to support? Not very well. How do you get a bra that offers good support? Well you should start with the right band size. If your rib cage is 32-33 inches around than you should be wearing a 32 inch band, perhaps even a size smaller depending on your preference in fit. You should always start on the last hook and work your way in to the smallest hook as your bra stretches out. O.k. so you know what band size you should be wearing now what cup size should you be wearing. Roughly every inch should equal a cup size, roughly. I have a 33" rib cage and the measurement around the fullest part of my bust is 40-41 inches. It fluctuates throughout the month surprise surprise. This is a 7 inch difference. I typically wear a 32 FF to a 32G. Much of that depends on the bra manufacturer or to be blunt my cycle.  Now before you go thinking that those sizes are freaking enormous just consider the math. If I went into Victoria's secret they would put me in a 36DD. A 36DD is roughly the same cup volume as a 32-FF/ 32G. The cups will fit my breasts but my band will be riding up my back and not properly supporting my breasts. When you are wearing bras like this you will find that you are constantly tightening your straps. You can't go by measurements alone however. There are a lot of variables to consider and breast shape can play a part too. If you are in the U.S. Nordstrom is a great place to go get fitted and they carry fantastic bras mainly from the U.K. where ladies are leaps ahead of the world regardomg correct bra fitting. Ask to try on a Freya or Fantasie both brands that are quality that Nordstrom carries. These run about $60.00 U.S. dollars. Befor you gasp listen to my advice. Go get fitted, figure out what size you wear in what brand and then go order through brastop online in their sale department. You will save about 50% This is a good calculator to start with  http://www.butterflycollection.ca/bra-size-calculator/ Trust me, learning my true size changed my life. On occasion I even find vintage bras in my size which always feels a bit like winning the lottery to me.

Another great blog on all things boob related is http://fullerfigurefullerbust.com/ Georgina knows her stuff and offers lots of great information on the subject.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DottieMaeVintage

Just got this lovely girdle in the shop this week! I love it, so wish it fit me!

This one below makes me want to belt out like a Virgin. Oh that Madonna days!

Wow, this red is so vibrant!

I adore circle stitch bras

Deadstock! It doesn't get any better in the vintage world.

One of the most Bettie Page like bras I have yet to come by.

Lots of new bras still to come! Isn't it a shame that it is so hard to find vintage bras in larger sizes? Ah well it gives me something to keep searching for.