In the Dressing Room-Le Bomb Shop

The first company I'm featuring in my Dressing Room series on Youtube is Le Bomb Shop, an Ebay based company specializing in retro inspired dresses and separates.

Le Bomb Shop offers clothing that ranges in inspiration from the 40's to the 80's, at very decent prices. Most items are between 30.00 and 60.00, with some separates coming in at as little as 10.00!

I feel that this store is ideal for those of us who love to dress in vintage inspired clothing but also can't afford the prices of some of the other reproduction clothing companies. There are some amazing options for every day dresses, as well as frocks for special occasions. My friend Kalia used Le Bomb Shop to purchase her bridesmaid dresses!



While I can't vouch for the quality of every garment pictured, the ones I received recently are of decent construction. Fabrics are indicative of price, usually of a cotton blend and containing some stretch. If stretch is present in the item, it will be noted on the description page.

One of the main 'plus' points of this company is the attention to styling options and the multiple photos of each dress, from every angle. Keep in mind that the dress form is small however, and the dress will likely not look exactly the same on your frame unless you are a tiny thing. I have had a few issues with fit, in the past, but the measurements of the two items reviewed seemed to be accurate. So make sure to take your measurements and purchase accordingly, to insure proper fit.

Visit Le Bomb Shop...and make sure to let them know you heard about them here!

xxoo,
Ashley

'Grandma Miller's Rolls'-Viewer Contributed Family Recipe!

I am so pleased to be trying my hand at 'viewer contributed' family recipes on my Youtube Channel! The recipe for this week's tutorial was offered by viewer Karen, who claims he Grandma Miller's homemade rolls were next to none! Make sure to check out the video for the full process (and some great tunes by Marti Brom), but here is the written version of the recipe.

xxoo,
Ashley
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Grandma's Rolls

2 eggs well beaten
1/3 c. powdered milk
4 tsp yeast dissolved in 3/4 c warm water with 1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 c water
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
shortening
margarine
about 4 3/4c. flour

Mix together all ingredients with enough flour to make a soft batter that can be rolled out on a floured surface. Roll to 1/2 inch thick and spread dough with thin layer of shortening. Fold again and roll, then spread with margarine. Fold one last time and roll, then cut into circles (Grandma used a glass for a cutter). Dip half of dough circle in melted margarine, fold in half, pinching edges, and lay close to one another in baking pan. Let rise for about 2 hours. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes

'Fortune Cookie Soaps' Giveaway!

As promised in my recent product review, I'm hosting a giveaway for Fortune Cookie Soaps, absolutely the 'Cat's Meow' in whimsical, lusciously scented bath products.

The prize will be four 25.00 Gift Certificates! Yay!

Here are the rules, as laid out by the company:
1. Entry begins at 11pm tonight and ends at 11pm on the 29th of July.

2. You must follow Fortune Cookie Soaps on Twitter at 'fortunefreak'.

3. 'Like' the Facebook Fan Page

4. Tell them what your favorite Fortune Cookie Products is!

5. Make sure to provide a valid email address with your entry so that you can be easily reached.

A Family of Fashion Illustrators

A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting my mother and came across these fabulous prints which I felt you all might enjoy.

My grandfather and mother were both fashion illustrators. My grandfather, Frank Nichols, became quite well known for his art and eventually opened up an art school, here in Tennessee. His house always smelled like coffee and turpentine. Visiting, as a child, I was fascinated by his studio. There was a life sized mannequin in the sudio, which always frightened me at night, and various paintings at different stages of completion. His favorite mediums were oil (which he used on most of his landscapes and portraits) or pen and ink. Though his oil paintings are still some of my most prized possessions (and which provide the backgrounds for many of my finished styling photos), I was always most drawn to those long, lean black and gray ladies of his fashion illustrations.



He specialized in textures-furs, lame', leather. I was always astonished how sleek and perfected his tiny brush could make these things appear.

My mother inherited much of his talent and was trained to be a fashion illustrator herself. She was gorgeous, simply built for a career in fashion. Starting out as a model, her runway experience helped her to develop an eye for design and accessorizing. She began to draw for Levy's department store in Memphis in the mid 1960's.

When I was a kid, I naturally had the very best in paper dolls.
I would just have to tell mom that I wanted 'that dress' for my paper dolls and she'd bang it out in mere minutes. When I watched 'The Ten Commandments', she drew me a 12 inch Egyptian doll that had an array of fascinating 'Hollywood' inspired costumes and a stunning black bobbed haircut. Somewhere along the way, I became obsessed with 'Gigi' and my talented mother was quick to create a doll that was the height of Minneli-esque, Lautrec-inspired french fashion.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a little of her artwork with you here. I plan to frame some of it...I love the fact that you can still see her penciled in notes and those of the editor. Shoes were her specialty. In these days, where everything is done with computers, we sometimes forget the effort that was put into making clothing appealing to the average shopper. Pen and ink did that best, if you ask me.



















Thanks for visiting,

Ashley