Retrophilia: December 2015

DIY Button Jewelry

I had acquired a package of various vintage buttons from Hobby Lobby over the summer. I thought they were so beautiful and would make great pieces of jewelry, had they not been buttons.

All Pictures Courtesy of Kathryn Muñoz

I then embarked on a quest to develop a method of turning them into jewelry. I figured it would be an easy task since jewelry making is one of my hobbies, and I have a Girl Scout badge to prove that I'm legit (true story, bad joke).

So without further ado, I will show how these buttons can be turned into a bracelet and pair of earrings. All the pictures used in this post belong to myself.

Bracelet

Here's a look at what you will need:

Buttons
Two pairs of jewelry making pliers
Jump rings
Lobster claw clasp

Directions:

Take a jump ring and open it up with your pliers
Hook the ring to the button loop and close
Link two rings, one on each side, to the original ring on the button
Open another jump ring and hook it to another button. Do not close just yet
Connect the open jump ring on the button to the exterior jump ring on the previous button and close
Repeat process until bracelet is of desired length
Attach a lobster claw clasp at the end

Earrings

Here's what you will need:

Two identical buttons
Two pairs of jewelry making pliers
Sandpaper
Hot glue (or any other strong adhesive)
Flat post earrings

Instructions:

Take the button and push the loop up from the back until the faux pearl piece pops out

Take your pliers and twist the button loop on the faux pearl piece until it tears off.
A jagged stump will be left after the loop is broken. Take a piece of sandpaper and file he back down until remnants of the loop are gone.
Take the faux pearl piece and glue it to the original gold base. Let dry.
Glue your flat back earrings to the back of the gold base. Let dry.

Be sure to clean the earring posts before wearing

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and get inspire to make your own creations!

-Kathryn Muñoz

The 1970s

An vintage era that I haven't seemed to talk about is the 1970s. The 70s has such a diverse feel to me. I can be broken up into thirds that all have a different aesthetic when looking back. 1970-73 has that "Brady Bunch" feel on the surface, with the underlying oppression of the Vietnam War. 1974-76 has this relaxed feel. The clothing, the music, and the culture reflect a carefree lifestyle. 1977-79 has a bit of a glamorous feel with the rise and fall of disco, though much of the aspects I described from the mid 70s continued to persist.

Here is a Pinterest Board that captures some of the 70s vibe.

-Kathryn Muñoz

50s to the Max

I enjoy watching videos about people with unusual, extreme obsessions and thought I'd share this video clip from an episode of TLC's My Crazy Obsession about Doris Mayday, a woman that is obsessed with the 1950s to the point that she lives and dresses like that time period.

Video from TLC's YouTube channel

Talk about dedication! Doris is not alone in her lifestyle. I have found examples of other modern women living the exact same way. Honestly, I feel that I'll probably end up similarly once I'm on my own, except with a smorgasbord of different times.

-Kathryn Muñoz

80s Art Appreciation

I am a person that appreciates art in general. I believe that everyone has an artistic side to them that can be expressed beautifully if their heart desires, despite their ability or confidence in themselves. Of course, I love art that reminds me of the vintage designs that I dearly love. Here are some artistic styles that suit my fancy:

Abstract

In my mind, nobody could ever go wrong with abstract art. It is a design principal that was quite prominent in the 1980s, which was the first decade that fueled my retro obsession. The 1980s style that many would find tacky and give away personal remnants of to Goodwill is extremely comforting to me, and I love it.

These are pictures of artwork by artist Yoko Honda

Art Deco Vases

Another thing from the 1980s that often has a fate of ending up at Goodwill are vases. I absolutely adore these gems and I have a personal collection of my own that I'm hoping to expand.

My personal vase collection. Photo credits to myself

80s art just makes me happy. I could never grow sick of it.

-Kathryn Muñoz

90s Part 3

Denim

While blue jeans have remained a timeless classic in American fashion for quite some time, there's something about the denim of the 90s that makes it so uniquely...90s. From overalls to denim cutoffs, the blue jeans of the 90s were full of character. What makes a 2010s comeback so interesting is that females been accustomed to our jeans being "skinny" for quite some time. They are now starting to dip back into baggier types of jeans, referred to as "boyfriend jeans". The title is quite cliched, but it's an interesting transition. Additionally, the wearing of overalls has faded since the early 2000s and has become synonymous with being "country" or childish. Fashions make their way to the limelight in mysterious ways.

All in all, there are so many resurrected trends that I could talk about, such as Birkenstocks, crop tops, preppy style, and even fanny packs. But while fads come and go, the creativity of a person's fashion sense lasts forever.

-Kathryn Muñoz

90s Part 2

Grunge

The Grunge Movement is a well known staple of the 90s. Originally an underground trend, grunge became mainstream and left its legacy on fashion and music history. Grunge is best known for its use of flannels and rugged denim.

1990s advertisement for Picway

1990s advertisement for J Crew

Women photographed in the mid 1990s, courtesy of 90s 411

Today, the influence of grunge can be seen in an array of plaid and flannels on anything from shirts to dresses. Pop culture t-shirts are hot as well.

-Kathryn Muñoz

"Retroween"? I'll Pass...

October 23, 2015

With the month of October comes the celebration of Halloween and the inevitable preparations for the holiday on October 31st. Given that I have made my love for many things vintage/retro quite clear on this blog, especially in the realm of design, one could assume that I would relish in similar aspects of the past when celebrating Halloween.

In all actuality, I don't.

I like vintage things, and I like Halloween. However, I absolutely DESPISE vintage Halloween. How can that be?

I do enjoy Halloween, but I have a love-hate relationship with it, and he reason for that has to do with the aesthetics of the holiday. In saying that, I am mostly referring to the decorations. When I was a child, I often found myself terrified of the decorations I saw when I was trick-or-treating. All I wanted to do was dress up and get candy, and I couldn't seem to be able to do that without all of these spooky decorations being shoved in my face and ruining my experience.

I recently found an entry that I had written in my 3rd grade writing journal from 2005, and I can't help but find it amusing.

Courtesy of Kathryn Muñoz

"Last night, I went trick-or-treating. This year, I was a witch, I got about 20 pounds of candy [an attempt at a hyperbole]. I didn't like so many of the decorations, especially the skeletons. I am afraid of skeletons. I said [to my mother that night] that I wished that people would decorate their house for Halloween with angels, Jesus, fountains, little children playing, and Christmas decorations?"

I don't even know what I was trying to say there. I've just always found certain aspects of Halloween to be extremely terrifying, and I find the crudeness of vintage and antique Halloween aesthetics to be nightmare fuel. From the innocence of crazy Jack-O-Lanterns (which is partially responsible for my general dislike of the pumpkin's shade of orange) and skeletons (which I find frightening in decoration form, and always seemed to be the decoration of choice in previous eras), to the downright gory and horrific, it's just not my cup of tea.

And who could blame me? Take a look at this BuzzFeed article titled "19 Deeply Horrifying Vintage Halloween Costumes", if you dare...

WARNING: The visuals of this article will more than likely be disturbing to anyone that sees them

Bottom line, you can be as spooky on Halloween as you want. Just don't expect me to join in.

-Kathryn Muñoz

Rocky Horror Update

October 24, 2015

The Rocky Horror Picture Show event was a success. It was at the Jayhawk Theater here in Topeka. The historic Jayhawk is definitely making a comeback. Reopening to the public in 2014, they are striving to bring life back into the theater, and events like the Rocky Horror showing contribute to the cause.

These are some pictures
I took of the theater. It's very
old and has many of its
original detailing.

I went with one of my best friends named Aaron. I ended up not going in costume because I didn't have time to manage one. But in true Rocky style, I sported red lipstick to the event. Aaron's costume was flawless. He just has a certain confidence about him that allows him to sport leather and high heels like a supermodel

Aaron and I before the show. Photo credit goes to myself

Like many viewings of this movie, everyone was given prop bags to accompany the story. Though I have misplaced the card from the bag that explained each prop, when to use them, and what to do with them, here is a similar list that I found online: