My Christmas List

Last year I had a very traumatic Christmas when I decided to make all my presents myself. This year I decided to buy early and often, and I have accumulated a substantial pile of presents. But you know when you're looking at your Christmas present pile, and it seems like a weird and random assortment of things? That's what my Christmas list looks like this year.

Someone I know (I'm sure none of these people read my blog) is getting a Lucky Mojo Charm from Mojohatchery. It's made of something called devil pods or, hilariously, bat nuts -- and in person it is terrifying. Those little black seedpods really do look like bats from one angle and scary faces from another. I think the recipient will appreciate this. Plus, it's supposed to ward off evil, and what more does anyone want for Christmas?

Someone else is getting a set of 1930s French chessmen in a wooden box, similar to the set available here. It's not quite as cool as a set of devil pods, but I think he might like it better.

Another person on my list will be getting an Art Deco brooch like this one, a hand holding a water lily.

And if you have someone on your Christmas list who likes antiques, used to be a locksmith, and was once almost kicked out of the navy during WWII for smuggling a pet monkey on board, this is the perfect gift: a Chinese lock in the shape of a monkey, over 100 years old and available here.

Let's hope that my friends and family are ready for some interesting and unusual vintage presents, because that is what everyone is getting this year from me. And if any of you are reading this, I wouldn't mind getting that sort of present for Christmas either.

Dress Clips

So I recently discovered dress clips and went a little insane. An entirely new way to wear jewelry! An entirely new type of jewelry to shop for! This week I bought this vintage German dress clip with odd little spiky flowers that change from green to gold to violet as you move. It goes with almost everything I own. (If you want a dress clip exactly like this, check out GoAntiques.)

I got mine from the fantastic Etsy shop Dollherup, which has some of the strangest and coolest vintage jewelry I've ever seen. Oh, and they also sent me a second dress clip as a thank-you gift, a pretty gold-tone filigree piece. They are awesome. And they are having a 20% off sale on all vintage jewelry September 22-25!

Dress clips were most popular in the 20s and 30s, and could be used to gather up a loose dress for a tighter fit, but this is my favorite way to wear them. (This website has a nice summary of other ways to wear them.) I've been clipping mine onto v-neck sweaters and dresses. They seem to stay balanced better than a brooch, and they don't leave holes in your clothes. And there are so many different kinds of dress clips:

Carved bakelite clips in juicy colors. (1940s Red Bakelite Floral Clip, $26.50 from AriesgirlVintage; Vintage Butterscotch Bakelite Carved Pineapple Dress Clip, $35.00 from The Antique and Collectible Exchange; Pea Soup Green Carved Bakelite Dress Clip, $65.00 from Ecrater)

Ornate clips in pairs. I'm planning to get myself some of these and wear them pinned to the corners of a square-necked top. (Rhinestone Dress Clips, $2.00 from Katseclectics; Vintage Fur or Dress Clips Pair Art Deco, $6.50 from MyCreations4U; gorgeous Sterling and Rhinestone Dress Clips, $18 from Ohmymilky.)

Cameo clips. (Antique Cameo Dress Clip c.1900, $95 from Eric J. Phillips; Vintage Figural Silvertone Dress Clip, $4.50 from FarawayEyes; Vintage Victorian Dress Clip, $44 from Darling Harbor)

Sculptural dress clips. Some of these are so bizarre and wonderful -- moving windmills, chessmen, vases that hold real flowers. A little more normal but just as lovely: Cluster of Grapes Vintage Dress Clip, $16.50 from Ohmymilky; amazing Goldtone Dress Clip with a Bird, $18 from Hollywooddesign; Leaf and Berry Rhinestone Dress Clip, $18 from Ecrater)

And the classic Art Deco rhinestone numbers. (Vintage Dress Clip, $50; 1930s Dress Clip with Rhinestones, $65 from Ecrater; West Germany Signed Marcasite Dress Clip, $14 from SeeJayneKnit)

My plan is to start shopping in the $2.00 range and work my way up to the terribly expensive ones.