Monday, October 24, 2011

Salon du Vintage


Hello friends! I have some great news to share with you all.  De Petites Merveilles will be  at the Salon du Vintage this weekend (29-30 October).  This 8th edition of the Salon marks the grand opening of the Cite de la Mode et du Design to the public. Situated on the left bank of Paris, the Cite was built in 1907 as a warehouse for goods traveling by barge on the river Seine.  It was one of the first buildings in Paris built from concrete.  After many years of disuse and neglect, the city of Paris decided to revive the building and to dedicate it completely to fashion and design.

Here is a first glimpse of the place.....
Photo courtesy of Docks de Paris.com
For this very special occasion, the Salon du Vintage has joined forces with T-Mode to present the public with only the very best in vintage fashion, accessories, furniture and all things handmade.  I hope to see you there!!




Practical details

De Petites Merveilles at the Salon du Vintage
Cite de la Mode et du Design
32 Quai d'Austerlitz 75013
Paris

Monday, October 17, 2011

Italian, Czech and French

Here are some of the lovely new earrings that are going into the shop today!

A pair of vintage Italian handpainted Murano glass beads

Lovely art deco era Czech bead earrings

Pair of French 50s glass beads
All available here.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The trade bead collection



Blue and white Chevron beads with red French glass

I love trade beads. They've travelled so much and must have seen so much over the course of their journeys. If only they could talk, what stories they could tell!

This shop update is a wonderful collection of trade beads from the 19th century!  All are available in the shop


Red and white striped Murano trade beads with gold focal bead

Millefiori beads with carved metal beads


bracelet of brown and red trade beads

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Vintage made new

40s midi tea dress
One of the things I love about doing my jewelry is giving new life to some very old beads.  Its a wonder to me that these lovely old things have survived for so long and its a shame to let them go to waste. I guess you can say that its my way of recycling!  And its funny too how in the past ten or so years, vintage has become such an accepted and popular way of dressing and even living.  Such has become the influence of vintage that nowadays, new fashion (be it off the rack or couture) references with great facility those fashions of the past.

While doing some online window shopping, I fell upon these great looks from Asos.   And they very clearly proudly wear their vintage origins on their sleeves. The red dress has a very 40s vibe while the yellow midi-skirt is clearly a throwback from the 70s. Any or all of them would certainly be great additions to my fall wardrobe!


I loved this lurex sweater
which would go perfectly with this metallic fuschia skirt!


all images courtesy of Asos.com

 
I guess this means that vintage is here to stay!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Monday, October 3, 2011

Navy and white with pearls


Hello folks! Hope your week is off to a good start! For my part, I've been trying to put some order into my bead supplies and its taking some time to finish. Probably because I spend more time admiring them rather than actually sorting them out. They are so pretty! And while sorting out, I found myself drawn to these blue and white striped tubular beads from the 20s.  They're french glass but they're called les bonbons anglais (English candies) because they resemble the English candies from that period! I bought them because I liked the stripes and how they're all a bit irregular. Its  a sign that the beads were handmade.

I put them together with some creamy glass pearls from the 50s and this is what came out of the mix...


I like how the creaminess of the pearls is set off by the blue and white color. Its kinda nautical but elegant, I'd like to think.




I'm sure someone out there has the perfect outfit for this beauty!