The Skinny -- Drinky Time with the Cocktail Collection

The cocktail collection is officially closed.  Well, supposedly.  She says it is; I keep buying things.  And she keeps buying things, too.

Just like it's her fault I now own this book.  She's the Blackbird that found this amazing little blue book on its shelf in the Salvation Army this week.  Of course I had to buy it.  Duh.

From 1951, The Bartender's Book, written by Jack Townsend and Tom Moore McBride, is a quintessential guide to the best of the best in the world of cocktails.  It's so witty and of the time, that I'm reading it like a novel.  And parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny.

These guys really got into the mind of the American drinker -- from typecasting bar customers to the watering down of classic cocktails through bluster and ignorance.  They also dip into the history of cocktails and their components.

I was slightly miffed that there is no Vodka section -- since I'm personally a vodka drinker.  They focus on gin, rum, whiskey, brandy, applejack, and scotch drinks.  But, really, there's not that many recipes in here overall.  Townsend and McBride liked good, solid, classic cocktails.  They included a list of the top 40 drinks served in 1950, with the survey information provided by the New York Bartender's Union.  The top five were:

1. Manhattan
2. Martini
3. Daiquiri
4. Whiskey Sour
5. Old-Fashioned 

And they didn't believe in all those fancy-schmancy themed cocktails.  There's a section where they harpoon the customers that want them -- called Freak Drinks.  Which oddly enough, contains a drink that has since become a classic cocktail, the Bloody Mary.  Seems it was just a trendy drink when the book was written.

Here's the most jaw-dropping concoction I saw in the Freak Drinks section.  I say to this recipe -- "I will never drink you, because you would kick my ass!"  (You may know about a Zombie -- bear with me, I'm not a rum drinker and have never heard its contents before.)

Zombie
1 oz. amber rum
1 oz. silver rum
1 oz. Jamaica rum
1/2 oz. cherry brandy
1/2 oz. apricot brandy
juice of half lime
1 dash papaya juice
1/2 oz. 150-proof Jamaica rum

Fill a 14 oz Zombie glass half full of finely cracked ice.  Put in the ingredients and stir.  Top with the 150-proof Jamaica rum.  Decorate with a sprig of mint.  Serve with straws.


 

Here's the recipe for their number 1 cocktail, the Manhattan. Thought you might like to know if you're making it right...


Manhattan
2/3 rye
1/3 Italian vermouth
dash of Angostura bitters

Stir with ice.  Decorate with maraschino cherry.

Sounds simple enough!

Cheers!!

(Now where's the vodka...)

On the Radar -- Wear Your Hardware

Cartier white gold and diamond Love bracelet

One of the things I love most in this great big world is when new and old design meets -- and makes wonderful new little design babies.  Everything old can be new again -- because where we have been in our life and culture directly influences where we are and where we are going.

For example, the Cartier Love bracelet was created in 1969 by Aldo Cipullo.  It's still in production, and it is more chic than ever.  It is a classic.


But how do you twist a classic?  Embrace the hardware aspect of the bracelet and toughen it up.  Like so:

Railroad Spike bangle by Giles and Brother, available here.

Or expand on the form a little bit:

Ruby Cuff by Alice Menter, available here.

Maybe take the hardware aspect and make a necklace?

Made by Alita's Jewelry, available here.

Or a ring?

Made by Andy's House, available here.

Fab!  But, you can always just buy vintage, too...

Brooch available from Fagin's Daughter, here.

On the Radar -- Walk the Line

Dolce & Gabbana, Spring 2013

Continuing on in our look towards spring, the Spring 2013 runways were covered with stripes -- from Marc Jacobs to Michael Kors to Dolce & Gabbana.  Since stripes are one of those classic elements that never really seems to go away, I thought I'd just give a glimpse at how they have been reinterpreted.

They can be bold and graphic:

Marc Jacobs Spring 2013

Diagonal and bright:

Issey Miyake Spring 2013 from WWD

Sheer and Gauzy:

Dior Spring 2013

Summery and classic:

D&G Spring 2013

Try vintage to get your fix, like this bracelet from Jennie's Junque on Etsy:

Or this 1970s shirt from our shop!

On the Radar--Lace Love

Fall 2012 Runways

Lace is one of those classic things that never really goes away.  It shows up on every season's runways.  But this year, with the forces of what we've already discussed here -- classic Hitchcock women and yet another Victorian revival -- lace is having a strong comeback because of its timelessness and elegance.

Tadashi Shoji Fall 2012

The varieties of styles are endless.  It can be handmade, machine made, laser cut -- it is both technologically current and traditionally old-old-school.  It can be used all over or as just as accent.

When I worked in Product Development, we were always playing with different ways of introducing lace like patterns.  It is hard to balance out the sugary sweetness and daintiness of the pattern, and I think that this year, designers have gotten it right.  In the hands of some, lace has more graphic punch, like Alexander McQueen's fall offerings.  But with others, they have found how to embrace the sweetness in a more hard edged way, like this Tadashi Shoji gown.

Alexander McQueen, Fall 2012

It's showing up in fashion accents as well, such as these nail tips from Joy Cioci's show:

And you know how we feel about Country Living.  They had lace decorations for Halloween!

Country Living, October 2012

Country Living, October 2012

On the Radar -- Call of the Wild (pt.1)

Louis Vuitton, Fall 2012

I had another trend planned for On the Radar this week, but two things happened that changed my direction.  First, a fact -- the Blackbird girls are magazine junkies.  Our monthly subscriptions range from Country Living and Martha Stewart to Harper's Bazaar and Elle Decor.  And then we have the grocery store pick-ups.  So while watching an old Gene Kelly movie the other night, we pulled out our new magazines -- the beastly fall issues of Vogue, InStyle, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar.  The Vogue is over 900 pages!  As we started flipping through, we both happened to notice something.  EVERYBODY HAS LEOPARD PRINT THIS FALL.  It's everywhere!

That brings me to the second reason why I'm talking spots this week.  Last spring we bought 4 vintage leopard print scarves on a buying trip.  I found them all in the same box.  They've been posted in our Etsy shop for about 1 1/2 months.  But then, poof!  We sold all of them within the past two weeks.  I didn't make the connection until we saw the magazines.   Light bulb moment!

Brian Atwood, Fall 2012

The glamorous Dita Von Teese

Leopard print is like the Jekyll and Hyde of fashion:  it is the ultimate in sexiness, it can be incredibly chic, or it can go slutty in a heartbeat. In order to pull off leopard print, you need a luxe fabrication -- something that screams, "I AM QUALITY!"  Otherwise, you're going to look cheap and outdated.  Sorry, but that's a fact.

You also need to dial back the amount of leopard you add.  That's probably why our scarves are gone.  Just an accent -- the barest touch -- works for everybody.  If you go for all over leopard print, perhaps a dress, find a way to balance it with large fields of solid colors, like opaque tights or a jacket.  And for goodness' sake, don't mix your leopard spots! We're a fan of mixing patterns, but keep it to one animal print!

Sandro, Fall 2012

There are ways you can have fun with leopard print.  Changing the scale or repeat of the pattern is a great way to modernize the look.  Designers are deconstructing and abstracting the patterns, and many have started to change the colors, taking leopard from natural to eye popping.  It's even showing up in makeup:
  

Dior, Fall 2012

Here are some photos to inspire you:

The divine Mrs. Robinson, Anne Bancroft in The Graduate

Ralph Lauren, Fall 2012

I'm sorry to say we don't have anything available in our Etsy shop of the leopard print variety.  Everything's been snatched up.  But check out Etsy for great vintage finds to add to your fall wardrobe from the hundreds of other awesome vintage dealers.  I particularly loved these from Melissa Joy Vintage:

Leopard Shoes by MelissaJoyVintage on Etsy

And the same rules apply for decorating your home with leopard print.  Here's a room I went crazy over:

From BLULABELBUNGALOW

On the Radar -- Navy Chic

Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2012

If there's one definite thing we Blackbird girls recognize about our junk lovin', is that when we find ourselves buying and picking up certain things while we are out and about, then we're going to start seeing it EVERYWHERE very soon. Not that we're trend savants or anything, but we're pretty plugged in to the design world, both through television (Project Runway, anyone?) and other media, as well as what we see in the antique and junk retail world on a daily basis. And somehow all that we're seeing and hearing about trickles through our subconscious until it just suddenly becomes clear in our mind.

This week's On the Radar post is about our rediscovery of the color navy.  We had just such a moment of clarity with navy recently. We've been absently talking about navy to each other for months and months, but didn't realize until we went on a junk buying trip this summer, that we were buying many navy things. A navy hat here, three navy dresses there -- navy earrings, a navy purse, navy scarves...you get the picture. 

Hanova Pasadena Enamel Dove Bowl from MonkiVintage on Etsy

Navy really is an amazing color.  It looks great with everything.  Absolutely everything.  It seems less scary and less harsh than black; it can be both classic and modern, all at the same time; and it can be super dark and inky, or it can be a lighter, true blue navy.  It looks crisp with white, comforting with cream, sharp with metallics, and edgy with black.  Both of us Blackbird girls grew up with the hard and fast rule of not mixing navy and black together-- you have to find navy shoes to wear with that navy dress to church! -- but mixing them seems easier these days.  We like the combination now.  White shoes after labor day...well, that's another story...

Color Block Stripe Pillow by Jillian Rene Decor

But where navy can really start to shine is with other colors.  Couple a bright color with navy and you get something that is less graphic than black-with-a-bright-color, and maybe a bit more unexpected than black-with-a-bright-color.  Try navy with kelly green or yellow.  Go monochromatic with lighter and mid-tone blues.  It looks a little more like you really know what you're talking about, that you have that fashion know-how and you're not afraid to use it!

1980s Wool Devon Hall by Robert Paul Taboh Cropped Jacket in our shop.

You can find more of our navy inspiration here, in a new treasury we made on Etsy, or in our vintage shop!  You can also follow our pins for the blog on Pinterest!