I have always loved mermaids, and the 1950s were a time of great fascination with the mythical creatures. This blog post will discuss how to collect vintage mermaids from this era to decorate your home. My favorite mermaids are from the early 50s made by Norcrest, Napco, and Lefton. I love how whimsical they look on my bathroom walls. I’ll also share more of my favorite finds with you all in this post.
If you haven’t made it to ‘Retro Row’ in Long Beach, CA, yet, put it on your list!! We had an opportunity recently to spend a little time in Long Beach, CA, and wow, it is a fun, hip and retro little SoCal beach town. Home to the famous Queen Mary, Long Beach has a ton of culture, art, great restaurants and fabulous shopping. A friend recommended we visit 4th street and boy, was it great fun!!
First stop was Inretrospect and it is a multi-dealer shop with a lot of Mid-Century Modern, vintage, retro, home décor, furniture, novelty items, fashion, accessories, books, magazines, vinyl, cameras, kitchenware, and lots of kitschy fun too!! The staff is really nice and helpful, and the shop is well setup making it easy to navigate. I included a couple pics for you all that hubby took…… ok, I am a total novelty lover and the kitschier/ kookier the better so, the vintage boob tube came home with us along with some books. Great store, totally worth the visit.
Next stop was the Vintage Galleria. This one was a great surprise as it is full of pinup, rockabilly, and vintage/retro clothing and accessories. Also, if you are a ‘Day of the Dead’ or ‘Comic’ fan then you will love the many clothing and accessories items this shop has with these themes. You will find top brands like Voodoovixen, Sourpuss and Bait Footwear stocked here. I ended up with a lovely black polkadot pinup circle skirt and can’t wait to wear it and I will share some pics for you all. Sorry I didn’t snap any pics of the shop for you all.
There are lots more shops, boutiques and restaurants on Retro Row so it is totally worth a visit if you are in the Long Beach area and, the beach is just blocks away!!
Our 4th was a blast! Not because of the fireworks show but because of a marvelous day with my husband who drove us a few hours each way to Sacramento to our favorite antique mall – Midway Antique Mall. It was scorching hot too; when we drove towards home the car dash read 122 degrees outside in the sun!!
Like most mod loving gals, it wasn’t easy to decide on what I would be wearing but I opted for something with some Tiki flair since we were in heart of summer.
Once at the mall, we were not disappointed. I love this place!! Midway Antique Mall has their showrooms all setup like living spaces directly out of the 50s-60s complete with furniture from the era that is available for purchase. This is also a multi-dealer mall so if you are looking for mid-century accents and collectibles you are in the right place. We saw incredible lamps, lampshades, lots of artwork and many from the likes of Carlo of Hollywood, boomerang tables, pillows, carpets, drapes, and more. Electronics too from media consoles, record players, Philco Predicta televisions and more. The kitchens (I have posted on previous blog posts of mine) are also incredible with their actual cabinets, chrome dining sets, and appliances. You will also find lots of collectibles, jewelry, linens, vintage clothing and accessories (I did pick up two purses) ephemera, cameras, telephones, poodle dog and flamingo goodies too. We spent a few hours touring the mall as it is very large and a real feast for the eyes. We had such a wonderful time. Here are some pictures my sweet hubby Gary took, I hope you enjoy!!
Midway Antique Mall Green Room Mid-Century Modern
The drive home was hot and long, we stopped off for dinner and were home in time to let out the fluffy puffball Bichon Frise of our’s- Luna. Hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th!!