The broom as a witch's hat pin accessory was once quite common. I speculate it was a way of having a complete witches costume without the bother of having to actually carry a large prop around.

 Here is my recreation of the Camp Inch summer camp uniform insignia featured in the 1961 magnum effing opus The Parent Trap starring Hayley Effing Mills. The closest leaf I could find that represented the camp logo was the Red Maple. Close but not exact. I may re-do it later to make it more faithful to the film like a high quality Star Wars prop. As it stands it is as faithful as the off-model Space Enforcer Wars prop you find for sale in a dollar store. Don't be surprised if it gets updated.

The camp insignia was presumably created by or under legendary costume designer Bill Thomas. I'd kill for a peek at some original sketches from the Disney vault. I would. I really would. The transformation of the twin's mother Margaret via fashion throughout the movie is often a point of discussion about The Parent Trap (though why you'd not discuss only Hayley is anyone's guess). You'd think with all the Parent Trap-mania over the last 5 decades someone else would have made this insignia by now.  

You'd think.


Many shirts, hats, underwears will soon have this embroidered onto my wardrobe.

A bit more on the real world Camp Inch. One of the places that was the basis for Camp Inch is the religious stronghold Camp Crestridge for Girls. Wikipedia deleted the page about the camp for being "not notable" which is stupid because of the very notable eternal connection to Parent Trap. I blame the diseased abomination which is the remake poisoning the Parent Trap legacy.

 Yes, I do own this and by extension, you.

A sign warning long-haired customers they will be sent to the back of the line. Reportedly from a Singapore post office, late 1960s.

From the anti-establishment humor magazine Apple Pie (1975).

I am in love with this photo and the dress worn by actress Hayley Mills. The setting, the pose, the entire scene is beautiful. I'm glad I can share it with any Hayley Mills fans who wander by.

About the Poster:

I am pretty sure that this over-sized fold out poster of actress Hayley Mills is from the Japanese celebrity magazine Eiga Joho (April 1966). The publication notes state this poster is included in the issue but my copy does not contain it. It was probably stripped out long ago for resale. Cutting out and removing unique ads, articles and photos is a common practice among those who resell ephemera, something I personally am conflicted about. One one hand items are being preserved that would otherwise vanish from age and neglect but on the other books and magazines are rendered almost useless for collection even as they are sold as complete. In some instances this may not be on purpose.

I have a number of vintage books where the best part was cut out and those sellers, I believe, were not aware that someone had removed pages before they received it. Once a magazine or book is stripped of a few interesting pages what is left is probably sold or donated. These will typically eventually end up at thrift stores or sold cheaply elsewhere. Much of the time luck and detective work is required to determine if old publications have been stripped. Sometimes it is obvious, like careless cuts and tears. Find an old copy of LIFE with no ads remaining in it and you know something is wrong. Sometimes it is harder to suss out as the vandal will only selectively remove pages that do not interfere with the flow of content and would otherwise be detected. A lot of times this is done to ensure multiple sales from one item.

On occasion the only way to know if some publications have been stripped of content is from comparison of copies of other vintage periodicals. Comparing copies to the other is a way to discover that pages might be missing or an issue is otherwise damaged. The best resource for this is badly aged or degraded copies. Many times the contents will remain intact because there is no resale value of a page because it is unattractive. Unfortunately some older magazines do not have page numbers, content pages or publication listings anywhere. It is up to the individual collector to create a record of the content and all too often information is repeatedly transcribed in error. This is common particularly when the references are from amateur crowd-sourced information posted to the internet. My personal copy of Eiga Joho has been through the hands of many sellers before I obtained it and each listing reported it was undamaged and complete.


I had seen the poster on the internet long ago but it existed only as a tiny thumbnail in the cache of a seller's defunct website. It was enough to know it existed so I made repeated efforts to locate it. I thought I found one at last several years ago in a magazine but when it arrived the poster was not included. Crushing, but I did not blame the seller. The magazine itself is a delight otherwise and contains a short but cute Hayley Mills article. After some searching and patience I found the Hayley Mills poster early last year, sold separate from any magazine. I scanned and filed it until now.

I don't read Japanese so this could be a poster originally sold on it's own, part of some other periodical or fan club collection. The pristine condition has me speculate it spent several decades safe in the pages of a magazine that was properly stored. Hayley is wearing the same dress as on the cover of Eiga Joho and both the magazine and poster are listed as from April 1966. So barring a translation of the Japanese on the poster that would prove otherwise, I believe this is the "bonus" fold out poster of Hayley Mills the issue of Eiga Joho references in the publication notes.

Hayley Mills on the cover of Eiga Joho (April 1966)

Further browsing:Everything Hayley Mills at LTMS
Tumblr search Hayley Mills

The over-sized scarf prevents leering at the chest, the low-hanging bag prevents ogling of the backside.

SMART.

What came first, the need by women to protect and conceal or esthetics? Was the end-result of the impractical scarf worn in even the warmest weather conditions and the bag a happy accident or intentional? Some combination of all, perhaps.

Women: 1 / Perverts: 0

I really want an on-model Parade Hater Horace sweater for Christmas. Sadly, I can't trust anyone in my family to have one made and to do it right. Invariably they would get something wrong. Something about the sweater, probably more than one element, would be off and ruin everything. The color, style, size, material or the all important typography of the garment would be "close enough" or sub-par. I want to squeal with joy and pump my fist in the air, not look disappointingly at my clan, lip curling with barely concealed distaste, and mutter a halfhearted thanks. Since my stated gift-giving goal every Christmas is to absolutely crush the giving abilities of others it is obvious I'll have to do it myself if I want it done right.

Operation Awesome Christmas has begun!

In what will surely be a boon to fashion houses and the international economy, Saudi women with attractive or tempting eyes may soon be forced to wear concealing sunglasses. I have no doubt that right this moment there are executives from eye wear manufacturing companies everywhere dancing on their chairs, high fiving each other and scrambling to get prototypes approved for export.

If the resolution passes and concealing eye wear is a mandatory attire for Islamic women how long until some wingnut pundit declares that wearing sunglasses is un-American?

Well, at least if America sells spectacles to the middle east the most we have to worry about is getting re-gifted a scratched pair of Oakleys. That's an improvement over the the guns and bombs we export that later get used against us.

Watched the classic 1965 film Planet of the Vampires last night and as ever was amused by the look of the unusual pressure suits worn by the cast with the impractical high collars, helmets, bulky gloves and stiff joints.

When the credits ran I discovered who the costume designer was. It all makes sense now.

For those seeking old books and LP records there are better places to browse than in San Diego.

One reason is the relatively young and transient population. Farther inland and on the other coast there are generations of collected belongings sitting in basements, attics and garages. Eventually one family member or other will dispose of the Grandparent's old furniture, books and music to the delight of treasure hunters of the region. In Southern California however, a lot of what is donated to thrift stores is late 1970s and 1980s music and tchotchkes. I've even discovered several decades worth of macaroni-adorned picture frames at one Salvation Army store.

The other reason San Diego is a poor resource for keen gear is the economy. Most of the used book stores have shuttered and the usual places one could find groovy LP's, the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores, have either combined all their resources into one store or done away with LP's altogether. While reducing the number of places the records are displayed makes sense for the business it hurts the shopper seeking cool stuff because multiple destinations meant that a browser could get lucky if his timing was right. All the LP's kept in one place means one faces constant competition has to be really lucky with the timing to score some choice items.

Recently I found a couple of Jonah Jones Quartet albums, Swingin on Broadway and Swingin' at the Cinema notable among the internet primarily for the pretty women on the cover. Of the JJQ discography these two albums are probably the easiest to find. I found multiple copies of each when browsing and purchased the two best of the lot. Oh, yeah...I agree that those stretch pants and curves, especially on the blond on the Cinema LP, are something else. The album art is pretty typical of the 1950s. Back then nearly anyone producing lounge-type music put an attractive woman on the cover because no one would buy an album featuring John Wilson and the Howard-Johnsons Off State Route 12 Experience on the sleeve. Sex always sold, don't get me wrong, but the producers of the lounge era LP escalated cheesecake and enticement into an art form rarely seen since. These particular albums are probably getting more attention now than before as the "Mad Men" style of fashion seems to be all the rage still. Too bad there are no model credits for the albums, at least none that I can find.
The music is good but not original other than the application of the JJQ style as they are covers of tunes already popular in the era. They are fun to hear as "lost" music and I'm really partial to their treatment of A Gal In Calico from the Cinema album. I think the Jonah Jones Quartet packed enough talent for a dozen musicians.

From the collection: Swingin' on Broadway (1957) and Swingin' at the Cinema (1958).

It's Monday! That means it is Monday With Hayley Mills at Lady, That's My Skull!

Trivia! Did you know that I've been told Lady, That's My Skull features more items about Hayley Mills than her agent does? Wow!

It was in 1963 that Disney and Hayley Mills gave the world the feel-good film Summer Magic, the fourth of six films that Hayley would make with Walt Disney Studios. Originally conceived as a vehicle for Annette Funicello for some maddening reason, Hayley was cast in the part of the Pollyana-ish member of the Carey family, Nancy. As the person who saved her family from personal and financial disaster by sheer good attitude as the character of Nancy the film added to the box office appeal of Hayley Mills.

Trivia! Did you know that the United States would have lost the Cuban Missile Crisis war except for the fact that once Khrushchev, the leader of Communism, discovered Hayley Mills was cast in Summer Magic he conceded defeat? It's true!

The Disney merchandising machine wasn't idle either and the company easily capitalized on the popularity of Hayley and co-star Burl Ives with a soundtrack release that produced a number of hit tunes for the youth market. There was a moderate amount of other licensed merchandise also that is getting increasingly hard to find in good condition. One of those items is the paper doll set featuring Hayley Mills where she can be dressed in fashions from the movie. While I have not punched out the cut-outs from my copy you can be assured that I have reprinted the pages from various sources and dressed Hayley up in clothing as befits a proper young lady.

And now, you can too! As one can observe from the vast selection of period styles available there are several hours of good, clean fun that can be had from dressing up Hayley. I'd suggest against using the accompanying "Julia" fashions though because she is a bit of a pill.

This gimmick still exists today but in software form where an uploaded image is virtually merged with different styles of hair and clothing.

From Cowboy Love #31 (August 1955).

I'm loving every word as read through a pop-culture bobby-sox filter in this March 1949 ad copy from Miss America Magazine. Whooper-doo!

Hey, Look! It's Magic Skarf!

Magic Skarf can be worn as:

• A scarf!
• Surgical cap!
  
• A stylish top!
• A scrunchie!
  
• A stylish skirt!
• A 55cm x 23cm trash can!
  
• A stylish mask for use during plane hijackings!
  

What else can Magic Skarf be used for?

An MRI!Blowing it up, damn you!
So versatile! The possibilities are endless!

From a market in San Diego.

Been watching a lot of noir lately and came across this poster for the movie 5 Fingers (1952).

Poster art seems to be a lost skill these days as research shows that big giant, recognizable heads heads on a display is what sells tickets and DVDs. Compare the original 5 Fingers poster with the DVD packaging for the 2006 remake Five Fingers, loosely-based upon the original.

But it isn't the evolution of movie art that moves me today. Fashion is. The original 5 Fingers poster inspired me to make a proof-of-concept glove inspired by the poster.

I could totally see some hot, dangerous, billiards-playing woman wearing a glove with LUST, GREED, PASSION, DESIRE and SIN embroidered on the fingers in heavy, silver metallic thread. Any wolf that got fresh with her would end up having those words bruise-embossed into his forehead.

Hmm. This idea will probably be ripped off and for sale in a Hot Topic or an Etsy store within the month.