Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Oddities

I've run across my share of odd items in thrift shops, but this gold-plated seashell is certainly one of the strangest.
I have to wonder at the artist's thought process that finally arrived at, "Hey, I'll gold plate a seashell." It is a genuine shell (you can't quite see inside in the photo) which also makes me wonder how many tries it took to get something that didn't break. This isn't very carefully made, but it was just so odd, I felt compelled to purchase it. $1.99 has been spent on sillier things.
I have no idea what this basket's intended use is. I'm using it as a straw handbag, but I suspect it began life with other use in mind, I've thought about decorating it with some pom-pom trim but I also like the plain look of it. I still feel like I ought to be carrying tamales in it or something.
 I'm wearing it here with a favourite skirt.

The belt is another oddity-the edges of the brass disks are sharp and thin leaving me terrified I might give myself abdominal surgery if I lean forward suddenly. I take it off to ride in the car-can't be too careful. That would be such an embarrassing way to die, disemboweled by your vintage belt. 
Now this is odd! Anyone for a cross-body lunch bag? I'm already wearing my lunch on my stomach-can't I just carry the bag by the handles?  
I thought I'd just wear it as a shoulder-bag, but as you can see, the strap is too long (and not adjustable). I might just give up and carry my lunch in a paper sack like we did in the stone-age before paved roads and wipe-clean lining in Laurel Burch cross-body bags. 

Funny story about the denim shorts-I bought them in the late 80's at the Gap and my mum was horrified telling me I was, "Too old to wear them." Yeah. My Back Pages, etc. etc. I spent my youth dressed like a middle-aged widow in head-to-toe black. The only reason the shorts survived is because I rarely wore them as they were so out of character for me-an odd item if ever there was. They're VERY high-waisted, even by 80's standards. I'm getting caught-up with the 80's fad for day-glo as well. I had no idea how much I'd end up loving this cheap tee shirt when I bought it (or I'd have purchased a dozen).
*Whines* But I really like this bag...
This one is more a coincidence than an oddity. We drove out to Lake Wanahoo (in Wahoo, Nebraska-no, I'm not making that up) to try and see the Aurora Sunday night (there had been a recent solar flare and the chances looked good). It was only upon returning home that I noticed I was wearing my vintage cha-cha bracelet with the AB crystals. We never did get to see it, but we spent a lovely night at the lake being eaten alive by mosquitoes looking at the stars.
We could hear barn owls hooting in the distance, and plenty of frogs. I did see a meteor, so the night wasn't without excitement. You don't need to get too far outside the city to get free of light pollution in Eastern Nebraska. This was a 30 minute drive from home. 

Have any odd items found their way into your collection that you now love strangeness and all? 





11 comments:

Polyester Princess said...

What a crazy idea indeed to gold plate a seashell! I definitely approve of the basket you are using as a handbag. It's perfect! The belt looks quite lethal, though. I've worn quite a bit of day-glo myself back in the early 80's. It was quite the thing for punks at the time. Pink day-glo socks were a big hit. Such a lovely photo of the lake at night. I can almost hear the owls and frogs by just looking at it. xxx

Bibi Maizoon said...

Those gold plated seashells were popular during the late 70's gold chain & charm thing. I have 2- one from Mexico & one from Hawaii.
Love baskets of all shapes & sorts.
My mom insisted I dress like a middle-aged widow in head-to-toe black polyester as a teen. Or just like her which was basically more dark polyester. Gawd forbid anyone should assert an identity of their own.
Like every 7 yrs day-glo comes back, sort of like a comet!

Beth Waltz said...

The gold-plated shell is a new one for me. Pretty!
Until I reckoned its size, I'd have suggested placing the little ola-shaped basket on the coffee table at Halloween -- rubber snake inside.
Day Glo? If it was imprinted: "Yes, wore this the 1st time around."

My pet oddity is a large Chinese coin displaying a lewd act. A friend cleaning out her auntie's estate gave me a necklace of "jade" and cinnabar beads, the cash serving as a pendant. Merry Christmas, it's red and green -- so I wore it on the spot, writing side up. * Imagine my surprise when I later examined it and realized the cash was a token from a "joy house". Yes, it's now detached and lives in a box, waiting to surprise the relatives that clear out my burrow.

Mim said...

Maybe someone had the shell as a souvenir from a special holiday. And perhaps that basket is for your intestines in the event of a belt-related accident ;-)

I was a goth in my youth; I suspect my colour-addicted mum would've done anything at all to get me out of all my black.

My crimplene probably counts as the odd items I now love. I used to loathe it. It's like fish sauce; I suddenly found myself addicted.

Sue said...

Firstly you have great legs so those denim shorts that were so taboo with your mum look bloody fantastic. My mother used to say things like that about clothes, hair, hem length etc. What a crok of you know what, wear what you like and enjoy life I say. Laurel Burch, I saw loads of her bags at the Cat show I went to recently, so colourful, scarfs and brollies as well. The funniest thing I found lately was a 'Fanny Paddle'. This makes me laugh because in our neck of the woods a fanny is something you probably wouldn't paddle with a piece of flat wood, bahahahahahahahaha!!!

Melanie Folly Bird said...

Love both the bag and that beautiful skirt and how incredible that you get to see the Northern Lights where you are, even if you weren't lucky this time around. I'm too far south in the UK to see them, but they have been seen in the UK, I just need to head north for my chance, but even then it can't be predicted.

Goody said...

@Ann
I remember my sister being 9 months pregnant in the early 80's and wearing the brightest orange day-glo sweater ever made...it put me right off day-glo! I guess since then I associate it with pregnancy. Funny how things like that change our perceptions of things. Now that I am safely past my child-bearing years I can wear the day-glo.

@Bibi
Ah, so it was a trend-I must have missed it. The only things I brought back from Florida were dried starfish and those perpetual calendar things you'd flip over and the date would change.

@Beth
Oh...put it back on and wear it! Maybe not to church, but oh you MUST wear it.

@Mim
Crimplene did have a bad reputation (some deserved) but as you get older it is nice to spend less time ironing.

@Sue
I've tried to keep my mouth shut about anything appearance related with Danny. When he finally gets tired of his hair, he'll cut it but I'm not saying a word. I refuse to channel my mother.
One thing I've learned from random stuff on the internet is that if there's a fetish, someone will er...improve on it. *mutters like old woman* Who knows what these damn kids are paddling today?!

@Melanie
It is a rare thing this far south too-but it was worth a try.

Radostin said...

Oh, I really like the gold plated shell, and I can see why that skirt is a favourite. You always look absolutely wonderful in shorts. I tend to wear dayglo with soft greys or pastels - as you've done with the pale denim shorts - so I don't feel I've dressed up as the 80s. Actually, that's my answer to your question - during the 90s and 00s I was certain that I hated absolutely everything to do with 80s fashion, but in recent years I've realised there's quite a lot of clothing from that decade that I really enjoy, if I wear it in my own way. Not everything, though!

Goody said...

@Radostin
The guardian had an article this week about Memphis design furniture and it was like a flashback to the very worst parts of the 80's.

Radostin said...

Ouch! *clicking over to the guardian site...*

Vix said...

A few years ago I met an Italian hippy on a beach in Goa who was selling those gold plated seashells, I loved them (but never take money to the beach).
The skirt is gorgeous and I'm a massive fan of neon, too. The 1980s was great for colour. xxx