And the winners are ...

So, it's taken me FOREVER to decide just whose present was the WORST (or best, although "OMG, WTF, what the hell were they thinking" outweighed "OMG! You didn't!" by about 493 to 1).

A lot of the presents were what I call "bowling ball presents" -- stuff people get you because they want it for themselves (qv: pepperdove getting a VCR ... at age 15 ... when there was only one TV in the house ... after the family VCR broke. Elizabeth getting an air conditioner -- then being told they couldn't afford to install it!). And then some were "I love you, you're perfect, now change" presents. (qv: Riva getting offered laser hair removal! Mickey being given a can of Slim-Fast!)

Then there were a lot of "I don't know what the word "present" means, so I'm going to give you this random item" (like Ann's boyfriend giving her a RED LACE TEDDY FROM A PREVIOUS GIRLFRIEND -- seriously, wtf? -- and Colleen getting a PLASTIC TRAVEL URINAL, Beth B getting PAPERCLIPS, Denise getting USED MAKEUP).

Some presents seem to have been thinly-veiled assassination attempts: MsManners got two bottles of Fen-Phen (from an ex, natch) and Angel getting a basket of hair clips and dollar-store scented soap from her sister-in-law when she A) had no hair after undergoing chemo and B) was highly allergic to everything, which the chemo exacerbated. (I would have pressed charges on that one!)

"I think you must have meant this for someone else" seems to have been another theme -- Neighbourhood.Gal got (at age 11) a Teddy Ruxpin (remember those?) and a remote controlled monster truck and a skateboard (and she lived on a street with no sidewalks). Cookie got what sounded like the Worst Coat in the History of Coats: "VIOLENTLY acid-washed denim, knee-length, lumberjack style jacket with BRIGHT white, puffy fleece lining." Mere got a BOX of DICKIES. In 1987.

I was heartened by all the folks who got ironing boards, dress forms, sewing machines, and sergers ... except for poor RavenzTarot, whose daughter got a new sewing machine (after trashing RavenzTarot's old machine). That machine REALLY should have been Ravenz!

Is it any wonder it was hard to decide? I chose two bads and a good. The good-present-winner is anthrokeight, whose parents had her kindergarten art project of an angel professionally framed ... (altogether now: AWWWWW). The bad-present winners are La BellaDonna, who got a necklace and earrings SUPPOSEDLY from her husband, but since he conveniently didn't have any cash on him when it was time to pay for them, ended up being bought on her own dime ... ... and Sewducky ... well, I can't give you details of what Sewducky got that was so awful, but let's just say this: If you are going to give someone WWII memorabilia as a Christmas present, you might want to pick some FROM THE WINNING SIDE. Just a tip, there. [So, guys, email me your mailing addresses and I'll forward them to Rita so she can send you a copy of that pattern!]

It was SO hard to decide, though, that I am going to give out more prizes. If you left a comment about a bad (or good!) present, email me and I'll send you a free Dress A Day measuring tape! (Let me know what comment was yours, and don't forget to include your mailing address!)

Here's what they look like, iffen you don't remember:

Happy New Year!

Stuff I Forgot

Holly at LuciteBox Vintage asked me to point out that even though she'll be away from the 22nd-28th, she'll be shipping again on the 29th, AND the discount (15% off anything on the site) and the donation (10% to Books Through Bars in honor of the purchaser) still applies until the 27th!

And I missed a whole slew of stuff from Pamela (of GlamourStitch, GlamourSavvy, and GlamourSurf ... and Glamoursurf, by the way, is offering 20% off through Dec 31, enter the keyword "Santa")

So you could get a discount on something like this:



Or this:



Or you could just head over to Glamourstitch for this:



Or to Glamoursavvy for these boudoir shoes, which if they were my size, would have never seen the light of blog (despite the fact that my nightwear now consists solely of exercise clothes, so as to obviate one more excuse to avoid the treadmill, and these would look ridiculous with Target flare-leg yoga pants):



Whew! Okay, now I think that's it. But if not, email me!

This might be the last of it ... did I forget anybody?

Janet at Lanetz Living couldn't choose just three patterns (and I can't blame her) ... instead, she created a special 25% off coupon for you! Use the code "xmas" when they check out and it will automatically be deducted. Plus, Janet offers free Shipping in the USA and Canada when 3 or more items are purchased. (International shipping is discounted with three or more items.) The coupon will be good from now until New Year's Day.

Janet has over 200 Vogue Designer patterns to choose from ... has newly listed McCalls Needlework Magazines from the 1930's to 1950's ... and (my favorite) dozens of shirtwaist dresses that span the era from the 1940's to today!

Holly at Freudian Slips Vintage says that Dress A Day readers will receive a 10% discount off anything from her website if you type in coupon code RUDOLF. Check out with the shopping cart as usual, then click "recalculate" to receive the discount from your order. The discount will run from now until the 20th of December only, and will finish at midnight UK time.

If you're looking for something to spend that discount on, you might want to peep at these:










Whew! I think that's it; see you after Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Almost done ...

Sheila at Out of the Ashes has created a coupon JUST for Dress A Day readers good until December 26 for 15% off instead of the usual 10% - yay! Put in PRESENT at checkout it's not too late to get a pattern for a New Year's Eve dress ...

Tina, at What-I-Found offers these for your holiday listmaking:










These are from Lisa at Miss Helene's:










And these are from the Vintage Fashion Library:

Ain't No Stopping Us Now

I'm going to post all the fabulous Christmas and Holiday links I got today if it kills me.

Luckily, Jen at MOMSPatterns is making it easy; look at this:




If there is someone on your list that wouldn't like this pattern then perhaps next year you should just send them a card.

She's got this great men's shirt up, too, on eBay:




Jen is also offering 20% off any Dress A Day order through the end of the year, with the coupon code 'alliwant20'. It's good from now until 12/31/2008 midnight, EST. Good on any MOMSPatterns order, excluding gift certificates (although gift certificates are a REALLY good idea)! Oh, and the 20% is even good on that shirt above -- mention it when you win the auction and Jen will adjust the invoice!

Anna at BootyVintage has these in stock right now (but probably not for long):

Men's boxers:



A pattern of gifts "children can make for the whole family!"



And some great aprons:

But Wait! There's More!

Julie at Damn Good Vintage has these treasures:







Both of these dresses are larger sizes ...






Eileen at Daisy Fairbanks knows what good girls (and possibly, bad girls) want:









If that tie makes you happy, be sure to check out Burda's "David" tie pattern! (Make one for the Pink and Black Tie Ball! ... and don't forget their Holiday gifts blog ... I love these easy silk flowers!)

Oh, Oh, Oh ... Merry Christmas!

Birgit at Stitches and Loops sent me these, and only my sense of bloggish responsibility kept me from buying all of these myself and not posting them:










Christine at Alley Cats has these for some lucky Jazz Age babe:










Hotpatterns is doing a sale: buy any two of their three bestselling dresses and get the bag pattern of your choice free! (You have to email in your choice of bag pattern to sales@hotpatterns.com and they will add it to the order -- Offer ends Dec 31st! One of their three bestsellers is this one, which I love and plan to make Real Soon Now:

Are you ready for more?

Of course you are. Karen at Mystique Vintage is offering these three charmers:

A great sheath dress pattern:




Some really nice floral 1940s fabric:



And, for the girl who has (nearly) everything: a faux-fur and satin hanky-holder. You know, for the vanity table:




Karen has also added a gift certificate feature to her site through Paypal - good on all items for sale at Mystique Vintage (with no expiration date!) and in denominations of $5.

Amy at Viva Vintage has this heartbreakingly wonderful vintage coin charm bracelet:




And this mother-of-pearl bracelet:




And this wool cape and muff set, which is so vintage it looks like it's from the future!




Oh, and Deborah sent me this link to an Etsy necklace supposedly inspired by this blog! I am very, very flattered.

And Even More Holiday Shopping

Marge at Born Too Late has the perfect suit for your Mad Men-obsessed friend:




She's also got this sparkly green cocktail dress, this really cute Anne Adams newspaper pattern and this Vogue pattern (ahem, Santa, I've been really good this year ...) And Marge is giving 10% of the purchase price of all items (not including shipping) to the Salvation Army through the end of December!

Carol [not Caroline, as I had it earlier! ooops!] at Dandelion Vintage has a great selection of vintage purses (including this mock-croc doctor's bag):




And if you're giving a bag, why not put a vintage hanky in it? Carol also has lovely vintage aprons, which make great gifts whether the recipient cooks or not (if she does, it's useful; if she doesn't it's funny).

Holiday Shopping CONTINUES ...

Jill (Old & Beautiful Vintage [not the Purse Diva, sorry Jill & Holly!] at the Main Street Mall online) sent me three links that tell a little story ... there's this gorgeous Winter Wonderland dress:




And this mink-collared coat:




And this alligator purse:




At first I thought they were all worn by the same woman, but the dress is much smaller (and doesn't really go with the purse). But eventually I figured out that the coat and purse are worn by the mother of the girl in the dress! (Am I right? She's a debutante, her mom's a society lady? Together, they fight crime?) There is a whole movie in this collection of items ... and a couple of really, really fancy presents!

More Holiday Shopping!

More holiday shopping ...

Rita at Cemetarian suggests these wonderful things ...

I love this old dress ad -- an inexpensive frame from the craft store and you have a fun present:



This vintage knitting book would make a great gift for, well, knitters. If you're feeling flush, included the recommended amount of yarn ...



I *really* want the guy's sweater in this booklet, shown here (but not enough to learn how to knit, sadly):



And if you still need a dramatic holiday dress, I bet you could get this in time ... I would make it in tartan, myself. (Because, yes, I *enjoy* looking like a sofa ...)



Rita is offering 10% off with the code adad ...

AND: Kathleen at Little Hunting Creek is offering a free handmade baggage tag (and they are CUTE) with every purchase over $25. And if you buy three or more patterns, you still get free shipping! (Put "Dressaday" in the comments.)

Holiday Shopping

So, here's the deal. I haven't even come close to finishing my holiday shopping yet -- I celebrate Christmas, so I'm gonna call it Christmas shopping, please feel free to substitute the name of any holiday you like -- and I haven't even had time to even look, for the most part. And I figure, with the way things are in the world, a lot of you might not have finished yours, either. And time's a-wastin'!

One of the things that's been holding me back, shopping-wise, is that I didn't really feel like buying mass-produced, cookie-cutter things for people who are (to me) one-in-a-million. I'm planning to do a little shopping on Etsy, and at craft fairs, but I've been looking for cool vintage stuff for folks, too.

So I asked all the lovely folks who advertise with me what they would suggest as presents for vintage-loving or sewing-loving folks, and send me some links, and I'll be posting them all week (sometimes several times a day, if I can manage it ... I got sent a lot of links!) so check back early and often!

I know a lot of folks hesitate to give vintage, since it usually can't be returned, and because you really have to know the recipient for it to work. But really, this year -- if you gave something from Linens-N-Things, well, that can't be returned now either! And a really great vintage dress is so much better made than almost anything modern -- if you're not entirely sure of someone's size, give it and an offer to get it tailored to fit them. (Personally, I'd rather get one fantastic vintage dress, even if it didn't quite fit, than ten "eh" presents ...)

First up is Holly from LuciteBox, who sends three fantastic dresses ...

I would send this one to a best friend who is looking for a cool but still possibly office-y dress:



This one is definitely a teen-ager's dream ...



This one I think folks might be tempted to get for themselves ... New Year's Eve is coming up ... or maybe you should forward this to your significant other?



But wait! There's more! Holly is offering NOT ONLY 15% off any purchase on her site (with the coupon code: pleasegive), she will ALSO donate 10% of the order total (less shipping) to Book Through Bars, our charity this year!

Here's the sweet part. Every customer who shops using the pleasegive coupon code also gets to be entered into the pool of names to be chosen for a character in the upcoming "Secret Lives of Dresses" book. If you've already been entered, you'll have increased your chances of getting chosen when part of the proceeds of your purchase are given to Books Through Bars. (Holly promises to send me your name right away.) This offer expires on December 27th, 2008.

How can you resist that? The dresses, plus the discount, plus the donation?

Have yourself an Etsy little Christmas

Except for The Boy (who is getting a lot of Wiigames and Wiicessories, because the Wii is something we like to play as much as he does -- unlike, say, Marvel X-Men Checkers, which even pictures of Wolverine can't redeem -- and you can get a CROSSBOW for it), I'm trying to make this a books-and-Etsy-and-maybe-CafePress Christmas, present-wise.

And there is SO MUCH on Etsy, it's not even close to manageable. I had to narrow my jewelry search down to "jewelry necklace pendant red" to even get to FIFTY-TWO pages. That's a lot to choose from!

This one was one of my absolute favorites:




Isn't that lovely?

I also went through SEVENTEEN pages of stuff tagged "dictionary", of which I liked this, especially:




This made me laugh out loud:




And then there's this handy tote bag from We Are BANG (they have other letters, if your name doesn't begin with E, but if your name doesn't begin with E I suggest changing it, as all the cool kids have chosen to come right after D in the alphabet):




And this scarf, which is a bit pricey, but worth it -- handmade and so beautiful:




In addition to some Etsy shopping, I'm also going to make some custom t-shirts for people -- this one is for my little boy. He asked me to make him an "I like pie" t-shirt, so, voilà:




(Don't worry, he doesn't read the blog, this won't ruin Santa for him.)

(I know, I know, we haven't done the Dress A Day t-shirts yet; I got caught up in researching alternate t-shirt suppliers and then got overwhelmed. But soon. And there might be a special Dress A Day holiday-type thingamajig this week, if I'm lucky. Or if you're lucky. Somebody's gonna be lucky. Just you wait.)

Any other suggestions for doing a smaller-and-indie-er Christmas (or great games for the Wii)? Please leave 'em in the comments ... and remember, you can click on any of the images above to visit the sellers' pages.