Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte

DISCLAIMER: I no longer support this shop or the shop owner. I was unaware of the wrongdoings of the shop owner towards the vintage shop community in Cleveland, OH and had several negative firsthand experiences with the owner that began when I worked under the table for said owner. This post was written before my work involvement with the shop as well as before I was made aware of his previous wrongful actions.

Hello to you lovely people who support my little blog. I went on a short hiatus because I have been very sick with a nasty bout of a respiratory and ear infection. And I'm not going to lie to you, I've been feeling a little uninspired lately. Much of my inspiration comes from Old Hollywood glamour, old films, and vintage clothing and memorabilia. I decided to go to one of my favorite vintage shops in my neighborhood called Sweet Lorain. This is a shop filled to the brim with ALL things from the past--from an array of vintage cameras to wallets down to the specifics such as vintage spaghetti poodle figurines and Bakelite jewelry. I figured this would be the perfect place to reboot my brain back into my creative spark!

For my outfit, I decided to wear my ivory 1930s crotchet lace gloves and white 1950s beaded handbag with gold hardware. I wanted my accessories to match my dress exactly.

Today I decided to wear my 1950s brown and white striped dress with a big lapel collar, big white buttons down the front, and big pockets. This dress makes me think of Parisian fashion during the 1950s. I could see Jean Seberg wearing this number in A Bout de Souffle or Breathless (1960). I love the contrast of the small scale stripe with the large scale details of the dress. I wore my olive green strappy heels that I bought for a great deal at Payless. These shoes are very reminiscent of the 1940s.

Now onto Sweet Lorain. The exterior of the store is gorgeous--with brick painted in light green and Art Deco text along the walls. The overgrown plants and vines only adds to the aesthetic. Every time I pull up to Sweet Lorain, I think of the song "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" because I heard it played in the store once and it stuck with me.

Any vintage lover who steps into the store will go into panic mode--how does one practice self restraint in a store of this caliber? Sections upon sections with sub-sections upon sub-sections of very specific items. Take this area in which I photographed for instance. This is a small portion of the dish ware and household items consisting of a number of vintage pitchers, teacups and saucers, and cookbooks.

What I love about vintage shopping is getting a glimpse at what ordinary people from those times lived like. I plan on purchasing the orange juice pitcher in this photograph. I've watched many an old film in which a family set up breakfast with that exact pitcher in the center of the dining room table.

There's a whole section of just Depression glassware in all shapes, sizes, and colors! I need (er--want) a crystal pink juicer.

This section definitely gets me in a lot of trouble. Just look at all of the fabulous hats ranging from 1930s - 60s! Floral crowns, pill box hats, boater hats, sun hats, hats galore!

Sweet Lorain's clothing section is pretty phenomenal. Of course I browse through the women section which consists of sub-sections with titles such as, "1950s Cocktail Dresses" and "1930s Loungewear & Lingerie." But I also like to browse through the men's section and get a more specific idea of what every day men wore during those time frames.

I ended up buying a (working) vintage phone today! Now I can lounge on my silk dupioni sofa in my vintage gowns and gab on my pretty rotary telephone. Guess which color I chose!

Sweet Lorain is where I pick up all of my vintage magazines. They have old Ebony, Playboy, Life, Ladies Home Companion, Post, and so on. Magazines are such a great source of inspiration to see articles on the lifestyle, fashion, politics, and art of the times.

The icing on the cake is the pretty in pink bathroom at Sweet Lorain. The bathroom is a bit messy but it is such a dream with its pale pinks and vintage vanity mirror.

Old photographs of Old Hollywood stars frame the full length mirror.

The entrance to the bathroom consists of items you'd see on the vanities of Jean Harlow and Jayne Mansfield in their films and photographs. Vintage perfume atomizers, powder puff boxes, oils, and so on.

This is not even 1/4 of the store's treasures, but I thought I'd give you guys a peak at a place that gives me so much inspiration.

I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next week!

Photographs taken by: Briana Young and me.
4th photograph taken by: Amara Thomas.