How to Get the Retro Miami Beach Look With Vintage Straw Pocketbooks and Beach Robes

Retro Miami Beach, that is what flashed into my head when I was strolling through the second floor of Antiques on the Farmington, a large Multi-Dealer Antique Mall in Collinsville, CT.

You see I had just stopped into a booth that specializes in vintage clothing when I looked straight ahead of me and spotted what looked like my grandmother's cabana on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach back in the day.

Or even her closet after a trip to the Bahamas. I mean, the beach robes, the straw pocketbooks, the shoes......pure Grandma Esther!

These were not repro's from Walmart...this was the real deal. I could only imagine that some little old lady had all this stuff tucked away in her closet for years and years and passed it onto to a family member who finally decided to put it out at a tag sale. Or maybe this indeed was my grandmother's stash of beach gear and it had finally made it's way up to Connecticut via Brooklyn, Queens. Monticello, Florida etc?

Wherever these beach items came from, I am glad these treasures found their way to Antiques on the Farmington.... it was fun finding them again. I especially had fun looking at the Terry beach robes Oh had I wished I could see the gal who wore these beachy cover-ups.

If you have been shopping around, you will notice that more and more Antique Malls, are becoming the home for Vintage clothing shops (booths). One Mall in Bantam, CT is actually being "invaded" by lots of Vintage Clothing dealers because friends tell friends and the gals start to congregate together. Come to think about it, once upon a time, my grandmother was one of those gals....hanging out with her girlfriends in Miami Beach!


C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com

Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.

Go Green with Funky Flower Power Vintage Plastic Totes

Go Green with Vintage Plastic Totes

As everyone is going “green” and carrying re-usable shopping bags to the grocery store, I was wondering how cool it might be to show up at the supermarket with a funky flower power plastic tote from the sixties? Gosh.....vintage is so in right now. These mod vinyl bags are relatively cheap, so you could actually buy an assortment of bags and try out different patterns on different days.

Retro Style is Hot Even in Shopping and Beach Bags

During a recent visit to The Old Carriage Shop Antiques Center in Bantam, CT a haven for vintage clothing and jewelry I spotted one booth with a rack full of these sixties gems. Bright florals, paisleys and polka dots seemed to be the major themes of these colorful plastic shopping bags. Some bags had matching straps and other totes were fitted with a hard plastic handle.

I found a variety of sizes and styles offered for sale at around fifteen dollars. I was surprised to find these bags in really good shape. They just don't make shopping totes like they used too!

These Bags are the Real Deal...Not Reproductions

And even though you can find similar bags being reproduced and being sold as retro style vinyl bags...I can assure you..these treasures were the real deal.

Miami Beach Here We Come

Seeing these mod totes reminded me of how my grandma Esther Esther would schlep these plastic beach bags to Miami Beach during the 60’s. I have to laugh when I see the “twenty-something” crowd flocking to some of the same hotels and motels grandma stayed in back in the day. In fact many of these hotels were re-done and now make up the South Beach area where the Martini crowd has moved in and the Bingo Ladies are long gone.

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and
Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com


Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.