The Retro Blog

Ok, so maybe it’s a little late to be getting a 2008 calendar, but hey, they’re free and they feature some nice mid-century designs. While there you can check out other Blue Ant Studio products like posters featuring retro furniture silhouettes. [via apartment therapy]

Speaking of bullet planters, Apartment Therapy has pointed out that Hip Haven is having a sale on their retro reproduction plant holders. Enter the code “HIPHAVENPLANTER” at checkout now through July 7th to save 15%

Barbie’s done just about everything a girl can do. She’s been an astronaut, driven a camper, and worked at McDonalds. One thing Mattel has forgotten to do has been to make Barbie get attacked by birds. Oh wait, now she’s getting attacked by birds. This stylishly retro dressed Tippy Hedron Barbie comes complete with a [...]

The much-anticipated Charles and Ray Eames stamps are now available from the United States Postal Service. They feature the most famous of the couple’s designs stylishly laid out with vertical text. They’ll make every letter you send a little more retro fabulous. I guess sending a letter via snail mail in itself is a little [...]

On my trip to Japan a couple of months ago, I kept noticing that all the supremely hip Tokyo girls were sporting the exact same set of green headphones. Turns out they’re called Panasonic RP-HTX7 headphones. They have a gorgeous retro flare with their moderately large size, rounded ear covers, and metal size adjusters. Unfortunately, [...]

Isamu Noguchi was a Japanese-American artist whose designs were influenced by the best elements of both cultures. Take his 1950’s Akari light sculptures for example. They give off the lovely diffused light of Japanese paper lanterns, but also have the incredible retro style of a 1950’s modern design. With lovely atomic legs, these lamps [...]

The Diana camera was first produced in the 1960’s, and became a favorite among artists who celebrated the photographic flaws it frequently produced. Made entirely of cheap plastic, (including the lens), the camera often suffered from light leaks and blurry images. Now, of course, every hipster and their mother wants one. The reissue, called the [...]

When I picture vintage pet carriers, horrible wooden pet prison boxes come to mind. People of the past were not especially kind to their dogs and cats, and when I see old cages they look more like traps than carriers. Thankfully, you can now get a retro styled pet carrier that doesn’t look a thing [...]

When I saw that today is Audrey Hepburn’s birthday, it got me thinking about what a fashion forward lady she was. How might one go about emulating her style? This is where one needs to point one’s browser to That’s So Boss, a blog where the writer gives you a clip of a retro film [...]

Does seeing this shelving unit make you start to drool? Do you love the gorgeous vintage wood, airy design, and playful curves. Would it match just perfectly with your teak Danish modern coffee table? Are you dying to know the price? So am I. You have to register to the website to find out, which [...]

The other day my sister was telling me about how she got ripped off on some fabric she bought at a store in Seattle. My response is the internet is your friend. Reprodepot fabrics has been around for awhile, and although their selection of mid-century designs has declined in the last few years, it still [...]

A good rule of thumb is to take any advice John Waters gives you. He has yet to let me down, and he has impeccable taste in things both new and old. So when I heard his favorite book store was San Francisco’s Kayo Books, I had to check it out. It didn’t disappoint. The [...]

There’s a new site called Vintagraph that has an excellent collection of retro PSA’s, military posters, illustrations, travel posters, and more. The site gives you information about how and why the poster was produced (a rarity these days) and makes them available to purchase as fine art prints on museum quality paper for quite reasonable [...]

Tired of being unable to afford revamping your house with stylish designer furniture? Well at least you can enact your dreams in miniature. I found large collections of dollhouse sized mid-century modern furniture at Tokyu Hands, a chain department store in Japan specializing in a DIY lifestyle. I guess the DIY part here is how [...]

I have a hard time advising anyone to visit an online store that has an entire section devoted to clothes for burning man, but they have enough retro clothes that I can’t dismiss Babygirl Boutique entirely. Their Rockabilly and pin-up section is worth a look. It’s a lot like Daddy-O’s, but it’s got some better [...]

Need tips on giving your home some mid-century flare? The folks over at Populuxe Books are here to help. They’ve been collecting 1950’s and 60’s interior design, architecture, art, and DIY books from thrift stores. I’m sure they put in long, hard hours digging through the dreck at Goodwill so you don’t have to. They’ve [...]

Having recently made my opinions about Design Within Reach known, I went looking for alternatives. One of the easiest ways to make yourself some instant mid-century cred is to stick some of these hair pin legs on just about anything. Any coffee table, side table, sofa, or credenza gets an instant 50’s restyling simply [...]

Design Within Reach, eh? Kind of a misnomer. I like mid century furniture, and I know it’s nice to support designers and all that stuff, but hey, they’re dead. I’m not spending $9600 on a chair. Yes, one chair. And that’s the sale price. Ikea rips off pretty much all these designers anyway, so you [...]

Etsy is a site where people can sell their handmade crafts and vintage finds. Think of it like a smaller, friendlier ebay. Without the bidding. Ok so it’s not like ebay, but there’s a lot of good finds on there. Here are some recent retro inclined listings:

Vintage Photograph Album - August 1955 $9 (has 9 [...]

In 1966, supermodel Twiggy was the darling of the London fashion scene. Frequently blamed for that whole making women think they need to weigh 90 pounds to be pretty thing, Twiggy was best known for being skinny, having big eyelashes, and being the symbol for mod fashion. Twiggy knew how to stare at the camera [...]

In my grade school days it was required for every student to bring a valentine for every other student in the class. I can recall purchasing boxes of Tiny Toons valentines and carefully selecting which card would go to which person, personally ensuring that no cards I deemed “too suggestive” would go to any boys [...]

While most people are abuzz with rumors about the upcoming Batman film, there are some of us who still prefer our dark knight with Adam West and more than a touch of camp. I can’t really picture Christian Bale saying “let’s go, Robin. We’ve set another youth on the road to a brighter tomorrow,” which [...]

Daddy-O’s is one of those online stores I visit frequently but have no intention of buying anything. It’s just that I don’t wear dresses often. And by often I mean ever. Regardless, a lot of their dresses are simply divine and the Bettie Page look alike model doesn’t hurt either. The cute stuff’s typically in [...]