Product Review – Forever New Fabric Care

Even after a long day filled with laundry load after laundry load after laundry load, there is still a small pile that sits at the bottom of my hamper. It sits there waiting to be washed because everything in that pile has dreaded special care instructions: hand wash only.

While it’s true that you can get away with washing some of these items with your washer on the delicate cycle in a delicates bag, some you know wouldn’t make it out alive. And so they sit, waiting indefinitely. Well, at least that’s how my laundry used to go.

While Dillards was having a fantastic sale on intimates recently, I came across this stuff: Forever New Fabric Wash.

It’s specially formulated for handwashing (and machine washing too) delicates and prolonging the life of your garments!
Here’s what they say about it on their website:
             “Forever New® Fabric Care Wash is a pure, organic and biodegradable fabric wash formulated to gently clean, brighten and promote longer life in all fine washables. It safely cleans lingerie, hosiery, swimwear, silks, woolens and other colorfast delicates.

A natural base of multiple sodas and citrus cleans and rinses completely from the fabric leaving no soap residues to damage thread fibers. Forever New preserves fiber-flex and elasticity, allowing all fine garments to look new longer”

I normally used Woolite for delicates but since I was out, I figured I’d give it a try. At only $3, yes three dollars, for this little 4oz bottle I figured I couldn’t lose. I was sold when I smelled it. It’s fresh and a bit powdery but light and far from over-powering, unlike similar products I’ve tried. Plus, I love that it’s a green product and the packaging is recyclable too!

First I tried a top that has an attached faux fur belt. It’s super cute but out of fear of ruining the belt, I hardly ever wore it. Not only was it easy to wash in this detergent, the faux fur belt came out looking better than before!

Next I washed several pairs of pantyhose. I’m always nervous to wash them in a new detergent because I’ve tried a couple that wore them out much faster than I’d hoped and much faster than promised. Frustrating and wasteful. It’s not easy for someone as fair-skinned as I am to find pantyhose that don’t make it look like their legs belong to another person, so I really try to make them last. Luckily, this stuff worked great! Each pair that I washed felt and looked like new again. What pinup wouldn’t want to make their pantyhose last longer? No one I know!

After that first day of test washing, I was hooked. I now use this detergent to also wash my girdles and other shapewear, my slips, my vintage bed jackets, delicate tops, wool and certain delicate sweaters.

I got the concentrated powder but this is also available in a liquid detergent and pre-measured travel packs (how convieniant is that?!). The company also sells stain remover, another formula that maintains elasticity and some of the nicest garment washing bags I’ve ever found. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this stuff before!

I got mine in the intimates department at Dillard’s but you can also find at other stores. Their website (www.forevernew.com) has a store locater so you can find it closeby!

Edson Carlos – Second Set

You may remember the set of photos of me by Edson Carlos (creator of www.pinuplifestyle.com) with hair and makeup by KandyK (www.kandyk.com) that I posted recently. They were quite different from any other photos I have to date and turned out to be a big hit. Stepping out of my norm and shooting that set has fueled my creativity even more and I can’t wait to get some of these ideas into production so I can share them with you all! (The first set of photos can be found here: https://melissamisfortune.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/shooting-with-edson-carlos/)

That set was dark, gritty and raw, which I plan to do more of in the near future.
Here is another set from Edson that is quite the opposite and was just as much fun for me to shoot. It’s girly and fun and shows off one of my greatest loves, cheese! Hair and makeup was done by KandyK (she is great to work with!) and the dress is a revamped vintage pattern from 1954 made for me by my mama.

I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed shooting them!
Xoxo,
Melissa Misfortune

Cheese!!

Nowells Photography

While looking through my portfolio a couple of months ago, I realized I only had one set of studio shots. I needed some to enter a pinup contest so I sought out to get some done. I had seen Nowells Photography on Model Mayhem and liked it so I sent her a message. We shot soon after that and I am glad we did! Here are some of my favorite photos from our shoot. You can find more of her work at www.nowells.weebly.com and can also find her work on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nowellsphotography .

 

 

 

Rockabilly Royale Recap

Thank you to everyone who came out to support me in the pinup contest on July 30th! Your support means more to me than you know and I’m happy to say that I won Miss Congeniality in the pinup contest! Also, thank you to everyone who stopped by my booth! Whether you bought something or not, thank you for saying hi!

All of the bands that played were great, I always love seeing Voodoo Swing and Rooster Coupe DeVille! I’d never seen The Toomstoners, Shit Outta Luck or El Camino Royales before. They were all fantastic! The company was great, the pinup contest had some seriously stiff competition and was full of super sweet girls! I was so happy to meet so many sweethearts and to have gotten to know others even better! Below are a few photos of the event and from the shoots I did while there!

Being introduced during the pinup contest!

The pinup contestants before they announced the winners.

Photo by CJN Photography

Photo by CJN Photography

Photo by CJN Photography - The Harley belongs to my friend George. His T Bucket won a trophy at the car show! 🙂

Photo by Tara O Photos

Photo by Tara O Photos

Photo by Tara O Photos

And last but not least, my booth! The rad wood coffins, purses and jewelry boxes in the back on the right were not made by me, they were made by my friend Scott. He is an incredible artist and it was great to share a booth with him! 🙂

Thank you Tara O Photos for the photo!

My Shoot with D2 Photography

Last month I got to work with a very talented photographer and author, Dan Cavallari aka D2 Photography. He was very professional, creative and fun to work with. I hope to shoot with him again before he moves! Below are just a few of my favorites from the shoot. My hair and makeup was done by me. These photos were taken on 6-13-2011.

Thanks again to Scott, Don E of Lowbrow Gallery and Tattoo Studio and Raffael of The Moonlight Howlers for being part of this shoot!

More photos from this shoot can be found on my Facebook and you can find more of Dan’s work on his website

Upcoming events: 4th of July Weekend – Art Walk, Reverend Horton Heat and 4th of July Parade

If you will be in Flagstaff this Friday, July 1st, for the Art Walk, be sure to stop by Lowbrow Gallery and Tattoo Studio! They are Flagstaff’s newest custom tattoo studio, located where Hole Punch used to be. Under new ownership, the shop is new and improved! There will be lots of bad ass art on display and I will be selling my bows, flowers and jewelry so come say hi!!

After the Art Walk, join me at the Orpheum for The Reverend Horton Heat show! This will be my first time seeing The Rev live and I am so incredibly excited!

Last but not least, I will be in the 4th of July parade on Monday alongside several other local pin ups! We will be promoting Rockabilly Royale by handing out fliers and other goodies. Rockabilly Royale is on Saturday, July 30th located at Cinnabar (The Joint) in Flagstaff, Arizona. Voodoo Swing, Rooster Coupe DeVille, El Camino Royales, The Toomstoners and Shit Outta Luck are all playing! On top of the bands, there will be vendors, photographers (come get your photo taken!!), hot rods and a pin up contest! I will be vending at this event as well as participating in the pin up contest! Come on out, listen to some great music, do some shopping, have some $2 PBRs and support me in the contest! By the way, I am happy to take photos with fans so don’t be shy if you run into me!! ❤

My Most Recent Vintage Finds

With Spring in the air and Summer closing in fast, I have been pining for some more great vintage pieces to add to my wardrobe. I love summers in Flagstaff, they are so beautiful, green and there is so much to do! Like a true pinup, I love dressing to the nines and going to events (whether they are rockabilly events or not!). Subscribe to my blog for information on upcoming events in and around Flagstaff, events I have attended along with photos, product reviews, pinup hair styling tips, photo shoots and much more. Lately I have been searching eBay, Etsy and local shops in preparation for upcoming events and photo shoots and have found some beautiful things. I am so excited about these finds I thought I would share a few of them with you.

I have a serious love affair with dresses. In my opinion, there is nothing more feminine, sexy and attention grabbing than a dress you feel fantastic in. A girl, pinup or not, can never have too many dresses that make her feel great. As someone who used to wear mostly jeans with band shirts (not fitted ones either), I was shocked at how different I felt when I started dressing nicer and doing my hair. I stand a little taller, I am more outgoing, I believe in myself more, and there is a subtle sway to my walk that was never there before. (I am not by any means saying that anyone needs a dress or great clothes to feel great, I am just saying I feel even better than I already do when I’m dressed up.) The dress below will need some altering to fit me correctly since I am so tiny (4’11” and 98 lbs) and I can’t wait to get to work on it. It is vintage from the late 50s and is in beautiful very wearable condition.  This one was found on eBay.

I am so excited about this dress from the 1940s (shown below). You just don’t see attention to detail like this in most modern clothing. The gathering at the shoulders and waist, the decorative buttons, the pockets (why don’t modern dresses have pockets?!) and of course the beautiful embroidery on the pockets all make this dress a killer find. This was bought at one of my favorite stores in Flagstaff, Incahoots. They specialize in used and vintage clothing (mostly vintage) as well as costume rentals. When I bought it, they said that so many people had tried it on but I was the first one to fit in it so sometimes being teeny is a good thing! I do not need to take it in at all, gasp!! I just need to redo a hem on one sleeve and patch a few tiny, barely noticeable holes as are common with vintage clothing. Despite the minor flaws, the way this dress fit me I knew I had to buy it. If this dress were a person, I’d take it on a date I love it so much.

The dress below is not vintage but it’s so fantastic and I got such a deal on it, again on eBay, that I thought I would share it with you. It is made by Stop Staring! If you are into vintage and vintage reproductions (and really, why else would you be reading this post?) and have not looked into Stop Staring! do it now! Well, do it after you are done reading this. 😉 They are known for amazing construction, great fit and some of the best, softest stretch bengaline ever.  This dress will get many, many years of use just like all of their clothing. It has a tailored waist and bust and a swing skirt that moves and hangs beautifully. I can’t wait to go dancing in this one! A lot of people shy away from amazing clothing like this because of the price but you really do get what you pay for. If you are a die-hard like me, you tend to think of it as an investment. Just think of how many ways you could wear this dress! You can wear it just like it is, with a crinoline (petticoat), a bolero, a cardigan, a waist cincher, leopard print, striped pieces for a pirate-y look, polka dots, navy blue for a nautical look, cute flats, hot heels, cuban heel stockings, oh and the list just goes on!

I can’t wait to shoot in these dresses and start working them into my wardrobe more.

Xoxo,
Melissa

Hotel Monte Vista Photoshoot

Hi guys, just wanted to share a couple of photos from my photo shoot in the Hotel Monte Vista in historic downtown Flagstaff Arizona. It opened in 1927 and has a rich history that can still be felt in the hotel and the historic cocktail lounge today.  The hotel has unique rooms that have been decorated and named after celebrities that have stayed there over the years. These photos were taken in the very pink Debbie Reynolds room on January 10th, 2011. There are so many to go through, it’s a little overwhelming but there will be more up very soon on my Facebook ( www.facebook.com/melissa.misfortune ) In the mean time, here is a little sneak peek. 😉

Click the photos to see larger versions since these versions don’t do them justice.

Photos by Zach Beckett who is an incredible tattoo artist at Birch Avenue Tattoo in Flagstaff. Check out his work at www.birchavenuetattoo.com
Hair, make up and styling by me.
You can find out more about the Hotel Monte Vista, its rooms, history, haunting and famous guests at www.hotelmontevista.com