Babylon Blog

hey everyone, my good friend sunny was visiting from san francisco on tour with his band carletta sue kay they played at valentine's in portland and it was one of the best shows i've seen in a while (right up there with redd kross!) i will add some very low res video soon. check out the fab pink mexican dress carletta found at hollywood babylon and wore for her perfomance: they play again tonight, saturday september 22 in tacoma washington at the pantages theatre as part of a festival (i think it might be free?) catch 'em if you can - they put on a great show and are some of the nicest people around. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m--zfsgkDUc&w=560&h=315] xo, hb here's the low res video from the other night that i promised: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94C-w8eA73g?list=UUeJdcG58DDxV74o1gPU8cGQ&hl=en_US&w=560&h=315]

Everybody loves velvet paintings it seems these days and right now we are lucky enough to have some of the best ones in Portland gracing our walls. Velvet paintings by local artist Juanita are for sale at Hollywood Babylon. Check more of her work right here and keep in mind she does some incredible custom work as well...

a new pdx jewelry designer that we love, Glass Tower Jewelry & Design. we just received some of her custom earrings and they are now for sale at our retail location.

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Tonight we will have the pleasure of seeing glam punk legends Redd Kross headline East End's annual Block Party. Known for their infectious power pop and their often over the top vintage fashion we thought it'd be the perfect time to share a few pictures of them past and present. Formed in 1978 they were a huge part of the LA punk scene and their bass player Steven McDonald also plays in a little band called OFF! with Keith Morris from the Circle Jerks / Black Flag. Redd Kross are releasing their new album "Researching the Blues" next month on Merge records after 15 years of silence and tonight are playing right here in Portland Oregon. Here's hoping they they stop in the shop today for some new vintage duds... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6nSIp6o6N8]

  SUNBATHE. (remember spf!)   CAMPING WITH FRIENDS!   ROADTRIP                 bring your dog along for added adventure! (our dog kaya daydreaming on a roadtrip back in the day) just a few ideas...here's hoping everyone gets a chance to squeeze in some fun this summer!!

i remember my father telling me a great story when i was young about finding a time capsule. i thought it was the coolest thing ever...i even buried a few shoeboxes out in the arizona desert behind our house filled with candy, polaroids, artwork and other surprises, inspired by his story. i recently stumbled upon this blog post on messy nessy and it blew my mind...click on the photo below to read the story and see more photos of a paris apartment left abandoned and untouched for 70 years...enjoy!

vintage t-shirts have always been one of our favorite things and we also like to make things! here are some recycled t-shirt dresses we made that you can buy on etsy: yes that is a baby wolf... a dream catcher AND a sexy indian maiden....to buy go here we have an in-house serger here and if you have any old large or x-large t-shirts that you would like reshaped, feel free to bring them by or pop it in the mail for us to re-style for you. the silhouette is universally flattering. (rates vary based on quantity) for a limited time we have these cloud print tees...available in small, medium or large and in varying lengths. message us to place a special order at info@babylonvintage.com thanks and stay tuned for more designs coming soon... have a great weekend everyone!

many a fine shoe have passed through our little shop, and as many of you know, shoes are my passion (i occaisionally host popups where footwear is the main attraction) i've always been a fan of unique footwear and was thrilled by the resurgence of platforms a few years back...and they seem to be here to stay. maybe they aren't for everyone, and not everyone knows how to rock them, but they are beautiful as an object at that.   above: ferragamo recently re-produced this style originally conceived in 1938 above: november 10, 1944 - carmen miranda poses with her large collection of wedges above: twiggy posing in biba's kensington store, 1971 looks featured on whowhatwear below

often thought of tacky, aloha prints are truly an amazing cultural treasure. these tropical prints emerged from hawaii in the twenties and thirties around the time the tourism industry was just starting. the prints were very inspired by japanese kimono prints, traditional hawaiian block prints and of course the exotic landscape. black + white japanese inspired chrysanthemum print. elvis from blue hawaii. forties rayon hawaiian shirt with amazing color palette. chinese inspired hawaiian dresses forties through sixties. marni runway looks a few current looks featuring aloha prints courtesy of refinery29 a few of the many options available at our shop hollywood babylon in portland, oregon.