Retro-fy Me! The Origins

Introducing...your Author!

My name is Cassandra Arter.  The smile is real.  The red hair isn't.

I started this blog because I have become obsessed not only with the fashion of the 40s, 50s and 60s, but with adding little bits of glamour and luxury to my life that are eccentric, rare, antique and often very cheap.  Thrift store luxury, you could call it.  I revel in antique jewelry, especially earrings, which I collect to an embarrassing degree.  I own several tubes of red lipstick in varying shades; it improves my mood, my smile and just about every picture I've taken while wearing it.  I am a history enthusiast and love sharing interesting trivia about anything and everything but especially anything to do with cultural mores, women's fashion or music trends.  I am a crafter, creating retro pinup style hair barrettes and selling them alongside the vintage jewelry I find.  You can expect posts covering my great finds and where I find them, plus cool retro-inspired places here in Tucson and wherever else I may find them.

Life is infinitely improved by red wine, dark chocolate and fizzy water.

My favorite style icons are Lucille Ball, Ava Gardner, Dita von Teese, Veronica Lake, Clara Bow, Christina Hendricks and Rosemary Clooney.

I listen to music of every genre, but especially jazz, bluegrass, opera and a LOT of "oldies".  I grew up on the music of Neil Young, the Beatles, CSN, the great American songbook, early rock & roll all the way up to the music of the 70s that my parents grew up with.  Today I listen to a (much) wider range of artists but still adore my classic performers best including Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Robert Johnson, Rosemary, and Elvis!  You will probably see a few posts pop up from time to time on artists that I admire or a cd that I recently added to my collection.

I consider myself deficient in movies, particularly in the classics and foreign films, which coincidentally are also my favorite genres.  I intend on writing up short pieces on new movies I see.  Since I see movie criticism as best left to someone who has seen more of them than I have, I won't bore you or me by reviewing movies I dislike.  Feel free to send me suggestions but don't bug me about getting around to watching them all.  I am sloooooow getting around to watching movies.

Since I see a blog ultimately as a form of entertainment, it is my mission to entertain you, my reader.  Therefore feel free to jump in with comments and suggestions.  Remember, feedback just makes me write more which gives you more to read.  It's a happy cycle!