Mary Van Notes

If you live in Sacramento you can see me in this month’s issue of Midtown Monthly.  I was snapped for The Sactorialist feature while shopping at last month’s antique faire (my all-time favorite Sacramento happening).

For NYE I had a couple of friends come over to perform a live variety show in my living room.  DJ Real and Uni and Her Ukelele and I had tons of fun.  If you missed seeing it live you can watch the fun here:

I took the opportunity to wear a 1930s ensemble.  A very Art Deco black silk dress, and a separate beaded neck wrap amazing thing which I clipped a sweater guard on in the back to keep it from flopping forward whenever I moved.  Miranda July wears something similar in design to this in her new film I haven’t seen yet, but am looking forward to see.  I’ll try to get photos of the dress again, because I really want to capture some of its amazing detail.

1930s black silk dress, 1930s beaded blouse wrap, vintage sweater guard clips: ebay
1950s rhinestone hair comb: Sacramento Antique Fair
black patent heels: Bunny’s Shoes, Santa Cruz
vintage seamed stockings: estate sale

(Ashley of Fancy Fine wearing a coat from my etsy shop in the swing of things)

Please visit Ashley’s latest post.  She’s wearing the most beautiful outfit where she pairs an amazing vintage Gucci peach blouse with a 60s swing coat from my shop.  There’s a certain excitement and thrill that comes from seeing your vintage pieces find such a good home.

I had the opportunity to dress up twice for NYE celebrations.  On Friday night I performed at Snob Theater at The Dark Room Theater in San Francisco.  These photos were taken backstage.  For this evening, I wore a 1940s evening gown. It has stains, but I still love it and thought a night like this would be a great time to wear it, kind of a one night only dress before I try to fix it, dye it, etc.  There’s one stain on the front you can see near the sequins, and more on the back of the dress.  But, I think the low-light atmosphere helped to conceal them.  A lot of the comics there said I looked like the statue of liberty.  I took the liberty to wear a stained dress because it’s still awesome.  : )

(can someone tell me why I’m getting these corrupted pics?)

1940s evening gown: ebay (I love the sequins detail, how it wraps around the hips, and the ruching right under the sequin swirls.  So beautiful!)
1930s wax flower bridal tiara: ebay
vintage gloves: gift
heels: Pour La Victoire
vintage seamed stockings: garage sale
vintage sequin coat: Costume Party, SF

l to r: wedding, paper doll, lady bug hugs, one year later, valentine’s day party, MVN’s DIY NYE

l to r: 1920s dress, chartreuse, spring blues, promedy, april flowers, pika pika w nicole

l to r: stripes, whenever you’re ready, los angeles, flower safari, lou wow, anita’s portraits

l to r:  1930s evening gown, autumn uniform,  vintage expo, xmas, going vertical, guessing game

I know everyone’s doing these year retrospectives, and yes, it’s a tad annoying, but I couldn’t help doing my own.  Thanks so much for following me this year.  I’m looking forward to 2012.  Happy New Year!

This list is completely according to me and what I saw this year.  Louis CK had probably the best year ever, and deservedly so.  He is comedy royalty right now.  If you don’t know him, get with the program.  But he doesn’t make it on this list because he’s pretty much a household name.  These are The Best Comics of 2011 You Probably Don’t Know:

1. Ron Lynch
By far my favorite show in Los Angeles is the The Tomorrow Show.  When I first witnessed the Saturday-at-midnight institution I was in awe every minute of it and completely inspired.  I went back to SF and started my own knock-off version with Comedy, Darling.  Ron Lynch, one of the original hosts of the show and the current host, is a comedy genius.   He’s my all-time super duper fave.  Here’s him at the 2011 Bridgetown Comedy Festival:

(and speaking of Louis CK earlier, check out Louis’ short film Hello There starring Ron Lynch)

2. Ron Funches
Truly an original voice, super like-able and had one of the best late-show debuts this year on Conan.  I’m looking forward to seeing more and more from this guy on the small screen (and maybe the big screen!):

3.  Jon Dore and Rory Scovel
Both of these guys were in my Best of 2010 list.  They both get a spot on this year’s list with their amazing dual set they did on Conan.   I was lucky to see them do this very set for the first time ever at the Bridgetown festival in 2009 (I believe…).  I also saw Rory Scovel headline at Sacramento State University this year, and it was a real treat.  Check out both of these guys if ever they make it to your town.

4. Drennon Davis
Old Mary Van Note buddy Drennon Davis is on the real up and up.   He’s on to great big things with his animated show getting on MTV next year, and his show in LA The Imaginary Radio Program has been getting lots of attention.  He is a comedy tour-de-force with his polished funny songs and silly jokes.  You will be seeing more of him very, very soon:

5. Marcella Arguello
I got to spend some quality time with Marcella this year when we both did California’s Funniest Female contest.  My official opinion?  Marcella is fucking funny.

6. Sean Patton
He was on my list in 2009 and he makes it back on this year’s list for his late night debut on Conan.  This guy always makes me laugh:

7. Susan Burke
A Los Angeles stand-up, I saw Susan at the Tomorrow Show this year playing the expert Psychologist for the Dating Game.  She is a seriously funny performer and she co-wrote the screenplay Smashed that made it into Sundance 2012.  Keep up-to-date on her awesomeness on twitter.

8. Brendan Lynch
Even though there isn’t a video of him online, I wanted to put him on this year’s list.  He’s a local Bay Area comic who I’m always excited to see as he always has new material he’s trying out.  His passion and attitude towards comedy is an inspiration and he is continuously getting better and better every time I see him.  If you’re in the Bay Area, check him out before he blows up big-time.  He tweets too!

9. Steve Mazan
I got to open for this guy this year and he was a joy to see.  His documentary Dying To Do Letterman came out this year to some high acclaim and I can’t wait to see it myself.

10. Carla Clayy
One of my local favorites, Carla Clayy is a truly unique performer.  I know this doesn’t happen that much anymore, but someone please give her a sitcom!   If you’re in the Bay Area, be sure to check her out.

11. Robert Buscemi
Saw this guy in LA for the first time this year.  I really enjoyed his jokes and I look forward to seeing more from him. Check out his comedy album.

12. Nathan Fielder
This guy gets on this list because I learned of him for the first time this year (he’s on the show Jon Benjamin Has A Van) and this video Thin Watermelon became my absolute favorite video find from 2011.

Merry Christmas World Wide Web!   Here are a couple of stupid silly videos (my specialty).

Please enjoy Vintage

And How To Be A Girl 3

Another festive outfit.  I wore this to a family holiday party.  I found the red velvet skating skirt at the perfect time so I could wear it constantly in the days leading up to Christmas.  This might be the outfit I wear on Christmas day.  I have to be sure to dress warm because my boyfriend’s mother’s house is usually really cold!

vintage red velvet skating skirt: thrifted
vintage 50s Santa pin: Sacramento Antique Fair
60s lace blouse with peter pan collar: c/o Retro Spex Vintage
black oxford heels: Payless
black tights: drug store
vintage Catalina sweater: etsy seller kettlestar.  Unfortunately it’s a wee bit tight on me, but it isn’t stopping me from wearing it.  I love it too much!  I think it’s from the 40s.  Aren’t the metal stud buttons unique?  Here’s a pic of the tag:

If I don’t post before Christmas, have a great one everybody!

(vintage Christmas card from dakota_boo on flickr)

I haven’t been blogging lately, but I have been dressing festively.  This is what I wore when I listened to Christmas records and decorated the tree.

vintage 1960s white blouse: Lulu Forever, Sacramento (Where did you go? You were a great store!)
vintage red velvet ice skating skirt: thrifted
black tights: rite aid or something
black heels: delia’s or alloy catalog from high school : )
1950s white fur brooch with cat face that winks: ebay
vintage felt doll purse: ebay

Here are some more closeups of the doll purse that hangs from my thread holder:

I’ve been listening to the Christmas Radio station on Pandora non-stop and it’s making me sickeningly happy and excited. I recommend it if you’re not in the holiday spirit yet.

vintage duffle coat: gift; 90s velvet dress: thrifted; tights: Macy’s; 60s lace blouse with peter pan collar: c/o Retro Spex Vintage; satchel: Le Mode Accessories; oxford heels: payless

I got my hands on a new camera, tripod, and remote so this pic-heavy post is brought to you by new tech excitement!  You may not have noticed before, but all the photos on this blog (when they were taken by me) have been horizontal because I didn’t have a tripod that could work vertical.  Just the tripod is an exciting new venture.  I can go VERTICAL now!  YES!  These pictures were taken at a ranch in Northern California (and yes, a ranch with a vineyard.  classy!).  I love being close to places like this.