A Birthday Dinner Celebration with a Vintage Vogue Fashion Theme

Welcome to the 463rd Tablescape Thursday!

Recently Elena and her beautiful family gathered together to celebrate the birthday of four family members. Elena lost her dear sister, Anna earlier this year so for Elena this party was more a celebration for Anna who would have turned 63 last month.

Table Celebrating Vintage Fashion

 

Elena wrote, “As I’m sure you know, a new tablescape can come to life based on one pretty thing that catches your eye—in this case, it was lavender and blue French vintage fashion salad plates. There were four different styles of dresses, and so I had two of each style for my main dining room table.

These styles would come from the 50’s and the early 60’s. These plates reminded me of Vogue vintage patterns, the kind of sewing patterns Anna was fearless about taking on.  She was an expert seamstress by the time she was about 13 years old.”

Table Setting Celebrating Vintage Vogue Fashion

 

Elena is a good seamstress, too! She found a beautiful tablecloth for her table, but it wasn’t quite the right size. She was able to cut and redesign it to the perfect size for her table. Elena said, “I found a pretty lavender organza tablecloth which I had to cut to size. It was too long and not wide enough, but by careful sewing, cutting and  attaching wide lavender ribbon to the right edges, my tablecloth was a perfect size. I am a not much of a seamstress, so I think my sister Anna would have been proud of me.”

For the table runner, Elena found a beautiful midnight blue runner with a raised “rose” design. (Table runner is available here: Table Runner.) Elena said, “I found the dark blue sparkly round placemats at Pier One, they are so pretty!  They were also on sale. Yay!”

I just noticed that all the placemats are currently on sale at Pier 1 here: Placemats.

Vintage Style & Fashion on Salad Plates

 

Elena found the purple napkins here: Napkins. (Scroll down at that link to see them in many different colors.) She found the sheer organza napkin covers here: Organza Napkins.

Vintage Fashion Salad Plates

 

Elena chose her Oneida Michelangelo flatware for this table setting. The blue goblets are Marquis by Waterford.

Vintage Stye Salad Plates, Fashion

 

Such a pretty table setting! The fashion-themed salad plates add so much fun and whimsy to this elegant tablescape. Love the beautiful lace charger plates! They are available HERE and HERE.

Table with Vintage Fashion Salad Plates

 

Elena said, “So my vintage fashion plates led me to Vogue patterns…

Celebrate Birthday with a Vintage Fashion Birthday Party

 

…which led me to vintage Barbie things. As girls, my sister and I loved Barbie dolls and we loved playing the “Queen of the Prom” game together.

Barbie 'Queen of the Prom' Game

 

Elena said, “In the last photo, you will see more detail on the board to my vintage Barbie Queen of the Prom game. This game is SOOOO politically incorrect by today’s standards—LOL–but that’s one of the things I love about this game! The object is to be the first to go to the high school prom and land on the pink crown on the center of the board (where you are crowned Queen of the Prom!).  But before you can enter the prom, you MUST buy a formal gown, (by saving up your allowance and babysitting money) have a steady boyfriend (choice of four) and you also have to join a high school club and become president.”

Barbie Queen of the Prom Game

 

Elena explained more about her vintage game, “As part of the decorations in the dining and living room, I posted on rustic white wood plaques more photos from the cover of the Barbie Queen of the Prom game and actual playing cards from the game.

“The Barbie Game, Queen of the Prom.  A fun game with real-life appeal for all girls. And of course according to the box cover,  real life girls’ favorite pastimes are dating, school activities, and shopping.  See what I mean about lack of political  correctness LOL! You can see that the boyfriends to choose from are Ken, Tom, Bob and Poindexter.   Of course, everyone wanted to go steady with Ken. :)”

Elena broke down the 1961 pricing on the dress playing cards in today’s dollars:

  • Silken red flame $35   ($286.23 in today’s dollars)
  • Let’s Dance  $40 ( $327.12 in today’s dollars)
  • Solo in the Spotlight   $50 ($408.80 in today’s dollars)
  • Enchanted Evening $65  ($531.57 in today’s dollars)

 

Elena said, “I decorated my sideboard with a framed vintage Vogue pattern,  a metal dressmaker form, little Eiffel towers, a purple satin rose runner, the board from my Queen of the Prom game, and FIVE vintage reproduction Barbies. If you’ll notice from the photos, there are five Barbies on my sideboard.”

Barbie, Queen of the Prom for Vintage Fashion Birthday Party

 

Elena said, “The group of four together showcase the four formal gowns featured in Barbie Queen of the Prom. From left to right, “Solo in the Spotlight” (black), “Let’s Dance” (blue), “Enchanted Evening”  (pink ) and “Red silken flame” (red and white).  I bought these vintage Barbies and their outfits on eBay.

When I was six years old I had exactly one Barbie, a very expensive Christmas present which cost three dollars. But in my family, there was never enough money to buy genuine Barbie clothes, so my mom would make Barbie outfits for me and my sister with old socks, scraps of felt, etc. When I was little I never dreamed that someday I would have enough money to buy more than one Barbie and the beautiful prom gowns.”

Vintage Barbies Displayed for Birthday Party

 

“I also included on the sideboard a Barbie in her vintage wedding gown—just because!!!  This last Barbie was something so beautiful, too expensive—as a little girl, I never dreamed of owning such an expensive and beautiful Barbie outfit!”

 

Thanks so much to Elena for sharing this elegant, whimsical table setting. The Barbie “Queen of the Prom” game was a fun step back in time and definitely gave us a few giggles. Wish the prices on the dresses were still the same! lol

Table with Vintage Fashion Salad Plates

 

Pssst: I post almost daily to Instagram. Follow Between Naps on the Porch on Instagram here: Between Naps On The Porch.

Here’s a list of where Elena found many of the items she used in her tablescape. I’ve also linked to several in the post itself.

Resources:

· Rosanna Purple French Parisian Fashion Model salad plates—eBay
· Pink and white scalloped Gracie dinner plates—Homegoods
· Arte Italica pale blue lace charger plates—Wayfair
· Dark blue sparkle beaded round placemats—Pier One
· Dark blue satin rosette table runner—eBay
· Flatware—Oneida stainless steel Michelangelo
· Marquis by Waterford blue Brookside water goblets—Evine
· Purple cotton napkins—Cost Plus
· Pale blue organza napkin sheaths—Always Elegant on eBay
· Pearl and crystal napkin rings—Steinmart
· Miniature sewing machines—Homegoods
· Miniature ceramic Eiffel towers on table—Homegoods
· Crystal candle holders—Waterford, from Evine
· Lavender pillar candles—Hobby Lobby
· Metal dressmaker form on sideboard—Hobby Lobby
· Miniature metal Eiffel towers on sideboard—Hobby Lobby
· Various silvertone cake pedestals on sideboard—Homegoods
· Purple satin rosette table runner on sideboard–eBay
· Lavender satin rosette table runner on console table holding sewing notions–eBay
· Vintage Barbie dolls and their outfits—eBay
· Barbie Queen of the Prom game—I don’t know where I got it, it was a gift and it is over 50 years old LOL!
· Vintage Vogue dress patterns—eBay and Etsy
· Laser cut frames for patterns and Barbie photo—frames, Krylon spray paint and matting material from Michaels
· Miniature black and white dressmaker form—Hobby Lobby
· Miscellaneous sewing notions—JoAnn’s—EXCEPT for my (practically antique) tomato pincushion which I’ve had for at least 47 years. My sister Anna had a pincushion just like mine, is there any other kind of pincushion? :0)

Looking forward to all the tables linked for this week’s Tablescape Thursday!

Tablescape Thursday

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Comments

  1. Sisters are so dear. Such a heartwarming and lovely tribute to her sister. Makes me want to go to Paris. 🙂 I’m not a Barbie fan, but have to say the collection is adorable. Thanks for sharing this post and for hosting Tablescape Thursday. I can’t always join in, but happily have a new tablescape.

    • My sister Anna was the smartest, sweetest, kindest person, I was so lucky/blessed to have a sister like her. You should go to Paris, you’ll love it!! Hubby and I went to France about 5 years ago, spent three days in Paris. The museums, parks, fashions and stores were fabulous. To my surprise, the Parisians were not rude to us at all (as Americans). I think the key to that was our attempting to speak French as much as possible, the Parisians seemed to appreciate that very much.

  2. How pretty! Love everything about it. So vintage, retro and elegant!….Christine

  3. Oh goodness, what an incredible tribute to her sister! The fashion plates are beyond fabulous and all her thoughtful details in the Barbie and Vogue vignettes! Just beautiful! Thank you for sharing Elena and Susan!

  4. Thanks for sharing this fun party table, Susan. I’ve forwarded the link to my friend who has continued her passion for Barbie into her adult years. She will love reading this. I’ve never heard of the Barbie Prom Game, but my friend needs one. ‘-) Have a great day. We are enjoying some cooler weather!

  5. I enjoyed this post, since I am a Barbie girl through and through. As a little girl I played Barbies with my sisters and neighbors all the time. As a grown up, I worked for Mattel toys and still enjoyed “playing” withBarbie! What a wonderful homage to her seamstress sister, to celebrate such wonderful memories.

  6. Love the Barbie accents ! My sister and I collect vintage Barbie and just returned from the annual collector convention that was in Houston a couple weeks ago . That was our sixth one – so much fun !!! We were children in the 50’s . I sewed clothes for our dolls – we played with them for hours .

    • Susie, what a fun hobby you share with your sister–vintage Barbies!! That collector’s convention sounds like a lot of fun.

  7. This table was such a lovely tribute to Elena’s sister, honoring Anna’s sewing skills and the memories of sharing childhood times playing with Barbie. I always wanted a Barbie doll but it was not to be! Then when I finally had a daughter I really enjoyed buying them for my her. My cousin had the Prom game and I loved playing it, in secret in her room while we listened to Bobby Sherman! I’m glad Elena has these happy memories to help her right now. Thank you, both Susan and Elena, for sharing. Linda

  8. What a beautiful setting. I’m sure your sister would have loved it. (I had one of the tomato pin cushions also)

  9. Oh, gosh, I remember that Barbie game! No one wanted Poindexter – poor guy. He was probably the best of the bunch. Great table theme!

    • LOL! For me and my sisters, Ken was of course first choice, followed by Tom who was Clark Kent handsome. It was a toss-up between Bob and Poindexter as to being the last-choice boyfriend. LOL

  10. Such a beautiful table setting and a sweet tribute to Elena’s sister. I remember my one and only Barbie. My friend and I could play for hours, sitting on the front porch playing with our Barbie’s.

  11. How much fun is this beautiful table! I love the mini sewing machine and the color combo is so pretty. This makes me wish I had saved my girls Barbie dolls.

  12. I love this table setting and the theme. I especially enjoyed seeing the vintage Barbie’s. That silken flame outfit was one I had, I think maybe I still have the dress somewhere. My mother gave most of my Barbie things to a younger friend when I no longer played with them, but I kept a special few. I had many homemade Barbie clothes, too, thanks to a babysitter who sewed for her daughters’ and my dolls. I never played that game, though. It’s fun even though it’s dated.

    • Hi Joy, I’ve found that every generation of little girl in my family likes to play the Barbie Game, as silly as that might seem. I have a really sweet photo of my little daughter and her cousins playing the game on my king size bed, with my three snoring cats tucked among them. Such precious memories.

  13. I am sharing this with my granddaughter who so loves fashion and old patterns, etc. She would dearly love the game, for I think girls never lose that phase of wanting to be the “queen of the prom.” I was hospitalized for polio at age 7 and received a wonderful Lady Alexander Bride Doll that gave me so much happiness at a time when I needed it.
    Love the table, bravo to the seamstress for her stitching a bewitching tablescape.

  14. Bless you!! A work of love!! Just beautiful!! franki

  15. I love everything about this lovely party; which I am sure was loads of fun to attend. What a great time sharing the joy of a sister’s passions. I still have all of my Barbie things (1960s- 1970s), even the one whose hair got a chop-cut thanks to my little brother (aren’t they just great?!). Thank you for sharing this wonderful setting.

  16. Lori Hojnicki MacKenzie says

    So strange, just this morning I retrieved from my storage room the vintage Barbi game as I have family visiting tomorrow bringing two young girls and I thought they may enjoy.

  17. Very pretty lavender table… or purple.
    I love the dinner plates as much as the salad ‘fashion’ plates.
    The purple stems are great too. What really amazes me the most is all the details thru the entire dining room she used to give the Paris fashion idea of décor.
    I’m sure she remembered her sister who passed away recently way to young!
    Thank you for sharing and hosting Susan.
    FABBY

  18. What a fun and interesting tablescape! And the Barbie game, what a trip! My older sister played with a doll named “Tressy” she didn’t have Barbie. But I’d hear a derogatory remark about “what a Poindexter!” Now I know where it originated,lol!

  19. What a lovely post – such a nice idea to honor your sister. Had to smile about the whole Barbie idea. Also came from humble beginnings and when my beloved Aunt Mamie bought me a Barbie when they first came out I was over the moon! Also was never able to have “real” Barbie clothes…and had to smile when I saw the outfit I really wanted – the black sequin gown with the microphone!!! Remember having a Barbie case later on and going to friends houses to “play Barbie”. The Prom game brought back laughs, too…we played one called Barbie Dream Date and sometimes you would draw a card called “The Dud!”. What wonderful memories and what a wonderful way to remember a beloved sister. God bless.

  20. OH! I just love everything about this post. Those dishes are gorgeous. I can relate to the Barbie products. The table vignette is beautiful and so original. I am going to show this post to my sisters. I admire any one who can sew. Thank you for sharing this. I love anything vintage. FYI there is a Pointdexter in the board game,”Go To The Head of The Class.
    Marilyn

    • Thank you, Marilyn. It’s funny how the name “Poindexter” was the name of choice for a nerdy guy, kind of a Baby Boomer thing LOL. I also had the game “Go to the Head of the Class,” but I had forgotten about Poindexter in that game. Thanks for reminding me. :0)

  21. The attention to detail in this tablescape is fabulous. With the Barbie accents and the fashion theme, this room draws you in and welcomes each guest. Love the lace chargers; but at $41.99 each they are pretty pricey.

  22. Be still my heart The Barbie game was our favorite. I think is was a Christmas gift. I played it with my sisters and friends all the time. This is a beautiful table scape and so much fun. I started sewing very young and spent last week teaching my granddaughter to sew. She is six and told me she was so proud of herself after we made a napkin. I was lots of fun. Thank you for sharing it brought back lots of memories.

    • Theresa, I think it’s wonderful that you’re teaching your little granddaughter to sew. I only have one grandchild and he’s a little boy. I don’t have any granddaughters to share my girly girl things with, but grandson and husband have a great time doing “guy things” together.

      Have a great day!

  23. Cynthia Raines says

    Beautiful table! Wonderful tribute! I loved my Barbi too, mommade most of her clothes, had a couple of store bought. We made side tables for her out of match boxes and colored paper. Good memories!

  24. What a fun post- I love how she tied the Vintage Fashion dishes with the Barbies and their outfits. I have the Barbie game too and my daughter and I loved playing it when she was younger. I first learned to sew when I was 12 and did so for many years but I never considered myself an expert by any means. I admire those who are able to do the more technical details. This was a lovely tribute to her sister.

    • Thank you, Liz!! I think young girls around my age all formally learned to sew in junior high school; for me and my sister it was in 7th grade home economics (mandatory for girls at that time, no boys allowed LOL). I was always an okay seamstress, managed to earn my “A’s”, but I only took on the easiest Simplicity and McCalls patterns. My sister Anna was an AWESOME seamstress and she was taking on scary-looking Vogue patterns by the time she was 13 to 14.

      Have a great day!

      • I am with Elena…my sister Mary is a great seamstress and taught me to sew. I can still remember her saying “rip it out” when a seam did not look right. I recently made new pillows for our screen porch and there was a problem with one…I had to call her to have her say “rip it out”! My dear sister Theresa passed away at an early age 20 years ago…she was not much of a seamstress but she took the scraps from Mary’s wedding gown to make a christening dress for Mary’s first child as she was the godmother. I can still see her frowning over the tiny darts as she pressed it out on the ironing board….miss her, but cherish the memories. Ironically, she was a smoker, and 12 years older so when she took me to the beach or for burgers with her friends she would say “you tell Mom I was smoking and I will burn your Barbie doll”. I laugh when I think of that now….memories are such a gift, are they not ?

        • What wonderful stories about your sisters! So glad you have your sister Mary still coaching you. And your sister Teresa sounds like someone who had a hilarious sense of humor. Thanks for sharing your sister memories. ;0)

  25. This was a particular favorite Tablescape Thursday! Loved Barbie and all the details. What a beautiful tribute to her sister~

  26. What a lovely way to celebrate the memory of her sister! Love those place settings and the whole tablescape. The Barbie game is my favorite though! Brought back many memories!

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