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Friday, May 13, 2011

Drink Anyone?

The Cocktail Hour is back! Martha Stewart, Emeril, Bobby Flay....even Oprah...has dedicated episodes to this popular get-together.  Cocktail Hours originated in the 1950's and continued into the mid-70's. Weekday cocktails began when Hubby arrived home from work and ended at dinnertime...usually 2 hours....and consisted of either Manhattan's (stirred) or Martini's (shaken). Saturdays tho were Cocktail Party time. Everyone had a special Cocktail Set........................................
Barware (courtesy Google search)

Kitchy Shakers.........(courtesy Google Search)
and My Fav, but only cause of what it's made out of...Aluminum..and it's mine!

There was also the Hors d' vours and foods synonimous with Cocktail hours
Cocktail Kabobs------Button Mushrooms and Cocktail Franks marinated in French Dressing
Canapes
Olives stuffed with pimento
Broiled Grapefruit
Potato chips with onion dip.....just to name a few.
The Cocktails included the Manhattan, Daiquiri, Whisky Sour, Tom Collins and others. I used my vintage BGH set of 12 specialty cookbooks for these, but you could go on the 'net and get a myriad of suggestions for vintage cocktail parties.
There were also those kitchy little extras........swizzle sticks, beanbag ashtrays, and cocktail napkins...like this one I found on the internet........................

In the 1950-60's who could forget some of the beautiful built-in bars in any Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra movies. The everyday folks I knew had these for their rumpus rooms, dens, or family rooms.....................

 I found these retro bars on the internet and had to include them....
can't you just see Luvee and Mr. Howell with Gilligan as the Bartender?



Now this is the quintisential 40's Cocktail Bar.














And this pic is of a 1960's Cocktail Bar. Understated, modern, blends in with the decor of the room.

furniture peices were available in a wide variety of styles...modern, art deco, country, My parents had one that was definately an Early American./farm house feel from the early 70's.....it's a divider between kitchen and family room and it now displays vintage bottles, glassware, teapots, and cookbooks.

 The Cocktail Hour had a dress code.....Dinner jacket for the host.....Suit or sport coat for the gentlemen.....and the ladies....................the Cocktail Dress...............(courtesy Google search).

I found these examples on the internet........ But we can't forget the Cocktail Jewelry

Rings, brooches, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. Even men had Cocktail Pinky Rings.
And, the one all important accessory any Hostess had to wear was the............................................

Cocktail Apron.
They were fancy little numbers, usually made of taffetta
 Like this one...........................

I had to do a little redo on this vintage taffata beauty, but the flocked and glittered floral pattern is all original. I also added a few vintage buttons for a bit more umph. This apron is a bit unusual....it is one size fits all. The aprons I find to recreate, redo, repurpose...well.....some....okay they don't quite tie all the way...women were petite back then....but this one fits.
Now this little Cocktail Hour Cutie is probably from the late 50's- early 60's. It's tropical floral accent to commorate the our 50th state..Hawaii....I just see the Tiki Bar poolside now...
It was in excellent condition when I found it, but I did have to do a little seam repair and of course add a little cocktail bling..........................



I added 4 little cocktail charms at both pockets.
You can click the pics to enlarge.
You can visit me at Apronation if you'd like add these to your collection...both are available for $19.99. If you'd prefer you can contact me at melody@brownginghamcreations.com to arrange aquiring them.

Sorry....seems blogger had some issues and lost posts from last Wed to last night.
I was linked into Rednesday Wednesday and Three or More Wed.
Today I linked to Thrifty Things Fri. at the Thrifty Groove and Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound
 Hope Blogger has taken care of it's glitches
Uh,,,wait a minute.......it is Friday the 13th...not their bad. It's the Gremlins.

26 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, do I ever remember these times. Fun walking back with you in days to remember. Your aprons are wonderful!

Have a beautiful day ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

5-Day GIVEAWAY, pop over

Cindy said...

I love this post! The Husband and I are big fans of Cocktail Hour. We have a collection of vintage bar items we use frequently!

Justine said...

I love the vintage dresses! <3

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

love the swizzle sticks!

In the Hammock Vintage

GardenOfDaisies said...

What a great napkin! Ack!!! Can you imagine keeping a perfect house, dressing up beautifully and making food for not only dinner but cocktail hour too? Did they have more hours in the day back then?

AsylumTanya said...

Ugh! Now I'm feeling pressure! I just can't measure up! ;) Your post reminded me of a house for sale that I walked through recently. The entire basement was done over to look like a 1950's diner. Cute!

Lana Kim White Austin said...

Oooooh....I love every detail of this cocktail celebration@!!!!! I love my beautiful martini shaker that my MIL gave me! Those aprons and dresses are amazing, too!!!!!
Awesome post!
Hugs,
Lana In Italy

sweet violets said...

Oh, wow, what memories!!! I had that same red dress in yellow....what was I thinking??? hugs...cleo

Unknown said...

how fun...Cocktails...It was a big thing back when. I would be thrilled to have the first cocktail bar in your post if I had a cocktail party that is...Makes me want to have one...Thanks for sharing. and thank you for stopping by my neck of the woods! Mica @ The Child's Paper

Tink's Tinkerings said...

what a lovely place you have here, will be back soon :) Tink

Babs said...

What a fun post! I remember seeing so many of these things even though our family didn't have cocktail parties, my mom had lots of those aprons in organdy. I guess they were just for looks as they certainly wouldn't protect her dress from spills. lol
Thanks for stopping by my blog with a sweet comment.
Babs

Angela said...

Make mine a double, I'll be standing the red bar, and I'll be leaving to change my dress three times (love all three of those dresses)...and I will be asking you if I can wear the aprons so I can help you serve the cocktails too ok?! lol...

Tess said...

I'm old enough to remember this sort of party on TV and now we have "Mad Men". Do you watch? That beautiful red dress looks like something Betty would wear!

Poppy @ With a Dash of Color said...

What a great post! Cocktail hour.. gives me ideas of a new post. Love those swizzle sticks and the pretty apron is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing and your sweet comment. Have a nice day!~Poppy

http://withadashofcolor.blogspot.com/

GardenOfDaisies said...

It's just me stopping by again. I know what you mean about some of the vintage pieces costing a lot. That is why I usually only buy one or two pieces at a time. (It might take me forever to replace 6 whole place settings.)

Daniella said...

Finally! I couldn't get to you all day! ughblogger.
I have a picture of me 2 Christmases ago, wearing my pink apron, for my pink Christmas. I thnk I looked fabulous!!
LOVE all of your cocktail hour stuff!~!
xxDaniella

Anonymous said...

My parents did not have cocktails, but mom had bridge club. It was an excuse to use the fancy dishs and get dressed up.
Still, we had some fancy barware in the house and even though I do not imbibe I seem to have collected some as well.
Nice embellishments to the apron.

Susan said...

I love the vintage aprons!! I love the red dress as well!

Vintagesouthernlife said...

I enjoyed this post! No one dresses up anymore. I think it would be fun.

Bluebirds and Roses said...

Wow wonderful treasures and finds..
HPS!

Caroline said...

Loved your post!!! Nobody ever does this kind of thing anymore. It seemed like the 1950s somebody was always having some kind of dinner party, cocktail party, game night, or something. Also, everybody always dressed nice especially the ladies. Just love reminiscing about those days. It would be fun to host that type of party!!! Happy Pink Saturday.

Mrs. T.
Acorn hollow

LV said...

You reminded us how they used to have a cocktail. A very nice presentation.

SueLovesCherries said...

Melody, this is a wonderful post! Of course, I love that red bar! Now, that was the way to have a drink back then - it was a ritual with all the pomp and circumstance, not a keg party, but quite civilized.

One of my fondest memories is when my parents would have their New Year's parties with my aunts and uncles - the next morning we'd get up and glean the hats, noise makers, swizzle sticks, etc. - a pirate's booty for a kid!

Diann said...

How fun! Since I love retro, I love all this cocktail hour stuff. As a matter of fact, I have a pretty good collection of it. We even did a little dumpster dive last Fall and got a 1959 bar cabinet. It was in great shape with all the original accessories. Thanks for sharing on TTF. Have a wonderful day!

Niesz Vintage Home said...

Hi Melody,
Fun post!
I'll take the red bar and the pink cocktail dress, please. :-)

Just last week I saw a vintage 50's portable cocktail set at thrift store in Covington. It was in a little mini case and had a shaker and glasses and a place for liquor bottles. Too cool!

Kimberly

Anonymous said...

Love, love, love your piccies :) What an era! While I don't imbibe, I do love the rings, dresses, aprons, and other kitsch paraphernalia. Quite a few yrs back, my brother bought me an old 50's cocktails recipe book that is so cool.