Spooky Trad: Raleigh's Oakwood Neighborhood on Halloween

 

Wild and crazy antics at this Halloween party house. I can't even count all of the things going on at this place...

Spooky Trad: Abandoned Raleigh Water Treatment Facility

One wouldn't think that a mundane subject like water treatment could be trad. However, Raleigh has a classy, derelict anacronysm called the E.B. Bain Water Works. -We like classy, derelict anacronysm here at Trailer Trad!

E. B. Bain Water Treatment Plant complex was constructed to accomodate a growing Southern city's water needs and this is did for many years.  Dedicated in mid-1940, the plant was named after longtime city water superintendent Ernest Battle Bain and no expense was spared. -Funny. It seems many years older than that. It resembles English Victorian industrial relics. Maybe it's the use of brick that gives it that impression.
 

While it resembles a Victorian factory on the outside, the Bain plant resembles some sort of steam punk luxury hotel/laboratory on the inside. Marble, soaring spaces and elegant oak and wrought iron are combined with machinery that looks like something out of Captain Nemo.

The grounds and insides are fenced off so few people get in to see this forgotten treasure. Don't worry, my fence hopping days are long past! However, here is a great flickr gallery of interior photos that gives you an idea of how majestic yet sadly decayed this structure is.

Spooky Trad: Mid-Century Painting Spookiness

I picked up this Mid-20th Century painting recently for $6 and I think that it's pretty cool. Remember that old 80's movie Children of The Corn? I think that they lived in this place. Notice the trees sticking out of the houses? That's referred to as 'antlering' by photographers and painters and it usually doesn't look right. -However, I think that it's great in this case because the out-of-scale huge trunks look other worldly and threatening. 

Similarly, the worn condition of the canvas usually would detract from an oil painting but I think it enhances the eerie mood of the painting's shapes and colors. 

Spooky Trad: Matt Pond PA - Halloween (reshown)

If John Lennon Were Alive Today, Would He Be OWS or Tea Party? Decide For Yourself.

A lot of people think of the Beatles and automatically associate them with the far left wing of politics. But if you really pay attention to their lyrics, it's not so clear. John Lennon wrote most of their songs and it would really irk Lefties to see these lyrics. Enjoy.

The Beatles 'Tax Man'

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.

Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.

Trailer Trad in a Previous Life

Fill 'Er Up!

Photo credit:Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection

Trailer Trad Attire: You Own More Belts Than You Think

I'm surprised that this hasn't been covered more by the trad blogs. Long ago, men's neck ties originated from the sashes and silk that noblemen wore into battle so why can't they be repurposed by tying them around the waist and used as belts today? I wasn't the first to think of this.

Back in school, many many years ago, I had a boarding school prep roommate who lived large in a lot of ways. He and his buddy from their Hunt Country highschool would daily consume MASSIVE amounts of Red, White and Blue beer, often while watching General Hospital in the afternoons. -You can't really blame them. That was during the time of Luke and Laura, afterall. He also had a bevy of very attractive girls (Meg and Cathy looked like stand-ins for Ally McGraw in Love Story) who loved his style; the Hickey Freeman jackets, the closet full of Brooks Brothers buttondowns, Elvis Costello albums, etc. As laid back as he was, his ex-military father was super straight-laced and formal.

With the exception of his choice of belt. He wore creased gray flannels with starched white buttondowns. Very conservative, but he used thin repp ties as belts. He literally tied them like one would around the neck but at the waist and it looked pretty freaking cool.

And here we are. I don't like wearing thin ties but I have at last found a use for them. And I kind of like it.

Would I dare wear a stunning equestrian tie as a belt to the Montpelier Races and leave the maker dangling for all of the world to see? If it's Charvet, I would. Like the man says, it's so wrong, it's GOTTA be right.

Back-to-School Vintage Finds for Little Bean

What could be better than vintage Made-in-France white Vuarnets to make the right statement at high school this fall!
Although this little Navajo ring is pretty modest, it's just the kind of low key style that my daughter likes. I got a couple of these from a Raleigh estate (late Charleston) that was classic old school. Thread-bare 100 year old Oriental rugs used on the kitchen floor, the WWI Flying Ace family member photograph with the exquisite Tiffany Studios Floor lamp gathering dust in the dim corner of the 1930s cottage. -Nice.

Costume jewelry from the Early 20th Century, a Swiss ladies watch, 1870s British military blazer buttons and even WWI Naval Aviator's wings. -You never know what'll be in that estate sale bag of costume jewelry!

I grabbed this real, British-made 1980's Umbro rugby at a church rummage sale for a song. It fits me OK but Lil' Bean has appropriated it.

I grabbed this collectible bright red 1970s handbag for Lil' Bean. Although she likes it, she's not sure what to use it for. -How about as a stylish book bag?

Although I didn't buy it, this 1960s skippers cap from my daughter's 'brother camp' brought a smile to my face when I came across it at the flea market.