Hello Vintage Kitty

It's no secret that I'm a huge animal lover, and when you pair a cute critter with vintage illustrations, I fall even further in love. As my kitty, Stella, will no doubt attest to, cats are one of my favourite animals.

For centuries cats have been a popular subject in art and advertisement, and in the mid-twentieth century they really took a hip spin. The word "cat" became common slang for a person, particularly a man, often paired with the word "cool". And in the art world cats were becoming very cool animals indeed. Stylized and streamlined, these adorable creatures were sometimes depicted as looking almost futuristic, with wide almond eyes, large heads and lengthy tails. I adore mid-century cats and couldn't help but smile happily when I spotted a 1950s Zwicky yarn advertisement on one of the best vintage advertisement blogs around, Found in Mom's Basement.


{Sweet, sassy and stylish vintage kitty ad discovered via Found In Mom’s Basemen.}

Too awesome to merely admire, I had to repost the ad here for all my readers who also dig vintage kitties to see. Which in turn got set me on the prowl for other wonderful retro inspired cat themed items, below is a selection of the neatest ones I encountered today.


{I have a lovely beige, green and pink floral print shower curtain in my bathroom at the moment, but if I ever feel like a big change in decor, I’d be very tempted to shell out $19.99US for this wonderful vinyl shower curtain with its big black kitty.}


{Sip some milk or any other beverage you fancy from this lovely kitty shaped mug from ModCloth for $23.99US.}


{While it’s admittedly a little after the Christmas season, I think this mint tin is adorable and certainly vintage themed enough to use all year round. If you want to keep the scent of cat nip off your breath :D, pick up a tin of these mints for $3.25US}.


{Reusable totes are always an eco-friendly move that keeps the thrifty spirit alive. This precious one sports a truly great message that I fully support, having gotten my cat from a shelter. If you’re in favour of promoting kitty adoption too, grab one of these fabric totes for $14.99 to haul home kitty food in.}


{Who wouldn’t want to powder their nose with one of these darling kitty bedecked compacts? At $7.99US a piece, they are priced low enough that you might be tempted to pick up all three colour options.}.


{How incredibly cool is this set of four 6x6 inch prints from artist Kerry Beary on Etsy? Super cool! If you want to add a wallop of retro chic cat style to your pad, nab this set of prints for $65.00US. Kerry Beary's shop is teaming with other wonderful retro kitty prints too.}


{Carry around all of your favourite (kitty or otherwise) toys and necessities in this charming black, white and pink bowling bag style purse. With a hint of rockabilly style and plenty of coolness, this bag is really a steal at $24.99 – and if a bowling bag isn’t your favourite style of purse, a longer “baguette” version is also available.}


{This wonderfully cute 18 by 18 inch black cat cushion almost caused me to bust out the plastic, but I’m trying to be good and not buy anything unnecessary at the moment. Though at $20.99US it probably wouldn’t be too hard to justify the need for a throw pillow this amazing!}

All these marvelous pieces have got me purring with happiness! Have you ever encountered any vintage or retro kitty items that you really thought were the cat's meow?