Part 1: Auntie Nee Nee’s Whimsies & Vintage Collectibles

Auntie Nee Nee (aka Emily Acosta Thompson) is named Auntie Nee Nee because her nieces could not pronounce her name…& so…some 42 years later, she is still Auntie Nee Nee. She is a scavenger huntress & connoisseur of fabulosities & funkadelicacies that once brought joy to small people….things whimsical & full of character & warmth, unique oddities that are rescued & tattered toys, antique toy sewing machines, vintage hats both flamboyant & demure, lovingly stitched hand embroidered cloths & needlepoints, cozy quilts, rare & collectible tropical barkcloth fabric, oddities such as sock monkeys, old toys on wheels, and a real love for children’s vintage clothing, children’s furniture, old baby shoes, and baby cups….A retired elementary school principal of Urban Community Schools, a Spanish Immersion School, and a Visual & Performing Arts Schools…she has been an advocate of the Arts in schools where schools are bankrupt in the Arts. A classical violinist & conductress, a commissioned artist, and one who ennobles the imagination and creativity…she specializes in repurposing & upcycling 1930’s & 40’s nubby barkcloth (mostly tropicals) into unique and distinguished vintage furniture. Being right-brained, is one of her virtuosities. Refusing to grow up, she scours flea markets, thrift shops, antique stores, estate sales, tag sales and occasional sales, eBay, Swap Meets, and sometime alleyways, for antiquities that beckon to her aesthetic of all things loved immensely, made whimsically, endured artfully, and whisper soulfully from the past.

Part 11: Scrappity Nee Nee’s Fifty Cent Couture

The Prelude: What is Scrappity Nee Nee’s Fifty Cent Couture? Taffeta. Silk. Velvet. Satin… pretty, “over- the-top” dresses. It is about social justice through fabric scraps, frugality, benevolence, and hope.

For little girls living in poverty, they will never know the sensation of wearing taffeta, silk, velvet or satin for a special occasion. Having the opportunity to feel pretty in a special dress is a luxury if your parents are working poor. Auntie Nee Nee, (aka Emily Acosta Thompson) is a scavenger huntress who scours flea markets, thrift shops, antique stores, estate sales, tag sales and occasional sales, eBay, Swap Meets, and remnant end pieces at fabric stores & upholstery workshops for vintage, recycled “green fabrics” and upcycles them into one of a kind, unique dresses, complete with bloomers, pinafores, hats, and jackets made with “Old School 1950’s Vintage Vogue design….using Old School Sewing techniques. Auntie Nee Nee transforms imperfect scraps of beauty, some costing 25 cents to 50 cents to a dollar, into haute couture. Benefactors buy a dress that is gifted to a socioeconomically disadvantaged child, and proceeds from the sale go to Scrappity Nee Nee’s Art Foundation, which will enable a child to pursue the Arts in college, and rise out of intergenerational poverty. Children will wear their special dresses to an Opera, an Orchestral Concert, an Art Gallery, a Broadway Play, or a live pop artist concert, attend afterschool arts programs, and be mentored under many artists’ tutelage. They’ll sing in a Children’s Chorus in their dresses. Each dress is curated and handsewn by Auntie Nee Nee at this time…each with a signature “silver-spooned brattiness” allure. Planning to recruit women who struggle economically to make a living, Auntie Nee will train and hire women to professionally sew children’s clothing, to empower their wings of independence, and defeat a life of downtrodden oppression through creativity. This simple act of kindness will provide children equal access to the arts & culture which are not afforded to them. This simple act of kindness will empower women to see their self-worth. Auntie Nee Nee is a retired elementary school principal, a seamstress, musician and artist that believes that not having much, doesn’t mean you can’t dream, hope, and become….

The Rhapsody: (aka…the long & windy story)

Growing up in San Diego, of Filipino Immigrant parents in the Housing Projects, a father that fought in WWII under the Filipino Infantry Battalion, US Army, and her mother a War Bride quarantined in San Francisco, she always chose the unique and different. Her mother had an organic garden, and sewed fabulous tap dancing outfits & Easter outfits for her & her sisters. Her mother was also an original “green recyclist”. Her parents made sure that she had violin lessons, tap dance lessons, and ceramic classes…even though her parents were the working poor. She had a wild imagination and a propensity for inappropriate humor. Her mother would bring her to a Mexican farmers’ house in the Otay Valley, the long driveway with the big green parrot on the porch eating huge sunflower seeds, to see the seamstress who made insanely beautiful over-the-top girls’ dresses…the beautiful satins, velvets, and taffetas… the flamboyantly gathered skirts, the billowing sleeves, the voluptuously tied & trellising bows…enamored by the seamstresses talents….it all impacted & imprinted on her heart…her mother gifted her with one dress that she studied and treasured. She began sewing at the age of 13, with the first Singer Golden Touch & Sew…once her sister Eleanor taught her how to thread & bobbin the machine, cut out patterns, sew a seam & dart, put on a facing, insert a zipper, line a bodice, sew on a buttons, make button holes, hem, set a sleeve…she then took off on her own…aiming for the moon, making high school prom dresses, Betsy Johnson & Vogue outfits, and culottes the night before a football game . At 16, she began working in a buttons & lace & ribbons shop in Fashion Valley making sequined lace & pearled 24 ft. cathedral length bridal veils . As a stay-at-home mom, she had had a cottage business, sold originals at the NY Gift Shows, procured window displays and special commissions when her children were toddlers. As a Marine wife, she sewed all her curtains in every military base house they lived in, sold at crafts fairs, and sewed quirky shirts for her husband. She sewed dresses for her daughters when they were young on special occasions…have you ever seen little Filipina girls dressed like Little House on the Prairie…with bonnets, bloomers, and pinafores? Upon retirement, she had a lifelong collection…a treasure trove of vintage sewing embellishments and accoutrements that lay dormant in her sewing room…crying for attention. She would day dream and design as sugar plum fairy seamstresses danced in her head. But she wanted her sewing business to have a purpose…to make a difference in the life of a child…as she had practiced as an elementary school principal. Thus was born…Scrappity Nee Nee’s Fifty Cents Couture…

A child born in 1952, where hair was teased in beehives, French rolls, and flips….her enamored love affair with 1950’s classical vintage patterns, such as Audrey Hepburn Era elaborate brocade jackets, cinched waist dresses, and Jacqueline Kennedy pill box hats that she so fondly remembered…she wanted to translate that vintage infatuation to modern day children’s clothing. She creates each outfit from all “green materials” giving them new life and swagger. She will incorporate an 1/8 yard scrap, a 1 inch piece of satin, with a ¼ yd of irregular, imperfect scrap from the end of a bolt with glue stains or scraps with faded imperfections.

She uses recycled fabrics, rescued scraps, remnant table leftovers, salvaged rags, and scraps from her own stash of leftover “mother of the bride or mother of the groom dresses that she had made for herself.. She has a love affair with fabric, ribbons, lace, textures, velvets, satins, taffetas, and vintage buttons….a fabric store is a candy store to her. Her clothing line includes dresses with an ensemble of funky hats, bloomers, and jackets. She is mesmerized by the allure of Old School Sewing techniques of lined jackets, defining piping, tucking, gathering, smocking, and fussiness are a part of the artful vintage Vogue design. Wanting to bring underprivileged children a feeling of “royalty”…her clothes will go to children in urban settings that live in poverty and have been stigmatized by inequity. Remembering how the Arts saved her from the streets, she has created Scrappity Nee Nee’s Arts Foundation.

When an outfit is sold… the buyer understands that an underprivileged child receives that dress that a privileged child might wear, and a part of the sale goes to the Arts Foundation. The children are followed until high school graduation…encouraged from day one to earn a college degree and are afforded opportunities to participate in the Arts. If they desire to pursue the Arts, a talent scholarship is available. A Children’s Singing Ambassador Choir is also formed where children sing songs of hope and kindness to audiences. The intention of Scrappity Nee Nee’s Fifty Cent Couture is one of frugality….a child’s jacket cut of an 1800’s silk & velvets Victorian crazy quilt repurposed into a jacket.. .is lined with a 25 cents piece of lavender lilac satin found at a Swap Meet. A remnant upholstery shop piece of taffeta is 50 cents. It is hoped that fabric stores and old mills and upholstery workshops donate their scraps of fabrics to keep costs minimal, yet ignite the creativity. It is hoped that the seamstresses that are employed will be women who will be empowered to overcome adversity & escape a life of poverty and downtroddeness, to Stitch for the Arts to Save a Child from Poverty. It’s a way of bringing a bit of a silver-spooned brattiness to children less fortunate…at least when gifted with a dress of royalty. Every dress is couture unique, curated to turn heads and elicit oohs & ohh lah lahs, and bring pride and joy to a deserving, promising, underprivileged child…for one day to feel like a brat…where they will be enamored by the clothes they receive & become a discerning, consummate art lover…and hopefully a talented artist. I dream that each dress is delivered in a 1950’s aqua blue thunderbird with portholes…the car my classy, fashionable, generous godmother would take me to the movies in. Beside receiving a beautiful garment to wear….they will be able to pridefully go to a musical concert, an opera, a symphony, or a Bach Festival several times a year with complimentary tickets for their family through the generosity and philanthropy of the Arts Foundation amigos & amigas …driven there in that aqua blue thunderbird…treated like royalty….exposing them to the arts & culture. They will also go to Arts Classes afterschool to pursue a career in the Arts…where they will be influenced by credible artists, who volunteer to mentor or offer their tutelage in their discipline….be it painting, filmmaking, theatre, designing clothing, pottery, dance, singing or writing songs, playing a musical instrument, or animation. Thusly, every dress is handed down to another needy child…and thus…brings a modicum of social justice through haute couture in urban neighborhoods, barrios, or ghettos…each year fashion show unveilings & auctions will be conducted to raise monies for Scrappity Nee Nee’s Arts Foundation. Every Child is a promise….and it starts with a dress…..a special dress made of scraps.