Sun, Jul 05, 2009

at Home

Love the '50s look? Now you can re-create it for yourself

By Lauren Cohen
McClatchy-Tribune
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.07.2008
Online shopping site of the week: Retroplanet.com (www.retroplanet.com).
Do you ever wish you lived in the time of root-beer floats at the local diner, James Dean films at the drive-in and Elvis records on the jukebox? Regardless of whether you lived in the 1950s or not, for many people the era often seems to evoke nostalgia. Thanks to sites like Retroplanet.com, anyone can own a reproduced item from this beloved time period.
Retroplanet.com was originally a restoration business, known as Vintage Vending Inc. In 2005, the company, which is run from a small office in Nashua, N.H., went from restoring vintage products to selling retro reproductions online.
The site's large variety of vintage items is impressive. You can find anything from a "Rebel Without a Cause" movie poster to fuzzy dice for your rearview mirror to adorable dinette sets. But Retroplanet.com's merchandise is not just restricted to the '50s: There are objects from other eras as well.
Some great items include the Coca Cola Double Neon Wall Clock for $169.99 and the Swinger Retro Home Cocktail Bar for $1,995.