A Vintage Ramble

The Color of Vintage

2012-01-14T07:56:00.001-08:00

One of my most prized pieces of fashion ephemera is an early 1930s brochure, put out by the Holeproof Hosiery Co. of New York. The brochure is entitled Hosiery and Costume Colors, Spring and Summer 1932. The purpose of the booklet was promotional, serving to instruct merchants, sales personnel and customers in the “correct use of hosiery colors”. Given that most hosiery colors from the 1930s were less than exciting (generally some shade of tan or beige) the Holeproof Hosiery, marketing team really out did themselves with this one. Instead of focusing on the hose itself they filled the book with gorgeous fashion illustrations and coordinated textile swatches featuring the color trends of the day. Every aspect of an ensemble was featured including, of course, the proper stocking choice.

Material swatches above, illustrations below, from a Spring/Summer 1932 Hosiery Brochure, featuring the seasons color trends

As I perused the booklet it struck me how very important color trend is and has been, to the world of fashion so I began looking through some old fashion periodicals for references. I have the good fortune to posses a handful of original issues of L’art de la Mode (a monthly fashion journal, published from 1882-1896) and in the beginning of each there is a page devoted to the latest fashion sightings complete with detailed color descriptions. The February 1888 issue reports that “among new shades of color are Cordova, a lovely pale golden shade of terra cotta, deerskin, old oak, antique blue with a tinge of green in it, a peculiar pink for evening called heart of the tea rose, a dark blue gray called osage, and malatesta, a warm russet brown” for evening there were wraps of “watered velvet in dark Indian red or the favorite gobelin blue shades” and for the more conservative woman “Ladylike and elegant costumes…in neutral shades of dove, old silver beige and also in pale olive and heliotrope.”
I could just envision this lovely palette…done in elegant woolens, promenading a snowy city park …. or rustling silk taffeta bathed in the glow of a towering candle arbor or rich velvets at the opera.

Color Fashion Plates L'art de la Mode Feb.1888

Descriptions of fashion shades have always been concocted with poetic license, but in my opinion, nothing rivals the whimsical heights of color wordsmithing like the mid 20th century. Some of my favorite examples come from textile and fashion ads from the 1940s and 50s. Although I’m not always exactly sure what colors the magazine copy is describing they certainly sound pretty. Petunia blue, coffee frost, star pink, jazz red, horizon green, moonbeam beige, licorice black…. and the list goes on.

Often a magazine itself will take the lead and rather than merely report what is being shown they will declare their own picks for the season. In 1955 Glamour themed their March issue around a choice of five colors for the Spring season… Amber, Hyacinth, Red, Yellow and Blue. They deemed these shades “Glamour Colors” explaining that “These five Glamour Colors, from pale tints to deep tones cover fashion…and are abundantly explained on page after page in this issue” Readers were instructed on how to wear them and mix them, and encouraged to seek them out at their favorite stores. Many of the issues advertisers keyed their ads to Glamour’s chosen palette. I have no idea if their campaign had much influence on what was worn that Spring but it was an interesting angle for sure.

Glamour Magazine's choice for Spring Colors, March 1955

Today the garment industry is just as focused on color trends and forecasts as they ever were. I sell to a number of textile and fashion designers and I love hearing them converse over a piece of vintage that catches their interest. Often times the discussion will be around color and I’ve sold many an item just because it was an unusual shade or had an interesting combination of colors in the print. One of the most important reasons people wear vintage is because they can find something that stands out from the ready to wear, du jour and a big part of that uniqueness has to do with the signature colors from the many eras and genres represented. Before this latest obsession of mine, I think I underestimated how integral color is to the appeal of vintage fashion. Not any more :)

From my own collection, a favorite Rayon print dress from the 1940s, note the electric play of vibrant pink against the green, just beautiful!

A Muse on Creative Headwear for Women

2011-06-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

When I heard the announcement for the Royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton I got a little excited. I don't pay much attention to the world of the paparazzi, so it wasn't the event itself that peaked my interest, it was more of a hat thing. You see women tend to wear them to important functions in England. Although it is not protocol, it is tradition. An event of this proportion was sure to inspire fantastic millinery work and THAT is what had me excited.

As the date neared, the news wires were buzzing over the royal nuptial preparations. The wedding took place before a world audience with all of the expected pomp and circumstance. The ceremony was flawless, the couple lovely and the attendees perfectly mannered, no surprises there. However, I'm not sure anyone was quite prepared for some of the astonishing head wear that was spotted in the audience of aristocrats. Personally, I was thrilled. One amazing creation after another....a cascade of sculpted curlicues, a sweeping brim arched over a fanciful whimsie, festive colors, surreal flora and haughty plumes. The show stopper by far, was a scrolling architectural number worn by Princess Beatrice and created by Phillip Treacy.
After the wedding, Beatrices hat was auctioned off and fetched a whopping $132,000 which was donated to charity. I was impressed with them all and expected there would be a strong response in the press and on the fashion blogs. I knew the more conservative crowd would probably view such adventurous design as unattractive and perhaps even inappropriate but I was surprised at the level of attack. Snide comments and banal insults flooded the gossip columns and blogs. Even the sunny yellow color of the queens tasteful chapeau came under fire. I was truly taken aback at the lack of imagination that these critics possessed until I reminded myself that extravagant and artistic headwear has been evoking strong reaction for centuries.

I decided to explore this further and learned some fascinating things that I would like to share. Please keep in mind, this is not a costume history lesson, it's a meandering muse through time. Each country and era had it's own complex range of styles and customs, I'm just stopping at some of the highlights. Having said that lets begin with the Middle Ages....

Proper decorum over most of Europe, dictated that a married women cover her head and conceal her hair. Early on nets were worn beneath simple veils that draped under the chin (think of a nuns wimple). Cloth bands were used to secure the veil to the head. For those of noble class these bands were sometimes ornamented and embellished as a sign of status. The simple fabric band became wider and was eventually stiffened to form a pill box shape, this piece came to be called a torque or toque. Those of privilege favored coronets of precious materials and flowers. The headdress began to morph into elaborate shapes and by the 15th century women’s headwear had become very intricate and quite exaggerated. There was great variety in style, from wired hoods (coifs) and even turbans but the hennin, a cone shaped or steeple headdress, is what we associate most with that period in history. The single cone hennin often had a sheer veil draped from the tip and ranged in height from 6 inches up to to three feet(!) depending on the societal position of the wearer. There were divided hennins that looked like horns and truncated hennins as well. Other styles of headdress used the hennin as a base and added wired forms and padded rolls along with embellished hair nets, my favorite is a heart shaped wonder portrayed in the illustration below. Some of these structures were terribly heavy and obviously uncomfortable to wear, some were cut high on the forehead requiring the wearer to shave and pluck the hairline. The more elaborate styles were worn by the upper class and were neither functional nor practical, they were simply exotic objects of fashion and to this day their images in painting and manuscript are a delight to behold.

The hennin from a 15th Century painting and an illustrated rendition of a royal woman in padded headress

By the 16th century towering headwear was falling out of fashion as women were allowed to show more and more of their hair and interest turned to elaborate hairstyles. Small hats, veils and pretty lace caps were popular. In my research I found an amusing tidbit on Wikipedia that is testimony to the fact that the fashion critic has been with us for some time. It seems that towards the latter part of the 16th century some of the women’s hats borrowed their styling from those worn by men. Apparently even this whisper of cross dressing was too much for some. Puritan evangelist Philip Stubbes was most disapproving and condemned the practice in his book Anatomie of Abuses (1583).

Head coverings remained relatively subdued during the 17th century. Hoods, scarves and veils were dominant and the trend for masculine styled hats, adorned with oversized plumes, continued. However the tendency towards the fantastic was not be constrained. In the 1680s the Fontage made it's debut. The Fontage- A wired lace headress from the latter 1600s

The Fontage evolved from the exquisite handmade lace veils worn by ladies of court. It began as a wired lace headdress that was created in sections or tiers which was incorporated into an elaborately curled hairdo atop the head. It started out small but soon began to grow. At it's peak in the 1690s this lacey confection had reached grand heights of 16" or more. Once again, completely impractical but lovely to look at. According to the book Costume and Fashion by James Laver, the Fontage remained in style for over twenty years despite stern disapproval from the moralists of the day who considered it an "incitement to pride". Towards the early 18th century it's popularity was on the wane but within a few decades the penchant for astounding headdress was destined to return.

By the 18th century the requirement that married women cover their hair was long past and the vogue for artistic hairstyles was in full swing. High powdered pompadours and curls took the place of the Fontage. In the 1760s a huge collapsible bonnet called the Calash was invented as a protective covering. The Calash was an amazing feat of engineering. Hoops of arched whale bone or steel were joined by shirred fabric and could be opened and closed with a cord.
Photos of two actual Calash bonnets and a satirical illustration with exaggerated example (1780 by Carrington Bowles) Bonnet photos generously supplied by Deborah Burke of Antiquedress.com

Around 1770 extreme hairstyling took on a life of it's own with Marie Antoinette at the lead. The more "simple" styles were done with padded rolls of hair piled on the head and festooned with notions and decorative items. However, the Royals and high gentry took the fad to outrageous levels. Their hair was brushed over wire structures, built up with horse hair and false curls then plastered and powdered with all manner of noxious substances. This coiffure then served as a base for fanciful objects and themed props. According to the book Dressing the Part by Fairfax P. Walkup, the final product could reach 72" high! He goes on to describe some of the more infamous creations including "a frigate in full sail atop monstrous waves of powdered hair" (La Belle Paule) and an English rendition that included "a lighted cookstove equipped with pots and pans!"
Satirical drawing aimed at the wildly embellished pompadour headresses worn by court society

Satire and caricature came swift on the heels of this monumental mode du jour. Dressing the Part (pg. 227) quotes this poem from the time.

"When he views your tresses thin,
Touched by some French Friseur,
Horsehair hemp and wool within
Garnished with a diamond skiver;
When he scents the mingled steam
Which your plastered head is rich in,
Lard and meal and clotted cream,
Can he love a walking kitchen?"

(ouch!)

I admit that this was fashion in the extreme and an undeniable provocation for criticism, but you cannot deny what fun it must have been to witness the bizarre splendor of it all. As with all trends of frivolity, the amusement soon faded and interest began to wane. In 1789 the French Revolution snuffed all such extravagance and an era was ended.

For the first half of the 1800s caps, turbans and bonnets were the toppers of choice for women. One bonnet of note, the Poke bonnet, presented in a variety of styles often with oversized proportions which fueled the satirists of the day.
French fashion plate of the Poke bonnet and a satirical illustration

Over the last decades of the Century, bonnets lost favor to fashion hats. Aside from a run of exceedingly high crowns and beak shaped brims I didn't see much else that strayed too far outside the days realm of moderation.

The debut of the 20th Century brought back a craze for a padded pompadours. Big hair meant big hats, really big hats with wide brims and sometimes high crowns. Oversized forms require oversized trim and milliners went wild. There was a frenzy for exotic plumes and at times entire birds were used as decoration. Swaths of chiffon and clouds of net engulfed crowns and brim. Poufs and bows of wide ribbon...Flowers fruits and leaves... Milliners had been using feathers since the days of Marie Antoinette, but towards the latter part of the 1800s demand was out of control. Techniques for harvesting bird skins, wings and feathers were indescribably cruel and sparked outrage from animal lovers. In 1886 the American Ornithologist Union released an estimate that five million North American birds were being slaughtered yearly for the millinery trade. Rare species were the most costly and were worn as symbols of status. In 1896 two Boston women, Mrs. August Hemenway and Miss Mina Hall vowed to boycott bird hats and were joined by a number of their society friends (this was the beginning of the Massachusetts Audubon Society). In 1900 the Lacey act was adopted in the US to try and prohibit interstate trade of protected animals. The Weeks-McLean act was passed in 1913 prohibiting feather imports and the sale of selected species of birds. Although these efforts helped, the style continued for a few more years both in the States and Europe making poaching a lucrative business.
1901 fashion illustration from the Delineator featuring oversized hats decorated with whole birds

Hats styles went through a drastic makeover in the 1920s. The bobbed hairdo became the rage and headwear began to shrink (along with hemlines). By the end of the decade brims were nearly non existent and crowns became nothing more than scull hugging cloches, a dramatic change in a very short space of time. The 1920s experienced a style and culture revolution that shattered convention and started a roller coaster of change. 20th century fashion innovations came and went with lightning speed and so did trends in headwear, creating fertile ground for the fashion critic. During the later 30s and into the 40s surreal pillboxes perched at impossible angles (the most famous is Elsa Schiaparelli's shoe hat). The platter hat of the late 40s-50s hovered eerily over the brow. The sixties saw space age bubble toques and oversized blossoms in mutated colors. Then in the later 1960s it all came to a crashing halt. For the most part women stopped wearing hats, sure there were a few loyal hold outs but the blow to the millinery business was devastating.

Thank you again to Antiquedress.com for photos of the platter hat and the winged tilt hat. The pink bucket hat with giant flowers is from my own website :)

In my opinion the demise of hats left the world of fashion a lot less fun. How wonderful it was to see this forgotten art revived in force at the royal wedding. How refreshing that creativity was given full reign. I applaud the bravery and adventurous spirit of both the creators and the wearers of those marvelous hats and I hope that artistic headwear will one day again be an important part of fashion.

Click here to see some of the Royal Wedding Hats.

In Celebration of the Simple House Dress

2011-04-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

High end vintage dresses are far and away the stars of the market. There are books and blogs galore celebrating the work of famous couturiers and celebrity designers. I love fine vintage fashion and I spend a great deal of time reading those blogs and books but, like many hard core vintage devotees, I am also intrigued by everyday fashions from past years. I get just as excited flipping through an old Sears catalogue as I do a vintage Vogue magazine and I really have a soft spot for vintage house dresses. Imagine, living in a time, when women, rarely if ever wore pants let alone jeans. It wasn't so long ago. Before the 1970s the majority of women wore dresses almost all the time. So imagine again, you are a homemaker, running after children, scrubbing the floors, hanging the laundry... always in a dress.

Early 1900s Cotton house dress, imagine scrubbing the floor in this

For most of her life my maternal grandmother flat out refused to put on a pair of pants. Hard working and soft spoken this woman raised eight children, tended chickens and a huge garden and even went fishing (she loved to fish)... all of these things in a dress. She was no different than the majority of women from her time. Thats the way it was. According to the 1956 book Dress Smartly by Mildred Graves Ryan "clothes for housework should be practical and functional. They should allow for feedom of movement, with nicely fitted looseness placed across the shoulders and in the sleeves. Skirts should be full enough to allow one to walk quickly and with ease, but they should not be so wide or so long that a person is liable to catch a heel in the hem and fall as a result. Loose or dangling decoration, wide sleeves or big pockets which could be caught on a nail handle or a saucepan should not be worn" Ms Ryan also stated that a nicely fitted pair of slacks or overalls could be worn while gardening but "if your figure looks badly in slacks, you should refrain from wearing them". Old advertisements for house dresses often stressed easy care fabrics and thrifty prices but they also emphasized style. I am often amazed at the lovely details to be found on old house dresses. Novelty pockets, dainty ruffles, piped edgings and rick rack trim to name a few. Cheerful prints in pretty colors were most popular. The preferred fabric tended to be cotton or some sort of cotton blend. During WWll cotton was in short supply so manufacturers turned to rayon. However, the rayon house dress was less sturdy and harder to care for so after the war, the market reverted back to cotton. In the 1950s homemakers welcomed the new cotton polyester blends because they hardly wrinkled and were so easy to press. By the 1960s cotton poly blends made up a good share of the market.

Easy care and wrinkle resitant, Cotton Polyester blends

Overwhelming evidence indicates that a bonafide house dress should open in the front. Wrap dresses closed with with fabric ties and the rest with buttons or zippers. A pretty little house frock from the 1940 Fall Montgomery Ward catalogue brags about their zipper front feature "no ties to tie, no buttons to button!" Anything to make Moms day a little easier. Styles in house dresses changed slowly especially from the late 30s up to the mid 1950s. They are often found without labels which makes precise dating difficult. Often times manufacturers used the same dress pattern over a number of seasons. They might change up the fabric prints and small details for the next run but essentially it was the same dress. Although I don't have numbers to back me up, reason tells me that many millions of house dresses must have been manufactured over the years. Yet, I definately find more dressy garments on the secondary market. I'm sure that most house dresses were worn to a frazzle and mended til they couldn't be mended anymore. A "good dress" on the other hand, would have been used just occasionally and it cost a lot more so it had a better chance of being stored away. When I find an old house dress I feel like I have found a special treasure. I think about the woman that wore it and what she might have been like. Did she sing to the radio when she made the evening dinner? Did she have children... grandchildren? For some reason I never think these things when I come across a fancy party dress or an elegant gown. I appreciate their beauty but that's all. An old house dress, for me, represents a real person in time and history. Someone like me who had good days and bad and did their best with the life they had. A rare example of a late 1920s housedress in unworn condition, polished cotton with dropped waist and ties in back

Ruth Saltz Handbag Designer - A True Pioneer

2011-02-28T13:22:00.000-08:00

Ruth Saltz Photo provided by Marcella Saltz

I have been curious about the story behind Ruth Saltz handbags ever since I found my first example in a vintage shop many years ago. It was an oversized, fold over clutch in the yummiest shade of red. I could tell right away that the quality was superior. The leather was soft and supple and the interesting closure was as well made as a piece of jewelry. I was not a big fan of envelope style bags at the time. They just didn't seem a practical choice for a working mother of three. My typical handbag was more the size of a duffle bag (OK slight exaggeration), but I really fell in love with this one so I bought it anyway. At some point, in a fit of closet-purging, I decided to put it up on my website and sad for me, it sold. That was nearly a decade ago and I still kick myself.

Since then I have come across many Ruth Saltz handbags (although that long lost clutch remains my favorite) and they are always beautifully made and designed. Even if you don't recognize the name I'm sure most of you are familiar with her work. You know those iconic 1970’s and 80’s handbags with the long chain handles and cougar head ornament? THAT’S Ruth Saltz. Oh, and those flat clutches with the leather rose, she designed those as well. As I mentioned, I've always wondered who the talent was behind these wonderful bags so imagine my delight when daughter Marcella Saltz agreed to an interview about her mother!

Left to right clockwise... Ruth Saltz rose clutch...handy pockets and handsome details on a bone leather bag...signature lining

Our first contact was via e-mail. We introduced ourselves, I sent her a list of questions and she promised to send back her answers.... standard procedure for an online interview. A follow up phone conversation was planned for the weekend. I had no idea how fascinating that phone call would be! Marcella was warm and funny and had a delightful enthusiasm about her. It appears the apple did not fall far from the tree...

Saber Handbag from the Early 1960s Designed by Ruth Saltz. Note the Pretty Toile Lining.

I asked Marcella for a bit of history on her mother. Ruth was a painter before she started designing handbags in the late 1950s. Her husband, Sam Saltz owned Saber Handbags an accessory company based in New York. Sam asked his artist wife, Ruth, to help design the showroom and to give advice on color and new direction for the new collection. Ruth had great design talent and became the creative force behind the company. Throughout the late 50’s and 1960’s Ruth and Sam Saltz were a successful team and pillars of the Accessory industry. Her artistic nature lead her to rebel against the smooth and somewhat boring frame handbag of that day. A lover of color and texture, she experimented with soft supple leathers, suede and exotic skins like ostrich, rhinoceros and turtle. Alligators were a protected species at the time, so Ruth went to Italy to work with leather tannery’s where they custom created fine leathers and suedes for the company including embossed leather that closely resembled alligator and crocodile. She was a forerunner in her industry, creating ever new avenues of design with texture, color and finishes. I would give my eye tooth to see the turquoise alligator embossed handbag that her daughter, Marcella described to me!

Ruth was also a champion of practicality. She understood the need for convenient compartments and easy access in a handbag and was the first to extend the inside zippered compartments from each side to the bottom of the bag. Besides all the handy compartments, Some of her bags even had convenient outside change purses that were attached with chain and fit into their own pockets. She was a great fan of the shoulder strap and in the 1960s she was a pioneer of unisex handbags as well as a handbag made exclusively for Men. Quoted from the Aug. 8, 1968 edition of the Times-News Hendesronville, N.C. "...men are starting to carry handbags. This latest fashion for men had it's start around Fathers Day...when a couple of handbag manufacturers ventured into purses for men." the article went on to say, "Ruth Saltz at Saber handbags uses whipcords and unpolished leathers in her "Gentry" and "Now Voyager" styles". Just a little aside here... it's obvious the writer of this article did not know much about the designer herself because Ruth Saltz disliked the word purse referring to a handbag. I can't imagine what she thought of someone calling a mans bag a purse! Marcella quotes her Mom as saying “the word purse relates to something you put change into inside your handbag”. She educated the public and the buyers and insisted they use the word HANDBAG.

Ruth was always loved and admired in the fashion industry. According to her daughter everyone adored her. Marcella wrote "Ruth was a warm, loving and generous person and a source of great delight to all who knew her. She was a force to be reckoned with, always ahead of the curve". In the early 1970s Ruth and Sam Saltz created the label Ruth Saltz Designs, which remained successful until the company closed in the late 80”s. Through out her design career Ruth continued to be innovative and fashion forward. She created the first signature lining, with an all over "autograph" print.

Marcella..."Throughout the seasons and the years the cougar bag came in many designs and elements and I guess you could say her signature ornament."
The handsome cougar head adornment was a functional pull to open and close the handbag.

I asked Marcella to tell me where her mother found her inspiration. Without hesitation Marcella said her mother loved the water and could sit for hours watching the ocean. She loved to be with family and friends. Entertaining was her joy "At the drop of a suggestion she would throw together a fabulous dinner party". She continued to be passionate about painting and was devoted to her family and good friends. Marcella said "Her designs came from her heart and her love of life each handbag collection was filled with love and imagination.....my mother most definately took pleasure in all her moments"

When I set out to write this blog I suspected Ruth Saltz must have been a remarkable person, but I had no idea... Her creative genius continues to influence the handbag industry and her designs continue to be echoed in the work of contemporary designers today. I am indebted to her daughter Marcella for sharing so generously and please stay tuned because there is a future "Saltz" blog in the works. You see Marcella is a prominent jewelry and accessory designer and she has promised to share on her own intriguing career, highlighting the wild and wonderful accessories world in the 1980s!

Melody

The Infamous Red Dress

2011-01-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

Valentines day is just around the corner...for one brief day Cupid will cast his spell and Romance will reign queen. It is a day for sentimental cards of hearts and lace, decadent chocolates in gaudy boxes and sweet smelling roses. A day for innocent flirtation or passionate declarations and certainly a day to be daring. Red is the traditional color of romance and passion and it's the color of Valentines day. So... I decided to pay tribute by posting a collection of red vintage dress on my website. This got me to thinking. What is it about a red dress? Why have fashion ads and articles consistently described the red dress as bold or saucy or even racy (for decades mind you). It's seldom the style that elicits this response. A little 1950s party dress in powder blue might be termed sweet or darling but the same exact dress in red suddenly becomes daring. How curious. Why I wondered?

I decided to look into this and did you know that a study was released just last October by two researchers at the University of Rochester which concluded that the color red absolutely enhances men's attraction to women? You can read about it here but the gist of it is this... hands down, no doubt about it men seem to have a primal attraction to a woman wearing red. There were some really interesting finds like the fact that men estimated they would be willing to spend more on a date with the women they saw wearing red (wow, who knew?). Anyway, it appears that the infamy of the red dress now has a bonafide base in human psychology.

Given all this you would think the red dress market would have always been a booming one. Not so. Ask any vintage dealer and they will tell you just how difficult it is to find them. Flip through your vintage magazines and you will see that there are precious few examples to be found. Again, I began to wonder why. Then I remembered a story an older friend of mine told me. She was a teen in the 1950s and was looking for a prom dress. She fell in love with a frothy number in crimson and rushed home to tell her mother. Imagine how taken aback she must have been when her mother adamantly refused to allow her to buy the dress. When pressed for a reason all her mom would say was "only fast girls wear red dresses". Yes, Dior said it was his lucky color and Valentino was famous for his scarlet gowns but back in the day, it appears, the red dress was reserved for only the most daring and confident of women.

Best to you all and Happy Valentines Day!!
Melody

A Very Vintage Holiday Season to you!

2010-12-22T08:47:00.000-08:00

I adore the Holiday Season. All the holidays..... it's wonderful that there are so many different celebrations that take place, all the world over....festivals of light, days of thanksgiving, the birth of a new year... Christmas is my personal favorite. Besides having been a magical part of my childhood it is also a reminder to me that hope, love and peace are the greatest gifts mankind can ever wish for.

I love everything Christmas and being a vintage kind of gal, it's no wonder the nostalgia that permeates this season touches something deep inside of me. I'm a complete sucker for the old movies (Miracle on 34th Street STILL brings a lump to my throat). I love traditional food, especially old family recipes that take time to prepare AND I am addicted to vintage Christmas decor.

I began collecting Christmas memorabilia when I was just a teenager. My Mom was an antique dealer so we went to a lot of yard sales. My first find was a box of never used, 1950s Christmas cards that could be used as tree ornaments. They were utterly charming! Colorful gingerbread men, singing angels, snowmen, wreaths and lanterns and of course Jolly old Santa! I was SO hooked!

I never became a serious collector and I must confess I never really spent any time researching my finds. Rarity and value were never the point for me. Mostly I just picked up things that struck my fancy. Angels and elves, interesting ornaments, figurines...I treasure them all, from my silly plastic Snoopy with reindeer horns to my one and only Victorian glass bird.

It's been a while since I've taken the time to blog. Time just gets away... but today I decided to put everything down and take a few pictures so I could share some of my favorite vintage Christmas pieces and to wish you all the very best during this beautiful season.

Melody

Vintage Fashion Guild News!

2010-12-08T08:42:00.001-08:00

Illustration above from the exhibition - "Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. Los Angeles County Museum of Art."

If you are already familiar with the online website The Vintage Fashion Guild you know what an amazing resource it is. If not you simply MUST check them out. The website features a public forum where you can ask the experts just about any question regarding vintage and where you can share your passion for past fashions. They also have an amazing labels resource section with pictures and a brief history of hundreds of vintage fashion labels. There are articles and workshops and for eye candy, a seasonal parade of vintage fashions. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better they debuted their new Newsletter!

I joined the Guild a few years ago and it has been such a joy to be a member. If you are drawn to the world of fashion and love vintage I highly recommend you hop over there this very minute :)

Best to all, Melody

SOWA Vintage Market! A little vintage heaven in Boston!

2010-11-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

Funky Fun and Fabulous! Vintage (for both home and wardrobe) has come to the South End of Boston by way of a Sunday Open Market and it appears there has been a standing ovation.

The SOWA Vintage Market has been operating on Sundays since the end of May and was scheduled to close for the season this past Halloween weekend. Since the day it opened locals and out of town visitors have been flocking to the large retro-fit warehouse on Harrison Ave. to shop and browse booth after booth filled with everything vintage (including the kitchen sink). The owners are selective about their vendors so standards are high yet prices are surprisingly affordable. As a result, the market has become overwhelmingly popular. It's no wonder the dealers and customers began lobbying for extending the season weeks ago AND they have been heard! Owners Stephanie Pernice and John Warren have decided to add another three weeks to the schedule Hooray!

How do I know all of this? I'm one of the Vintage clothing dealers and I couldn't be happier. SOWA has become one of my favorite venues. The customers are fantastic and not just because they shop. Bob and I meet all kinds of interesting people from every walk of life and I should also mention the place is pet friendly, how great is that?

So if you are in the Boston area over any of the next three Sundays ( Nov. 7th, 14th and 21st) come over to the SOWA Vintage Market and check it out. I'll be in my usual spot at the Albany St. end of the building :)

For directions and info on free parking click here. I sure do hope you can come but if you can't don't worry SOWA will be back in May!

Melody

...not just a brooch

2010-09-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today I posted an antique Art Nouveau sash pin on my website. A lot of people I meet love old brooches but they just don't wear pins so in my description I mentioned how I often re purpose these beauties (and dress clips too) into eye catching pendants and choker necklaces.

"Wide velvet ribbon tied behind the neck and an antique sash pin make a beautiful choker"

It got me to thinking about how much fun it is to find creative alternative uses for old bits and baubles. I thought I would share a couple of my own favorites.

Recently I purchased a wonderful belt buckle at a vintage show. I fell in love with it but almost passed it over because I thought it was too delicate for a belt. THEN I held it up to my neck and the light went on! What an interesting pendant it would make. There were two holes in the back, just right for attaching a chain. All I needed was a length of chain, two jump rings and needle nose pliers.....in ten minutes I had a wonderful "new" necklace!

My favorite do-over necklace came from an old "apple juice" Bakelite lamp pull. Once again I fell in love with the look of the object.

In a box of flea market junk, I spotted a funny looking sphere on a short bit of brass chain. The amber colored ball had the most beautiful warm glow when the light hit it just the right way, I was mesmerized. The dealer said it came from a broken lamp and sold it to me for just a few dollars. I knew it would make a fabulous pendant so the minute I got home I began to rummage around for a chain to hang it on. Since then it has become my favorite necklace and I have had countless people comment on it. Some have even offered to buy it right off of my neck! No way I say!

If this sounds like your cup of tea, just let the muse flow. If something catches your eye and speaks to you, think outside the box. A brooch doesn't have to just be a brooch.

Just a note for your consideration.... if you decide to get creative with old jewelry please do it without harming the piece. Unless an item is badly broken don't do anything that can't be undone. On a practical level this will destroy it's monetary value and on an emotional level it's terribly sad to see a piece of history ruined forever.

Take care now
Melody

A Bountiful Harvest!

2010-09-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

I know...it's not about vintage but I just had to brag about the bountiful harvest Bob and I are getting from our tiny community gardens! Who knew two little 5' x 8' patches of earth could reap such reward! Last night I made the most delicious curried chicken stew with home grown chili peppers and tomatoes and a refreshing raita with the cucumbers (OK so my Mom grew the cucumbers) Yum!

Tonight I'll be doing roasted butternut squash. Life is good and I am grateful :)

Melody

How to dress for that Mad Men Party

2010-08-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

So ladies, how DOES one dress for a "Mad Men" party?

The block buster television series, Mad Men, is in it's fourth season and going stronger than ever. The story line is riveting and the actors are phenomenal. In the off chance that you are not familiar with the show the series centers around a New York City ad agency and the lives of the people who work there. It takes place during the first half of the 1960s, a golden age of sorts. Employment was high, housing was affordable and the consumer market was booming. As you can imagine the ad business was populated by ambitious men and women on the cutting edge of popular culture. A big reason the show has been such a screaming success is the meticulous attention the creators have paid to accurate set design and costuming. The watcher is transported in every way to the time of the story.

In the past couple of years Mad Men has brought new interest to the world of vintage (yippee!). People are throwing Mad Men parties for all kinds of occasions and the question I hear most is "how do I dress?" The first question I ask is who do you want to emulate? Are you going for the Betty look... suburban-chic and sweet? Is Joan your muse...sophisticated and sensual? How about prim Peggy or my favorite, Rachel Menken from the earlier seasons, with her tailored couture look? These are some of the main characters but there are plenty of office girls and executives wives both young and "mature" to look to for inspiration.

As the seasons continue I suppose I will also have to ask which year they would like to focus on because as we enter into season four we should be seeing the fashions change. The mid sixties saw an explosion of trends, with the Mod look at the forefront of "new" fashion. For now though we can stick with the earlier sixties.

For simplicity I'm going to break the looks into three categories.

Suburban Sophisticates

City Chic

Office Girl

If you are going for suburban sophisticates (think Betty and neighbors) there are a few looks that will work well. For casual, try a shirtwaist cotton dress...fitted at the waist with full skirt. Not too long though, just a couple inches below the knee. Full or slim skirts and narrow cropped slacks were popular. You can team them with cotton camp style blouses or matching sweater sets. Simple pearls and small earrings and flats for shoes were common daytime accessories. For a dressier look you can go with one of those iconic slim evening gowns...sleeveless with jewel or lace trims and scooped necklines or a full skirted party dress with fitted bodice, also sleeveless. Long gloves would be a nice touch and pointed toe shoes with stiletto heels would be the footwear of choice.

City chic refers to the fashionistas of the day. Joan and Rachel had different styles but they both knew the latest vogue. Joan was ahead of the curve (pun intended) with her smart office dresses and ensembles that tastefully accentuated her bombshell figure. Although her style was form fitting I don't ever recall seeing any cleavage. Joan dresses would have narrow fitted skirts cut to just below the knee. They may have a fitted bodice but never a low neckline. Often times they had a draped detail or scarf at the neck highlighted with a large brooch. At home she wore tight capris and snug fitting tops.

Rachel's wardrobe was elegant and exquisitely tailored. It whispered Paris and money to me. She wore understated classics with statement accessories. I think of Chanel when I think Rachel Menken. Suits with cropped jackets and narrow skirts in fine wools and lovely tweeds are perfect. Bracelet length sleeves with gloves and oversized bangles and don't forget a set of multistrand beads the more strands the better. A touch of animal print in a scarf or blouse and if you dare a be-feathered bubble hat. Again, pointed toe shoes and stiletto heel.

The office girls are a bit less sophisticated and Peggy Olsen the ambitious secretary turned copy writer wore prim somewhat outdated clothing, especially in the beginning. Her dresses and ensembles were buttoned up with fitted bodices and full long skirts, longer than the look of the day. They often had dainty girlish details like little bows and Peter Pan collars. She wore little hats off the back of her head and short white gloves.

If you REALLY want authenticity get out the curlers and hairspray. If your hair is long do a side part and sweep the back up into a chignon, tease a little on top for a bit of height. For medium length hair curl the edges up into a flip and spray spray spray! if it's short try parting on the side and styling some waves, you can also wear a head band. For the finishing touch find a 1960s handbag, similar to the one in the picture below.

So... I think I've covered most of it, I might just add brocade or satin matching coats and dresses, they were quite popular for cocktail and evening. If it's cold outside you just might want to wear a vintage lady like coat. After the party you can wear it with jeans, boots and cozy scarf. Vintage coats are the Best!

There really are a lot of avenues to explore. Pick the one that you think would be the most fun for you. The good news is that there is a generous supply of Mad Men era clothing on the vintage market. Because it was an affluent time in our history women had more money to spend so they bought more clothing and accessories. Quality was still important so the things we find today are often in decent condition. If you would like to learn some of the important ins and outs of shopping for Vintage look for our book The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping. It can be found here on Amazon.com. or get a signed copy from our website. Happy vintage hunting and have a Mad-ball!

Fall Fashions 1954

2010-06-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

I just love vintage fashion and never seem to tire of it. A nice cup of tea and a pile of old fashion or ladies magazines is my idea of heaven. I don't care if it's Vogue, Ladies Home Journal or Montgomery Ward, if there are clothes to look at I'm happy. Actually, one of my favorite exercises is to pick different publications from the same time frame and compare. This helps me to develop a broad sense of the various styles for those couple of years. Besides it being fun I also have a professional interest. Part of my job is to try and accurately date the vintage I sell and this helps me tremendously.

So often when people are trying to date vintage they neglect to consider the market it came from. Couture and important designer fashions presage mainstream fashion, sometimes by years. It's important to understand that most vintage on the market would have been manufactured ready to wear. Cutting edge couture and designer clothing is rare so when you shop vintage you are most likely seeing styles that came to market after they first debuted on the Paris runway. Since most fashion history information focuses on famous designers this can become confusing.

I thought it might be fun to pick a time and do a quick blog. Lets look at Fall 1954.

Below are some quick sketch notes I did while I was looking at the styles being shown by Paris designers for Fall 1954

As you can see 1954 Fall silhouettes on the Paris runway showed smoother less pronounced bustlines. Waistlines were shaped but often less "cinched" and they were migrating up or down a bit. Shoulder lines were sloped and the neckline or collar was a favorite design focus... think sculpted. The fall runway was plentiful with fur and velvet trimmed jackets. Skirts were either reed thin or full ( but less full than before) with hemlines just a tad below mid calf. Tailored bows seemed to be the seasons choice for accent. Hats ranged from the occasional pillbox to small platters and asymmetrical, head hugging caps. Modified turbans were worn back on the head away from the face. Prominent colors were black, brown, gray and neutral tones, often in tone on tone combinations however there were experiments in bold color as well. Suits, coats and jackets were fashioned from rich tweeds and lovely wools along with short haired furs like Persian lamb, ocelot and ermine. Gowns were rare, most cocktail and evening dresses were similar in length to day wear. Popular fabrics for evening were heavy satin, taffeta and moiré.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now lets take a look at mail order fashions from the Montgomery Ward catalogue Fall/Winter 1954/1955. These are the pieces you are more likely to come across in your hunt for vintage. They represent what was popular in mainstream society.

Right off you can see that the shoulder line is still somewhat defined in suits and dresses, not as sloped as the Paris styles. Fur trimmed jackets and coats had not been adopted yet, that came later. Although there were straight skirts, the pencil thin skirt is no where to be seen. Necklines are modest and collars diminutive. Dresses tend to have fitted bodices with full skirts. If the skirt IS straight then it often has a slight a-line cut. Bouffant formal gowns were still hitting the floor and dinner dresses looked a lot like day dresses but done in fabrics like taffeta, faille and velvet or velveteen. Cotton day dresses had short sleeves, fitted bodices and flared skirts. Decorative pockets, piping accents and dressmaker details added interest. Plaids and solids dominated, and prints tended to be small. Separates were very popular... waist length sweaters, blouses and skirts. The catalogue did feature pants for women, full pleated trousers and cropped knicker lengths as well. Three quarter length sleeves were not common and seem to be confined to a few dinner dresses and sweaters. Coats (not pictured) were mostly softly fashioned with a gentle flare or "swing. They featured both long and short coats. There were a couple with defined waist. Coat wools were soft and lustrous I saw two speckle tweeds. Colors for most clothing was subdued. Black, gray, navy and neutrals but there was some color and turquoise was featured often. I saw shades of red from wine to cherry and some muted green here and there. Hats were brimless in a variety of molded shapes... caplets, bonnets, draped profile caps and toques. I saw no turban styles or platter hats to speak of.

As you can see high end runway styles were very different from everyday fashions. I've covered a little ground in this blog but there is so much more. Pick any year and you will discover that there were differences in style from one coast to the other. California did dressy casual to perfection while New York was the land of chic. Junior fashions were more innovative and Misses fashions tended to change more slowly. The more you know, the more you realize there is to learn and that just means more fun finding out!

'Til next time best to all, Melody

Shocking

2010-05-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

Advertisement from Mademoiselle September 1946

The work of Elsa Schiaparelli has fascinated me since I was barely out of my teens. Long before I entered the world of vintage fashion I studied art. During a slide show presentation on Surrealism my instructor included a clip of her famous"ShoeHat". That was it... I was captivated.

Schiaparelli's ability to blend art and wearable fashion was pure genius...elegant silk evening gowns were painted with whimsical images like lobsters or musical scales. Circus animals were beaded and embroidered onto tailored jackets. Sunbursts, astrology signs...moons and stars and more. The clothing was cut to flatter and the workmanship exquisite which was why she was able to venture so far from the boundaries of the day. But it wasn't just the imagery, Schiaparelli was obsessed with color. She turned to unusual methods and dyes to produce shades and hues for her fabrics that were as startling as the embellishments she employed. Vibrant yellows, blues and purples. Unusual shades of green, brown and grey. The colors were unique and her combinations dazzling. In 1936 she experimented with the creation of her most famous color of all, Shocking Pink. After a number of less exciting tries by her designer Jean Clément he presented her with an astounding shade that blended magenta with pink. The effect was electric and Schiaparelli's signature color was born. Shocking pink was an immediate success and remained a fashion favorite for years to come. In 1937 she introduced her first perfume and named it Shocking. Sales of her new scent surpassed some of the most popular fragrances of the day.

Left, Schiaparelli Jacket from Candida Matinelli's Italophile Site

Above right, Schiaparelli's Shocking Pink was emulated by other designers up intil the 1950s, Mid 40s jacket from my website

..............................................................Elsa Schiaparelli was one of the greatest fashion pioneers of all time. She used plastic zippers decades before anyone else, she pushed past the limits of fabric and material and she treated color the way a fine artist would. Most of all I believe she delighted in creating a stir, causing a sensation. Shocking became her trade mark word and that just says it all.

'Till next time best wishes to all

A Peacock by any other name.

2010-04-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Chanel is said to have called it the “sincerest form of flattery”. Imitation that is and the world of fashion has been rife with it since…ummm…probably forever. Vintage is no exception, From every era, for every authentic designer piece out there, there are thousands of inspired look alikes.

Vintage costume jewelry is no different. In the 1930s Marcel Boucher became a cutting edge costume jewelry designer and the Boucher look was copied over and again for decades. In later years when Boucher pieces became highly prized as vintage collectibles they were again copied. Most of the time the quality of a knock off is inferior to the real thing even if they are cast from an original piece but sometimes the copy is beautifully executed making it hard to tell. Since the price difference can be astronomical it’s important to be careful before you buy.

Below are two brooches that look very much alike. The one on the left I picked up years ago at a flea market. It is a 1980s copy of the famous Marcel Boucher peacock (on the right). The original was designed in the early 60s and examples in good condition are prized by collectors. At first I thought mine might have been created later from an original mold since the company was sold in the 1970s but there are subtle differences in the design. Can you see them? Look closely they are easy to miss. Mine is not signed but the original is and the pin back is longer on the real Boucher. Both brooches are lovely but the value of mine is under $50 and the original is worth well over $200 and that’s a BIG difference!

Photo of the original brooch, courtesy of Howard Wideman at the Jewelers-Guild

Can you spot the differences? Click on photo to enlarge

Borrowed Splendor - Eastern influence on Western dress

2010-03-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

1. 1960s Metallic brocade turban 2. 1960s Paisley mens tie 3. Mid-century paisley makeup purse 4. 1970s India print wrap skirt 5. early 1960s Chinese silk brocade ensemble 6. 1986 Hermes scarf (all items from TangerineBoutique.com)

If you look up the word exotic in the Merriam-Webster dictionary it reads…“not native to the place where found” and “strikingly, excitedly, mysteriously different or unusual” When we describe western fashion with “exotic” elements we use words like bohemian, hippie even ethnic. I find these words to be inadequate considering the rich histories behind the original textiles, especially those from the Eastern regions of the globe. The textile trade in the East is an ancient one. It would require volumes to do these histories justice and this is just a blog but consider this…those iconic block printed cottons from India that we westerners love so much, well their ancestral counterparts were found in Egyptian tombs dating back nearly two millennia.

For centuries the west has been importing textiles from the many near to far east countries and for centuries we have been borrowing style and design sensibilities from the same. Hundreds of regions and cultures each with their own ancient textile histories….India/Pakistan, China, both the Near and Far Middle East, Japan, Indonesia and Southeast Asia, that’s a lot of inspiration to choose from! Luxurious materials like silks, velvets and brocades, some woven with real silver or gold thread. Fabrics with complex hand prints and fine embroideries… sheer linens, fine cottons…. Intricate prints and patterns that mesmerize and those that calm the mind with their balance and simplicity….. The list is endless and I daresay that most of modern western fashion has some eastern influence.

Nearly every twentieth century western designer has looked to the east at some point. From Poiret to Valentino…on the street or amongst the black ties. “Exotic” fashion trends have and will continue to come and go with regularity. In 1940s Hattie Carnegie did a stunning line based on beautiful prints and draped sillhouettes from Malaysia. The mid 60s saw an explosion of eastern influence on fashion. A Donald Brooks velvet ensemble with Salwar trousers was featured in Nov. 1965 Vouge along with a Galanos floor length metalic chiffon kaftan coat and dress set. If you flip through vintage magazines you can find countless examples of East meets West fashion and the love affair continues to this day....
Kimono styles were all the rage in the 1920s

Those Dirty Keds!

2010-03-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time perusing vintage magazines, for work as well as fun. I find them to be one of the best tools for researching vintage fashion but I also get a huge kick out seeing what was going on in Pop culture at the time. This morning I came across an ad that just tickled me pink , even better it was a true flash from my own past.

Let me start with a little story…

As a girl, in the mid 60s, the beginning of May marked the time for new sneakers. The weather was turning warm and it was time to retire the brown lace up oxfords that had served me well over the school year. Mom would take my sister and me to the shoe store where we would wait our turn in smooth vinyl seats with chrome handles, our stocking feet dangling above the floor. The salesman would soon come over and measure our feet on his trusty “Brannock” being careful to measure twice, once sitting and once standing.

Size determined... off to the back room he went, emerging soon after with two pristine shoe boxes, the word Keds printed in bold letters across each. Then the salesman would loosen up the laces and slip our feet into the brightest, snow white sneakers you ever saw. Deftly, he would tie them up and we were asked to stand... toes were checked to make sure they didn’t touch the end and we were told to walk up and back the aisle. When both Mom and salesman were satisfied that our new sneakers fit properly, back into the boxes they went and the sale was rung up.

The job of buying the sneakers was over but making them presentable was another thing …you see, in the mid 1960s no self respecting girl would allow herself to be seen in a pair of clean-white-right-out-of-the-box sneakers. A humiliation like that could never be lived down. To look cool, sneakers had to be dingy and worn (don‘t ask, there are no answers for these things).

The minute we got home, on went the sneakers, and out the back door went I. Stairs were a nuisance so off the porch I would jump, landing in the bald patch of yard at the edge of our sidewalk. There was a method we kids had for making new sneakers look acceptable … first you had to scuff up the rubber sides which was done by dragging your foot at every possible angle in the dirt and grit. Next came the cloth uppers which got a thorough rub down with same said dirt… laces too.

The final results were never ideal but they would do. You see the perfect look did not happen for a few weeks, after the wear and tear of summer play had worked it’s magic. By July every sneaker in the neighborhood had taken on a lovely gray patina and frayed holes had begun to appear . By August they reached their prime.

I had forgotten about this little ritual until I saw the above Keds ad in and old Ladies Home Journal from May 1968. Click and enlarge the picture at the top of this blog. You need to read the text, it’s the best part. Like they said “A clean pair of white Keds? Ridiculous!”

....'till next time take care and Peace to all.

Melody

A Slipper for Every Gal

2010-02-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Slippers for Sale! Mongomery Ward Catalog Fall 1956

...They were given names like Nymph, Tulip and Tea for Two. They were made from lovely materials... peau de soie, quilted brocades, wool felt and kidskin leather. Some had decorative details like beadwork,tassels, ruffles and even feathers. Others were simple, in a cozy comforting way. In an era where the flip flop reigns, it's hard for us to imagine a time when the indoor footwear market offered as many style choices as regular shoes.

House shoes or slippers have been around for a long time. I pulled
this quote from the website Graceful Step

..."the earliest record of the word slipper was recorded in English in 1478, deriving from the verb to slip, describing a type of footwear one slips into. The traditional British slipper of the Victorian era is the Albert slipper, named after Price Albert, of course, and is a velvet slipper with plain leather sole and quilted silk lining. It was worn about the house, particularly with black tie at the time but in modern or fashionable use is worn sometimes outside in informal settings." and...slippers had been part of Far and Near Eastern cultures for far longer than that.

For a good part of the 20th century the slipper business was a thriving industry. One of the most long lived companies (still going today) is Daniel Green. On the history page of their website they talk about how in the early 1800s a young shoe sales man, Daniel Green, was impressed by the felt shoes worn by factory workers to keep their feet warm. When he learned they were made from bits of piano felt he contracted with the felt manufacturer to produce a line of slippers for him. He had such faith in his new venture that he asked the owner to promise him "sole agency" to the product. In 1882 Daniel and his brother William sold 600 pair of these felt slippers and by 1884 they had sold 24,000 pair! New styles were added and popularity grew. Daniel Green died in 1891 but his company went on to design some of the most beautifully styled slippers you have ever seen. Beautiful enough to be worn as dress shoes.

Vintage Magazine ads for slippers

Daniel Green is probably the most recognizable name in vintage slippers but there were countless other manufacturers over the decades. In my Montgomery Ward catalog from Fall 1956 there is an entire page devoted to dozens of different slipper styles (pictured at top of blog). My MOST favorite vintage slippers is a 1953 pair of Oomphies called Turkish Toes shown in the collage below. At the time of this writing they are being offered for sale on my website.

Vintage slipper s that are or have been on my website

Vintage house slippers are practical and fun. Often times they are so well made you can easily wear them in lieu of regular shoes. There is a style for every taste from sexy peep toe mules to toasty fleece lined moccasins. Check out your favorite vintage websites or shops and see what they have. You may need to be wait a while for the right ones to come along but it will be worth it, I guarantee!

'Til next time, Peace to you all

Melody

Measurements and Body Proportion

2010-01-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

Shopping for vintage on the web can be daunting, especially when it comes to determining size. You need to know both your own measurements and how to compare them to the ones pertaining to the garment of interest. Online dealers usually give a number of measurements, the most common being Bust - Waist - Hip. Some are more thorough and will include sleeve and hem lengths as well as shoulder width but there is one fitting issue that very few dealers think to address and that is proportion.

Proportions vary from person to person and they also change as we age even if our measurements stay the same. Some of the common proportion issues that vintage shoppers run into are longer or shorter waists, lower or higher bust lines, longer or shorter limbs and the rise or crotch line for pants. Age changes our proportions. Girls in their teens and early twenties often have higher, smaller bust lines, smaller rib cages and more narrow waists. As we age our necks and upper arms can become thicker and some people actually loose height in their torsos, shortening their waist length. Manufacturers have been creating clothing with age specific proportions for decades so it helps to know if a vintage garment was cut for a Junior or a Misses market.
To make things even more complicated, each era had it's own proportion aesthetics. Pants from the 1950s and 60s have a really long rise which puts the waist up much higher than we are used to in modern clothing. Dresses from the same era have high bust lines as opposed to the 1930s when the bust point was quite low. The 1970s tended towards narrow shoulders and we all know about the exaggerated 80s shoulder line. I cover a lot of this in my book The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping but to start you off here are a few tips to help you with two of the most common proportion issues.

1950s Junior proportion dress with small, high bust and shorter waist

The most common issue I have noticed is waist placement on dresses with a defined waistline, especially from the 1950s and 60s. Even if all of your basic measurements match that of the dress it's important that the waist sit properly and not ride too high or low. The best thing to do if you are concerned is to e-mail the dealer and ask if she might give you the back length from neck to waist (pictured below). This measurement is taken from the base of the neck (around c5) to just a smidge below the SMALLEST part of the waist. This number should not be any shorter than yours. If it is the waist will ride up. If the number is longer, by more than a little, the dress will bunch up, although you can sometimes cover this with a belt.

Example of a high neckline

The second issue I often see is too tight armholes, sleeves and necklines. If you feel this may be a problem, again, ask the dealer for measurements. If the upper arm sleeve measurement is roomy enough (allow for at least 1" ease, 2" is better) then the armhole should fit. For sleeveless garments you will need the number for the opening of the armhole to compare to your own measurement (from the top of the shoulder, down the front of the shoulder, under the arm pit, and up the back of the shoulder). If a neckline is high and you worry it might be too small (cheongsams are notorious for this) measure your neck at the base and ask for the neck opening number to compare. Again, allow for ease.

How to measure diagram

Make a note of sleeve and hem lengths, sometimes customers overlook this. If the item does not include these numbers then ask.

Always feel free to ask as many questions as you need to help determine fit. Vintage merchants are eager to help, our ultimate goal is to make online vintage shopping as easy and successful as possible :)

Until next time, best to you all

Melody

Wide Wild n' Wonderful! 1940s Vintage Ties

2009-12-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

It's the holidays season and we all know what THAT means. Time to find the perfect gifts for our family and friends even if we have no idea what that might be.

Guys can be the hardest to buy for. Unless you can afford a Porsche or Ferrari they aren't usually very impressed. Don't get me wrong they are grateful for the shirts, sweaters, socks and boxers.... but impressed? Not so much.

I was leafing through a Dec. issue 1948 Esquire Magazine the other day, checking out their gift ideas and this fabulous necktie ad caught my eye.

Esquire Magazine December 1948

It got me to thinking about how wild and wonderful ties were from that era and how out of character that was for the "ideal-male image" of the day. Men were supposed to be serious and stoic and tough as nails. They wore stiff suits and dress shirts or rugged work clothes all week and plaid shirts on the weekend. Why then, were neckties being designed with surreal forest themes, giant polka dots n' paisleys and crazy abstracts? Why indeed.

The first half of the 1940s were a VERY somber time. WW11 overshadowed every aspect of life and most able bodied men had served in the armed services, many for the duration. At home, war time restrictions did not allow for frivolities, life was tempered. When the war ended people were filled with relief and looked forward to a more care free life. Women's fashion celebrated with an explosion of ultra feminine style with an emphasis on luxury. Men's fashion, (I'm talking mainstream mens fashion), remained fairly conservative. Sure lapels and pant widths changed and plaids may have gotten a bit brighter but not a lot else....EXCEPT of course, neck ties. Holy Cow did neck ties ever change. Artists were commissioned to design ever more creative motifs and ties got wider, I'm sure to accommodate the bold new prints. It was a chance for men to get a little silly without raising eyebrows.

Post War 1940s Neck Ties. Look for them soon in Men's accessories on my website

I love the ties from this era... so much so, I find ways to wear them myself from time to time. So now, when you can't think of the perfect gift for that special guy (or creative gal) perhaps you should consider a wide, wild n' wonderful 1940s neck tie!

Til next time, Happy Holidays and Best Wishes to all!

Melody

Those Crazy 80s!

2009-12-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

Pile of pictures from 1980s Elle magazines

It's official (has been for a while)...80s fashions are now considered vintage. Love it or hate it, it's a fact and it's time to embrace the carnival. The 80s represented SO many different styles and a lot of it was over the top. Colors and patterns out did themselves, it was a cartoon world...Crayola and neon...animal prints... optical effects... bold graphics.

Classics turned surreal with exaggerated bows and nautical collars, miniature top hats and monstrous ruffles. Even the "back to the country" looks of Ralph Lauren and Laura Ashley were sometimes more costume than fashion (I mean that in a good way, I think...). There were spikes and corsets from the punk movement. Killer high heels accompanied school girl skirts and avant guard layers, swathed the arty crowd.

For evening...beads, embroidery and sequins galore, women wore mini cocktail dresses to black tie events and sometimes even modified menswear. Oh yeah.... androgynous was totally hip. The power suit with it's ever dramatic shoulder pads are now considered iconic...designers like Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana did tailored with a twist.

...and accessories, if you can believe it were even more wild and wonderful, especially costume jewelry. Earrings were huge and so were necklaces, plasic was often the material of choice. Wild patchwork handbags were the rage.

Patchwork PLEATHER handbag

The 80s had a viral love affair with vintage and designers looked to just about every era for inspiration from sweet Victorian to ultra Mod. With such strong interest in vintage, hats made a comeback which made me a very happy camper (that's when I did my millinery training).

80s fashions aren't everyones cup of tea but you must admit they are fun and certainly interesting and mind you it's not all ugly prom dresses and giant shoulders. Like any other era there are some real gems, keep an open mind and apply the "little goes a long way" rule you might be surprised :)

Til next time, best to all

Melody

The magic of Missoni

2009-12-01T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Today I posted a Missoni dress to my site that I have been holding on to for a year. It took me that long to let it go. I had to hold on to it for a while...because I really love Missoni and very seldom do I find it and I just liked having it in my possession.

Compared to the rest of what we know as "status fashion", the Missoni label has a unique history, not your typical haute couture story. It's roots are in the world of sports wear and knitting mills. Husband and wife design team Ottavio Missoni and Rosita Jelmini Missoni are the founders and while I was researching I read some interesting tidbits about the history of the company. I'll share a couple of the highlights...

Before Ottavio met Rosita he was was an accomplished athlete as well as a partner in a small sports, knit wear company. In 1948, the same year he went to London to compete in the 400 meter hurdles, his company designed the Italian Olympic teams track suits. Rosita had a textile background as well, along with an eye for design and skill in the sewing arts. They married in 1953 and set up a small knitwear workshop.

In the beginning they sold their pieces to other designers. In 1958 they presented their first collection in Milan which they called Milano-Simpathy. Since it's heyday in the 20s and 30s, fine knitwear had fallen out of favor and the public was not accustomed to associating it with high fashion. The Missoni's colorful designs and unique patterns were not immediately embraced and it took a while but in 1966 Italian journalist, Anna Piaggi began celebrating their work in her articles. By 1967 they were well on their way when an incident of "scandal" catapulted them into the limelight. At a showing in Florence, Rosita was unhappy with the way her models bras interfered with look of her creations, so she had them walk the runway bra less....bright lights and filmy fabric....well you know, and being the 1960s the response was total shock. Whats that old saying...any press is good press? and in this case it was very good.

Missoni has seen the ups and downs of any great name but one thing no one can argue is the eternal appeal of their designs. Very few designers can boast that their garments never go out of style and I honestly believe this to be true of iconic Missoni. Their knits borrow from tradition but transform into unique fabric creations. The colors they use transcend trend and their silhouettes are simple exercises in flattering drape. Although some Missoni pieces have been and continue to be dramatic, most are easy to combine with most any wardrobe. On the Fashion Encyclopedia website I read a quote by Rosita Missoni as told to Elsa Klensch, writing for the New York Post (24 May 1978), "Our philosophy since we went into business has been that a piece of clothing should be like a work of art. It should not be bought for a special occasion or because it's in fashion, but because a woman likes it…and feels she could wear it forever."

What a wonderful philosophy.

Till next time, take care and best to you all.
Melody

New York AND Chicago Vintage!!

2009-11-12T05:44:00.000-08:00

Life has been a whirlwind and I'm late in getting this out but better late than never!

Over the past few weeks we did the Manhattan Vintage Show and the Chicago Vintage Show ....both were wonderful. We've been doing Manhattan for a number of years now and so far each show has been inspirational. Fashion and New York are synonymous so it's no surprise, that a show featuring the very best vintage would be embraced whole heartedly. Approximately 80 dealers come from all corners to sell their primo wares and for two days it's pure vintage heaven. It's all there.... under one roof, from historical couture to yester-years dime store ready-to-wear. The customers are always excited and happy...honestly, you would think it was a holiday, but what you may not know is how much of a treat this is for us dealers as well. Let me tell you all about it....
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....My husband Bob has managed to squeeze everything into the van, all the clothing and racks, bins, boxes and bags... every last thing I packed and there isn't an inch to spare. I'm always amazed when he does this. I've spent the last two weeks picking the show, cleaning and mending, staging displays.... It's 2:00 am on Friday and we are finally on our way. The drive to NYC is 4 hours and it's a drizzly night. Thankfully the roads are nearly deserted and the miles stream on by. We enter the city around 6:00 am. In the dim light, before sun, the buildings have no color, just bluish shades of gray. The van is soon parked in a great space close to the loading area! auspicious beginnings.

Before we unload I check into the hall. An ocean of chalk marked spaces and empty tables belie the festivity to come. We are one of the early birds. The show does not start for another 7 hours but I like having this time to set my up my booth just the way I want it, taking time to greet the other dealers as they arrive. Elaine's son is coming home from Hawaii and Judy's puppy is such a scamp..... We have some good friends here.

The racks and boxes roll in and slowly the hall is transformed. We are all itching to see what the others have brought. I steal a few minutes to sneak a peek and fall in love with a pretty 1950s cashmere and fox sweater. I can't resist..... only one purchase though, lets see how the show goes....

An hour before the doors open I begin to feel the excitement. Time to put the finishing touches on the booth then off to the ladies room to change. The mirrors are crowded with hopeful faces...we wish each other well while plying lipstick and tussling with tangles.

David, one of the show producers hurries up and down the aisles announcing that we have 10 minutes left. A fellow dealer just took a look out the front door and tells me they are lined up to the end of the block. We both can't help but grin. It's going to be a good show.

Bob and I always set up in the back row. It's our spot and most of our friends are there. When the doors open there is a lag before the crowd reaches us but a few savvy customers beat the rush by starting with us. In the first couple of hours the shoppers tend to be a little frantic. They dart from booth to booth, often asking for specific items. A lot of the early shoppers are high end dealers and designers. For them this is business. They know what they want and don't take time to linger. This year there was a lot of interest in bias crepe dresses from the 1930s as well as designer clothing from the 80s and even the early 90s. They go for the artsy stuff rather than the classic looks. Loose and textured sheaths or tunics that could be belted. Flowing layers and dropped waists....dealers wanted jewelry that was big, bold and signed, gold rather than silver.

It's mid afternoon and the atmosphere has changed. The crowd is thick, but customers are taking their time. I love this part of the show...you see....vintage attracts the most creative people. Sometimes I get completely sidetracked while watching the kaleidoscope of ensembles strolling in and out of my booth. Vintage is the common thread, mostly used to accent but sometimes as a complete identity. It's all good.

The shows are where I see whats Goin' on. Sure, fashion magazines feature vintage from time to time, especially if it's on a celebrities back and there are some great vintage bloggers and sites out there but nothing comes close to seeing whats actually happening on the "street". You get to see vintage trends in their infant stage. I make quick note of any non-trendy piece that gets tried on or picked up numerous times. Sometimes an adventurous soul will buy it, but often enough it stays on the rack until some future show where it becomes the thing they all want. This fall I had an 80s cocktail dress...simple black sheath with a riot of feathers on the shoulders. I can't tell you how many times that dress was taken off the rack, everyone loved it. I had another black 80s sheath with HUGE red satin shoulder accents. Same thing. The silhouettes had the same look. Simple and fitted in the body with exaggerated shoulder details. Both dresses went home with me... this time... but something tells me I should keep an eye out...

Most of the time though, people buy what strikes them or what's "hot" at the moment Highlights this fall were...big belts, long delicate chains with accents, funky boots...over sized tunic sweaters, 1950s shirtwaist dresses ( a perennial) , sequined sweaters.... all kinds of coats and hats (yeah!) and cool 80s handbags.

For two wonderful days I sold vintage, shared my passion, watched a never ending fashion parade and got to be with friends. The show closed at 6:00 pm on Saturday, customers hurried to make final purchases and requested business cards for items they had to think about. As the last person left my booth I kicked off my pretty show-shoes and slipped my aching feet into comfy old sneaks. Chatter about the show went back and forth as we we all packed up our booths. By 9:00 pm the van was loaded and our goodbyes had been said. Tired beyond description but pleased and content Bob and I headed out of the city.

.....two weeks later we did it all again in Chicago... a new show! Since that show is just getting off the ground attendance was not like New York but the promise was there. Chicago is a fantastic place, with it's own vibrant personality. The people are so friendly and of course style is alive and well. Trends were similar to New York and most importantly, vintage is celebrated. Although the crowd was new to us the enthusiasm was the same AND we were asked over and over to please come back next year. How could I not love that?

Well, we are home now and our next show is not until Feb. It's a long stretch but that will give me time to work on my poor neglected website AND Blog! So until next time, take care and thank you for visiting!!

Melody

Show Time!

2009-10-08T07:12:00.000-07:00

A good part of my business takes place at trade shows like the Manhattan Vintage Show and the Sturbridge Textile Show. There are all kinds of outlets for buying vintage... websites, web auctions, bricks and mortar shops....and all have their pluses, but for me, the most exciting vintage venues are the big shows. Dealers come from far and wide with their very best merchandise. Imagine dozens and dozens of booths filled with the finest vintage on the market. If you love vintage it's like a dream come true. Each dealer has their own niche so you will find every style from 80s punk to original Victorian... labels are just as diverse, a high end dealer with numbered couture might be set up next to a trend savvy booth, chock full of swinging 70s department store dresses. Not everything is silly-expensive either. Prices are often competitive (not cheap but reasonable for what you get). Check out the slide show on the Manhattan Vintage site.

This weekend we will be in the back row at the Manhattan Vintage Show (booth # 77) plying our own wares. I can't wait. I just LOVE watching and meeting the crowd. Literally thousands of style lovers, parade through, dressed to the vintage nines and everyone with their own creative look. AND you never know who will show up. I've seen Vogue editors and lots of important designers, film costumers and even the occasional Movie Star! I hope to see YOU there, if you make it, come by and say hello!

Til next time! Best to all. Melody

The Value in Tailored Vintage

2009-09-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

Cashmere and mink coat from the 1950s

Without a doubt, I consider tailored vintage clothing to be your best value for the money. Before I go on let me define tailoring. According to my 1973 Vogue Sewing Book...

Tailoring is a "construction technique requiring special hand sewing and pressing to mold fabric into a finished garment"

These techniques are mostly used in coats, suits and jackets and they require great skill and patience. Fine tailoring not only makes a garment look beautiful it also helps it remain so for life. Lapels and collars maintain their shape, shoulders roll smoothly, linings don't shift, seams stay straight and true.... Beneath the surface of any well tailored garment is a complicated under structure of underlinings, interlinings, facings and TONS of handwork. The modern garment industry has had to eliminate or compromise many of these techniques to keep their prices competitive but in years gone bye even modestly priced, tailored clothing, boasted fine handwork. One of the most noticeable features that you never see anymore are cloth bound buttonholes. Buttonholes are almost all machine stitched today. Cloth bound buttonholes are tedious to make but they look beautiful and are very sturdy.

Beautifully tailored shoulder on a 1940s coat

Besides the beautiful construction that went into tailored vintage, the materials used were also extraordinary. What we consider couture level fabrics today were readily available to the mainstream years ago. Some were quite expensive but not unattainable. Mongolian cashmere, Scottish tweeds, lush bouclés, novel plaids...all high quality and many hand loomed. Some design houses had custom created textiles like Lili Anne who imported their woolen goods from France. Older fabrics almost never pill and seem to wear forever. Fur trims were commonplace.. mink, fox, mouton lamb. Buttons were unique, some were even jeweled with rhinestones.

Wool pile, faux leopard fabric from the 1950s. Wool looks more natural and wears better than todays acrylic faux furs.

Today many designers borrow heavily from vintage styles. Often they do a marvelous job capturing the essence of an era and reinterpreting it for the contemporary market but unless they are very high end the demand for inexpensive clothing places strict limits on their manufacturing techniques. A modern coat that looks fabulous on the hanger often looses it's shape, sometimes before the season ends! Fancy fabrics pill, others look generic. Buttons fall off easily. To be fair, vintage coats can have this problem too, but that's because the button has put decades of pressure on the thread, not because they were not sewn on right. I suggest you check the buttons on any garment you buy and reinforce if needs be.

Hand bound buttonholes on a 1950s blazer.

You can still find affordable, nicely made dresses, blouses, skirts and pants on the modern market. I like pretty classics so every year I buy a couple of Anne Taylor blouses and Maggie London makes lovely summer dresses. Levis is still doing great jeans but when it comes to suits, jackets and outerwear I generally stick to vintage. You CAN buy a new tailored garment with the same quality of fabric and construction as vintage but the cost will be in the hundreds if not thousands of dollars. For this reason I consider tailored vintage to be your best vintage value!

Till next time, best to you!

Melody

The seduction of black...

2009-09-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

A vintage, black sequined, Lili Rubin gown

Fashion week is here again and it looks like color was off the pallet for a number of designers. Valentino was all about inky drama. Armani was doing white and black and Elie Saab did an all white collection. Black seemed to dominate though and I found that refreshing. Don't get me wrong, I love color but it was nice to see fashion design pared down to form and silhouette. It got me to thinking just how much I really do love basic black.

I'm not alone, black has always been a fashion favorite which is why an abundance of it to still be found in vintage. From Victorian mourning clothing to mid century "Audrey" dresses, it's easy to find AND easy to wear. One of my personal favorites are the classic 1940s rayon dresses with their sculpted shoulders, form fitting torsos and swingy skirts. These flattering frocks are the perfect foil for accessories and can be worn from day into evening. As for formal wear there is nothing more elegant than an all black gown. The timeless element of black is another plus. If you wear vintage you almost never have to worry about looking "costumey" in black.

Black pumps, the perfect black turtleneck, a classic black purse....these are just a few of the essentials a well rounded wardrobe requires. All are available on the vintage market in a variety of styles depending on their era. It's agreed that vintage is THE place to get creative but don't overlook the simple treasures, sometimes they are the best!

Bye for now! Melody

Be Adorned, a love affair with vintage costume jewelry.

2009-08-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

Costume jewelry by Coro, from the 1956-57 Fall Winter Montgomery Ward catalogue

I have an early memory. My grandmother's top drawer...a whisper of powdery perfume. On tip toes I carefully remove an old cardboard candy box and quietly sit. The cover comes off to reveal treasure. Strands of crystal and pearl, festive beads and jeweled brooches. A trove of earring pairs, in all shapes and sizes. This covert act has been carried out countless times, always with the same results, pure awe and delight. I fill my eyes but never touch, that might lead to discovery and I am without a doubt, in forbidden territory. Moments pass and soon the candy box is safely back in it's rightful place.

Since I can remember I have loved costume jewelry. My grandmothers modest collection was my first exposure. I bought MY very first piece at the age of 11. There was a little shop in our downtown that carried all kinds of accessories. This was the mid 60s and large showy rings were popular. In the front case was a whole tray full, $1 each......rhinestone and filigree in every color... but my favorite was a lithographed glass cabochon with a Fragonard-esque scene. The setting was heavily detailed in antique "gold". I remember the amused smile on the lips of the sales lady as she adjusted my purchase to fit. Later in my teen years I discovered "junk" shops. Nicer than the flea market but not as expensive as an antique store. This is when my serious collecting began. Every junk shop had a display case of used or vintage costume jewelry. Brooches became my favorite and to this day I still wear some of the fabulous pieces I acquired way back when.

At that time I knew nothing about signed costume jewelry but quality always stood out, so by default I ended up with some very collectible pieces. Times have changed and demand has skyrocketed, the public is much more knowledgeable than before so it is difficult to find rare and valuable vintage costume for short money. You can however pick up high quality unsigned pieces at reasonable cost. Most folks, like me, who buy to wear are more interested in the look rather than the name. Some of my favorite pieces are unsigned. Quality on the other hand is always important. Better rhinestones and crystals with sharp facets can be spotted from across the room. If rhinestones are prong set, all the better. Hand knotted simulated pearls can often look just like the real thing and high quality gold plating will not tarnish if properly cared for. Look for Rolled Gold or Gold Filled. Sterling silver costume is undervalued at this time, so you can really find some great values. Large sterling or vermeil brooches from the 1940s always make a stunning statement. Since vintage costume has become so popular there are lots of informative books on the market. Three that I like Warman's Jewelry by Christie Romero (fine jewelry and costume guide), Costume Jewelry by Judith Miller and Collectible Costume Jewelry by Cherri Simonds.

Til next time, Best to you Melody

Pre-order our book The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping

2009-08-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

I'm so very excited! My book The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping is at the presses right now and early copies will be arriving next month. The book will be on the shelves this coming October but if you want yours in September (and signed) you can pre-order right now from our website. Orders will be shipped towards the end of next month.

I want to thank Quirk Books for being my publisher, and especially Mary Ellen Wilson, editor extraordinaire! Our little guide focuses on how to buy vintage clothing and accessories but it also includes a bit of fashion history, as well as practical advice on caring for and cleaning your vintage wardrobe. Quirk always puts out wonderful AND affordable books. Ours is just $18.95 (plus shipping) but don't let the low price fool you, it's so loaded with tips, tricks and advice that even the veteran shopper will learn new things. PLUS there are lots of great pictures. Since vintage is all about celebrating fashion I tried to make it a fun read, nothing stuffy about this book!

One last thing. If you order copies from our website, as gifts, or for yourself, they can be signed and/or inscribed with a personal message. Just indicate that on the order form.

OK... enough with the sales pitch. Stay tuned for our next blog on vintage costume jewelry.

Till then Best to all!

Melody

How to wear that vintage hat!

2009-08-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Howdy all! I was just down in my shop looking for hats for a gal who is styling a 1950s play and it got me to thinking....

Recently there has been a lot of interest in vintage hats. Especially little caplets, whimsies and pillboxes. I'm often asked... "what is the right way to wear these kinds of hats?" My answer is always the same....whichever way looks best. I'm not being flip when I say that. I really mean it. Although, traditionally, the back of a hat is denoted by the seam or fold in the ribbon inside the crown, you don't have to abide by that.

Hats should be tried on in a number of angles and directions. Tilted forward over the brow will give and entirely different look than worn at the back of the head. Don't hesitate to try a hat on backwards either. About the only rule you need to follow is to keep it comfortable. If you turn a full-crown hat sideways it's not going to feel right. That's because the head is oval not round, and so are hat openings. Smaller half-hats like whimsies, eggshells and caplets are an exeption. they can usually be turned in whatever direction or angle looks good. Veils were made to go over the face but you can tuck them under the crown or pull it up over the hat should you decide to wear it in a different direction.

Keeping the hat on your head is not as big a problem as you might think. Hat pins don't lend themselves to today's simple hairstyles but bobby pins always work great. My favorite trick however is to use a piece of thin millinery elastic. It's a cinch to do. Just cut a length of elastic and hand stitch it to the ribbon inside the crown... side to side. I make a knot at each end so it won't pull out of the stitching. The elastic should be long enough to fit snugly under the hair in back of your head. Even a heavy wide brimmed hat stays in place this way.

I thought it would be helpful to show you some of the looks du jour for hats in the 1950s. Above is a collage of fashion ads I put together from mid 1950s Vogue and Madamoiselle magazines. Note the different angles the hats were worn. I love the example in the upper right hand corner that uses a domed whimsy as a bun cover. Very clever!

As you can see hats were worn in a number of creative ways and each position gives it's own style. Women have always had fun with hats... let's continue the tradition!

Till our next blog. Take care and enjoy the summer!

Best, Melody

Solving Vintage Issues with Vintage patterns

2009-07-22T06:37:00.000-07:00

A few vintage patterns from my website

The vintage market has grown in leaps and bounds over the past decade or so. Today there is a vast selection of vintage venues and choices seem endless, however, nothing is perfect and there are situations where shopping for vintage can be illusive and frustrating.

Finding just what you want is fairly easy if you are a perfect smaller size but it can be more of a challenge for those of us with older, plumper or unique proportions. There is less to choose from and unfortunately a lot of larger vintage can be a tad matronly. That's not to say it's impossible to find great stuff in your size, it's just harder and if you have a specific look in mind the hunt becomes even more difficult. On another note some vintage can be fragile and risky to wear. Those diaphanous chiffon's from the 1930s or the beaded flapper dresses from the 20s look fine on a mannequin but the fabrics seldom hold up to anything but the most gentle use...just dancing in them can cause irreversible damage. Then there are those occasions when you need a specific color or yearn for a particular fabric and nothing you see is quite right. These are all great reasons to consider turning to vintage patterns.

Fortunately there are vintage patterns available for every imaginable article of clothing... dresses, suits, coats, lingerie, separates ....even swimsuits and aprons. You can buy vintage fabric and notions (old buttons and metal zippers) to make your garment as authentic as possible and if you are a real purist look for vintage sewing books to study old techniques for clothing construction

There are a few things you need to keep in mind when you sew from a vintage pattern. First is the issue of size. Vintage patterns go by really old standards of sizing which bear no resemblance to contemporary sizing. Disregard the size and note the measurements on the pattern then compare them to your own.

If you fall in love with a patten that does not match your measurements do not despair. Most patterns can be graded up or down to the desired size. It does help if you can find a pattern close to what you need. At the end of this blog are a few links to articles with clear grading instructions. You can also pay a better seamstress to grade your pattern for you if you don't feel confident trying it yourself.

Once you have purchased a vintage pattern you may notice that the pattern pieces have no markings on them and very early patterns might not even have much in the way of instruction. The reason for this is that most women were trained at sewing from a very early age and knew how to put a pattern together. If you are concerned about this take a look at the instructions from a similar style, modern pattern. They won't be exactly the same of course but you will get a general idea of the different steps you need to follow.

Tissue patterns are very fragile so I recommend you transfer them to heavy paper before starting. Just smooth out the pattern pieces and pin them to the paper then trace and cut. Before removing the tissue pattern pencil dots in the proper punch holes for grain, you will see these in your instructions. Connect the dots with a ruler to create your grain line this is imperative. Transfer any other marks you might need like fold lines and notches. At this point, grade your pattern for size if necessary.

Next I strongly recommend you sew a quick muslin or mock up of the garment before cutting into your costly fashion fabric, especially if it's vintage and you can't get any more!. You can do all your fitting on the muslin then transfer the alterations to your pattern. You only need to do this once and it can really prevent disaster later on.

If you love authentic vintage but have trouble finding what you desire then consider looking into making your own from vintage patterns. If you are fortunate enough to have a trusted seamstress and can afford to have your clothing made then I say indulge! Either way it will be a fun and rewarding project.

Until my next blog best to you all! Melody

Articles on grading patterns

How to Re size a Pattern

Making Sense of Pattern Grading

Quick Reference for Cut and Spread Pattern Grading

Grade a Bodice to a Larger Size

The Vintage Apron

2009-07-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

Vintage aprons on my website

I have a lovely mother-in-law, Gloria, who is a wonderful cook. The minute she enters her kitchen, on goes the apron and when I offer to help she immediately hands me one as well. My own Mom, who is also a culinary wonder, keeps a ready stash of clean aprons under her counter. Until recent years, aprons were as essential in the kitchen as a frying pan. I'm not sure why modern culture has drifted away from their use, they really are quite practical and even fun to wear.

Everyday aprons were usually sturdy and practical, made from cotton or a blend. They had minimal embellishment, but tended to be attractive none the less. The fabric itself was often pretty and colorful. Florals, checks and stripes or solids with contrasting trim and pockets were popular. "Fancy" aprons were more for show. They might be romantic or even a bit saucy. Short flouncy things worn while the hostess served her guests....aprons of sheer chiffon or organza mixed with polished cotton and trimmed with lace, delicate eyelets, lovely cut work and all types of hand embroidery can be found on aprons from the twentieth century. AND lets not forget the barbecue apron made with the fellas in mind. I included a funky 70s version in the collage above....a heavy duty cotton canvas, from the 70s that simply reads THE APRON.

Whether you are looking for vintage aprons to wear or collect thankfully they abound on the market. Mint or barely used aprons are common. Most women had a plentiful supply (they were often given as gifts from "the kids") and duplicates or fancier ones were stored away. Even those who may not gravitate towards wearing vintage fashion seem to get a kick out of old aprons. AND they still make great gifts!!

Have a glorious day!

Melody

The Sturbridge Vintage Show

2009-07-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

What a wonderful show we had in Sturbridge, Ma. yesterday! For those of you who have never been, the Sturbridge Antique Textiles and Vintage Clothing Show is one of the few of it's kind in the country. Three times a year, dealers travel from far and wide to showcase their finest vintage clothing and accessories. You never know what you might see....from Civil war Gowns to 80s designer... 30s chiffons, minis and maxis, sultry gowns and frothy party dresses.... accessories abound as well. Hats, handbags, jewelry and shoes. If you love vintage or just fashion in general it's like visiting the department store of your dreams!!

Baubles and bangles at the show!

...and lets not forget the racks and boxes just brimming with with yesteryear's fabrics and trims, buttons and notions....pure heaven for designers and crafters looking for the unique. There was a large designer turnout, mostly textile people. Without mentioning any names there seemed to be a trend for painterly abstract prints in bold colors, small repetitive prints and interesting geometrics. We will be watching the runways next year to see where this inspiration goes...

Till next time, take care and thanks for reading our blog!

Melody

Hidden meanings and Victorian symbolism.

2009-06-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Victorian culture spanned sixty years and went through a number of changes but one theme seems to have lasted throughout, sentimentality. There were always artistic undercurrents pushing back against this trend (think Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley), but in general, popular culture preferred to indulge in exaggerated emotion, be it in the name of love, joy or tragedy.

The tendency towards Victorian sentimentality manifested itself in a number of ways but one that I find intriguing is the complicated use of symbolism used to express feelings, thoughts or messages, most notably with the use of flowers. A simple bouquet or posy might thrill or devastate it’s recipient depending on the meanings of the flowers chosen. To add to the drama, not everyone attributed the same meaning to every flower. Flower symbolism had been around for centuries with varied histories so in time actual dictionaries were printed on the subject with each author having their own interpretations. For example lavender might mean devotion OR distrust. Imagine the misunderstanding (and possible mayhem) this could cause if both parties had different dictionaries! In general though, meanings were agreed upon. Victorian symbolism spilled over into other areas as well, particularly jewelry design. Just recently I acquired a lovely Victorian necklace and decided to try and interpret the meaning. It was great fun! Above is a picture of the necklace that was sold from my website. Below I will give you the meanings of the images and materials used

Swallow - Faithfully returning home/ or just home. Supposedly the swallow was one of the first birds to land on deck when a ship was close to land, not surprisingly, aside from a popular motif for jewelry it was also a favorite tattoo for sailors!

Seed Pearls - purity, innocence, harmony and humility

Three Leaf Clover – domestic virtue and fertility. Also a white clover signifies a promise and these tiny clovers have a white seed pearl in the center

Forget me not – Faithful love

As soon as I put the symbols together the meaning seemed obvious, I was certain this had to be a bridal gift.... and much to my delight, upon further research I found out that seed pearl jewelry was a customary gift for a young woman turning 18 yrs OR a bride before her wedding!

There are lots of resources to research Victorian symbols. If you are interested I suggest you start with the Internet and look up key words like the "language of flowers" or "Victorian symbolism". It’s great fun and I guarantee you will never look at Victorian jewelry the same way again!

Until our next blog, enjoy and take care!

Melody

The Notorious Midi!

2009-06-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

A protest Midi Skirt button from 1970

Skirt lengths have been a subject for controversy for decades, usually this happened for reasons of modesty, as they began to rise above accepted standards. Throughout most of the Victorian years, showing just an ankle would raise eyebrows, so during the teens it was scandalous when skirts began to hovered a few inches above the shoe and in the 1920s, flapper dresses, which rose all the way to the knee, provoked out and out...outrage.

Who would have predicted, that in the late 60s - early 70s, at the height of the mini skirts popularity, a falling hemline could cause similar public reaction? The later 1960s saw a number of fashion trends, one being a preoccupation with all things romantic and/or nostalgic. Think Biba + Deco or the Early, Gunne Sax, prairie dress. Longer hemlines were being created for casual and day wear. The look wasn't for everyone but it had it's place and as always, terms were coined for the emerging new styles.

In these years since, people tend to call every long dress from this era a Maxi dress but if you were around at the time you knew differently. A Maxi skirt was gown length, to the floor or at least to the top of the shoe. The Midi on the other hand, might fall anywhere from calf to ankle. I remember clearly, a newspaper fashion article in 1969 featuring three versions of an identical gingham dress in Maxi, Midi and Mini lengths. Designers like Valentino and Bohan experimented with these longer styles and according to a vintage Time Magazine article, John Burr Fairchild of Women's Wear Daily, announced that 1970 was to be the year of the Midi.

The ensuing controversy reached heights that, I'm sure, even Mr. Fairchild never expected. It was one thing for the adventurous and artistic to champion an exotic trend but for the style Monarch himself to decree that mainstream fashion was to embrace such a drastic change created a furor.

An embroidered Wool Midi Skirt from my website

Women vowed to never give up their mini skirts and according to the same Time article " A protest signed by 335 customers of the Sanger-Harris store in Dallas reads: "We object strongly to being suppressed into buying the midi exclusively. We like looking feminine and intend staying that way, even if it means shopping elsewhere."

The male population was no happier as you can imagine. Men of all ages were still pinching themselves over the daily parade of pretty legs, that the mini skirt had made possible and they were NOT about to give it up without a protest.

Even the garment industry let out a wail. The same Time Magazine article quotes Irene Johns, president of the Association of Buying Offices as saying..."by starting to push the midi last winter, Women's Wear killed not only the fall season for manufacturers but the spring season too."

Good grief, all of this over a skirt length! And a longer one to boot... I was a young teen in those days and actually liked the new Midi skirt. I found it less cumbersome than the Maxi and was charmed by it's sense of nostalgia. I just loved watching old movies with women in their feminine frocks that reached below the knee. PLUS, on a more practical note, living in New England could get pretty drafty in a mini skirt! For me the Midi was a blessing but it was years before I found out about the tempest it had stirred, not until I had begun researching vintage clothing. I can tell you this, once you delve into the history of fashion you will never be bored!

Until our next blog take care and best to all.

Melody

Sources for this article:

Time Magazine, Monday, Sep. 14, 1970, Out on a Limb with the Midi
Stop the Midi button Dudley's Vintage Ads & Prints

Replacing the lid-mirror in a vintage handbag.

2009-05-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how many times, while hunting for vintage, I have found beautiful little box bags from the 1940s and 50s only to open them up and find the inside mirror either badly tarnished or missing. Everything else would be in fabulous condition but the whole effect was ruined when you looked inside. If the price was low enough I'd buy them and put them aside believing I could easily relpace the mirror one day. Well I soon found out....it's not so easy.

The thinnest mirror stock that most glass suppliers carry is 1/8" thick. That sounds pretty thin doesn't? That's what I thought... until I compared it to an original mirror from an old purse. The modern stuff was perfectly barbaric in comparison. It would never have worked.

Aside from the extra weight which would have been hard on the hinges, it also would have looked thick and awkward. No problem I thought...I'll just find a source for thinner mirror and have my local glass shop cut it for me. Again...not so easy. I contacted dozens of wholesalers and almost none of them would even talk to me because I was not a vendor. I did manage to find a nice fellow, at a Georgia company, who did his best to help, but in order for me to purchase something thinner I would have had to order enough to last three lifetimes! Aaargh! Here I was with a stock-pile of beautiful vintage handbags doing nobody any good, for lack of a simple mirror. I was desperate.

I called my local glass shop and begged them to help. The young lady at the desk took pity on me and promised to do what she could. I owe her a debt of gratitude because later that day she called back and said she had located 1/16" mirror (half the size) and the best news was, I only had to buy what I needed. After thanking her from the bottom of my heart I ran over with templates for 5 mirrors and placed my order.

To create the templates it helps if you have the original mirror. In that case all you need to do is trace. If the mirror is gone you must determine the size and shape on your own. Sometimes age has caused an outline on the lid where the old mirror was. Use a piece of see through tracing paper to copy the outline. If there is no clue then create a square or rectangle to fit the area. MAKE SURE you do not overlap the opening edge of the bag or the mirror will impede closure (I learned this the hard way)To be double sure of this, pass the template through the opening of the bag making sure it clears the edges

I wanted the edges of my mirrors to be beveled but the glass cutter could not accomodate me so I told him to please smooth the edges for safety reasons. Still, I did not like the naked edge of the mirror showing so I took a piece of vintage gold cord and glued it all around like a frame. This looked great. I'm sure other types of ribbon or trim would work just as well.

When gluing mirror it is imperitive to use acid free glue. Acidic glue will disolve the mirrored finish over time, creating dark spots. You can use mirror mastic or an acid free craft glue made for adhereing non pouros materials. I use Weldbond Universal Adhesive by Frank T RossLtd. http://www.franktross.com/.

To find thin mirror ask your local glass store if they will special order some for you, ask for 1/16" or less. If you are lucky they may actually have some old stock on hand. The people I go to are J.+R. Glass in Fitchburg Ma. Their website is http://www.jandrglass.com/ I can't guarantee, but I bet if you arrange to send them your templates they would be happy to do business by mail, you would just have to pay for shipping.

Just a note: When I relpace a mirror in a bag for re-sale I always disclose this fact to my customers. Some care, some don't but it is the prudent thing to do.

Best to you all! Melody

2009-05-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

My New Site!

It's been a long time in the making but the new site is up and running! I have so many beautiful things to add, and now I'll have the time to do it. Today, I'm starting with a few vintage dresses. Heres a preview of one, it goes up this afternoon!

It's a lovely 50's black organdy dress with embroidered rosebuds AND it's a wearable size. A lot of vintage is really tiny. Especially the cute stuff. It's nice to find a pretty vintage party dress in the generous medium range... like this beauty!

On another note we are having a gorgeous spring day in New England. After the dresses are up I'm out the door. You all have a beautiful day too.

best to you all, Melody

The wonderful world of vintage!

2009-05-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hello and Welcome!

Let me begin my new blog site, A Vintage Ramble, with an introduction. My name is Melody and I'm a vintage clothing dealer. I own Tangerineboutique.com as well as a shop-by-appointment store in Gardner, Massachusetts. Simply put, I became a vintage dealer because I am utterly obsessed with fashions and textiles from the past. It is my passion.

(a rack of vintage dresses in my shop)

I am also the author of The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping, due for release this coming Oct. by Quirk books. If there is one thing I love almost as much as working with vintage it's writing about it. My little book is a great basic guide book, it explains everything you need to know when you shop for vintage, but there is so much more to write about.

Before blogging became the rage and before I was contracted to write my book I would send out a newsletters from my website with short, interesting, vintage related articles. Subjects were random, whatever struck my fancy at the time...some musings by Chanel that I had come across in an old magazine, the trials and tribulations of dealing with the cloths moth.... sometimes a little fashion history lesson. These articles are archived on my site and available to read at your leisure but, again, there is so much more to write about. Blogging seems to be the perfect venue for this love affair of mine so I welcome you and hope you will join me in my celebration of the wonderful world of Vintage!

Until we meet again, best to you all! Melody