How to put together a Rockabilly or Swing look on a budget

 This past July we vended at a fabulous event, The Roaring Twenties Lawn Party, put on by a group called Boston Swing Central. It was a 20's themed picnic/dance party with live music and everyone there was dressed the part. The tunes were genuine Gatsby era and so were the dance routines but the clothing was more about the look. Some folks wore the real deal but many went for flapper inspired clothing and accessories from later eras like the 70's and 80's. Also quite a few wore brand new retro-look outfits. Genuine 1920's clothing is rare, expensive and usually quite fragile so it made perfect sense that so many of the guests opted for creative costuming rather than true vintage. In my booth I had both and I had a lot of fun helping my customers pick out new additions for their vintage event wardrobes.

Roaring Twenties Lawn Party, well dressed Guests  

At the end of this month I will be vending at another vintage themed celebration. This time it's The New England Shake-Up!. A three day Rockabilly bash with round the clock music including over a dozen live bands. We worked this one last year and my bones are still humming. I can't wait! 

Poster for the Shake-Up Show

                                                 

Dress for last years Shake-Up was an eclectic mix of 1940's thru early 1960's with a dash of punk. A functioning barber shop was staged across from our booth where expert stylists, snipped and razored, rolled and teased... creating the most amazing hairstyles I've ever seen (for men and women). A great "do" was priority for many but the outfits were none too shabby either. The clothing was once again a blend of true vintage and vintage inspired.

Stylists at the 2013 New England Shake Up working their magic

1940's - 60's era clothing is more plentiful than 20's but iconic pieces are rare and prices can soar. There are retro companies who create vintage knock offs, the cheap ones make tacky costume-y stuff, I'm not a fan of that. However, there are a couple good companies who do a beautiful job, I especially like Blue Velvet Vintage. Their 1950's style dresses run around $150 and up and a good petticoat is around $59. Well worth it if your budget will allow but not everyone can swing that so for those of you who are living with tight purse strings I'm going to suggest a few penny pinching ideas.

Lets start with a 1950's look. I picked up this early 1990's dress at the thrift store for $10 and belted it with an 80s wide red belt, another thrift find ($4). I used a new petticoat to flair the skirt. Petticoats can be found new and used and range from $30-$60. The shoes and bag are actual 1950's and cost about $30 each on Etsy. If you prefer to spend less you can find 80's does 50's purses and shoes at the thrift, they should cost around $10 each. The red beads and button earrings are from the 70's and cost less than $10 for the set. So...depending on the accessories, the total for this entire outfit would be between around $100 and $150.

A 1950s look cobbled together from mixed era finds

Accessories can make the outfit. 

This next look is 1940's Swing. I started with a 1970's polka dot dress that was $50 at a vintage show. I added shoulder pads to give it better 40's style. After I cinched it with a $2 thrift store belt it looked a lot like the iconic Authentic War Time dresses run well over $100 in any vintage shop. Shoes are important for a 40's look but the real thing in a wearable size can cost a pretty penny. Instead I used these 1970s peep toe sling backs with polka dot bows valued at around $20. Silk flowers were a favorite accessory and were worn in the hair or as corsages. They are readily available for less than $10 at vintage stores and online. It's nice to add something authentic so I chose a genuine 40s Corde clutch with a lucite pull. These bags are undervalued right now and are selling between $35-$75 online and in vintage shops. If that's too steep you can look for an envelope clutch from the 70's or 80's, they are usually available for about $20. Finally I included a cute 70's does 40's circle brim hat  to be worn on the back of the head. Approximate price $35. Again depending on the accessories this complete outfit, head to toe, would cost between $100 and $150.

Creating Swing era style with a 70's does 40's dress

Genuine corde clutch is a small splurge but adds authenticity to the ensemble

These are just two examples, there are endless ways to pull off a vintage look on a budget. If you look at period magazines or watch old movies you will get a feel for the styles. Pay attention to the accessories they can make all the difference. Sometimes you will luck out and find the real deal for a steal, you gotta love it when that happens. Meanwhile get creative with later era fashions with a retro flavor. Most of all have fun!

A Very Vintage Christmas to you!

It's a winter wonderland here in New England with more snow on the way, a good time to focus on indoor tasks, like holiday decorating. In my home Christmas is all about going over the top. Lots of lights and tinsely glitz and most important, quirky vintage ornamentation. I've been collecting vintage decor since the 1970s. My Mom was just starting in the antiques business and I caught her yard sale fever. Early on I began an obsessive hunt for old Christmas decorations. The find that hooked me was a box of unused holiday cards from the 1940s-50s. The pictures were utterly charming AND the cards doubled as tree ornaments. They have graced my Christmas tree ever since.

I've slowed down my search over the years, but occasionally a new piece will make it's way into the collection. This past weekend I found a little celluloid and chenille elf riding in a golden sleigh. Without a doubt, he needed to come home with me.

So without further ado, I would like to say Seasons Greetings! by sharing pictures of a few of my vintage holiday treasures.

 Ornamental molded candles from the 1960s

 This is one of my few reproduction pieces. There is a rotating multi colored light inside, very retro. You can see my little 1950s porcelain choir boy caroling away on the right. 

 Dainty and demure, this 1960s, alabaster porcelain deer makes a beautiful table piece.

 Here he is! My latest acquisition. A celluloid and chenille elf with his golden sleigh. 

 Darling 1950s porcelain angel with wired gauze dress perched on a cut crystal globe

 Home crafted stuffed felt elf doll from the 1930s.

 Felt girl-elf tree ornament, circa early 1960s.

 I love old blown mercury glass bulbs, especially with baby or childrens  themes. 1940s blue mercury glass ornament with ducky (top right)

From my box of card ornaments, this jolly snowman. I can never decide which of the cards I like best, they are all so sweet. To his right a 1960s spun cotton Santa.

 A 1940s porcelain snowman bell.

 A 1950s Florida souvenir ornament, cute little orange person. Behind that, another one of my card ornaments.

 This one is from the 1980s, wall plaque, reproduction of a Victorian Christmas card.

And last but not least, a  sleigh full of 1960s Made in Japan, cloth elves and the big man himself, Santa!

Happiest Holidays to you all.

In Celebration of the Simple House Dress

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