STYLE INSPO - Gidget

Carefree, colorful and adventurous- Sally Field in the 1960's TV show Gidget has made most of us, if not all, dream of being a 60's surfer chick. Lets take a look and see what Gidget always keeps in her closet!

10 Item Wardrobe Pt. 2 (Phase 1)

Pt. 2 is finally here!

It has begun! I've completed my clothing clean-out. This is where the hard part comes in, actually figuring out what I want my capsule wardrobe to be. I have my inspirations. Now I need to find items that fit this new wardrobe.

After the purge, I pulled out my favorite pieces that I currently own.

It's funny how you don't realize what you have until you get rid of things. Turns out I have more clothing that fits my new aesthetic than I thought.

10 Item Wardrobe- Pt 1

simplicity is best...

Lately this seems to be my catch phrase. Where clothing is concerned, I can't think of a better policy. Most of us have been in the same boat, having a closet full of clothes and yet we're still saying that tired phrase, "I have nothing to wear."

REVIEW SF Vintage Shops- Pretty Penny & Haight Ashbury

I'd like to start off this post by saying that I am not a San Francisco native and I've only been to the Bay Area twice. But while I was there in March, these were the two places that stood out to me as great places to find vintage at affordable prices. I'm sure there are many more! 



at the Mission District store

The Mod Factory

 Hello! How is everyone?

 

 

This week we opened a new shop on Etsy- The Mod Factory! This was an idea we've had for a long time, even before we started this blog. On this shop we will sell items for the 1960'-1970's that encapsulate mod and groovy style. We search the west coast looking for high quality,striking and unique clothing. Find out more about the story of the shop on the About section on our Etsy.

 

Feel free to take a look!

Till next time--
Sincerly, Vera



A Quick Look at September's Vintage Finds

We'd gone to a few estate sales and thrift stores in September and came home with a few goodies. Too bad none of them had vintage patterns--this was probably for the best because I think we may have V.P.S....Vintage Pattern Syndrome. I don't want to know how many we have....

One of the estate sales we went to was in a really cool 50s-60s house that the owners used as a "party house". It had a blend of mid-century and Japanese decor and many of the items for sale were made in Japan. The owners also had good taste in music, so we bought a bunch of records.

This italian purse was only $1!!



BEFORE
Scuffed with filthy shoelaces...


AFTER!

Like new! And those are the same laces by the way...

 

1960s Bausch & Lomb glasses

...Recognize this hat from Instagram?

Driving gloves!!

I geeked out when I saw this purse. I love the box purses of the 1940s-and now I have one!!

That's it for September. Happy thrifing!

--Viola



Tell Me...Do You Know Andre?

Many apologies for being terrible about blogging--as you well know, life can get in the way!

But today I am excited to spotlight the Andre Studio Collections, which are available to view online.

Some of you may recognize the site from our links page, whrereas others may already know of this wonderful collection of sketches from 1930-1941. This was part of a project, as the New York Public Library and Special Collections of the FIT Archives put it, to "virtually unite a collection of spectacular quality and historical significance".

When I originally stumbled upon this site, I was thrilled at the orginization of the collection, and quality of the sketches. The collection consists of original, hand-colored and reproduced fashion drawings from Andre Studios, a small desgin company that competed to sell their designs to manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada. It's safe to say I was mildly obsessed with it, dreaming of sewing up my own versions of almost everything I clicked on...

To search for something specific is very simple, you can choose to browse their labels/categories or type in the search box. And its easy to share or print 'em out for personal use. You may just click on every one!

 Happy browsing!


--Viola

What a Nice Day For a Swim!

 Hello everyone!

It feels great to be posting again! We've been busy but we still haven't stopped sewing, thrifting or researching. We've found and made some really neat things and cant wait to share it all! Today I wanted to share these lovely swim suits. I give the photo credits to My Vintage Vouge, it is such a great website for vintage images from the 1920's-1960's. They've given me a lot of sewing ideas and inspiration while pairing new outfits. So if you haven't seen this site already I would definitly check it out! Most of these suits are form the 1940's and 1950's- Enjoy!
 

 

Sincerely, Vera

"Welcome to Cloth World"- Our Mega Vintage Pattern Find

 

This month, we inherited some awesome vintage patterns. This is what happens when a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend is getting rid of her grandma's patterns! We were super excited to look through all of them and get them cataloged. I even started to sew up one of them!

Each box was stuffed full of them! We still haven't counted yet...

 The majority of them are from the 1960s, a handful from the 1950s and the rest 1970s-80s, with the exception of the Hollywood Pattern. I was suprised to find one of our favorite stars on our first Hollywood Pattern--Olivia deHavilland!

 

I have heard similar stories in the blog world about others getting a huge amount at one time, but I never thought it would happen to us! I think pattern lovers have dreams that they come across someone's lifetime collection and it becomes theirs-whether at an estate sale, flea market, as a gift, or rescued before getting trash.

What are some of your unbelievably great finds?

 

--Viola



Pick a Pretty Petticoat....or Crinoline??

 

 

This post was fueled by curiosity--I had to do some research on the difference between a petticoat and a crinoline. On the Internet I have seen these two terms used interchanged with each other and became a little confused. After a brief look-up, I quickly realized that historically a crinoline is cage-like and the petticoat is more like an underskirt-- both are worn for fullness.

...Or Crinoline


Crinoline Courtesy of fashion-era.com

The definitions I found explained a petticoat as "a skirt-like undergarment[s] worn for warmth or to give the skirt or dress the desired or fashionable shape" and crinoline as a "stiffened petticoat or rigid skirt-shaped structure of steel designed to support the skirts of a woman's dress into the required shape."

*I also found this interesting post about bustle periods.

The most memorable decades for crinoline-and-petticoat-wearing that stuck out in my mind were:

 

The 1850s-1870s



image source







Image source

image source



The 1950s

image source

 image source





image source

 

The Early 1960s

image source

image source



image source

 

For some reason, I associate petticoats and full dresses with summer. Depending how hot your summers get, petticoat-wearing can get a little warm-- to say the least. Knowing me, I will probably wear them in the heat anyway! Since this was an interesting topic, and I am sure I'll do more in-depth probing later.  Until next time,

--Viola