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

'What's On the Menu?' A Look at Vintage Menus

Earlier this month, we stopped by an estate sale and discovered a small collection of vintage menus and mementos. The prices were a little steep and bargaining didn't help as much as we had hoped, but we snapped up as many as we could. I did a little research to see if some of the places are still around and tried to find a photo of what the restaurant looked like inside. A tall order (no pun intended), but I had to try!

 

Welch's of Long Beach

Who can resist a vintage kid's menu?! I was surprised to see this among the other menus. This certainly brought back memories of ordering from the "fun" kids menu. But there was never prime rib or sole fillets on my menu!

 

 

Maynard L. Parker, Courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif.

 I tried to find out more about this restaurant, but kept getting photos. Click this link to see more pics of the inside!

 

The Hotel Statler

The Hotel Statler company was one of the earliest hotel chains in the U.S.. Catered to travelling businessmen and tourists, it was founded by Ellsworth Milton Statler in Buffalo, New York in around 1907. Looking at the design, graphics, I'm assuming this menu is from the 1950s. Some of their locations have since been demolished, but others still exist and are being used as offices, apartments, or as another hotel. Apparently, the Los Angeles location where this menu is from was demolished in 2011 and is the site where the Wilshire Grand Tower will be built.  Click here to see which ones are still operating hotels!

 

I can just imagine myself sipping a "Sunnybrook" highball next to this lovely pool under a bright yellow umbrella-after all, it's only 75cents!
 

Hotel Pere Marquette

 The 14-story Pere Marquette was built in 1926 in downtown Peoria, Illinois. It is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel was recently closed for an entire year in 2012 for extensive renovation and expansion into a full-service, upscale Mariott hotel.  The year I found for this menu is 1942. I love this blue-on-blue color for a menu!

I didn't realize how terrible this pic was--sorry!

Here's a close-up of the "Plate Luncheons" section

 

I really like looking at them for authentic design/color ideas. I was suprised that the owner managed to keep them in a safe place. Paper usually somehow gets damaged.

There are a few more coming, so keep an eye out!

-Viola



TCM Film Festival 2013- Day 1:The Great Escape

 

For all you classic movie fans, listen up! Turner Classic Movies has been hosting a 3 day film festival for the past four years--showing many movies in theaters located in the heart of Hollywood. Some films have been restored, others realeased in original 1950s 3D, and some dusted off from the vault shown to the public for the first time since their original release.

 

 

Having missed the festival last year, the girls and I were excited to catch it this time around. We were able to go and see The Great Escape (1963) on Friday, Starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and James Coburn.
 

 

Played in the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater, it provided a fabulous vintage backdrop. It was also exciting because we had never been inside before! Viv took some snapshots of the interior of the theater and outside of it amidst the crowds and character impersonators on the iconic Hollywood Blvd. Ben Mankiewicz talked to the film's producer Walter Mirisch before the film began, setting the premise for the film. Over all, it was a fun experience!

 

Inside the theater above the screen



Decor of the lobby



Lobby Lighting



Close-Up of the lobby carpet



Wall art in the lobby

Down the stairs to the Women's bathroom

Women's Sitting Room



Even the heating vents stick to the theme!

Its been a few weeks since we've attended but we can't wait for next year! We also atttended Sunday, but we'll share that day in another post. Long live the classics!
 

 

The location of the after-party across the street

--Viola



"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



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The 1950s

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The Early 1960s

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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