Saturday, April 27, 2013

Inspiration: Wards S/S 1960

I have always been a black and white type of person. A few years back I took a black and white film photography class. I've always viewed it as more flattering, artistic and mysterious and beautiful than color. But recently I've felt differently. Maybe the thing that changed my mind was those beautiful color photos of Audrey Hepburn in Rome or those lush vintage covers of "Holiday" magazine. Or maybe it's just spring in the air. Either way I've been marathoning technicolor movies for the last few days and am growing a great deal fonder of them. A few I've watched: Tonight and Every Night, North by Northwest, How to Marry a Millionaire.
Anyway, keeping in the spirit of things here are some of the lovely outfits from a Montgomery Ward catalogue, found for me by my aunt and uncle, P and D.













Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Beneath the stars

My two favorite fashion elements of the 1920s (and 1930s for that matter) are the use of the color white and of shiny embellishment. When I got my hands on an honest to goodness 20s dress, I couldn't resist combining these two things, which resulted in the pictures below.

(Also featured: Charlie Chaplin + co. in the 1910s, a woman on a paper moon in the 1920s)









Sunday, April 21, 2013

Spring estate saling in the suburbs

There are a lot of downsides to living in a smallish town, even if it is rather close to Seattle. But one of the few upsides is the one seriously amazing estate sale I (and my family of course) manage to find every spring. It is not a yearly thing put on by a certain organization, it just happens. This years estate sale had loads of vintage clothing and midcentury patterns. The clothing dated all the way back to the 1910s up to the 1970s. I found 3 patterns, a camisole from the 1910s (in need of alteration in the bust, but after all it was $2.50), a stellar flowered 50s dress, a vintage silk scarf from my home state, and a 20s dress (to be featured in an upcoming post). My best friend found a silk 20s blouse she was quite besotted with and every member of my family found something they liked. The family that estate sales together stays together, I think.