Almost There - Finalizing The Traveling Vintage Dress Schedule

Dear participants:

I just wanted to send a quick note out in case the email wasn't reaching you.  I am finalizing the destination schedule and just sent out a confirmation email to let you know which of you I have received addresses from.  I will wait a couple of days to see if there are others who still would like to join in that have not provided addresses.

So far we we have ten participants from the USA, two from Canada, and three from Australia.


I've spoken with the dress today and told her a little bit about her travels and she is very excited!    Yes, I am off my rocker.


I've laid out details in this blog post about the opportunities for prizes but you don't have to participate in this portion of the traveling dress, if you do not want to.  

For those of you joining in for the cyber ride, it will be exciting to see where this dress might pop up in the blogsphere:)


For those participating, please don't forgot to post back to me your blog links and also if you'd like to use Instagram post to #sisterhoodofthevintagedress

Sisterhood of The Vintage Dress -Participation Details

Hi ladies,


I just got back from a wonderful vacation in California/Nevada.  I'll be doing a blog post hopefully later in the week.  Catching up with events...

Sisterhood of The Vintage Dress -Details


There are 15  lovely participants and I've sent out an email.  If you expressed interest and did not get an email, please let me know.  After I get all addresses back, I'll set up a plan of action where you have one and a half weeks to photograph and one week to mail.  Of course, if you  finish early, please mail the dress on.  Or if the dress isn't for you, please also feel free to mail on.

We will start in the USA, then to Canada, then overseas.

The dress is very excited to see what you all do with her.  Also, if it doesn't fit you quite right, please feel free to just pass on.

I'm also adding some bonuses to the pot, besides a chance to win the dress we are going to have three other prizes, if someone wins in two categories they will pick one and the runner up will win the next prize.  

I'm going to make these very awesome prizes because I'm so happy that you all will be participating so expect Bakelite and some designer accessories as winning tokens!

I haven't gotten the prize packages together but after the dress has made it's journey we will have voting take place (You cannot vote for yourself:)

Just so you can prepare mentally for the categories here they are...


1.  Best Use of Accessories


2.  Best Location Shoot


3.  Best Zoolander Pose  (choose any pose you like from the film)

You can of course, try for all three but as stated above there will be three separate winners.



So fun!  Also, please remember to email me when you blog post so I can keep track to link it back at the end for winners

Last Chance Sisterhood of the Vintage Dress

Only two more days to join in on Sisterhood of The Vintage Dress.  If you'd like to join in, please see this post.  After the event closes out, I'll send each of you an email asking for your address then I'll put together a schedule so that we can make postage the most economical.

I think a ribbon is the best idea since we can sign it separate and attach it at the end, so this is how it shall travel:)

I'm very much looking forward to seeing how everyone interprets this dress.

via Flicker

A very interesting photograph with a lady with a flower in her belt.  Thought her look was similar to the dress.

Carolyn Schnurer - A New Craze Geometric Mid-Century

I first learned about Caroyn Schnurer through looking at vintage fashion magazines.  I wish I would have flagged some of these advertisements, when I find them again I will be sure to scan them.

After seeing a few of her dresses in these advertisements that were just stunning, I started to keep my eye open for her designs.  They are not common to find.  After almost a year of looking, I have found one of her dresses.

Her dresses normally run between $150-$300 dollars.   Imagine my surprise when I won one of her dresses for $32.  I, honestly did not have high expectations for this dress.   But, when I received it, I had to do a double take of how awesome this dress is.  I immediately had to try this dress on (phone pictures below).  The pattern on this dress very much reflects the type of designs I love, geometric designs.  Oh no, a "new" vintage hobby, liking geometric mid-century designs:)  

This dress very much reflects mid-century modernism.  This is what I love about certain fashions of this period being able to intertwine them into the artistic reflections of what is happening at that time.  After receiving this dress, I could envision a wardrobe full of Carolyn Schnurer designs.

A little bit of history on Carolyn Schnurer:

She was born in 1908 and died in 1998.  She had a 20 year career in fashion going from about 1944 to 1964.  Her designs were inspired by her travels.  This is very inspirational to take your artistic visions from your experiences and incorporate it into textiles.  True art.  It is interesting how she didn't continue on in fashion as she certainly made an impact in late 1940s, early 1950s ready to wear.

"Schnurer's designs maintained a classic American silhouette while incorporating the cultural theme in fabric selection or construction detail." - MET quote

Couture Allure post on Carolyn Schnurer.



The MET has many of her dresses in their collection:

The day after I had received the dress and taken these quick images with my camera phone,  I noticed the image below come up on Living 50s Facebook.  Very neat eh?  So, now I have a vintage ad to actual match too!  Yes, I would love this dress in every color scheme.  This image is also photographed by one of my favorite photographers - John Rawlings with Sunny Harnett Vogue 1954.

Via Tumbler

 I'll be sure to photograph this dress better and in more detail in a future post.  I'm also going to see if I can find more details on this collection and her inspirations for design on this collection.  This dress has now inspired me to add more geometric designs into my wardrobe.  Yes, as dear Emileigh has pointed out I am very interested in architectural dimensions in fashion.

I also do have a board on my Pinterest for Carolyn Schnurer.

Sold via Etsy

Sisterhood Of The Vintage Dress - First Round - Thinking About Accessories?

This is where the tale of the dress will begin.  Who knows the odysseys it will take  and the stories it may have to tell?   

Sisterhood Of The Vintage Dress  

If you would like to join in the journey of the dress here as it will embark upon its USA tour and then off to international destinations, please see the link above.  Options to enter will close July 25th. If you want to enter, don't post here but in the original instructional information noted just above.   I so wish I could join the dress!    

I originally was going to bring this dress on vacation with me but I don't have much suitcase space and I know that this hat could not come with me.   I thought I might share how I would accessorize with things I already have.  I do think if I were to purchase something to go with the dress it would have been shell related as the print of this dress is really quite lovely.

After I set up this journey for this dress, I thought that there was something missing for me other than the bust area being a bit too big and I figured out that for me, it needed a bit of crinoline to flare it out.  So, in these photographs I am wearing crinoline.  I think for my personal preference I could even have had a fluffier under skirt. 

It will be so interesting how all you ladies interpret this dress.  I bought this dress in a vintage shop in Connecticut, Vintage Virtuosa.  I am thinking that the lovely lady who also made this dress was from Connecticut.  I assume this dress began its life in Connecticut and is now in New York.   We shall see all the wonderful places it now gets to travel.

I must say in the next couple of pictures that I am kind of holding the back of the dress a bit so don't worry ladies about thinking it might be too small.  Please check the measurements in the previous post.

I thought I might share some different hats I have that went well with the dress.  The black ribbon hat is from the 1930s purchased from Wildfell Hall Vintage and I believe the other hat is from the 1950s.

I felt I would give this dress "I'm going on a vacation." type of look.

In the end, I think I quite like this dress with the straw hat accented with the black velvet ribbon.

And, if I were to step back in time, here is an image I would have inserted into my photo album.  If we think about it now, photo albums are becoming a thing of the past too.

So, here begins the journey of the traveling dress.   I look forward to seeing all the blog posts of those who enter and if you are on instagram #sisterhoodofthevintagedress is where you can also post and see images of this dress.

Sisterhood of The Traveling Dress Vintage Style Want To Join?

I've seen a skirt make its rounds among bloggers and I was thinking maybe it might be nice to try a vintage dress?   So, I was wondering if anyone would like to play "Sisterhood of The Vintage Dress".

This dress is not cotton but I think acetate?  It has got a silky blend to it and I think quite durable to love a trip around the world.


Here is how it works...

We will start off in the USA.  The dress will be sent to me at the end of the USA rounds than I will mail overseas and the dress will make its way to whomever wants to participate.  The requirements are:

1.  You must make your photographs within two weeks of receipt of dress, if you are unable to do so, you will post on to the next participant.  You will pay for postage to the next participant.   If you should happen to spill something on the dress, please clean before moving forward.

2.  You will create a blog post about your experience.  You may even want to highlight something special about where you live but not necessary.

3.  Last person overseas, will mail back to me the dress.


4.  Also on Instagram at #sisterhoodofthevintagedress

I'll keep the option to join in open for a couple of weeks than we will have a timetable set up so we can keep track of the progress.  Please leave a comment below by July 25th, if you'd like to join in.  Participation will be closed after this.


I'd love to see how you all accessorize this dress or where you might like to wear it.  This dress is speaking loudly to go on a vacation.



This dress is a little special because I believe it might fit a multitude of users.  If you are smaller you can use a belt.   It also has a lot of space in the bust area.   I haven't worn this dress in a long time and look forward to trying it out again.

I believe this to be a late 1940s handmade dress and made very well!

It is quite roomy in the torso and bust area. I'm thinking bust area could go as high as 40". So there is a lot of flexibility in the bust area. The waist is 29" and could certainly go smaller, you may even try at a little higher.  Also length from shoulder to end of dress is 48"   Side metal zipper.   

I am a 33 bust and with a belt it does work for me.  I think you'll find this is an interesting dress and does remind me of a dress that would fit many types of ladies.   Also, if you get it and aren't really happy with it, feel free to forward on and not worry about posting.   We should all feel grand in this dress:)  

Go ahead and join in on "Sisterhood of The Vintage Dress"  Open and welcome to international participants.


UPDATE:  At the end we will have a drawing for this dress so whoever participates and really loves it can have the opportunity to own it.  You may even decide to make adjustments to the dress to get it where you like, if you win the dress.
Also, please provide suggestions on how we might add a signature or?  to show its destinations.   Something under the hem?  

Atomic Sunday and 1950s Novelty Print Skirts

I just recently bought this very divine 1950s novelty skirt from DeniseBrain Etsy.  I saw it pop up on Facebook and quickly snapped it up.   A very cute atomic print!  It even has side buttons with no zipper.

It was funny that I should also have matching Bakelite disk earrings.  I find that Bakelite earrings aren't very expensive if you watch some auctions on ebay. 

I bought my first very nice carved Bakelite bracelet from ebay a few months ago.  They are pricey and I think I paid around $30 for this one, which I thought was a very good price.  I don't think the size of the orange bracelet goes to well with the rest of the bracelets, but hey they all shine nice:)

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.  I find that as the change in seasons occurs so might my choice of style/decade.  Right now, I am very much interested in vintage novelty print skirts from the 1950s.     I also have been collecting images on Pinterest of fabulous novelty skirts.  There are so many fun skirts out there.  Do you have a favorite 50s novelty skirt that you own?  I'd love one with artists' palettes one day and also one of Paris.

I am sure once the weather changes, I'll get back to suit hunting:)  

I also want to get cracking on sewing up a 50s novelty skirt.  I bought some very beautiful scenic castle fabric.  Some of these scenic skirts from the 50s are so amazing!!

Check this one out too.  I found an auction for an  unfinished circle skirt from the 1950s for $22.  It is interesting how the skirt is hemmed but there is no waist band.  Figured even if I don't like it very fun to finish it off and check it out.  I'm honestly not sure how it will look in person since it is such a busy but interesting print but I do like the detail.

Isn't this print really interesting?