Vintage Shopping

I've been trying to hit up all the local vintage shops I can in Michigan.  I didn't buy this hat below although I was really tempted too!   This store that I was in was (is) just amazing and I will blog more in detail about this shop when I can get my camera images uploaded.  It's a dream store for all of us vintage lovers.   Photo's beloware all from my phone camera.  I have been getting some great Bakelite items from this store and some other vintage shops in the area. There were a couple of great dresses I saw and didn't buy because they didn't quite fit right, including a just amazing rayon swirl dress that was around $50.  I was impressed with how nice it was.  Also, I saw an amazing velvet princess coat that was really just the symbol for 50's glamour.  It even had some kind of crinoline in the formation of the coat to puff it out.  But, I was thinking about how much I would use it?  Also, it wasn't cheap but it was worth the price they were asking.  I may just go back and get it but for now I passed on it. Gosh, was it just so beautiful!  

Have any of you gone back to a store after a vintage item made an impact?

I wore my Freddies jeans and this great retro-romance shirt that I purchased on ebay awhile back.  It's not easy to find vintage romance comic tops so I was happy to find this one.

Although I didn't leave with the velvet princess dream coat, I did leave with a lovely 40's dress (you can see it a little on the chair behind me) and some great vintage jewelry.   I've also been quite lucky finding some nice Bakelite.

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This was a different shop that I visited than the one I was speaking about above.  There is this very interesting little shop (not clothing) not far from my mother's house that I had the pleasure of visiting earlier in the week.  Inside they have a lot of really interesting vintage items.  There is a big selection of jewelry and glassware.  There were also a lot of vintage toys but I was most interested in the jewelry.   There was a section with Bakelite bracelets and also some not listed as Bakelite.

The bracelets on the right are ones I purchased as Bakelite and the ones on the left were not.  It will be interesting to see if they are indeed Bakelite.  I will give them the Simichrome test and let you all know if they pass or not.  Don't they look like they could be?   I paid $5 for the translucent one on the left and $7 for the carved one.  The other side I paid Bakelite prices but I still think deals for the lemon one was $14 and the marbled more for around $23 but still worth it.    I also got a couple of black Bakelite (I believe to be) bangles for $20.  I think something I would like in the future would be a Bakelite ring.  Overall, I think pretty nice prices.

Some images from within the shop:

Vogue 1949 part 1

Here are some grand images from a volume of vintage Vogue from 1949, so much inspiration and visual eye candy!

Check out those fabulous strappy shoes!

 Stylish "rain wear" wouldn't you agree? 

Look at the prints on these frocks!  "A memorable gift for mother.  About $15"

I love these prints!

Vintage Sewing Pattern Adventure - A Vegas Novelty Skirt Butterick 6167

Here she is my latest sewing adventure, a novelty skirt Butterick 6167.  This pattern is probably considered easy on the seamstress list. I'd say it would make a great first project for someone looking to sew.   I've been really wanting some skirts with a 40's 50's vibe.  It's amazing how expensive some of these vintage novelty skirts can be, believe me I know, I just purchased one that I'll talk about in another future post. 

This skirt ended up being a little more work than I thought as the pattern references just two pieces for the skirt but I ended up with a four panel skirt because I needed to follow the pattern of the fabric and not the grain of the fabric.  Hence a long piece of fabric sprawled on the floor (see below).  I also did want to include pockets (not part of the original pattern but a great idea for skirts) but opted to not do this since I didn't want a seam front and center.  I do think this pattern would be great for pockets if you can get material that would look good with a center seam or can find material that would accommodate a two piece (instead of four) piecing.

Here is the pattern I used.  The best thing was this pattern was friendly with adjusting the waist size to what you need it to be.  I guess it goes with the simplicity of the skirt.  I did hand stitch the hem.  I like to do this as you really have a lot more control.   I do think though that I should learn how the blind stitch hem works on my sewing machine.

I went to the vintage sewing site vintage patterns, Wiki to see if someone else had created this skirt but didn't see it listed yet.  It might be because it is a simple pattern and I'm sure there are so many other similar patterns to this type out there.

Isn't this print just crazy cool?  If you just started following me, you'll begin to realize that I just love Vegas... new Vegas... old Vegas...  any Vegas will do!   This fabric is called "The Strip" by Alexander Henry but unfortunately it is out of print.  

I have more yardage and I expect to make more things with this print.   I'll have to try this particular skirt out with a crinoline, I'm sure it will also be nice.  It was fun to make and not difficult and I thought it turned out quite well.

Outfit details:

Blouse:  White House Black Market

Skirt: Made by me 

Bracelets: Bakelite

Earrings: Vintage

Sweater: Schiaparelli rhinestone ebay

Shoes: Remix