A Traveling Hat

The lovely Tanith Rowan is thinking about a hat design to travel the world.  I'm so very impressed with her lovely hats.  Take a moment to take a peak at her blog.

How fun to have a traveling hat!!!   She also has a Facebook page here.  Go ahead and give her a big like.  How could you not?

What Did She Wear To The Firemen's Ball? 1947

I came upon this very lovely scrapbook filled with a few pages of patterns and some brief explanations and fabric swatches of the outfits.  Some of the patterns have pieces missing but I wanted to buy this because of the overall thought of this scrapbook.  The pattern pieces are included in a sleeve in each section.

Care to take a peak?

Caption:  Made this skirt in the fall of 1947

Caption:  Made this blouse in the fall of 1947, to go with the skirt.  Had  bit of a hard time with the collar.  (Note: also fabric swatch included)

Caption:  Made aprons for Christmas 1947.  Each one was different in color.  There are quite a few of these patterns available on Etsy.

Caption:  Started out the new year right with a new dress.  Worked on it until 10 o'clock New Years Eve.  Must be dazzling.  I caught Alex's eye and got a lot of compliments.

Caption:  Had to have a new dress for the Firemen's Ball,  February 9, 1948.  Went with Kenny Anthony, another success got a very nice compliment from him.  Dress is trimmed with gold buttons and gold belt.

I do wish we would have heard more on these lovely pattern creations from this lovely lady.  But, she must have given up on the scrapbook idea after this.

From Olga With Love

I've been on the hunt for novelty prints with kind of a mid-century artistic vibe.  I do believe I found this in this fabric below.  It's so bazaar that it kind of draws you in to take a closer look.    I'm planning an upcoming post on where art and textiles converge.   Did you know that even Andy Warhol designed fabric for a short time?  I also find it fascinating when I see in vintage fashion magazines how fine art was used as a backdrop to present fashion.  There really was a strong correlation in the artistic movement of the times and mid-century fashion.  So much more than I would find today.

I wanted to share with you a recent purchase.  I'm not sure what this fabric should turn into.  What do you think?  I was thinking it should be partnered with a pattern from around 1949/1950.  The dilemma is what type of outfit to make as this is a very bold print to say the least.

What also drew me to this fabric, is that I could date it!  It came with an original receipt:)  This fabric was stored very well and the colors are vibrant.   This fabric was purchased from Olga in Mexico in August of 1949.  The lady (or gentleman) that purchased this fabric paid $8.50 for it.  This would equal around $81.   It has a linen type of weave to it.   It's very primitive in the pattern.  I'm quite sure Matisse and Picasso would approve.   I very much wonder what this fabric was originally intended to make.  Maybe even some curtains?  This fabric has character.  I'm sure there are some underlying themes to this fabric.  It's a total doodle type of theme  You have this man hunting with a spear and then this other kind of freaky face that looks like it was zapped with something atomic.  Think this fabric was even too bazaar for curtains?

So, what do you see as a good use for this fabric?

Swedish Hasbeens

I've blogged about Swedish Hasbeens in the past and got a great deal on mine and there were a couple of you who wished you knew about the sale so I thought I'd spread the word on this one.  They are having a sale as we speak for even USA customers.  Go check them out:)

LINK

Traveling Dress Update

Sending out a blog post to let you all know I sent an email of the agenda of the traveling dress, if you didn't get this email, please let me know.

Novelty Friday

I'm going through a phase right now of really enjoying novelty prints, especially 1950's skirts.

Other than the length, which I would have preferred a slight bit longer, this is a perfect skirt for me.  It is a store made skirt but I am not able to make out the label.  I'm thinking this was more of a teenagers skirt due to the length.

I'm very interested in the artist inspired novelty skirts.  This one is whimsical and tells a story, so fun!   It's  a field trip to a museum theme.  How perfectly me:) I'm not able to let down the hem as there would be a mark and it is a tad bit to small for me.  This is where my latest gadget played an awesome roll.  I bought a button extender.  I do recommend them as now this skirt is quite comfortable to wear and I can breathe in it:)

The top is a NOS Judy Bond.  I'm really in need of some new blouses/tops in vintage 50s styles.  It certainly is easier to find skirts than tops.  I'm hoping to find some nice color blend tops as I know the white is a bit bland.

Outfit Details

Top:  Judy Bond ebay

Skirt: ebay

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens 70% off sale

Bracelets/Brooch:  Bakelite

In case any of you are interested, here is the expanding button:

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