ah. mama got a brand new (old) bag.

ah. mama got a brand new (old) bag., originally uploaded by Small Earth Vintage.

Yep. I think this is officially the first thing I am keeping for ME from the Big Score. Really cool heavy leather bag. I have no idea how old it is. The only marking is LOCKSLID on the front clasp. The top seam has some stitching gone. Hopefully I can find someone local to fix it for me. (These are the times when I miss NYC. Easiest place in the world to get a shoe fixed or a watch battery replaced.) It has a nice plaid inside lining, too.

xo
k

plaids and sweaters and wool, oh my!

Here is the clothing portion of this week's shop preview, which features all of the above plus three Vera blouses, a L'Aiglon dress, and much more. Tomorrow, time and weather permitting, I'll be photographing some great new shoes, boots (deadstock!), and suitcases.

Without further ado...

I call this the Rosemary's Baby Bridal Gown, which is kind of creepy if you've seen the movie, but can't you just picture Mia Farrow in it?

Hand screenprinted floral angora and wool cardigan.

Red wool plaid pleated skirt jumper.

Autumn stone fruits dress.

Red plaid tie-waist blouse by Bill Atkinson Glen of Michigan.

Teal and olive wool boucle jumper.

L'Aiglon nylon dress.

Paisley wool crepe pencil skirt by Bill Atkinson Glen of Michigan.

Cherry red wide wale corduroy jumper.

Gray plaid 1950s career girl dress and jacket.

1960s yellow and gray Vera Neumann cotton blouse.

Navy polka-dot shawl collar dress.

Drum print blouse.

Chocolate brown semi-sheer dress with mother-of-pearl buttons.

1960s olive, chartreuse and red Vera Neumann cotton tunic.

My new favorite dress! By GiGi Young New York.

Ivory satin and sequin embossed rosebud cardigan.

1950s olive and plaid dress by Nelly Don.

Wool plaid pleated skirt by Koret of California.

Wool plaid wiggle dress by Sue Brett.

Charcoal gray rose print cardigan.

Vera Neumann blue and tan swirl print cotton tunic.

And last, but by no means least, THE BEST cardigan! Mid-century modern leaf print by James Kenrob by Dalton.

Some good stuff here, no? Fall is definitely in the air around here--we had mac and cheese for dinner, which is a definite sign.

Have a great week and stay tuned for a shoes and accessories preview soon!

xo
k

it happened one night

Tonight's post was inspired by this blog post by Megan of 13bees about Irene Dunne's insane-yet-chic costumes in The Awful Truth. It got me thinking about some of my favorite films of the 1930s.

I so loved It Happened One Night when I first saw it. It was witty and romantic, with gorgeous atmosphere, and well, Clark Gable! What's usually noted about this 1934 film, fashion-wise, is the scene where Gable removes his shirt--and has no undershirt on underneath. (Urban myth has it that sales of men's undershirts declined sharply after this scene, when men suddenly realized that if Gable didn't need to wear an undershirt, why should they. That myth has been kinda sorta debunked here at Snopes.com.)

But what stood out to me was Claudette Colbert's wonderful chevron print top. I have been drawn to chevron prints ever since. The only one that I own, however, is a simple 1970s navy and white chevron print skirt.

I did a little more internet research and discovered that another of my favorite movies of this era (of all time, really) featured chevron prints. 1940's His Girl Friday has the amazing Rosalind Russell decked out in a wonderfully wacky chevron-striped suit and hat. This outfit certainly rivals that of Irene Dunne's over the top The Awful Truth costumes.

And there may be a reason for that. The clothing in It Happened One Night, The Awful Truth, and His Girl Friday was all by the same designer--Robert Kalloch. I didn't find a whole lot of information about him, other than that he designed costumes for most of my favorite films of the 1930s and 1940s, but did find this very interesting article from the Clothes on Film blog about Rosalind Russell's stripey outfit in His Girl Friday.

I do not know when the chevron print first came into vogue, but it does seem to have been used a lot in the 1930s. Look at this 1932 photo of a woman in a chevron-striped gown, from Life magazine.

I did a little scouring of the internets for current-day chevron prints. I think they were hot in collections a few years back, and so I didn't find anything too inspiring, but I do rather like this sweater from Marc Jacobs that is--aside from the ruffle at the waist; not sure how I feel about that--reminiscent of Colbert's top. It can be purchased at Bloomie's.

It appears the chevron enjoyed a renaissance in the 1970s. When I searched for chevron in vintage items on Etsy, nearly every one was a 1970s piece.

Here is a fun rainbow chevron-striped mini dress from lightyearsvintage.

I totally love this more sedate green number from raretreasure with its built-in shrug!

A marvelous 1920s beaded purse from TheChurchofVintage (is that not a great shop name?).

I absolutely love this zigzag bag from ChinChinVintage.

And on the handmade front, here is a charming handknit sweater from Good Egg. What a fun play on Charlie Brown's famous zig-zaggy sweater!

And, finally, I can totally see myself cozying up all winter to this wonderful scarf from fray, which just happens to have one of my favorite color schemes.

xo
k

never can say goodbye

For someone who is not big on summer, I'm sure having a hard time letting autumn into the Etsy shop! I'm really hoping that you folks in Arizona, southern California, and Australia are going to keep buying sundresses for awhile, because we seem to have a surplus of wonderful, bright summer dresses, and I'm having trouble putting them aside until next year!

Having said that, I have not forgotten about those of you who--like me--cannot wait for tights, sweaters, boots, and wool! We have a bunch of really cute wool skirts, plaid jumpers and dresses, and adorable sweaters coming your way. There's a little taste of some amazing cardigans up above. My favorite is that very mid century mod-looking orange and black leaf print cardigan in the background; isn't it fabulous? I also love the mod daisy print cardigan. It fits me, and so I might keep it. The white cardigan has satin flower appliques on it--so elegant!

And now more summery (and autumn-y!) dresses and things, in the rest of this week's shop preview.

1960s floral print linen shift.




1950s oversize gingham/check print party dress.



White lace and eyelet cotton blouse with peplum.



Brown mosaic print day dress by Jo White.



Amazing print! Wheat print shift.



Olive plaid wool skirt. (See! I told you I was looking out for you fall people!)



BeeYOOtiful 1950s blue and black rose print party dress by Vago California.



Olive and blue horn of plenty print dress.



Khaki folkloric print blouse.




Bobbie Brooks gingham, pintucks and rickrack wiggle dress.



Stripey 1950s day dress by Betty Barclay.

Good night and sweet dreams, all you summer wind lovers and autumn leaf chasers!

xo
k

Sunday evening shop preview

I'm a little behind on this week's preview, and there's a lot of it. But it's fun stuff--two new L'Aiglon dresses, a Givenchy juniors dress, and another fab print from my new favorite dressmaker, Joan Miller!

1950s white sailor/middy blouse.



1950s Joan Miller Juniors sailing ship print dress.



Close-up of the print. I love the prints on these Joan Miller dresses. The charming black little birds dress in the shop right now is also Joan Miller.



1960s portable sewing/crafting caddy.



1960s white woven purse by Danieli.



Mod lemon yellow swiss dot and navy pinstripe shift dress.



Celadon L'Aiglon ruffle-front shirtwaist dress.



Cos Cob yellow rose blouse.



Mt. Rushmore, squirrels, cowboys--confused or comprehensive souvenir salt and pepper shakers?



Moss green plaid Ann Taylor dress. That Ann Taylor? I think so.



Some more Jonathan Logan--nubby pink sundress and cropped jacket.



1962 Seattle World's Fair monorail souvenir glass.



Slate gray muslin pleated dress



Chocolate wool boucle pencil skirt.



Taffeta and chiffon floral party dress.



Blue plaid high neck dress.



Folklore needlepoint print blouse.



Lavender Givenchy Juniors dress. This dress has issues--fading at the armpits and elsewhere, a couple tiny holes--but it's too nifty not to sell.



L'Aiglon nylon knit abstract cityscape dress.



Jacket with nautical buttons.



There's lots more to come, including many more Vera Neumann and Jonathan Logan pieces. I'll probably be posting another preview this week. Oh, and despite all the pretty summer dresses and bright colors that keep calling to me, I'm starting to break into some of the wool skirts--we have some gorgeous plaid pleated and pencil skirts to list--and sweaters, looking forward to autumn and winter. Not to mention coats. And suits. Woo hoo!

xo
k