the rag trade

1947 Carole King dress ad, from Silverbluestar's Flickr.

If you have worn or owned a vintage dress with a Carole King, Doris Dodson, or Minx Modes label in it, there's a possibility that at some point it passed through the hands of my grandmother, or one of my great aunts or uncles.  In the mid-1930s, the concept of junior fashions was born in St. Louis, Missouri (I was born there, too--but a bit later) making it, for a time, an unexpected hub of the fashion industry.  A 1940 article in the Palm Beach Daily News had this to say about St. Louis' burgeoning dress business: "The junior dress industry in St. Louis today employs more than 6,000 people and is growing as rapidly as trained help can be found for the machines.  The industry is entirely a local project.  There has been no outside capital to subsidize it.  Eighty percent of the designers employed are young girls fresh from the art school of Washington University [in St. Louis]."

None of my relations designed the dresses--I don't think any went to art school, either--but my great aunt Margaret (seen in the above photo with her brother and nephews) worked as a bookkeeper for the Forest City Manufacturing Company, which owned several junior dress lines.  

My mother remembers her Aunt Margaret saying she worked for "Grace Dozier Durocher's company." Grace was married to Leo "The Lip" Durocher who played baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals.  She was head designer for the Forest City Manufacturing Company, and later had her own line in the company, Carole King.  I didn't find a lot of information about Grace.  She and Leo Durocher were married for nine years and divorced in 1943.  I thought this divorce notice--from the October 11, 1943 Milestones section of Time magazine--was pretty funny: "She [Grace Dozier Durocher] said that The Lip was 'constantly of nagging disposition,' and asked no alimony."

Here's Margaret with her niece, my mother.  (I'm loving the scalloped trim on Margaret's dress here.)  Margaret would bring home sample dresses from work for her three eldest nieces, one of whom was my mom.  The dresses would all be the same style/cut, but in different colors.  My mother would get the last pick, and usually ended up with the pink dress.  She was happy though.  No one in the family had a lot of money, and a brand new dress that wasn't a hand-me-down was something rare.

My grandmother Marian (in the center of the above photo) worked in the St. Louis dress industry, too, doing piecework sewing.  My mom told me that a couple of her uncles also worked in the industry as fabric cutters.

It's a little sad to think that this industry that employed many of my family members no longer exists in St. Louis--or even in this country, really.  My grandparents and my great aunts and uncles had very little money to spare, but they still managed to dress well--in clothing designed and manufactured right here in the US!  Amazing.

xo

K

good old summertime

PawPaw (my grandfather) and my dad fishing, 1950s.

Happy Independence Day to all the Americans celebrating!  My grandfather (above) would have been 111 years old today.    

Here's a little vintage summer fashion parade, courtesy my old family photos.

(And don't forget, the summer sale continues through midnight tonight with 20% off everything in the Etsy shop!)

My grandmother Edna, 1950s.

My grandmother Marian and my mom, late 1940s.

My mom (holding puppy) and lots of cousins, early 1950s.

Grandma Edna with my Dad, practicing sun protection, early 1940s.

My Tante (great aunt) Bernice and great uncle Charlie (rocking the Hawaiian shirt), holding babies Chuck and Ann, early 1950s.

Summer dudes.  My grandfather (with pipe and boater) and a couple uncles, 1940s.

Summer gals.  Grandma Edna holding my dad.  1940s.

Edna in the water, circa 1930s.  I sincerely hope that dress wasn't rayon crepe!

Double exposure photo with my dad (striped t-shirt) and my grandfather in it twice--in his swim trunks and his street clothes!

xo

K

jazz age young americans

Some 1920s goodness from my treasure trove of family photos--hope you enjoy!

I love this photo.  Unidentified couple, found in my family photos.  Very F. Scott and Zelda!

My paternal grandfather, Dan, circa 1925.  That hair!

This is my grandfather in his church group production of Man of the Hour, in 1925.

My grandfather--prominent hair and ears--is on the right.  I'm loving the two fellows with the eye makeup on the top left side--such thespians!  Everyone is so well-dressed.

Dan (far left) as a member of the wedding (unsure whose).  I am in love with the tea-length dresses on the women, and the amazing hats.

My adorable paternal grandmother, Edna, in a posed photo, circa 1920s.

I have a bunch of great photos of Edna from the 1920s, and I'm going to save some for a later post.  But for now, I give you three photos of Edna in knickers!  I love these photos.  This first might be my favorite: knickers, a bow tie, and striped stockings!

This photo was marked "Edna and Leon, 1925."  We're not sure who Leon was--maybe a boyfriend?  Love that they're posing on the train tracks.  Um, and that both are wearing knickers!

Edna on the left, and my dad thinks that's one of Edna's sisters (likely Marty) on the right.  I am loving Marty's headband and scarf.

This is a rare early photo of my maternal grandmother Marian, circa 1929 or 1930, in her elementary school graduation photo.  Doesn't she look mature for 13 or 14?  I certainly did not look nearly so self-possessed or lovely at that age.  (I was gawky, uber-freckley, and wearing a Gunne Sax outfit at my grade school graduation.)   This photo is very special to me, as I never got to meet Marian, who died before I was born.

I'll be sharing more 1920s family photos in a future post.  Maybe it's just the sheen of nostalgia, but it seems to me as though everyone dressed better (the shoes alone!), and looked prettier and more handsome--despite having much less money and smaller wardrobes--than we do.

xo

K

let's start at the very beginning

My maternal grandparents were dead before I was born, and my paternal grandmother died when I was only five. One of the best ways I have been able to keep in touch with my roots is by going through my parents' large collection of family photos with them. With photos dating back to the early 1900s, it truly is a treasure trove.

I don't have a scanner, so on my last visit home I photographed hundreds of these photos, and took notes. I'm planning to show these off here (as well as on my Tumblr blog), because--in my completely biased opinion--they are wonderful!

Grateful thanks to my parents, Larry and Mary Ann Meyers for their enormous help with this project. Also thank you to Stephen Hollinden, who compiled an amazing genealogy of my paternal great-great-great-grandfather Johann Hollinden and his descendants that is full of helpful and fascinating information about the family. (As always, clicking the photos here will enlarge them to see them better.)

This is Johann Hollinden's wife, my great-great-great-grandmother, Anna, on the family farm in Ferdinand, Indiana. This was likely taken sometime in the early 1900s.

This is Johann and Anna's granddaughter, my great-grandmother Mary Hollinden (on the left), at her First Communion, circa late 1800s. I love the ghostly quality of this photo.

Mary and my great-grandfather William Wamhoff in their wedding photo, 1896.

I think William was really quite handsome!

And this is my other paternal great-grandfather, John Meyers. He has a very kind face, and facial hair a Williamsburg hipster would covet. (Poor Williamsburg! Butt of all hipster jokes.)

This is John Meyers' home in St. Louis. My family--on both my mother's and father's sides--has roots in St. Louis going back many generations (as you can see from the photo studio addresses on many of these pictures). I was born there, but only lived there until age 7. My mother still has a St. Louis accent, which means she pronounces the word "fork" as "fark."

This photo is of my paternal grandmother, Edna (center front row), and some of her brothers and sisters, circa 1913. These are the children of William and Mary Wamhoff. I love how all the kids are holding hands or have their arms around each other. Edna had eight brothers and sisters in all! Sadly, two of her brothers died very young, at ages 22 and 23, and her sister Gertrude (who I believe is the older girl to Edna's right) died at only age 9, probably not long after this photo was taken.

These next two photos are also of Edna. Yes, she was the cutest thing EVER. She continued to be adorable as she grew older. I could make a whole separate blog documenting Edna and her amazing outfits through the years. You'll be seeing lots more of her in future blog posts.

This is John Meyers' son--and Edna's future husband!--my paternal grandfather, Dan (known to me as Paw Paw) with his sister, Beatrice, circa 1905. I am very curious about that muff/scarf thingy Beatrice is sporting.

Dan and his dog Mupsy, 1908. Can you say adorable urchin?

Dan (on the right) acting as candle bearer for his brother Gene's First Communion. Apparently children received their First Communions later than the Catholics of my era. This photo makes me think of the Corleone family in the first Godfather film, though my grandfather's family was not Italian. I think whenever I see early 1900s + Catholicism + sepia tones I'm going to think "The Godfather."

Dan on a kickass tricycle.

I don't have any photos of this era from my mother's side of the family--most of the photos I have of them are from the 1940s and later, so you'll be seeing them in future posts. My maternal grandmother and some of her brothers and sisters worked in the St. Louis garment industry. It makes me wonder: could a a vintage dress I owned or had sold in my shop have passed through any of their hands?

xo

K

random house

That's me and my dad above. Andy and I just spent a few days in St. Louis where we attended his retirement party. (Congratulations, Hoss!) He worked as a sugar salesman, and was given "vintage" bags of sugar as a gift, which was pretty funny. He was also serenaded in Italian by the owner of the restaurant where the party was held, which was pretty awesome. The people who have worked with my dad over the years universally praised his all-around niceness and excellent customer service. Any pleasant customer service you receive at the hands of Small Earth Vintage is pretty much directly attributable to my dad, so cheers and thanks to you, Hoss!

Anyway, the reason this post is full of randomness is that I'm all at sixes and sevens due partly the trip out of town and partly to the fact that Andy has begun our long-overdue home improvement project (first mentioned here). But we took a break from the scraping and painting and photographing and listing to go check out The Girl Who Played with Fire at the UICA. The UICA is moving to a new location, and I can't help but wonder what will happen to the neat sidewalk mosaics in front the building.

We had a delicious dinner at Bloom afterwards. Andy took this photo of me in front of the Civil War statue near Bloom.

And I took this photo of a cool old building across from the statue. The Kendall sign near the top made us think it must be an original location for the Kendall College art school, but having read up on the history of the school I don't think so.

I also love the yellow cornices on this old building, which sits at the corner, directly across from Bloom.

However, the neon strip mall signage of the tan and wax joint on the ground floor? Not so much.

Oh, but I do love the hiliarious tag I found this week on an old western shirt!

My plan for next week: get more focused! And as work on the house progresses, I promise to post some scary Befores and (hopefully) beautiful Afters!

xo

K