Rainy Days and Wednesdays

It was a rainy Wednesday here yesterday. Grey, humid and rainy.

Couldn’t weed the flower beds.
Couldn’t plant garden seeds.
Couldn’t take a walk.

So I chose to do a Vulcan mind meld with my alternate identity of Victorian Laundress and tackled washing and ironing this 1902 Wedding Dress. The washing wasn’t too bad. I hand washed it in a screen and laid it flat to dry. And being lace and batiste, it dried quickly. And it did come clean, I am happy to say.

It took 3 hours of ironing, steaming and starching. The bodice was bad enough with the small arms and pin tucks. But it was the skirt with 2 layers that made me appreciate the work maids and laundresses did to have their ladies looking perfect for summer wedding photos. The top skirt has hundreds of pin tucks, loads of lace insertion and a lace hem ruffle. Then the underskirt has with two more lace edged ruffles.

If Faultless Spray starch is a carcinogen, please don't tell me. Let me live on in blissfull ignorance.

ca. 1902 White Cotton Batiste & Lace Wedding Dress coming soon to http://www.pastperfectvintage.com/

ca 1902 Wedding Dress, back view

Marvelous sleeve engageante

Chevron pintucks and lace insertion a-go-go

Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes!

I sure do. Need new shoes that is. Because this blog started out as an Ode to my Favorite Shoes and when I got these three pair out and not one pair is newer than , oh, 1987. I gotta get with the 21st Century here.

Favorite Pair of Vintage Shoes, Division I:

Early 1930s Salvatore Ferragamos. Wonderful two tone leather with gold piping. Also winner of The Best Pair of Shoes from an Indiana Farm Estate Auction. And, no they aren't for sale. Even if they were, there's a line.

Favorite Pair of Shoes My Husband Gave Me Division:

Great present, yes? Snappy black leather & taupe doeskin Italian made Edwardian repros from J. Peterman. I sure wore these a lot in the late 1980s. See the toes? I even wore them to work. With a long black suede skirt and black tights.

Favorite Pair of Boots, Recently Purchased Division:

I just found these 1960s Mod Go-Go boots in cream knit and patent leather - so much cooler than plain white leather. They were from a small town in Indiana, too. Puzzling. Is Small Town, Indiana a hotbed of shoe fashion?

Let me state the obvious. There is a theme here. I do love me some two tone shoes.

A Long Day on the Vintage Highway

I am tired. Really tired. Just in from a long day on the Old Vintage Highway. And it was 95 degrees everywhere we got out of the car. KY and IN in the summer. Woof. But it was a good day roaming town to town. 6 dresses, a hat and a pair of 1960s Go-Go boots. Plus a basket of fresh peaches, a jar of locally produced honey and gas at under $4 a gallon.

The disappointment of the day? The wine silk and silver lame 1920s Bergdorf-Goodman Delman evening shoes that were too shattered to even think about buying. grrrr.

No pictures yet, so you will have to be satified with some shots of last night's additions to http://www.pastperfectvintage.com/:

Victorian Celluloid Comb with Blue Stones & 'Jenny Lind' fan in bone & embossed paper

Great 1950s Lace Dress with circle skirt and heavily beaded yoke

1950s Leslie James Hat in Fur Felt

1950s Lace over Floral Print Roban Dress with Coordinating Velvet Shrug

I promise the next post will be more thoughtful and less self promoting than this one. Really it will.

Decade du Jour: The 1910s

It’s time for a Decade du Jour again. Let’s do the 1910s this time. An appealing decade, this one with loads of Edwardian detail and fine construction fabrics, but so much lighter and easier to wear than many of the previous fashions. Very fluid, very graceful, but with some odd asymmetric lines that keep it all a bit off balance. And then of course, the Great War comes and life and fashion have to get more practical for a bit. And then, it’s all gone. As a child I remember reading about 'how the war changed everything' and I thought they were referring to WWII, but then I saw photos of pre WWI life against ones of the 1920s, and I understood. That and my great grandfather’s old stamp album with countries I had never heard of, and which will never be seen again.

A few remnants of the world that disappeared:

ca. 1912 Austrian Green Silk Gown with Separate Guimpe @ www.pastperfectvintage.com

ca. 1912 Black Silk Satin & Lace Dress @ www.pastperfectvintage.com

ca. 1914 Grey Silk Dress with beaded overskirt & Purple sash from our archives

ca. 1915 Beaded Blue Silk Satin & Black Lace Dress from our archives

ca 1915 Cranberry Wool Suit with Soutache Trim by Jordan Marsh from our archives

ca 1914 - 16 Beaded Cotton Gauze dress from Louisville, KY from our archives

ca 1918 Embroidered Wool Walking Suit with Fur Collar from our archives

ca 1918 - 1920 Magenta Velvet and Black Tulle Dress by Arthur Weiss @ www.pastperfectvintage.com

Madame Irene

Irene Lentz Gibbons, better know simply as Irene, was a wonderful American designer. And as one of the few costume designers to really make a name for herself in fashion, she has a special place in my heart. I wrote a piece about her for the Vintage Fashion Guild several years ago - you check it out here at http://www.vintagefashionguild.org/.

Irene is rightly known for her tailoring, her use of very special buttons and her manipulation of stripes, not unlike her contemporary, Adrian.

For a great example of her use of stripes, see this late 1940s suit:

from Kerry Taylors June 10 auction, through http://www.liveauctioneers.com/

For her use of buttons, see this late 1950s suit with fantastic large crown buttons in cream:

available at http://www.pastperfectvintage.com/

But 2 dresses have come on the market recently that highlight her skills in evening and after five dresses. This strapless gown from Ang at Dorothea's Closet is spectacular in draped purple velvet and ivory satin. The sash is Obi like in scale.

available at www.dorotheasclosetvintage.com

This 1950s black silk dress from Jody at Couture Allure is stunning. The use of texture in the pleated frills to provide contrast and definition is special.

available at www.coutureallurevintage.com

Norell on 5th of July

Yesterday was the 4th of July. Firework show set to music, 25 cent ice cream and a big town get together here. Yet the most charming thing about the day was that people spontaneously stopped all around the town to watch the fireworks in parking lots, closed business driveways and highway shoulders.

So today, who came to mind, but that most American of designers, Norman Norell. It’s not just that he was from the Midwest, Noblesville, Indiana to be precise, but that there was something quintessentially American about his choices. His clothes were simple, wearable, and functional, and yet he could pull out all the stops when it came to evening wear and prints. Although I came to appreciate his vision rather late in my career, I have yearned for a sequin mermaid gown for years. A master craftsman, Norell’s RTW garments were beautifully constructed and finished.

A post holiday tribute in red, white and blue:

left to right: 1970 Norman Norell Lipstick Red Wool Knit Dress & Jacket, c. 1958 White Silk Traina-Norell dress, and late 1950s Traina-Norell Navy Blue Wool Coat. All currently available at http://www.pastperfectvintage.com/

The Appeal of Tailoring

After continuing introspection, I find one of the appealing things about tailored menswear is the numerous statements than can be made within the limited confines of acceptable men’s styles. Yes, yes, all suits have collars, lapels, and pockets. Trousers are pretty basic. And yet the range of effect and statement possible within the standard lines is amazing. From choice of fabric and fiber - wool tweed, rayon gab, sharkskin, polyester double knit , to the front closure - 6 button double breasted, 3 button single breasted, 4 button, and on to color options - avocado, anyone? plus fit - the permutations are endless. As are the social messages the variations send. It’s like learning a secret code that changes every few years.

Please enjoy these variations on a recurring theme, all from the Past Perfect archives:

1930s Suit in black and red window pane wool plaid. Jacket is single breasted, 3 button front, ventless back with 2 pairs of trousers. The trousers have a button fly, belt loops, watch pocket and cuffs.

Late 1930s Lorraine Haspel Suit with Surf White New Orleans label. This unlined, washable 2 pc. summer suit has patch pockets and a Norfolk back. Trousers with button fly, belt loops and cuffs.

Pre war 1940s Double breasted blue striped wool suit with SB vest, button fly trousers, ventless back

Early 1950s blue wool gabardine 2 piece, 2 button suit, with zip fly trousers, with a Louisville, KY label

1950s 3 piece slate blue wool suit with single breasted jacket, fitted vest and trousers. This was most likely British made.

1960s gold wool 2 pc. suit, New York made with Minneapolis store label. Trousers have western style pockets with button tab waist.