Leslie Hindman Vintage Clothing Auction

There really aren't that many auctions geared specifically to vintage clothing and fashion, especailly west of the Alleghenies. So if you can, you may want to get to Chicago soon for the Leslie Hindman Vintage Couture and Accessories Auction April 19th. We can't make it this time, but we have attended this in the past. It's well run, with full color catalog, a well lit preview with lots of time available to give the garments the once over, and a good facility with seating and big TV screens. Do go in person if you can- it's always best to actually see textiles yourself and check condition with your own eyes. We found the staff very helpful and courteous last year.

And you won't be far from downtown Michigan Ave. You can shop for new clothes, too and hit Traders Joe's if you are from a Trader Joe's deprived city like we are.

Here's the schedule and the link: Leslie Hindman Auctioneers

Vintage Couture and Accessories

Sunday, April 19, 2009 11:00 am

Preview
Thursday, April 16, 2009
10:00 am-6:00 pm
Friday, April 17, 2009
10:00 am-5:00 pm
Saturday, April 18, 2009
10:00 am-3:00 pm

And, because we love eye candy, here's a sample:

Sale 106 Lot 12 A Traina-Norell Wool Dress Suit, 1950s, cropped jacket with a mink shawl collar, fully lined. Dress with a silk top, cap sleeves, bow at round neckline, pencil skirt fit, fully lined. Labeled: Traina-Norell.

Sale 106 Lot 35 An Edwardian Lace Gown, 1900s, in cream Point de Venise lace, with interior bustier, sheer bobbin lace half-sleeves and beaded neckline, full skirt with train, ruffled underskirt. Labeled: Emery Bird Thayer D. G. Co./Kansas City.

I Require Flowers

Yesterday was just warm enough to feel spring will get here. Today is a cold,grey drizzley day. Although there are daffodils and croci out and they help, it is not enough. I require flowers and green leaves right now. I can't garden yet - too muddy. I have 50 perennials in the vegetable garden that need to move to a new bed, plus irises and daylilies that are waiting to move. And I have a garden gift certificate that has been burning a hole in my pocket since Christmas.

I repeat for emphasis : I require flowers.

So here to get me through the day is the notice of an upcoming exhibit at The Indianapolis Museum of Art. I really like this museum. Lovely gardens, good art, charming gift shops in both in the museum and out in the garden. And they actually feature textile and clothing exhibits!

I am sure we will go up for this in May and I will report back then.

French or English dress, c. 1760, silk damask with silk supplementary weft. Emma Harter Sweester Fund. 81.290ab

Fashion in Bloom
April 4, 2009-January 31, 2010Paul Fashion Arts Gallery

This exhibition, drawn entirely from the IMA’s extensive Fashion Arts Collection, brings together 25 examples of fashion that feature flower motifs. For centuries, delicate forms and rich colors of flowers have captivated artists and designers alike. Using roses, poppies, petunias, peonies, chrysanthemums and wildflowers, artists gave life to the simplest of silhouettes. The floral patterns on these garments were executed in a range of techniques including printing, embroidery, beading and brocading. Among the designers whose work will be exhibited are Norman Norell, Bill Blass, Givenchy, Galanos, Trigère and Callot Soeurs. Fashion in Bloom offers an in-depth look at the major styles of Western fashion, by providing a framework of significant shifts in silhouettes of feminine attire from the late 1700s to 1970s. The exhibition features three 18th Century ensembles, including a rare man’s suit from 1775, along with 19th Century gowns and 20th Century garments.

Baby's Got 2 New Pair of Shoes

I''ve had to take a bit of a break here from blogging. Life is like that.

But I am are back with 2 new pair of shoes - both 1950s, both stylish, both well made, both 'good' brand shoes and both pair are sz 7 1/2. It's a darn shame I wear an 8. And spend my time standing on concrete floors, or weeding a garden, or walking at the Y. In other words, I have no place in my life for stilettos. Life is like that, too.

Please tell me women still go places and wear dresses that require marvelous, feminine shoes. It would make my day.

1950s De Liso Debs Stilettos at www.pastperfectvintage.com

1950s Doeskin Delman's at www.pastperfectvintage.com

Vintage Shops We Reccommend, Part 2

May I reccommend a shop we found a couple weeks ago?

Street Scene in Lexington , Ky. They are about a year old, and a very nicely done shop. Attracive, well lit, and spacious. They carry a good selection of reasonably priced women's and men's vintage clothing and accessories, ca 1940s - 1970s along with a small selection of reproduction 50s. I did rather covet a Pucci purse in the jewelry case. They also carry a selection of moderne furniture and good interior accessories.

Plus the smell of fresh coffee and baked goods wafts through an open doorway into the next shop, whose name I didn't get, but should be called "All Things Tea and Coffee" Coffee Shop .

So you can vintage shop and get a great cup of coffee with a yummy treat without going outside.

Perfect.

Street Scene
All Things Vintage
2575 Regency Rd.
Lexington, KY 40503
859.260.1578

And a follow up to Vintage Shops in the Cincinnati area from Part 1:

Our long time compatriot Nancy at Talk of the Town on Reading Rd. is doing great - stop by!
We didn't get to see George at Casablanca, we just plain ran out of time. But Nancy says they are there and doing great.
Downtown Nostalgic on Calhoun St. doesn't seem to be open at this time - no hours posted, no answer to phone calls.
The Vintage Vault is GONE.
Duck Creek Antique Mall on Madison Rd. had a surprising amount of vintage clothing, and there is very nice Thai restaurant, Lemon Grass, at 2666 Madison some blocks toward downtown from the Mall.

The Main Man

The Main Man did suits. I am quite positive he would object strenuously to being called anything as pedestrian and slangy as The Main Man. Nonetheless, here we are. I have had this 1950s Mainbocher suit quite some time. It's a nubby silk with lots of handfinishing. The jacet has almost a cardigan effect with bias strips that form a placket , keyhole buttonholes and large buttons. The skirt has a decorative shaped yoke that is hidden when the jacket is closed.


It's very quiet and subtle, and yet appealing. Part of the appeal is that it has a provenance. Another is that I found it at a small town auction some years ago in Indiana, and no one else wanted it. There's nothing quite like the feeling that you see a diamond and no one else does, is there? And if I had any doubts, I then found a photo of C.Z. Guest in a very similar suit by, yes, the Main Man.

1950s Mainbocher Silk Suit, now available at

www.pastperfectvintage.com/thedesigners.htm

C.Z. Guest photographed in Vogue in a very similar Mainbocher suit in 1955

Spring Fever

I am getting spring fever just a tad. It snowed a little yesterday and it's still in the 30s. I am ready to see daffodils and croci. But they have just started to poke their little green leaves out. And there's still an awful lot of ice storm damage. It's Dreary. It's Cold. It's Muddy.

So until the weather warms up, I will have to make do with looking at this dress. If this doesn't cry out Summer Wedding/ Pool Party/Garden Party, then I don't know what would. It makes me happy.

1930s Rayon Print Dress now available at http://pastperfectvintage.com