Vintage Sweaters: Why we love them

I love vintage knitwear. It's been a long journey, due to a life long wool allergy. But I have discovered that with layers like turtlenecks , T's and camisoles, I can often wear vintage woolens and usually cashmeres. They are such good quality and were very often hand knit and usually fully fashioned.The quality to price ratio compared to modern knits cannot be beat.

Plus a good quality knit will hold it's shape for many years if taken care of properly and they can be hand washed for low maintenance cost and I call that a win/win I can live with.

So it's heading into much cooler days, although it is still just warm enough here for long sleeved shirts. That means it is time to pickup a sweater or 3 for fall. I know it's in the air, because Jody just posted a neat piece on vintage sweaters on her Couture Allure blog. But before you head over there, we have added the first grouping of vintage 1950s and 60s knitwear on the website. There's more to come. So take a look, and think about that fall and winter wardrobe you need to pull together.

    

 

1960s Camel Wool Sleeveless Sweater Shell Top from Frances Brewster  SZ M and 1960s Coral Mohair Cardigan Sweater  SZ L

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Vintage 1960s Hand Crocheted Cardigan Sweater in Cream SZ S and Cream Ribbon and Mohair Knit Cardigan from Ruth Chagnon SZ M

all available at Past Perfect Vintage

Building a Vintage Wardrobe: A Summer Step

It seems harder to find warm weather vintage looks. Perhaps it’s because wool jackets have held up in good condition in greater number than cotton blouses. Certainly,wearable and age appropriate cotton tops for women of ‘a certain age’ are not available in large quantities.Lots of sun dresses and even halter tops, but that’s not the look I need in my wardrobe right now.

This grouping is one I put together this summer and wore quite happily, and comfortably. And it’s all washable, a real bonus for summer wear. Because cost isn’t just what you invest in the purchase price of an item of clothing, it’s also what it takes to maintain it.

The basic piece, and the first one found, is the 1950s cotton skirt in a novelty print in a ‘the study of music’ theme form Elizabeth‘s Timeless Attire in Louisville. The skirt is a simple dirndl, full enough to swirl and catch the air on a hot and humid day, but not too much yardage for summer comfort. The color range works for early fall, too. The 1950s black cotton blouse is also an Elizabeth‘s find, with a white button motif to perk it up. The belt is modern, a brown leather belt with a large gold tone clasp (Zappo’s warehouse).

The blouse doubles up well with blue jeans, and the belt goes with many things in the closet.

 

Second look - a modern black T ( a freebie from my sister’s closet), a 1950s vintage double buckle brown leather belt with brass crest from an estate sale, and the jewelry is a modern glass bead bracelet made by same sister and a 1950s vintage glass bead triple strand necklace (gift!) plus a 1960s amber Lucite box purse from an estate auction.

Total cost of both looks? $39.50, plus $50 for the Lucite purse. Lucite is always pricey - $50 is actually a good deal.

Details:

Dresses, Dresses, and Oh Look - Another Dress!

The September additions to Past Perfect Vintage are all in. And my goodness, there's a lot of new inventory. There are hats, suits, and hair combs, but today, it's all about dresses. And a jumpsuit. And a blouse and skirt set. But they look like dresses, so that counts. The date range? 1930s - 1970s. For you Victorian, Teens and 1920s fashion lovers, we have some 60 lovely things on the way. It's almost a bit overwhelming. Almost. But not quite.  That's how much we like what we do. Enjoy these, and as always click the photos to see more.

1930s Black Charmeuse Satin Bias Cut Evening Dress & 

1940s WWII Multi Colored Cotton Print Day Dress 

1940s Blue Rayon Bow Print Dress & 

1940s Early Acetate Knit Dress in Red Paisley Print

 

1960s Gold Brocade Cocktail Dress and Cape by Mr. Blackwell & 

1970 Vintage Black Faille Jumpsuit from Bonwit Teller

 

1980s Vintage Silk Dress with Chiffon Ruffles by Averardo Bessi &

1970s White Maxi Dress from Nina Raynor   

1970s Purple Knit Blouse and Boldly Printed Maxi Skirt Set by Mignon & 

1970s Bottle Green Beaded Knit Vintage Maxi Dress

all available at Past Perfect Vintage Dresses or Past Perfect Vintage Separates

The 50% Off Sale Continues............

The 50% off Selected Dresses Sale Continues at Past Perfect!

Here's a sample of the selection:

All available now at Past Perfect Vintage The Dresses or Past Perfect Vintage The Separates

Building a Vintage Wardrobe, One Step at a Time

One of the wisest ways to build a flexible wardrobe is to take advantage of vintage clothing. Vintage garments bring everything to the fashion table: good design and  high quality construction at very attractive prices, and far better fabrics than those used in the vast majority of ready to wear. Plus there is the environmentally positive Reduce-Reuse-Recycle aspect of vintage fashion. 

The dictum that it is better to have A Few Really Good Things Than Many Cheap Ones is true. Not a modern belief, but a true one. There is a great a deal of satisfaction in investing one’s limited funds into good pieces that work with many options and will last.

I have been following this credo in building a new wardrobe over the last year. And it is working wonderfully. In order to purchase a vintage piece, it needs to work on several levels of my life: running errands, free lance work, lunch or dinner out.

My current rules?
1) When leaving the house, wear something vintage. That may only be a bracelet, but it will be something.
2)Mix vintage and modern, because that avoids a costume look.
3)Footwear will have at least uppers of real leather (gym shoes excepted)
4)Polyester will be avoided
5)Build around Vintage pieces that are sturdy enough to wear and can be hand washed or drycleaned

So how is this all working?
I have more examples in future posts, but this is a grouping I pulled together last spring. The base is a dressmaker quality 1950s rose wool jacket with silver studs.

 

This grouping mixes a 1950s jacket from a local vintage shop, a 1950s silk blouse from auction lot, new black patent belt with silver buckle from Zappo's warehouse sale, and a charcoal grey wool twill skirt from locally owned resale shop.The skirt goes with at least 8 more tops and sweaters in the wardrobe. The belt - ditto. 

 

On the left: a black cotton mock turtleneck shell from my closet, a black and white wool tweed skirt from local a consignment shop and repeat jacket and belt.

On the right: black cotton turtleneck also from my closet, antique silver and jet jewelry ( gifts from family!) and black and white pinstripe wool blend pants from a local consignment shop.The turtleneck and pants go with just about everything.  

Total cost of all three looks?  $95. That's by no means a record, and many could beat that total, but $32 for a three piece ensemble is still pretty good. 

The Past Perfect Vintage Summer Dress Sale!

 

 

 Starting tonight as soon as we can get the site ready: 

The Past Perfect Vintage Summer Dress Sale! 

That will be 50% off Selected Dresses & Separates

 Sale Ends Sept 27! 

@ Past Perfect Vintage.com

One Woman's Wardrobe

 

The dream buy for a vintage clothing dealer usually involves one woman’s wonderful wardrobe of clothing spanning the better part of her adult life. If she was a woman of means who was interested in clothing - even better. If she was stylish - better yet. And if she was bigger than a size 4 - well, that’s a huge bonus.

I suspect most people, if they thought about it, and very few do, would think that’s the type of purchase vintage dealers make all the time. That we swan into people‘s homes or estates, clean out the closets and drawers and cedar chests and generally have a grand old time.

But it isn’t that way at all. Most of the time, we are out there hunting through a wide variety of venues - some quite pleasant, some rather gross - in an attempt to find those vintage fashions that people will buy, wear or collect.

Only a few times have I had access to a woman’s lifetime wardrobe. It’s always a special opportunity. And when she was a woman of style with the means to express it, it is a treat. We were lucky to be offered the contents of a local Louisville estate. The route of the clothes to us is too circuitous to describe, but let’s just say it was a lucky thing as these garments were destined for another end. This lady had style and she shopped in the best stores both locally and in Palm Beach and Delray Beach.

We will start offering the first section of this acquisition on the website very soon, but I wanted to post what we have photographed so far en masse as a small tribute. As we add these to the site, I will be posting about each of these here in more detail, but for now - please enjoy.

Designer du Jour : Galanos

 

Designer du Jour : Galanos
 
We added this great 1980s red wool dress by Galanos to the website recently. I am so glad it was offered to us. Every time I handle one of his dresses, I remember what was so special about them. James Galanos had a long and successful career. He designed and produced some of the highest quality ready to wear available in the US - as close to couture as clothing can get and still be ready to wear. Norman Norell’s ready to wear had that fine a quality, too. Galanos’ garments are always of fine quality fabrics- wonderful woolens, lovely silks. He was equally adept with solids or prints, spare wool day dresses or voluminous chiffon evening wear.

Although based in California, he showed in New York and attained great acclaim there.

Shirring, tucking, trapunto stitching - he used all the sewing techniques. If you are lucky enough to find a Galanos, be sure to study the interior and the construction . It is always a learning experience.

Just a few examples:

1980s Red Wool Crepe Galanos Day Dress ( with added belt). The shaping on this is superb. The 1980s padded raglan cut shoulders are balanced by the scaled up collar which is emphasized with channel topstitching. The large gold tone buttons create a center line for the eye to follow. Now available at Past Perfect Vintage

And from our Archives:

1950s/60s Black Wool 2 piece Dress Set. The seaming is quite sculptural here, with curved yoke seams and a wide inset waist on the back of the top. The skirt has bubble silhouette to complement the curves of the top.

 

Very late 1950s Red and Black Plaid wool 3 piece Day Set with Coat, Dress and Hat. The fringed finishes and tam hat play well off the tartan wool in this set. The coat and dress both have an Empire waist, the coat with a unique cutaway skirt that exposes the dress front. The waists are finished with belts and buttons. For wearing comfort, the dress is sleeveless under the coat.

1950s Red Chiffon Dress and Tartan Jacket . This dress is defined by textural differences, with a simple short sleeve bodice, beautifully outlined with a wide silk satin bias binding and set off with a back button closure and a narrow satin belt.The chiffon skirt is voluminous with many yards shirred into the small waist. The matching jacket is a red and black tartan wool with black velvet collar.