My Mama's Clothes and My Dad's Eyes

I look nothing like my mom. nothing. she has gorgeous chestnut brown hair, big brown eyes, and olive skin. I got all of my dad's features for sure, well, except for his nose (thank goodness :). This is my mom's dress. its navy calico cotton with crochet lace around the neckline. a tinier floral at the shoulders and puff sleeves. ahhhh. When other folks were wearing ginormous pointy collar, thick polyester dresses, my mom was wearing this. (okay, maybe she had her share of the other stuff, too).
My dad died when i was 18. he died in december, but this time of year (early august) is when he got sick. it's when my life began to change forever. When i pulled up these pictures into my computer, i couldn't help but think "i look like my dad in these pictures." over and over. For those of us who have lost someone close to you, you know how much you wish to see that person's face again? and when i looked at these pictures i felt like i was seeing him. wearing my mama's dress and having my dad's blue eyes made me feel so rooted in my family, somehow representing the perfect mix that my parents were together.
so this little outfit meant a lot to me.
Sorry if I'm oversharing. i just wanted to tell a bit of what was going on with me.

thanks for reading,
m

p.s. this 1940's embroidered purse is from Greatest Friend . if you haven't checked out her shop yet, you need to. now.

August Faves

Hello friends, i hope you had a lovely weekend. these are my etsy faves of the week...

30's Cotton Floral Yellow on Black Button Front Day Dress By Greedy Seagull

Rustic Floral Tray by Ameelia Bedelia

1950s Sailorette wide collar butter yellow knit top ( xs/s) by LaMistinguette

1920's vintage FLORENTINE SPRING shoes by Swanee Grace

Vintage Floral Embroidered Oval Brooch by Rakshniya Vintage

Gingko Leaves Fabric in Mustard by Frumafar

Toffee Leather Riding Boots With Braid Detailing Size 6 by Pinguim

Vintage Berry Picking Dress by Raleigh Vintage

enjoy! buy them up.

thanks for reading,

m

Sewin' and Salvagin'

I bought the below dress from Hungry Heart Recycler on Etsy. They are a really great little shop with awesome customer service. they were selling the dress AS IS with the hem unfinished. i thought maybe when i got the dress it would be longer than it appeared somehow and i could just hem it up and there, it would be salvaged. when i got it, it was SHORT. mini. A length that would never let it be its true self= a 1950's dress. (i want to tell you that none of this was hungry heart recycler's fault, it was my brain's fault. may i reiterate that HHR is a fab shop).

so...i wanted to add some length to it. i scrounged through my fabric pile holding each bit up to the dress asking, "would you make a pretty new hem?, how about you?" Then it hit me! i had bought this anthropologie blouse at a thrift store probably 4 years ago. it was a size zero, and i was saving it for that magical day when i wake up and have lost 30 pounds in my sleep (ha!:)

i rushed to find it and just as i suspected, it was the perfect pale grey color with burnt orange eyelet detail that went perfectly. and it was just gathered enough that this blouse had enough fabric to make a whole new length to the dress. making it the perfect 1950's length once again! yay!

1 part vintage dress +

1 part anthropologie top (already had cut the part i needed)

=Restored vintage dress
i just can't believe how well the fabric goes together. even the eyelet embroidery pattern is so similar.
my seamstress taught me to make a cotton ruffle undeneath the new section to make it lay right. it is linen and was laying funny on my first attempt.

now, for those of you who are feeling sorry for the anthro blouse, don't! for i'm sure i will make something ELSE out of that :)

OH, and did i mention it will be in the shop today or tomorrow!

thanks for reading,

m

disclaimer: of course i am not against shortening 1950's dresses a bit, i just have a thing about them being mini length. sometimes that is the only option because of damage, but otherwise i feel like they should be close to their orginal length. just my personal opinion.

some very important news

i have some very important news to share with you:

i got new dining room chairs and i love them :)

i would also like to say that i have been spending a LOT more time sewing, reconstructing, mending, handwashing, etc. and have not had as much time to actually list items.

i promise i have not forgotten my shop, and i am still committed to bringing you great vintage from the 20's to the 90's. it just may come at a bit slower rate until i get back in the swing.

thanks for reading!
m

Still Learning...

I took these pictures weeks ago. This was how I thought I wanted to wear this dress=dressy-like. With a 1940's cream bow hat and a floral cumberbund sash to cover up the little holes at the waist, and these peach Kenneth Cole shoes with little flowers that mimic the sash. but i just never posted them because the lighting was so weird when we tried to take pics.
THEN, i got really inspired by this post from Lauren at deargolden. She wore a 1940's crepe dress (which is what this one is) but she paired it with simple accessories, and looked so modern and fresh. so i took another stab at this outfit, instead just wearing simple flat sandals, and a slim belt. And i think i like the simple result much better. I also traipsed all over my house to find new backgrounds and new light. Lauren's a genius at taking these pieces that could look so outdated and instead of forming a costume (which is what i accidently did), she makes it look so "today." i'm still learning.
And my marvelous new necklace from jean jean vintage (you will be seeing this piece a LOT)

Sorry so many pictures of my mug to get through :) but hey, its really like 2 outfit posts in one.

This dress was rescued from that warehouse i've mentioned. I can't get enough of the ruffles, the color and the flattering way the dress was gored. in the 40's and 50's a woman's body was celebrated. sigh.

I really want to wear vintage in a way that makes people think, "oh, what a lovely dress." not, "yikes, what planet is she from?"

and...

didn't i tell you i'd wear some color?

this uber pale lavender is such a stretch from my blue and cream palette ;)

thanks ever so much for reading,

m

Shop Update!

hello lovely blog readers. These New items and everything in the shop are 15% off for YOU, see this post for details.

thanks for reading,

m

blog readers only SALE

I really really really (i mean, really) appreciate ya'll who take the time to read this little blog.
i hope you are still sleeping in with your preferred pet, but when you wake up, come and take 15% off your purchase at adelaide's. all you have to do is tell me the most recent concert i mentioned in a blog post in the notes to the seller :)

thanks for reading,
m

p.s. i'm so sorry i can't remember the source of this picture. if you know, you should tell me.