I think my fascination with Earhart can be traced back to a 4th Grade book report. We had to pick a biography to write a report about and I picked Earhart. One read and I was hooked. At the time it had nothing to do with her brave fashion choices (check out the pants!) but I fell in love with her adventurous spirit and her steps in pioneering the public's perception of what women are capable of. While those are still reasons that I consider her a personal hero, her fashion choices are not be be ignored. It was considered quite daring for a woman to wear pants in those days. I can definitely see her influence when looking at other fashion icons such as Katherine Hepburn. Her bomber jacket is a timeless classic and would easily mix right into a modern day ensemble. In her day, she even helped design a line of clothing marketed for "the woman who lives actively". Wouldn't it be wonderful if some of those pieces still survive today?
skirt: vintage
sweater: vintage
purse: vintage
shoes: vintage
hair clip: made by me
This cream cable knit sweater is my favorite find from my vintage shopping trip this week. I actually found it among some little girl's clothes but I'm not really convinced that's where it belonged. It super soft and snuggly (is that a word?) and the perfect piece to transition from hot summer days to cooler autumn temperatures. I'll be wearing it with high waisted skirt like this one but I think I'd also like to try it layered over a long sleeve shirt with skinny jeans and boots.
A few weeks ago as I was digging through baskets of antique sewing supplies at a flea market, I came across a big bag of vintage feathers. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with them at the time so I put them away and nearly forgot about them. As my thoughts turned to planning my autumn wardrobe, I remembered that bag of feathers and pulled them out. It seems that over the summer I became quite addicted to wearing a flower in my hair. Rarely did I leave the house with one and it even came to be that I felt quite unfinished without one. I think that the feathers will become my must have accessory for autumn.
romper: vintage
shoes: vintage
bag: vintage
flower comb: made by me
Over the weekend my boyfriend and I accompanied his mother to an art fair in Mt. Gretna, a woodsy little cabin community built in the early 1900's. I was wearing this little romper and my favorite woven flats because the afternoon temperatures have been fairly warm despite my best attempts to conjure autumn weather. Luckily I brought a sweater along because the thick canopy of trees kept the temperatures wonderfully cool all day.
(If you see something you like, you can click on the picture to see it a bit bigger.)
blouse: vintage
skirt: vintage
shoes: vintage
necklace: vintage
At what point does something that is vintage become an antique? Are the words simply synonyms? There's a little antique store here that is filled with knick-knacks, old patterns, books and memorabilia. I love to go in and just browse around despite the fact that the lady that runs the place is a bit on the strange side (or maybe that's just part of its charm). A few weeks ago I was wandering through the aisles when the owner asked if I knew she had a back room full of clothes. Ummm, no! I did not know that! Making my way into the backroom I realized that she has a collection of turn of the century gowns, blouses and capes, 30's suits with little puff sleeves and shelves full of vintage hats (still in their hat boxes!). It was a bit like being in someone's attic that hadn't been cleaned out in 100 years. I don't think many people shop back there so she was more than happy to have me poking around. I ended up finding this little lacy blouse. I asked her what decade she thought it is from and she said the late 1880's or 1890's! It's in marvelous shape with only one little snag in the fabric. It's hard for me to believe it's over 100 years old. I'm sure I'll only be pulling it out for very special occasions.
- First I tried on this chunky knit cardigan. I like the shape and how the sleeves are not quite full length. It looked better buttoned up than left open. The biggest drawback is the cheap plasticy buttons that H&M tends to slap on all their clothes. An easy fix though with a trip to the fabric store to buy some nicer vintagey buttons.
- Next I tried out this little short sleeve cardigan. Of course, being black it's practically impossible to photograph. It buttons up the front (again icky buttons) and has some nice cable knit detailing down the sides but it was just a little too flimsy for my tastes.
- I've been so addicted to skinny jeans that it felt quite strange to have these wide legs flapping about. I instantly felt a bit like Alix from The Cherry Blossom Girl when I put these on which is, of course, a good thing. The only thing about these is, even with the modest heel I was wearing, I felt they were a bit too short for me and I'm not tall by any means. On the up side, I did check the hem and there's about two inches of extra fabric if one felt inclined to lengthen them a bit.
- Then on to this cute floral number. This was my favorite try-on of the day. I've seen several other floral tea dresses in H&M lately but none of them have had a color pallet that I've been particularly fond of. I like the bright, cheery bouquets on the black background here. Again, being black, you can't see all of the lovely details like the pin-tucking around the hem or the little covered buttons on the chest.
I recently realized that since moving from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania I haven't cracked open a single fashion magazine. The job I had in LA was fashion oriented and I was spoiled in that we had a subscription to every fashion magazine under the sun. Every month I would collect a huge stack of mags from around the world on my desk. Now, I don't have a single subscription (they're so expensive!) and I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I don't miss it at all. Rather than rely on the glossies for inspiration I've been more than happy to turn to fellow bloggers, street style sites, old movies and online magazines for all of my fashion fixes. My latest fixation has fallen upon the movie The Edge of Love. I haven't yet seen it and I rarely get out to the theater to see movies like this but I may have to make an exception this time. Costume designer April Ferry had this to say about the wardrobe...
dress: Topshop
shoes: vintage
purse: vintage
sunglasses: vintage Rayban
flower clips: H&M
bracelets: vintage
I'm not quite sure how this dress has not made it onto the blog yet this summer. It's really been my go-to dress everytime I'm not sure what to wear or it's too hot outside to think. It's that perfect mix of fashion and function - light airy cotton that barely seems to touch your skin. I know it's just a tease but there's a slight crispness to the air here today that hints of autumn. Suddenly I'm not so sure I'm ready for it as I need to wear dresses like this just a few more times before I give in to the cold.
top: vintage
shorts: vintage
shoes: vintage
umbrella: vintage
sunglasses: vintage
bag: vintage
When I was out shopping for the store last week I ran across this pair of high waisted 60's vintage leisure shorts. Then another pair, then another. I think I ended up with a pair in nearly every color of the rainbow and then some. I love running across finds that like where it's pretty obvious one little old lady was cleaning out her closet. I picked a couple of pairs for myself and the rest will be going up for sale in the store. I sewed these smaller to fit me so there's actually a nice variety of sizes available.
dress: vintage
shoes: vintage
bag: vintage
sunglasses: vintage
flower clips: H&M
First of all I want to say thank you again for helping me celebrate the one year anniversary of Sally Jane Vintage. I was overwhelmed by the positive response and I truly wish you could all win. It was so much fun to sit down and read all of your thoughts on what you are looking forward to about autumn. It has always been my favorite season and I can see that it's many of yours as well. There's something so nostalgic about the leaves changing color, the air growing crisp and the temperatures dropping. I just love it! Like many of you, I'm looking forward to warm apple cider (from our local Amish market, yum!), woolly tights, chunky knit sweaters, skinny jeans tucked into boots, high-waisted wool skirts, crunching leaves on the sidewalk, dressing up for Halloween, pea coats and wearing vintage gloves and hats.
So, now for the winner... The lovely Kater of the blog "All This Happiness". Here's what she had to say about looking forward to autumn...
"I live in the Northeast, and it's so crunchy and crisp in the fall that I couldn't possibly imagine myself anywhere else! It is so hard to pick just one thing, autumn is exhilarating! Apple orchards are one of the best, especially with apple-cider donuts all warm and crunchy and crumbly.For clothing, it's just the delight in layering without winter coats. Tweed things, cardigans, sullen makeup, and Halloween!"
Thanks again to Kater and all of you who commented! Hopefully we can do some more contests in the future. I had a lot of fun and I hope you did as well. Kater - I'm looking forward to shopping for you this week. I can't wait to hear from you! :)
So, as I'm thinking about Fall fashion and sewing I began doing a little online browsing and ran across my new favorite time waster: The Vintage Pattern Lending Library. Sewing has always been an exercise in frustration for me. I can sew a hem or take in a seam or two but every time I start to sew something from scratch, those pattern pieces laid out before me become an insurmountable task. If there's ever a reason to gather myself and try again it's the wonderful collection of vintage patterns available from the VPLL. I've been watching a lot of old Myrna Loy movies on TCM so I'm a bit partial to this collection of 1930's patterns but they have designs dating from the 1840's to the 1950's.
COLLECTION OF WORLD'S BEST WALLPAPERS
WOW WHAT A BEAUTY
AMAZING NATURE
NATURE OF GOD
JAZZ OF LIFE
COOL PHOTOS BANK
BEAUTY OF WILDLIFE
BEST PHOTOS OF THE WORLD
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