Saturday, March 28, 2009

Enjoying some vintage music

I've been a bit distracted from my vintage duties the last week or so...life does that some times!
I wanted to share some great music, though. I heard this great singer, June Christy, on the AOL Radio music plugin that came with the AOL Instant Messenger doo-hickey. (tech term much?) I've really loved the Big Band & Swing category of the jazz section on there.
Anyway, in times of topsy turvy-ness, uncertainty, and bleak news, a bit of vintage-style lighthearted happiness is in order:


And my all time fave, and who I'd like to be when I grow up...if I can somehow transform into a perky, petite blond, Doris Day with the Les Brown Orchestra.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Items of the week...A Gaggle of Gloves

I'm working away at the massive pile of gloves that has grown in the studio. They are now organized (hooray!) and photographed (hooray!) and all but these need to be written up and listed (sigh...).
Buy a dress and gloves together...with no extra cost to ship the gloves! (hooray!)





Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Items of the week...My favorite prom dress so far



I've been in the vintage game for seven years now, so I've seen a lot of prom dresses, and each gives me just a little bit of giddy, girly glee. This one, though, well, gives me the full-on squeel-like-a-schoolgirl, dance-like-Snoopy, wave-my-arms-like-Kermit-the-Frog happiness.
The red is velvet, the white is flocked and glittered tulle, all over white taffeta. Yum. Add the strapless styling with angled wings off the bust, and the full skirt that can accommodate a mountain of crinolines. Wow.

Find this and other great vintage dresses at HatfeathersVintage.com in our Womenswear section.

Aprons...so much more than clothing


This commentary has made its way around the internet a few times. It was forwarded to me by my Grandpa, who no doubt remembers his Mother and Grandmothers wearing an apron. I, myself, cannot particularly remember either of my fore-mothers in an apron, but this does bring back memories of house dresses, home cooking, gathering in the garden, and Grandmotherly love. It was warm, soft, and smelled of fresh biscuits and rose scented perfume.
The vintage aprons in the images above are made from feed sack fabric from the 40s. It is soft, pretty, and unlike any fabric we have these days.

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
Author unknown
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know, and love, the story about Grandma's aprons. Or it can be a good history lesson for those that have no idea how the apron played a part in our lives.

REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron ..... but Love !!

Find this and other vintage aprons at HatfeathersVintage.com in our Apron Shop.

Something Saucy From the Kitchen!


What's cookin' sweetheart?
This fun vintage apron has a little something extra! The well dressed lady embroidered on the front is wearing a fun vintage circle skirt, stitched to stand out from the apron. Lift it, and see that our fair lady is wearing delightful lace ruffled tap pants in a matching pattern! Surprise!! Find this and other vintage aprons at HatfeathersVintage.com in our Apron Shop.