Past Perfect Vintage: The 1920s and 1930s Make a Return!

 



 It's been a long while since I posted here. And even longer since we added wonderful inventory to Past Perfect Vintage.  I have written here about my opera and ballet work which ate up all the time this past January through mid April. Satisfying work it was and remunerative, but it's so great to be back to a regular schedule. And that includes shopping for vintage clothing, getting it

A Tale of Woe

Here lies a once beautiful silk 1930s wedding gown, resplendent with silvery bugle beading and the most flattering of bias cut. But alas, she was fated to never grace another slender body again for she was fatally flawed. Plagued with the dreaded dyness so many vintage dresses suffer. But before she fell to pieces, she offered up this swan song, holding it together for her last grasp at glory only to shred along every seam immediately after. Once the dryness was detected I just started tearing and well, the effect was rather beautiful so I documented it. Sigh...at least I saved the beading and hope to use it again to embellish another dress. 

Her former self...

Summer fashions, July 21, 1932

 Well at long last, after a successful opera opening, we are ready to return to the world of blogging. I was given a lot of great old newspaper bits and pieces recently by a friend who knows I am interested in the history of local stores.  These are from the Louisville Times edition of July 21, 1932. There’s nothing like a dated newspaper ad to narrow a style date down, is there? The dress

1930s French Fashions

via

From Modes et Travaux in the 1930s, some French fashion illustrations.
I am not sure how these differ from American fashion in the 1930s, but I would love to know... 

W.E. | not a film review

Last night, I watched the film 'W.E.', a calamitous affair to be sure, but if you love 1930s clothing it's a veritable visual feast. It simultaneous follows the story of Wallis Simpson and a fictitious modern day woman living in New York city and that's all the plot synopsis I am offering. I was more than willing to excuse the lameness of the movie because the costumes are just the cat's pajamas, to borrow a phrase. Truth be told, I don't need any more fuel for my vintage clothing obsession, specifically my 1930s vintage clothing obsession, but alas, I've lead myself in the fire with this film. It made me instantly want to run to my closet and shop and pull out all the bias cut silk, crepe and rayon I could snatch from the racks and dance around with a martini in my hand. But we aren't just talking party attire here, the film is chock full of delectable daywear, dress suits, hats and even shoes. My instinct to hoard all 1930s garments has been lit ablaze.

Initially I thought to make a blog post of images from the film, but I have never figured out how to find good film stills to use, so I thought I would just pull things from my Pinterest board | 1930s Fashion that looked Wallis-esque. I went to my board and selected a few images to use and then thought, "hey, I'll just search Wallis Simpson on Pinterest, duh!". When I did I found two photos of her in garments nearly identical to the ones I selected from the 1930s board! As a matter of fact one of the dresses (in the last photo set below, the Mainbocher dress) WAS her actual wedding dress, ha! Ok, so, I KNOW I am tooting my own horn, but come on! I was so proud!

As a side note, I just love Wallis Simpson's quote, "[w]hen the little black dress is right, there is nothing else to wear. ". I love this particularly so because I have a healthy collection of little black dresses in my closet, say, over 30; but do I ever chose those to wear? No, I always choose something way less "little black dress-like" and much more fabulous. :)

Dear Golden | bridal shop

1960s Love's Legacy lace wedding gown

1930s Lux Aurumque silk lace wedding dress

1950s Water Lily lace wedding dress

Three very beautiful & very different wedding dresses have been added to the shop. 

Visit the entire DEAR GOLDEN bridal collection HERE.

a wedding by the river

This past weekend, one of my oldest and very best friends got married in a intimate ceremony in northern Michigan. The wedding took place at a riverside inn that she and her (now) husband own -  a pretty idlyllic setting to say the least. However, it was about 90+ degrees on the wedding day, of course the wedding & reception were outside, and I was out of my dress and into my swimsuit taking dunks in the river more than once throughout the night. 

1930s dress • ebay and has it's flaws but I love it just the same

1930s hat • antique mall

bridal bias

Some detail shots of a 1930s bias silk crepe wedding dress that will be in the shop next week...and here's a little something you might like to know - it's a size medium/large. Uh-huh. 

Tips for single women, 1938

via Retronaut

Yeah, if I were single I would totally stick my finger in my date's ear, I mean, who wouldn't?! 

More Tips for single women in 1938, HERE.

Pitch the Woo!

vintage 1930s Pitch the Wool dress 

She was just too special not to give her a lil' blog post...she's in the shop now!

Vintage Clothing Does Come in Larger Sizes

One of the misconceptions about vintage clothing is that, without exception, It Is Tiny. Clothing for modern sz 0 -2. Granted, much is too small for the average American woman, who is taller than her predecessors, and correspondingly wider in the shoulders. And yes, the average size today is much larger than the average size of women in the 1930s - 60s, much less the Victorian and

Eleanor Beard of Hardinsburg

 


Eleanor Beard

Few people associate the Kentucky countryside with  fashion production. Oh yes, there are  Fruit of the Loom mills in the state and a fine thing they are ,  but that is another story. Yet Helen Bond Carruthers in Versailles with her cardigans,  Maud Hundley in Anchorage with her needlepoint purses, and Eleanor Beard in Hardinsburg with lingerie and quilting were among many who