Patterns of Fashion (Psychedelic Edition)

There's nothing like a cold, cold, winter's day to make me yearn for color and pattern. I came late to appreciating the wild patterns of the 60s and 70s. I lived them, I wore them, I suffered through the hideous polyester versions. I copied Peter Max posters with my colored pencils.There was nothing classic or timeless about this type of pattern, so we frugal buyers tended to avoid them back in

Our First Vintage Designer Sale Ever!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!We have mailed gifts, we have delivered gifts around and we still have more shopping to do. But first , it's time for our wonderful Past Perfect Vintage customers to get a gift, too:The First Ever Past Perfect Vintage Christmas Designer SaleThere's Mainbocher, Trigere, Patullo-Copeland, Parnis, Irene, Fath, Moschino and Givenchy all on sale at http://

The Vacation Ends = Coming Soon!

Yes, when I post the vacation has ended it means we have new inventory coming very soon to Past Perfect Vintage. We are getting lots of delicious vintage fashion and accessories ready, from 1920s opera coats to 1950s designer dresses and Victorian hair combs. We even have 2 beaded bags.So without further ado, let's take a sneak peek at what is coming: 1950s Tangerine pique dress and sleeveless

Vintage Wedding Dresses Wanted!

ca 1912 Wedding Dress in silk and lace from our archivesThe Victoria and Albert Museum in London, home to a fabulous costume collection, has a brand new and marvelous Web Project. And they have asked us to help! In the tiny, lonely niche of vintage fashion blogging, this is Big Time. They have just opened a website on wedding fashion where people can upload wedding photographs from 1840 to the

I Require Flowers

Yesterday was just warm enough to feel spring will get here. Today is a cold,grey drizzley day. Although there are daffodils and croci out and they help, it is not enough. I require flowers and green leaves right now. I can't garden yet - too muddy. I have 50 perennials in the vegetable garden that need to move to a new bed, plus irises and daylilies that are waiting to move. And I have a garden

Decade du Jour: The 1860s

The 1860s remain enormously popular with collectors and enthusiaists. It's partly the re-enacting thing and the crinoline thing. And partly the 'romance' of the American Civil War. Trust me , there was nothing, and I mean Nothing, romantic about it. Visit the national cemetaries sometime. But this blog isn't devoted to military history, it's about Clothing! Fashion! Shoes!Now that I have that out

Vintage Shopping Exhaustion!

What a run it’s been. I feel like it is all Vintage Clothing, all the time. First catching up from 3 months doing theatre work and vintage simultaneously. Then prepping the summer sale - photos, measures, writing; the whole nine yards. Then the sale itself, which was great. And now packing and shipping. Plus a big local sale last Sunday - an hour and half in line and a drive home in hurricane

The Sublime 1920s Cloche, Part Deux

In part one, I showed off eye candy of mostly wide brimmed cloches. Part Deux features more of the truly sleek brimless cloches. These are the real skullcap/helmet types that require short hair. These hats looked great with the really tubular, linear dresses of the later 1920s. And it's a style that still works for modern short hair and the long, lean modern line.1920s Blue Straw Cloche available

A Tribute to The Sublime 1920s Cloche Hat

What is it about the 1920s Cloche? It's a simple silhouette for hat. Just a very deep crown, rounded or seamed, occasionally square in profile, with 3 brim variations: none, small or an oval wide one. No Philip Treacy theatrics, no fireworks or streamers. And it has even been ridiculed as a helmet rather than a hat.Yet the simple lines and available space lent themselves to surface ornamentation

Decade du Jour: The 1920s

I know I skipped 1900 - 1910, but I’ll come back another day. I’m in a 1920s mood.It’s not a look for everyone. The straight line from bust to hips does nothing for the hourglass girl or even the busty gal with narrow hips. You will notice when it gets revived, this look is almost always more fitted in the waist than it was originally.But the look as a whole - simple shift/chemise dresses with

Madame Irene

Irene Lentz Gibbons, better know simply as Irene, was a wonderful American designer. And as one of the few costume designers to really make a name for herself in fashion, she has a special place in my heart. I wrote a piece about her for the Vintage Fashion Guild several years ago - you check it out here at http://www.vintagefashionguild.org/.Irene is rightly known for her tailoring, her use of

Norell on 5th of July

Yesterday was the 4th of July. Firework show set to music, 25 cent ice cream and a big town get together here. Yet the most charming thing about the day was that people spontaneously stopped all around the town to watch the fireworks in parking lots, closed business driveways and highway shoulders.So today, who came to mind, but that most American of designers, Norman Norell. It’s not just that

Dear Mr. Galanos

If you have looked at my profile, you know I live in a small town. In semi rural KY. A nice town, good people. Lots of well behaved wildlife that doesn‘t eat our vegetable garden or get in our garbage can. Now, these good people know their Carhardt and their Levis, and they have message T’s Down. I mean Seriously Down. But please believe me when I tell you I am pretty sure I am the only person in

A Bustle Fiesta, part one

Yes. Another blog begins. Another blog devoted mainly to vintage fashion. But with a difference. I promise no models with sunglasses and pigeon toes. Cute, but you can see those anywhere. To begin at the beginning. I will let you in on a Deep Dark, Secret. I am a vintage collector and dealer without a Favorite Period. Truly I am. No favorites, but admittedly a few I can live without, primarily a