label whore

Vintage clothing is so wonderfully rife with little details and quiet mysteries, such as the plethora of beautifully designed labels tucked away on collars or down hemlines. The typography and graphics are a treat, and it's such fun to find a designer's name or city, giving me a strong lead as to where this garment began its life! These are just a few of my favorites...

Western wear:

I also appreciate the irony of being able to wear luxe labels, all thanks to my thrift store habits, ha!

From some of my antique pieces:

( Clockwise from top left: 1900s taffeta and jet bodice made with "Skinners" fabric, 1900s camisole, 1920s smock/bloomers set, and 1920s slip.)

Over the summer, I found two big boxes of vintage sewing supplies by the side of the road, amongst which were dozens of these "Jean Marie" labels!! (I'm choosing to believe that this cute li'l school portrait I also found in the box is of Jean Marie herself :)

Interestingly, pieces with labels are generally the exception rather than the rule in my closet. I'm not sure if that's normal or what, but many of the garments I find tend to be handmade or at least have lost their label. My own theory is that it's geographical... in this rural region of Vermont, it was mostly farmers and mill workers living in the area until quite recently. This combination of a hardscrabble life and a remote setting might've made hand-sewing a more common choice than store-bought. But that's just my guess! I would love to know if you find labels more often than not in your part of the world.

❀❁❀❁ PS: Happy Spring!!!  ❀❁❀❁

PPS: You can now follow this blog on Bloglovin', in anticipation of the Great Google Reader Shutdown of '13 :-(
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

outfit: teddy girl

.

{ 1940s "Agnes Fashions" suit jacket; 1950s plaid wool slacks; vintage fur collar, purse, hat and string tie; my trusty Docs }

 

I love the detailing on this jacket; found it at a thrift store for $6 last Fall :)

Inspiration for getting dressed while winter and spring duke it out:

{Click through for sources.}

Free 1950s Dress (needs work)

Would any sewers out there like this dress? It's a 1950s day dress in a cool gold-and-brown folksy print, but unfortunately the bodice is ripped in several places and I think it's beyond repair. You could make a lovely skirt out of it, repurpose the fabric, use it for photoshoots, display, pattern study... whatever!! It looks great from the front, but it's just in rough shape at the back :( The bust is 36" and the waist is 26".

If any of you lovely folks out there would like it, I'll mail to to you for free; just leave a comment with contact info, and the first commenter gets it. (NOTE: Due to shipping costs, I'm only offering this to U.S. readers.)

 

the need of being versed in country things

The birds that came to it through the air At broken windows flew out and in, Their murmur more like the sigh we sigh         15 From too much dwelling on what has been. Yet for them the lilac renewed its leaf, And the aged elm, though touched with fire; And the dry pump flung up an awkward arm; And the fence post carried a strand of wire.         20 For them there was really nothing sad. But though they rejoiced in the nest they kept, One had to be versed in country things Not to believe the phoebes wept. --Robert Frost's "The Need of Being Versed In Country Things. "

Often in my visits to farmhouse ruins, I find myself meditating on these words by Robert Frost. It's too easy for me to fall prey to romanticism, to look at decaying homes and feel a melancholy ache for them. Frost's words remind me what a narrow and human-centric view that is, however; for as these old houses decay and sink back into the earth, Nature is simply reclaiming what's rightfully hers. In the Springtime especially, they burst with vitality... the songbirds rebuild their nests in rotting rafters, chipmunks emerge from slumber behind walls and mouldering sofas, while the new vines and wildflowers venture up against this makeshift arbor. I felt so rejuvenated and fresh myself as I listened to the drip-drip-drip of melting ice upon buckling floorboards in this hillside Italianate manor. This house must've been lovely to us once, but now it's lovelier to the wild things :)

 And if you'd like to get a better look at the house,  I have many more pictures here!
It's a fascinating place, very far gone in decay but rife with period charm.

I'll leave you with a snapshot from my car.
No snow here... looks like Spring has found us in the Green Mountains!! :)