When I began to upcycle this men’s shirt, I had a totally different design I was planning on doing from the Cut-Up Couture book. After cutting off the sleeves I completely changed my mind. I was faced with either totally taking in the sides of the shirt (the arm holes were just too large) or doing something completely different. I chose to do this tank top I found in the book. I felt proud of myself for having done enough upcycling now that even if I didn’t do this design I could have figured out another way to alter the shirt.
I liked the idea of this tank with this cotton vintage slip. It is one of the reasons I decided to make the tank. It is a Koko Yamase design from her book Cut-Up Couture. The mix of vintage and the more avant- garde look of the button plackets, that were changed into neckline straps seemed appealing to me. I mean, why not? That is what makes fashion fun, finding new twists to looks and being unique. I usually don’t wear all white, so the little blue flowers also appealed to me, to help soften the look of the total white. Eventually I will most likely tea dye this vintage slip a soft brown with black tea. I wanted to wear it for a while in white, to try it out. I was concerned that I needed to find a way to wear the slip as a skirt, and for it not to look dowdy or matronly. I also have a vintage black long sleeve cotton blouse. I think I may try it with that, as an alternative way to wear it. The black blouse would make a nice jacket with a white tank underneath, and perhaps a black thin belt.
The cotton vintage slip was a gift. It has a soft brown ribbon running through the white lace. It had a slit in the top side and a string holding the waist. I repaired it by sewing up the side opening, then lifting the hem a bit by folding over the top, than I ran elastic through the top. This gives me the option to wear it as a skirt as well as a slip. I prefer for things to be more multi- functional if possible.
Those brown shoes are a pair of Dansko shoes. They were a birthday present from my family. Unfortunately they never broke in since my bunion is too messed up. My big toe is misaligned and well, it isn’t good. I finally scheduled surgery in August, so I will be on the road to hopefully a better right foot soon! I am so relieved that this is finally being taken care of! I plan to do another outfit post or two before the surgery, or at least prepare one!!
I have a few other upcycling projects I have done recently or am in the process of working on. I will try to get to posting these soon too. It is a joy to get a chance to work on these things. It is rewarding to alter upcycle, mend and reuse either vintage or thrifted items!
When I first began to look at several of Deborah Turbeville’s photographs at a time, I felt as if I was transforming into her world, stepping alongside her and she was leading me into a journey. It was a gentle shift of focus, and it had a lingering effect. In my eyes, I see that she embraced what the Japanese refer to as “waba sabi.” In the book Waba-Sabi for Artists, Designer, Poets & Philosophers, the Waba-Sabi state of mind is described as “Acceptance of the inevitable. Waba-sabi is an aesthetic appreciation of the evanescence of life. The luxuriant tree of summer is now only branches under a winter sky. All that remains of a splendid mansion is a crumbled foundation overgrown with weeds and moss. Waba-sabi images force us to contemplate our own mortality, and they evoke an existential loneliness and tender sadness. They also stir a mingled bittersweet comfort, since we know all existence shares the same fate (1).” These are the kind of emotions that her photographs bring to the surface. Turbeville also expressed that she felt anxiety in herself, and that “you can see the future on the women’s faces, in their apprehension.” She also “literally manipulated her negatives, scratching them, tearing them, scattering dust on them and otherwise distressing them- to make the finished images redolent of decay. She employed faded color, black-and-white and sepia tones; prints were often deliberately overexposed, rendering her subjects spectral (2).”
Born into a wealthy family in New England in 1932, Turbeville lived in somewhat isolated manner and was encouraged to be unique. Her family had a summer home in Ogunquit, Maine and she later described it as “very sorry, very sinister, very beautiful.” It was the experience of visiting this summer home, the wind swept coastal areas, and backgrounds that she saw, that later became her inspiration for her photographs.
When Turbeville began her exploration into fashion photography she shocked many people. Her work was counter culture to what had been set up as precedence in the world of fashion. Her pictures weren’t bright, shiny and focused on the model and what she was wearing. Turbeville had a different focus, therefore her photographs were darker, containing moodiness, and she used backgrounds that she felt would convey what she wanted to, which was a whole new realm of fashion photography. In 1977, Turbeville told the Times “I can’t deny that I design the background. A woman in my pictures doesn’t just sit there. In what kind of a mood would a woman be, wearing whatever? I go into a woman’s private world, where you never go.” In 2009, Women’s Wear Daily wrote that Turbeville was becoming famous for transforming fashion photography into an avant-garde art.” In 2011, Turbeville told The New Yorker “Fashion takes itself more seriously than I do. I’m not really a fashion photographer.”
Laird Borrelli- Persson wrote for Vogue “Deborah Turbeville’s photographs are as evocative as a lingering trace of fragrance. Not the clear, bright burst of summer floral, but something moody and mysterious that captures the essence of the decaying bloom and the light soft-focus haze of memory.”
In 1975 Turbeville shocked the fashion world by photographing five women “in a condemned New York bathhouse.” The photo was part of a shoot for Vogue, and became famous.
Deborah Turbeville began her journey into photography on her own in the 1960’s. Until 1966, she was completely self-taught. She had worked a sample model for designer Claire McCardell, following that she became a fashion editor at Mademoiselle and Harper’s Bazaar Magazines. Vogue quotes that ” as a fashion editor at Harper’s Bazzar, she pushed the sittings she styled to be more than simply straight fashion pictures. (For example, despite her background as a model, she made efforts to cast decidedly non-model types.) After a while, the editor in Chief told Turbeville she was “just too much for this magazine,” and let her go.” The irony of that was that later on they were eager to have her photographs in their magazine!
During her work at Harper’s Bazaar she had met influential people and worked with photographer Richard Avedon. Soon after her departure from Harper’s Bazaar she showed her photographs to him. He was teaching some advanced photography classes with art director Marvin Israel at the time. He felt that her work was advanced and she joined their classes. During her studies with Avedon, he conveyed to her that he believed she would succeed as a photographer.
During the 1980’s Turbeville traveled to Europe numerous times to work on advertising campaigns for designers such as Valentino, Emanuel Ungaro and Comme des Garcon. Her work was frequently published by Italian Vogue, Casa Vogue, the New York Times Magazine and W Magazine. She had an apartment in New York and a home in Sao Miguel de Allende in Mexico. She also spent considerable time in St. Petersburg, Russia and Paris, France.
In 1982, Turbeville won an American Book Award for her series of photographs for “Unseen Versailles.” Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the editor of Doubleday at the time, had commissioned her to document the abandoned sections of the backrooms of Versailles. To add a bit of “autumnal aspect” to the settings Turbeville brought in bags of dead leaves and scattered them about the rooms. Turbeville created several other books of her photographs. Casa No Name is a book with photos of her home in the highlands of Mexico. Studio St. Petersburg was created due to her love of this city and her travels there in Russia.
Turbeville died in of lung cancer on October 25, 2013, in New York, at the age of 81.
Deborah Turbeville
Wabi-Sabi for Artist, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren pg. 54
These vases have been in my home for many, many years. The one with the lady with the full skirt, and basket of flowers, was in my family’s kitchen window when I was a teenager. She always looked so blissfully peaceful looking out over us, from above the kitchen sink. All of these vases are from the 1940’s or 1950’s, with the exception of the Dresden vase which maybe older.
The little square vase, with gold leaf painted trim and a different floral spray in each square’s side view is a Dresden vase. Most Dresden vases were destroyed during the bombing of Dresden, Germany in 1945. The floral spray is common of Meissen Dresden vases of the time. Mine says merely “H Dresden” on the bottom; therefore it is difficult to tell who made it for sure. I was given this vase many years ago by a friend of a friend. The elderly gentleman that gave it to me was moving into a home. His wife had died and he was alone, with no children to give their artistic treasures to. He asked me to take something and “enjoy” it. I have been joying it for over thirty years now and consider it one of my most valuable, treasured items. I attached a drawing and watercolor of this vase that I did years ago.
The hand vase I found around thirty years ago at some flea market. I am not sure if it is from the 1940’s or 1950’s. It is great for holding rings even if it doesn’t have a flower in the vase.
The head vase with the woman with the pearl necklace and earring I bought when I was in my twenties. I like how the woman’s face on the vase looks so calm and happy, plus her cheeks are so shiny! The vase is from the 1950’s. I had more vases like this before 1994, which is when my daughter and I moved to Colorado many years ago. Now she is there and I am here in Brooklyn, NY.
The lamb vase is from the 1940’s. It was my father’s when he was a small child. My grandmother told him that if he behaved well at the dental office, she would buy it for him afterwards. He was five at the time.
The picture of the lady walking her dog is not a vase, however it is in the same vein of antique, or vintage pieces. Years ago she had a parasol, which eventually fell apart so I discarded it. She is lovely, with her little dog.
When we moved out West way back then we sent most of our things via UPS, so we didn’t take much. Life gets so much more complicated and one ages, saves things and has children, or in my case a child. After that there are boxes of pictures, one collects more things as one gets older. Finally a few years ago I just stopped adding new houseware items to my collection. I just keep and treasure what I have, since there is really no more room for more at least at this point!
There are many vendors selling vintage and antique vases on Etsy or EBay. I found this one particular vendor who has a great collection of head vases at the moment. Her shop is: VintageDreamPlaza on Etsy. Gabriella Rossetti has been selling on Etsy since 2012 on Etsy. Here is a link to her site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageDreamPlaza?ref=shopsection_shophome_leftnav
I hope you enjoyed this post about vintage vases. I have some lovely pieces of other vintage houseware items I have collected through the years. Perhaps I can get to those in another post!
I can hardly believe it is July. Time has flown. I meant to get to this post awhile back but I have been super busy. These are just a few of the basic summer accessories, but these are ones that I consider kind of the basic essentials.
A hat: Aside from shielding one’s face from the sun it helps protect your hair. Sunlight can be kind of harsh on hair. I also like to use a leave in conditioner to protect the hair sticking out of the hat. At my age I get brown spots from the sun, so I try to carry my hat with me whenever I can to help prevent getting more!
Scarves: They brighten solid color outfits or blouses when wrapped around the shoulders or neck. There are days when I need to get dressed quickly and don’t have the time for an outfit that takes more time and effort to prepare. On those days (often after spending a lot of time on a post) I will wear a solid skirt or slacks, a solid blouse and a nice scarf. The floral scarf in this post was a gift from my daughter years ago. The blue with sunflowers scarf; I bought at David Owen’s Vintage shop.
A shawl or large wrap scarf: Whether made of cotton, rayon or some other soft fabric. The train and buses are chilly; therefore I have seen countless ladies in NY armed with a wrap scarf. Anything from a rayon pashmina scarf that is so available from street vendors in NY to a nice Bavarian folk scarf, or in this post I wrapped myself with a sarong skirt fabric.
Bracelets: All kinds of bracelets are fun. In the summer I particularly like charm bracelets since one doesn’t have to worry about them catching on thick winter sweaters. I made that charm bracelet of various silver charms. I also made the button bracelet and the tutti fruity one is one I made in the 1980’s. It has cute little lemon drop earrings to match!
Obi belt: Mine was made by Wada Africa. At the moment that designer has moved to Japan and she doesn’t have obi belts in her shop. I inserted a post picture of one from the Etsy shop ThriftyUpenyu. I like obi belts for their array of color, and how one can immediately perk up a solid dress, or outfit by wearing it. So many women have a simple solid color t-shirt dress, or a lovely black solid outfit. I like to wear my obi belt year round as well.
Earrings: Most of the time I still wear little post earrings, since those are my favorite. Summer is a time to break out the dangly and more bold, colorful earrings as well though. The bright lemons for instance, or air planes, are quirky and fun. The fabric covered cloth earrings here are from Awoke Vintage in Willamsburg, Brooklyn, NY.
If you see a caption on the bottom of the photo, of a single item, that means it is from an Etsy shop. If you click on them it should take you to the designer’s shop.
I put some emphasis on African print accessories here because I like them a lot. I think the various colors in the accessories are incredibly cheerful and that fun, playful aspect of summer is captured in the fabrics.
Hats
Scarves
Shawl
Obi belt
ThrfityUpenyu
Earrings
ThrftyUpenyu
Thriftyupenyu
Bracelets
Lovely extras:
Sweater Clips
These are particularly fun if you like vintage, or vintage inspired clothing. I bought mine from FoxgloveFawnlily on Etsy. Next time I’d prefer to buy one that is smaller, however I like that this accessory brightens up my darker clothing, while giving it a more vintage look.
I hope that you are enjoying summer and getting outside for some fun activities!
