Retro/Vintage Archives - Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

I bought this yellow 60’s Evelyn Pearson dress at St. Luke’s Thrift shop, in the West Village, in NYC, when they were having a sale last summer. I liked the bright, sunny yellow cotton fabric and the pretty Oriental knots on the shoulder. At first I could not quite figure it what to wear it with. In time I came across the Oscar De la Renta silk scarf that I wear it with in this post. The colors go with it very well. Also, this summer I bought the cardigan in this post at Uniqlo and I like the soft shade of beige with it. When I first tried to do a post with this dress my daughter thought the outfit needed more to look complete. Once I found the scarf and sweater I started wearing this dress a lot more. It is very comfortable. It is referred to on the tag as “Lounge Wear.” I am perfectly content to wear it out as a dress. I like to wear it with my John Fluevog shoes that I also found at the same thrift shop. They have a bit of a twenties look with their multiple straps of closure.

I took these pictures with a tripod up in Mount Kisco, NY one day when I was up there. The creek that runs through the downtown area is very pretty. Right now they are doing work on the area surrounding the creek so not as many ducks as usual are in the downtown area. They are most likely further up the road. The old Stone clock structure is near the train station for the Metro North train. Mount Kisco, NY and that whole are is lovely.

This is a brief post since my schedule has been hectic. I figured it is better to do a brief post rather than none. I still am commuting over two hours a day during the week; which is why I decided to take the camera and tripod with me sometimes. Well I hope you are enjoying the rest of summer. I have been bike riding when I can or kayaking in the Hudson River.

evelyn pearson 60's dress

Thrifted John Flevog’s

Vintage scarf by Oscar De La Renta

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Vintage Patchwork Silk Dress with Stars, Half Moons and Flowers

August 13, 2017

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I bought this Cranberry Castle N.Y.C. dress back in 1988 soon after my daughter Emily was born. It was designed by Joyce Francis. In this post there are pictures of us both wearing the dress. Emily looks lovely in the dress and it fits her slim figure perfectly. She always loved the dress and asked me for it several years ago. I gave it away gladly since it had gotten too tight for me and I really wanted her to enjoy it. I treasure the pictures of me breast feeding her in the dress. I felt as if the dress captured my earthly goddess nature that seems to surround women sometimes, particularly after experiencing such a life altering event such as becoming a mother. Emily agrees that the dress makes her feel a kind of “bohemian hippie free flowing spirit.” She also commented that it makes her feel like she wants to “get up and dance.”

The silk fabric has stars, half-moons, little flowers and multiple sections of patch-worked fabric for the skirt. The bodice is a lovely cranberry color sprinkled with paisley patterns and bits of the blue again, along with a blue ruffled silk fabric topping the bodice. Off white flowers and patterns are sprinkled all along the blue fabric with little cranberry flowers or outlines of flowers. A burgundy sash ties around the back of the waist.

I thought it’d be fun to share the photos of the dress with you. We treasure this lovely dress and I have a feeling Emily will hang onto it as long as she can.

I had a fun trip to Denver, Co. recently where I went to get a few days with my daughter. We went to the UMS band festival and saw several shows. I also went up to Boulder where I used to live and saw a couple of friends. One morning I went for a bike ride and a brief hike in the foot hills. Boulder, Co. is very beautiful. I like to say it looks like heaven on earth. My trip was very brief since I needed to get back to work in New York but it is always good to get a break and a change of scenery!

I have another post coming up soon. I will most likely post it by next Sunday. I hope you are enjoying the summer!

Cranberry Castle Dress N.Y.C

Joyce Francis vintage dress

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Vintage Sew On Appliques from the 60’s and 70’s

February 23, 2017

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I have been enjoying collecting vintage appliques as I stock them for my Etsy vintage shop. They are not easy to find. So far I prefer to get ones from the 60’s that are the sew-on kind. The glue-on ones still work best with quick little stitches to hold them in place. The older ones with no glue are softer generally and easier to work with when sewing. There is also the difference between appliques and patches. Either can be used to patch something, cover a stain or add an adornment of a picture to fabric. The appliques generally are softer and have no raised edge like the more solid patches that are often used on jeans or denim jackets.

I have seen appliques and patches showing up in all sorts of situations, whether on bomber jackets, or these Tommy Hilfiger jeans that I show in the photo from amny.com/fashion. I also recently was walking in Greenwich Village and saw that the shop Brandy Melville uses them to decorate their shop. I am not sure how old the ones they had on display were but they certainly added a unique vintage look in the shop and shop windows. The photo below of the lady with the hat and hot pants with appliques I found on Pinterest.

I recently added appliques to two of my sweaters. One is a soft really nice sweater from Uniqlo that was a gift but somehow I managed to get a couple of moth holes on the shoulder of the sweater. So I sewed these two lovely vintage floral appliques over the shoulder. The other sweater is just a simple sweater but I liked the instant vintage look that was achieved by sewing the vintage pale blue flower applique onto the sweater. I have been having repairs done in my apartment so I had to go stand in a different spot and I am not truly in the mood for an outfit post with all this going on. There will be better days for focusing on that! I did want to show you those appliques, though.

I have several other appliques in my Etsy shop. I am adding some more appliques soon. I have larger owls coming and some nautical captain’s wheels as well. They are fun to collect and as long as one knows basic sewing they should be an easy addition to sweaters, jeans or bags for instance. In this post, I inserted a picture of a skirt from my Etsy shop that has a 70’s applique on it. I think they are also handy for adding to modern clothing for a quick vintage look.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post. My feet are healing up well from the last surgery now and I was recently able to run for seven minutes! I am looking forward to being able to bike ride a lot in the spring and it is a pure joy to have healthier feet!

Butterfly hat from the 70’s

70’s skirt with applique in my Etsy vintage shop. This links to the listing.

Vintage appliques

60's sew on appliques

60’s applique. This links to the listing.

Another 60’s applique. This links to the listing.

Brandy Melville window

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Some of my Favorite Vintage Fall Accessories

December 4, 2016

12/042016

These accessories are a few of the vintage fall items that I have added to my wardrobe the last year. I have always loved scarves since I was a young gal when we lived in Europe for five years. I saw women wearing them year round. My mother wore a lot of scarves as well. The fall leaf scarf I found in my trips to Philadelphia I believe I bought it at Retrospect, a vintage shop at 508 South Street. The paisley one I found a vintage street sale in the West Village. My screw on earrings in the lovely golden amber color I like to wear with my vintage paisley fall skirt that has an array of golden colors.

The brooch with the lady with the flowing hair and flowers I found in at St. Luke’s Thrift Shop in the West Village. I really like the feminine with nature theme that is captured on the brooch. I had a brooch that was similar in the 80’s but I lost it through the years. So I was happy when I found this one.

When I started collecting more vintage brooches to sell in my Etsy shop I ran across a few brooches that can be used as a pendant as well. Apparently, this was a fashion trend in the 1940’s and earlier as well. The one I saved for myself is the one with the blue flowers and rhinestones in gold-tone metal. I have attached it to a gold chain I have. It is a very pretty piece. I am hoping to wear it at some point when I dress up during the holidays, although I think it would look great even with jeans and a black top since it would dress up any outfit.

I have attached a link to an Edwardian Era brooch made in Russia between 1908-1917. I have attached another link of an ancient Victorian Era Fleming heart pendant, circa 1897. I have attached the pictures through my Pinterest boards. If you would like to follow me on Pinterest I am adding in photos of some of my brooches from my vintage collection that is in my Etsy shop, as well as other brooches I like.

These types of pendant brooches are a unique vintage look. I think they make a lovely statement piece to wear currently, even with modern clothing since they are so different from the current trend of large cluster necklaces. The silver-tone pendant brooch with silver flowers and clear and blue rhinestones is in my Etsy shop currently. I prefer lighter necklaces myself, or clusters that are not such a heavy look. I am petite and generally, I like accessories that don’t overwhelm my smaller frame.

I have a couple of these brooch/pendants in my own vintage Etsy Shop HabershamVintage. They are temporarily on sale as well. Actually, all the items in my vintage Etsy shop that are over $14.99- $19.99 are on sale for 20% off, currently marked the sale price. All items over $19.99 are 25% off and marked the sale price as well.

I have been busy adding more of the jewelry I designed myself to my other Etsy shop, CosmicRenegade, the one with handmade items. That shop is also having a sale of 15% off items over $14.99. There is a coupon code to get the discount: HOLIDAYS. If you decide to shop please use your coupon code prior to checkout. I have added a lot of earrings, in particular, the last few weeks.

I will be planning on taking some pictures of the holiday windows in New York City again, as I have done the last couple of years. I hope you are enjoying the beginning of the holiday season and the rest of fall.

fall vtg scarf