Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

I made these two aprons, for my daughter, Emily, using Tif’Fussell’s a ‘perfectly peach’ pinny recipe for making an apron from vintage and retro pieces. The only new things I bought, aside from thread, was ribbons since I didn’t have old sheets or other long pieces of fabric that I wanted to use for making the ties for the aprons. This “recipe,” as well numerous others for crafts projects or ideas for decorating your home in a lovely floral, or doily, “Granny Chic” style are available in the book, which was put together by Tif Fussell and her friend Rachelle Blondel. Both have a history of blogging, Rachel is still blogging. Tif is no longer blogging however one can view her older posts at: http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/ and Rachell’s still current blog is at: http://www.dockandnettle.com/ She also has her blog from at the time the book was written:http://talesoftedandagnes.blogspot.com/ I have found that looking through the old blog posts one often finds nice craft projects.

I was considering doing an entire post on this “Granny Chic” book; however it seems like it’d be easier to do various posts about some of the different projects as I go along. The book is great, by the way, especially for those who have a notion to be “crafty.” There are covered lamp shades you can create with floral fabrics, round pillows, bottles covered in fabric, these are just to name a few. If you’d like a glimpse into Dottie Angel’s world you can go to Flickr and view her albums like Mossy Shed, which display photos of Tif Fussell’s lovely home and air streamer. I’d show you some pictures; however they are not available for download. You can view them at: https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=dottie+angel I have spent an hour or two viewing these albums a few times since they are so inspiring!! The other good news is that Tif has a pattern coming out for her “Dottie Angel Frock” this month with Simplicity patterns. I am eager to buy it as soon as it comes out since her dresses are marvelously simple and beautiful. I created a small gallery below, of a picture of the book and a few photos I took of the book, and some of its pictures inside.

The first apron I made was relatively simple to create; it is the orange and yellow one in this post. I used one side of a vintage pillowcase, added a vintage placemat, sewed down the center of the placemat to create large pockets and added some colorful ribbons to the top. Emily had just folded over the ribbons in the photos and I didn’t realize it! I used an old t-shirt’s orange lace for the lace. I found the t- shirt at a clothing swap. We all know I like to recycle things, find a new use for them.

The second apron was significantly more work, yet it was really fun to create it. I used a retro pillowcase my mother had embroidered years ago, a few pieces of vintage linens and some small pieces of fabric, or patches of embroidery to cover stains, or spots, where the fabric was wearing thin on the blue vintage piece in the center of the apron. I was very pleased with the lovely collaged look of the final outcome of the project. I have a history of enjoying making collages so that part came naturally to me. The corner pieces in the apron that are patchwork quilted is from a fair in Pennsylvania, where I bought several of those squares for a low price from a quilter about thirty years ago.

I hope you enjoyed this post about making these lovely aprons. I certainly enjoyed making them, and Emily will enjoy having them. I want to make a couple for myself now! I need to go hunting for more vintage pieces to add to what I have!

Vintage & Retro Dress Up and Family Fun

May 27, 2015

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Emily, my daughter was just in town for a week. It is really wonderful to get some family time to enjoy each other’s company, and to focus on running around the city having a good time. I missed my daughter so much, since last year I only had part time work so I wasn’t able to go to Colorado like I usually do. We hadn’t seen each other since when we went to Florida last May and stayed at my mother’s house for a week. Emily lives in Denver, not too far from where I raised her in Boulder, Colorado. Now we both are tired from the going, going and running about that we did all week but we had a great time together!!!

Friday Kirsti, Emily’s half- sister came in from Long Island, where she grew up. It was fun to see her and she stayed with us for a couple of days. Kirsti has a beautician license, yet at the current time she is studying mortuary, and Emily is studying English and photography. Both are very creative and kind of quirky, which is charming, and of course only natural when one’s parents are also creative.

We went to the Moma to see some art and the Yoko Ono exhibit. That was exciting, though very crowded. Then we stopped by David Owen’s Vintage so the girls could meet David. After that we walked down to PHO Vietnam, a lovely noodle shop in Chinatown at 87 Chrystie Street. They have these massive bowls of rice noodle soups, filled with vegetables and shrimp, tofu, whatever is on the menu for $6.99 to $7.99! It smells so delicious when you walk in. We really enjoyed that and the food was as delicious as the aroma of the restaurant.

Vintage fedora and vest

Saturday we had another busy day of running around. Emily and I went to a memorial service for a friend that helped us years ago when I was a very young single mother and my daughter was a toddler. It was good to see our Dominican family that adopted us. They really were a huge part of our lives for years and helped us tremendously. Later we met up with Kirsti in Washington Square Park. Then we roamed around the East Village. We had lunch at Mamoun’s, then stopped by Obscura, a shop with oddities that are antique, and then enjoyed shopping at a sidewalk sale where a young lady Emily’s size had some lovely clothes for sale. Emily bought a bag full of nice blouses and dresses and I found a black wool coat in really nice shape for a mere ten dollars. The lady was having a five dollar bag sale in New York, which is a real steal, especially when she had good quality clothing for sale. This is what I referred to in another post as a “good karma donation.” Our family is very into this recycling and enjoying thrifted items. Plus it is a quieter, more peaceful and more personal than shopping in loud, crowded chain shops. Earlier in the week Emily found the fedora hat in this post at No Relation, a vintage shop in the East Village.

Saturday evening we spent some time with a friend of ours JD, whom Emily met first and there was much storytelling and laughter. JD won’t tell any of us how old he is, but he has a very full life and has ten grown children. Even though he is in his eighties, or possibly ninety he still leads a Boy Scout troop group in Bed Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and goes camping with those boys. He had woken up in the snow on camping trips. I find it admirable that elderly people are still so active in the community like this, and being mentors to youngsters. From what he has told me several scout leaders are in their eighties or nineties. We hung out at the Outpost Café and had a lovely evening there.

Sunday we went to brunch at Alice’s Arbor, one of my favorite restaurants in Brooklyn, NY. The inside is all upcycled with various kinds of woods, old doors and the walls are covered in wood pieces that are fit together into a very pleasant, rustic look. We then took a long walk to Park Slope. There we walked up to Prospect Park and met up with Kristi’s mother, her brothers, and one of her friends. We had a bit of a reunion as Kristi’s mother and I hadn’t seen each other in about twenty years. Later we all went to Two Boots for some lunch and good pizza. This was followed by more roaming about looking at shops and later on when Kirsti and her family left, Emily and I went to Beacon’s Closet, another vintage and resale shop. Emily found some nice clothing there. The Texas shirt in this post is one item she found there.

Sunday evening and Monday Emily and I enjoyed our time alone and took the photos for this post, walked all around the Village and then later went to have a drink at Chelsea Piers on a tug boat. That was truly a lovely experience. There was a larger boat bar, then stairs where we climbed up to the tug boat. I had walked by it weeks ago and thought it looked like a place she’d enjoy.

1950’s dress

I also finished making a half apron for Emily while she was here. I made it from a “recipe” in the Granny Chic book by Tif Fussell and Rachelle Blondel. I have a couple of photos of it I am saving for the post about this delightful book. I worked on a bit every morning while she was here. I started it the weekend prior to her arriving but as things go it is taking a while to finish. A couple of times she told me “You are so productive!” as she rolled over to sleep a bit more.

The first photo of Emily here shows her current “prairie mode” of dressing. She looks as if she just blew in from the prairie; which she literally did actually the day before! Kirsti is the other young lady in the photos and I took a photo of her lovely hair colors which she did herself.

Thrifted black eyelet blouse and Liberty skirt

Vintage 1970’s house robe

Vintage 1950’s sweater

For these photos of retro and vintage clothing we went to the local graveyard. Aside from Prospect Park it is the closest place to be with nature. The Liberty skirts in this post are from the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, when I worked at Liberty of London at the Rockefeller Center shop. The business gave us sales ladies a few items a year as allotment to wear to work. I have treasured these skirts through the years as some of my favorites. The lovely black vintage dress and the sweater with seed beads and small sequins are both from the 1950’s and were my great grandmother’s originally. My grandma, whom I called Nanny Lavender, made the black dress. Her sewing is excellent. My grandmother used to work for Singer sewing machines so she was very talented. Actually all my grandmothers were very creative. My one grandma still alive sewed as long as her fingers would let her. At ninety four that isn’t really possible anymore, but her mind is still active and she does what she can. I know I inherited this love of arts and crafts from my ancestors.

When I was growing up I really admired my great grandma Stamey. She lived way out in the country in Georgia in a small cabin and lived there until she was ninety six. Only the last few months of her life did she go to live in the nursing home. At that point she had them cut her incredibly long hair and she wore it short and with a perm like the other ladies. The bath robe from the 1970’s was hers before she passed away. In the early eighties I patiently rethreaded every seed bead, small sequin or tiny shiny leaf on my great grandma’s sweater, so as to strengthen it and be able to treasure it for years, as I still do. I was pleased that Emily finally asked me for my grandma’s dress and I hope that now she can enjoy it and wear it for several years.

The vintage bed jacket is from the 1950’s and is just part of my collection. The lacy lingerie top underneath is from my collection and a piece my mother gave me back in the 1980’s. She most likely used it a lot during the 1970’s.

Well my daughter and I had an awesome visit and some fun time with family and friends. I hope you enjoyed these photos and are inspired to rewind, reuse, and recycle some lovely vintage or retro pieces in your own wardrobe!!!

Retro Liberty skirt from 1990

1950’s bed jacket with 1970’s lingerie top, Liberty skirt

Grace Kelly, A Slow Fashion Spring Inspiration

May 11, 2015

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I have always found Grace Kelly’s beauty, style and poise very inspiring. When I was a child when we lived in Europe for five years, at some point we went to Monaco. Perhaps this is why I have always liked Kelly, and remembered her. I thought the French Rivera was absolutely stunning and so I was not likely to forget such a beautiful place, and the woman within the Palace of Monaco.

Grace Kelly was known for her natural beauty, her use of very little makeup, and her wholesome appeal. She has remained a fashion icon through the years with museums displaying her wedding dress and wardrobe. The Victoria and Albert Museum of London, in 2010, held an exhibit referred to as: “Grace Kelly Style Icon.” They had fifty of her outfits on display. In this post I intend to share my inspiration from Grace’s elegance, as well as show how basic, classic clothing is timeless. It looked great on Grace sixty years ago and will also look great on us today. Trends come and go, classics are a large part of slow fashion and appreciating what will last.

Born into an affluent family in 1929, Grace Kelly grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father was from an Irish family and won three gold medals in the Olympics for sculling. Years later he was appointed to the title of National Director of Fitness by President Roosevelt. Her mother, who was of German descent was also interested in athletics and taught physical education at the University of Pennsylvania. Her mother was also active as a model and there were times that Grace posed with her in modeling sessions. When Grace was growing up she did some acting and dancing. She held a lead role in the play Don’t Feed the Animals, in 1942, which was produced by East Falls Old Academy (1). She was only twelve at that time. She continued acting and dancing into her high school years. Grace had two older sisters and a brother.

Grace had two uncles who were involved in the theater. Her Uncle George was a playwright, and it was his encouragement, despite her father’s disapproval, that helped her to follow her heart into an acting career (2).

Prior to moving to Hollywood she worked as a model and in the theater. She attended acting school at New York City’s Academy of Dramatic Arts. (3) One of her teachers and directors made a derogatory remark about her voice. This drove Grace to practice her speech diligently and despite what he had said she achieved fame and had a blossoming career in acting, particularly in film.

In 1951 she was in her first film, Fourteen Hours and met Gary Cooper. The following year he decided he wanted her to play his wife in High Noon, a Western film. This film set Kelly on her path to fame. A year later she landed another role in Mambo, filmed in Africa, with Clark Cable and Ava Gardner. While there she had a brief romance with Clark Gable. For this film she won the Best Supporting Actress Award, which is a Golden Globe Award.

In the 1950’s Kelly was in three Alfred Hitchcock films. One was ‘Dial M for Murder’, the others were Rear Window and to Catch A Thief. Her costars were men such as Cary Cooper, Bing Crosby, James Stewart, Ray Milland, and Frank Sinatra. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Country Girl, in which she played the wife of an alcoholic.

“Kelly headed the U.S. delegation at the Cannes Film Festival in April 1955 (4).” While in Monaco, she was invited by Prince Rainer III to participate in a photo shoot at his palace. There were numerous delays to their meeting, however, they began writing each other letters after their brief meeting and their romance blossomed despite the distance. She had been dating different men; there was a romance with Oleg Cassini, but her parents did not approve due to his being divorced. Prince Rainer came to America in 1955, and while here he met with Grace and her family. Her family approved of him, and three days later he proposed. When Alfred Hitchcock heard of her engagement he was quoted as saying “I am very happy that Grace has found such a good part.”

Their wedding was elaborate. Grace sailed to the French Rivera in April of 1956, aboard the SS Constitution. They had both a civil and religious ceremony (5). Their civil ceremony, in the Palace of Monaco was followed by a reception in which 3,000 citizens of Monaco attended (6). The newlyweds enjoyed a seven- week Mediterranean honeymoon upon Prince Rainer’s yacht Deo Juanvete II (7). Their wedding was a televised sensation, attracting an estimated 30 million viewers. Throughout their marriage it is said that they held a deep love for one another, despite the fact that their work and interest often kept them apart.

Grace seems to have had a wonderful knack for dealing with change. She went from being a leading actress, to a bride, princess and then a mother within a couple of years. Her first child, Princess Caroline was born just a little over nine months after her parents’ wedding. Her son, Prince Albert was born the following year and Princess Stephanie seven years later. Princess Grace maintained dual citizenship for the rest of her life.

After her wedding in 1956 Grace began focusing her efforts on philanthropic work, since as Princess of Monaco she could no longer continue acting. She founded AMADE, a non- profit that is recognized by the UN for its Non-Governmental work in protecting “moral and physical integrity” and “spiritual well-being of children throughout the world, without distinction of race, nationality or religion and in a spirit of complete political independence.” (8) The organization remains active today and is currently run by Grace’s daughter, Princess Caroline. She also was an active voice in support of breast feeding for the La Leche League.

Grace also formed the Princess Grace Foundation in 1964, to support local artisans in Monaco. “In 1983, following her death, Princess Caroline assumed the duties of President of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. Prince Albert is Vice-President (9).”^”

During her lifetime Grace anonymously continued to fund and assist artists, throughout the various arts of film, dance and theater in the United States. “The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) was established following the death of Kelly to continue the work that she had done (10).” This Foundation remains active today and thus far has “has awarded nearly 500 artists at more than 100 institutions in the U.S. with more than $7 million to date (11).”

In the fall of 1982 Grace was driving home to Monaco, from her country home in Roc Agel when she had a stroke. Her car went off a cliff, and down a steep embankment. Her daughter Stephanie had unsuccessfully tried to regain control of the car (11). Grace was unconscious when the paramedic arrived, however her injuries were “irreparable” and the next day Prince Rainer decided to take her off of life support (12). Her daughter, Princess Stephanie had suffered a mild concussion “and a hairline fracture on the seventh cervical vertebra. She was unable to attend her mother’s funeral due to her injuries (13).” She was buried on September 18, 1982 at the Saint Nichols Cathedral in Monaco (14). In 2005, Prince Rainer, “who never remarried, was buried alongside her following his death in 2005(15).”

Grace Kelly was “inaugurated into the Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1960(16).” “Modern designers Tommy Hilfiger and Zac Posen have citied her as a fashion inspiration (17).” When she was married her dress was designed by Helen Rose, a MGM Academy Award winner (18). “Her wedding dress was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses (19).”

I hoped you enjoyed this post about Grace Kelly and find some inspiration in it. I also hope all the mothers out there had a nice Mother’s Day!

Leigh, Wendy (2007). True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 0-312-34236-5.
http://www.gracekellyonline.com/biography/
http://www.gracekellyonline.com/biography/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
The Big Week in Monaco: Movies’ Pretty Princess Assumes a Real Life Title. Life 40 (18) (Time Inc.). 30 April 1956. p. 37. ISSN 0024-3019. She had to go through two weddings, separately required by the Napoleonic Code of Monaco and the laws of the Roman Catholic Church. ‘I’m halfway married,’ she exclaimed after the first wedding, a 16-minute civil ceremony in his crimson-damasked throne …”
Hintz, Martin (2004). Monaco. Children’s Press. ISBN 978-0-516-24251-4 & Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-618-74658-3
Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-618-74658-3 & Taraborrelli 2003, p. 149
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO
Princess Grace Foundation^[^{dead link}^]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
Werner, Jennifer (2014). Grace Kelly of Monaco: The Inspiring Story of How An American Film Star Became a Princess. BookCaps Study Guides. pp. 40–44. ISBN 9781629172484.
Leigh, Wendy (2007). True Grace: The Life and Death of an American Princess. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-312-34236-4.
“BBC On This Day September 14th 1982”. BBC News. September 14, 1985. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
“Death of Princess Grace – history – central”. British Council. Retrieved March 13, 2010.^[^{dead link}^]
“The International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame”. Vanity Fair. June 7, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
Jacobs, Laura (May 2010). “Grace Kelly’s Forever Look”. Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-618-74658-3.
Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-618-74658-3.

All photos from Flickr, they link to their source.

David Owens Vintage Clothing in NYC

May 4, 2015

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David Owens Vintage Clothing specializes in 1940’s through 1970’s vintage clothing for both women and men. The shop is located at 161 Rivington Street in the Lower East Side of Greenwich Village. It has been open for the past over fifteen years. David has been collecting vintage for over thirty- five years. Years ago he helped a friend open a shop and after that he began wholesaling vintage.

The first time I visited the shop I was impressed with the equal share of men’s and women’s wear, the quality of the merchandise, and the fact that the shop has reasonable prices. Also, the shop is very well organized, and attention to detail is carried over into the merchandise. Generally, anything that needs mending gets sent to the tailor prior to being put out on the sales floor. David also carries a wide array of accessories such as men’s 1940’s neckties, pocket squares, cuff links, bow clips, bow ties and suspenders. For women he has sweater clips, brooches, earrings, necklaces, scarves, and more. He has vintage dead stock sun glasses, hats for men and women, shoes, handbags and numerous other items. There is quite a large collection of men’s Hawaiian print shirts. One of the Hawaiian print shirts he currently has is from the 1940’s made by a company called Kahanamoku. For vintage collectors who like designer name items he has a wide variety, from clothing to accessories. David is in the shop quite often, plus he has a full time manager, Chris, who is there five days a week. Chris has a degree in Fashion Merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Technology. He started working for David during his last semester at school and never left. The sales assistance you will receive there will be friendly, as well as knowledgeable of vintage.

Kahanamoku Shirt

There are several pieces of Jantzen’s bathing suits, and many others as well. There is a set of men’s wool Jantzen’s swim suit trunks from the 1930’s. That one is also listed on the Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DavidOwensVintage?ref=search_shop_redirect The Etsy shop only has only a few pieces; however, there is also a Facebook page where they regularly post photos of the apparel. One could always write or call about the stock that is posted there.

Jantzen swim wear

1950’s Stephen O’Grady dress

1940’s jacket

For women’s wear there is a lovely variety of dresses, skirts, blouses, blazers and coats. Seasonally the shop carries vintage furs, for those of you who like fur coats. There is a lovely collection of hats, for both men and women who collect millinery pieces. For men David keeps a collection of blazers, sports jackets, shirts, slacks and he said many men like to collect apparel with the Playboy bunny logo. His collection of suspenders includes ones with the button hole and those with the clips instead. If you are on a serious budget, there is usually a sales rack, plus there is a basket of ten dollar vintage scarves as well.

If you are in the area and can stop in to check out the shop I believe it will be well worth your time. If you are a collector of vintage you will most likely find a place that you can return to time and time again. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting both David and Chris and I, for one, think the David Owens Vintage Clothing shop is fantastic!

Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

To be conscious of recycling

Aprons with Vintage Linens and “Granny Chic”

Vintage & Retro Dress Up and Family Fun

Grace Kelly, A Slow Fashion Spring Inspiration

David Owens Vintage Clothing in NYC