Vintage Archives - Be Kind, Thrift and Rewind

I found this thrifted wool coat on the Lower East Side of NYC when my daughter Emily was visiting this past May. We saw a sign for a $5 bag sale and headed in that direction soon afterwards. The petite lady who had the stoop sale had some really nice quality dresses, tops, sweaters, bags and my coat. It must have been quite large on her since I couldn’t possibly fit into any of her lovely dresses, or I would have gladly bought one or two. My daughter, Emily, luckily snagged a few of those items. We walked away with two bags full of clothing and I’d spent a mere ten dollars.

My black wool must have been brushed since it has a slight fake fur look. I didn’t really notice it at first since it is not very raised or furry but then later I asked a dry cleaner and he said it is in fact all wool. Well now that that enigma is figured out I am accustomed to the texture and like it. I like wearing the coat with the vintage brooch pinned on it. I usually don’t wear brooches that large but with it on a coat I feel a larger one does look better. I was attracted to the green colors in the brooch, which I found on eBay.

Thrifting pays in that it helps you retain more of your money for other necessities, plus it is a win-win cycle of reducing mass production’s effects on the environment.

I have been intrigued recently with the concept of mixing my vintage clothing with the grunge look. This type of look was big in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Vivienne Westwood had her punk look of the “Buffalo Girls” with long prairie skirts, plaid and hats. Marc Jacobs in 1992 had the prairie-look dresses mixed with flannel shirts, and combat boots. For a bit about the early 1990’s grunge look, see here. I haven’t mixed in the flannel shirt yet but I wore a baggy grey sweater over my Liberty of London jumper from the early 1990’s. I have been wearing it with my black pirate-looking boots from Steve Madden’s collection a few years ago. The grey sweater I traded for at Buffalo Exchange. I like the mix of shapes in the outfit. When I first put on my Liberty jumper by instinct I reached for my vintage cardigan and dainty jewelry. Then I remembered I was looking for the grunge look so had to change all that. In this photo I am wearing the dress with a vintage Celtic silver cross that was my mother’s in the 1970’s.

Well I am going to experiment with my wardrobe in the next month and try to come up with more grunge/vintage looking outfits. I think it is a fun mix.

I hope you enjoyed this post and are having a happy holiday season. I am headed to visit my daughter in Colorado very soon. I will be there for Christmas! Hopefully I can get some great photos of the mountains and maybe some snow.

I decided to try it with a flannel shirt tied around the waist!

Outfit Details:

Vintage Liberty of London jumper early 1990’s

Sweater- Love 21- traded from Buffalo Exchange

Socks (thigh high’s) Pact Organic Clothing

Boots:Gift- Steve Madden

Simple Black t-shirt

Pier Antique Show in NYC

November 20, 2015

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Last weekend I went to the Pier Antique Show in New York at Pier 94. A friend went with me and we walked all around and visited the booths. My friend David Owens, whom I met when I did a blog post about his shop, David Owens Vintage Clothing, gave me tickets. In terms of recycling and reusing the place was absolutely filled with antiques and vintage. There were Louis Icaret prints at many booths, other art prints, loads of estate jewelry and furnishings. If someone wanted to furnish their home with antiques this would be the place to bring a truck and stock up. Of course the items were pricey; plus most of the items were in really good condition. This is not so much a place for bargain hunting.

I saw some great kitchenware from the 1940’s and 1950’s. Toasters, spice racks and canisters. Unique, retro-looking and fun! My favorite kitchen I ever had had an antique turquoise stove in it. Vintage kitchenware is fun, colorful and I like that it stands out as something charmingly different in the modern world.

In the Fashion Alley section, where David’s booth was, there were numerous vintage fashion merchandisers. Several vendors had dead stock vintage fabrics. David does sell numerous fur coats, which I am not a big fan of. I can totally understand that as a small business in Manhattan it could be a big item that can help to cover the rent and expenses. Someone has to sell them so it is nice that all of his are vintage, which is further down the chain of production and it is also recycling its use. On occasion he has the nice fake-fur coats as well. Lots of vendors had fake-fur coats, many had some really beautiful dresses and several had Victorian blouses. I was awestruck several times at the lovely long dresses and I saw a gorgeous flaxen coat. David had a few really nice dresses that would be nice for the holidays. My favorite was black with a V neckline, knee length, with a full skirt and black bow at the waistline. It was a knock-out classy dress!

I didn’t take very many pictures. We were mostly just walking around observing everything. It was a very busy event with a lot of people visiting. It was fun to see how many people are interested in vintage and all the varieties of goods. When I was younger I went to a lot of shows like this but this time it had been a while.

I am still looking for work here and it is frustrating. It is not an easy time to be unemployed or under-employed in America. I have a couple more physical therapy sessions for my foot. In general I am walking around better. I hope you all are enjoying fall and getting ready for Thanksgiving.

Vintage 1970’s Blue Dress With a 1940’s Look

October 30, 2015

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I found this blue dress at Dusty Rose Vintage Warehouse in Brooklyn, NY. I had to dig through a barrel to find it since the shop often sells to wholesalers. Eventually I would like to have an Etsy shop, hopefully in the not-so-far-off future. I could use a sideline income and that is right up my alley of fun things I’d like to be involved in. So this was my first visit out there, basically to see the warehouse, and this is what I found that I decided to keep for me. It looked my size and sure enough when I tried it on it fit perfectly; however it had these weird puffs on the shoulder, Gibson Girl style, and I didn’t think it worked with the short sleeves and my little frame. If I wear a Gibson Girl style I like it long sleeved. So I gathered up the excess puff and stuck it below the seams and created a small slanted seam on the sleeve. I doubt anyone is going to get that close to see the seam, you do what you must to make things work!! Now I am happy with the dress.
I didn’t realize until I was getting this post together that I’d done two outfit posts in a row in blue dresses. I am really into blue again. Last year I did a post, “Am I Blue?”. I am still embracing wearing blue again. There is something strangely comforting about wearing it after all those years of not wanting to wear blue. I wanted to rebel against its conformity, its uniform look, and now oddly enough I find it appealing. I like its simplicity, and it is not black, which I get tired of in New York City. Sometimes black is so elegant but I just feel like it is not right for me on a regular basis. Even with the blue I like red, yellow, white, and orange to brighten it up.
I really like the first picture since not only am I wearing blue but my hair is getting longer and flowing and it was blowing in the wind. For years I alternated between growing my hair and enjoying that liberating feeling of chopping it off and not embracing my longer hair. Now I just wish it would grow faster. I have resorted to everything but the kitchen sink to get it to grow faster. Mashed bananas, olive oil, vitamin E oil, coconut milk, honey, literally I am going all out to get it to grow!! When I was young I wasn’t allowed to cut my hair for years and years. My father was controlling about that so when I grew up I kept up this alternating pattern of growing and chopping it off. For years it was super short. The last few years I am just thrilled to have soft pretty hair, so I doubt I am cutting it short for a long time. My mother keeps hers rather short and she is going to keep it that way forever she says. No, my mother isn’t with my father anymore so she wears her hair how she likes it!! This picture represents two things I wasn’t so comfortable with for a long time – the color navy and letting my hair down for any real length of time. Well things certainly change through the years.
Another reason I liked this dress is that I have noticed so few women working in accounting wearing floral dresses. It is to the point that I am not totally sure if florals are acceptable at work anymore, particularly in accounting. This dress I feel is feminine and floral; yet the navy gives it a very conservative look. So I think it is a good one to blur the lines with. These are things I have to consider when I buy a vintage dress and would like to wear it to work. Obviously if I end up with a large finance company it won’t work unless it is summer, but in most offices I think it could work. Are there any other ladies feeling frustrated by lack of florals in office attire? I am sure I am not the only one, so if you have any comments on this please let me know.
I went outside and took more close-up pictures. These things happen when I am taking photos on my own, so that is why there are two different hair styles, on two different days. The jacket is more a 1950’s style but it works with the dress and I found that little vintage pin at a shop in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn.
Well I hope you are enjoying fall and perhaps have something fun planned for Halloween. Our weather here has gotten warm again but the leaves keep changing. I have been able to go out on longer walks and am getting some physical therapy for my foot now. Hopefully I can get out and take some more shots at some nice parks or something for the blog soon!!

Vintage Halloween Images from Flickr

October 23, 2015

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Halloween again! I found these few vintage photos I wanted to share on here. I am not sure what I am doing on Halloween this year. I was hoping to go to the Village and go to a coffee shop with a side street view of the costumes. In the past that has been the best way to actually view the costumes since I am vertically challenged about seeing the parade. Last year I spent a couple of hours perched on a metal police barrier trying to catch a view by being raised up. I still didn’t get as good a view as I had in the past on the side streets. So I think I will return to my old route. Plus with recovering from foot surgery I have to be very careful in crowds for a while, not to get stepped on! I am now at the point where I can walk around for a while and don’t need the cane finally. If you don’t live in New York City you might not know how crowded and nuts the NY Halloween parade can be. Often it is the case that even some subway stations get shut down due to the crowds.
I cannot think of Halloween without thinking of my daughter Emily as she was growing up and all the Halloween costumes, or even just costumes in general for shows or school functions. So I have posted one of her as a toddler in her adorable pumpkin dress our neighbor made her, and another two of her as a fish for a show. The fish costume was made by a friend’s mother. I still have the little pumpkin dress, in the event that I have a grandbaby someday who can wear it!
If I get to see some great costumes from the NYC Halloween parade I will of course post pictures of them later on. I am thinking I will be a scarecrow again since it is a relatively simple costume to put together. I always think scarecrows need hay though and it isn’t easy to find hay. I may have to be a city scarecrow and go without hay sticking out of my sleeves or socks.
I hope you enjoy these vintage Halloween images. The last picture is not a vintage picture; however it was the best picture I took of a costume a few years ago on Macdougal Street, just a block away from the parade. That lady had a seriously good Pinocchio outfit!
Well I hope you are enjoying the beginning of fall. I for one am thrilled that summer is biting the dust. The humidity in New York is rough on me. I do like all the outdoor activities that are easier to do in the summer in New York though. I miss the kayaking already! I do enjoy the change of seasons and the leaves in the street, the bundling up in sweaters, hot cider, all of those little things that follow suit once the air gets crisp and has a bite to it.