What I Wore - 1938 Formal Meets 2011

Last night I was looking for something different to wear today. In my refashion pile I saw this 1938 formal I made back in 2008. It was made for a family outing to see the Broadway play, The Lion King at a theater that was built back in the 20s, or 30s. I wanted a vintage dress, but it also had to be cheap. Like not spend any money on the dress. Enter this dress, the whole dress was made out of supplies in my stash. What may, or may not surprise you is.....this dress is made out of cotton broadcloth from Joann Fabrics. Yes, broadcloth. But in the dim lights of the theater you couldn't tell. 


I only wore this dress that one time. It didn't fit me on top right. {even though the pattern size said this dress was way too small for me. I still had to take the dress in. crazy.} On a whim last night, I tried the dress one. And guess what? It fits me like a dream now. Yay! But I didn't want to wear this as a dress today. So I threw on a chunky sweater that was given to us as handy-me downs. It totally brought the outfit to 2011. I love it! I now had the look of a maxi skirt. Perfect for the current fall trends. 

 burgundy dress made by me {vintage 1938 pattern}/ blue sweater free people {hand-me down}/ owl ring kohl's/ tan boots target/ gold leaf earrings forever 21

What is something from your closet that you can wear in a different way?

1939/1940 Fall/Winter Sears & Roebuck Catalog

I'm so excited to share with y'all my find on Etsy. A 1939/1940 Fall/Winter Sears & Roebuck Catalog! There is so much information packed into this thick catalog. Books, clothing, sewing supplies, beauty products, and so much more. It is simply glorious! Here is just a sneak peak into the catalog. And I may, or may not have gone overboard on the pictures. ;-) But I tell you, this is just a small fraction of the catalog. 

Darling colorful winter coats. I'll take either E or F {the two on the right}.

Love the suit on the right! I even bought some suiting fabric like that in LA last month. Hmm...ideas.

Winter coats back then were so glamorous. 

More lovely suits. 

Could these dresses and jackets just pop into my closet, please? 

Wouldn't mind owning a few of these skirts. 

One of the things I loved most about browsing through this catalog is the colors. I never imagined them wearing these bright colors. Don't know why. But it never crossed my mind that they would. I always thought of the era in more muted tones.

Brightly colored blouses for between $1.98 - $1.00. 

L.o.v.e these cardigans! Very classic and colorful. 

These are pretty too. I like the mustered color one on the bottom left-side corner.

Hats! Hats! Hats!

More glorious hats! 

May I have the, Deanna Durbin styled hat, please? 

 Hair supplies. Do you see the "Movie Wave" set? It says, "The 'Hair-Dos' of the stars right at your fingertips." I wonder if it came with a booklet on how to do your stars favorite hairstyle? 

 Beauty supplies....

 More beauty supplies....

 Housecoats. 

 Lovely boots. The ones on top remind me of boots you can buy today. 

 Adorable booties. I adore the fur trimmed ones. 

 These plaid dresses for girls are so cute!

 I wouldn't mind having view E of the juniors coats. So cute! Her headscarf is adorable too.

Fun colorful, woolens that you can buy.

 Velvet and corduroy colors you can buy. 

 Rayon's.....

 Cotton flannels....

 Cottons....

Look! A Mickey Mouse watch. 

Which are your favorites? Also, what pages would you like to see next?

Resources & Info for Dressing Vintage {Achieving a Vintage Look Part 1}

On Formspring I was asked the following question, "How can I easily achieve a Vintage look??" I decided to take this question and make a whole series dedicated to the subject {it will be a short series}. =)

Stores -

The easiest way to buy vintage inspired {or real vintage} clothing is from the following stores.

http://www.modcloth.com

http://www.shopruche.com

http://www.lulus.com

http://www.shabbyapple.com 

{I've own a dress from them that I won in a giveaway.}

http://www.etsy.com

Sewing - 

Another great way to get vintage looking clothing is to buy vintage patterns and make your own clothes. This is what I do. =) I find my patterns from Antique Malls/Stores {this is the big one for me} and online vintage pattern stores. 

Vintage {Original Patterns}

So Vintage Patterns 

http://www.sovintagepatterns.com 

{I bought my first vintage pattern from this site.}

http://www.lanetzliving.net

{I've bought many patterns from her.}

http://momspatterns.com

http://www.etsy.com

Reproduction 

http://www.decadesofstyle.com

{I bought several of their patterns while at Costume College last year.}

http://www.evadress.com

http://butterick.mccall.com/retro-pages-371.php

New Look Vintage Looks & Vintage & Retro

{The first one is vintage inspired. While the second is taken from their archives.}

Sense & Sensibility Patterns - 1940s Swing Dress Pattern

{My Pattern Review}

Blog Posts - 

Va Voom Vintage - 

Building A Vintage Wardrobe: 101

• Dresses
• Pants
• Skirts
• Blouses

Latter I'll show you the ways I dress vintage. And blogs of other people who do so. Next up...1940's make-up.

~Ashley

Fun Vintage Inspiration for Spring

While browsing through Vintage Textile yesterday, I found some lovely inspiration.

First off, these adorable polka-dot heels from the 1938! How cute are they!

Another great find is this late 1920s silk day dress. So bouncy and springy.

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Looking through Vintage Textiles, what are your favorites? If you like, you can narrow it down to the 1920s to 1930s. ;-)

~Ashley