Sailor Girl

In another installment of story time. A fictional story I made up about a dress I have in my shop.

Just like the yellow sister dresses I found this pretty sailor girl dress at a flea market, I instantly fell in love with it and made sure it came home with me. This pretty is already listed in my shop, you can check out the listing here.

Sailor Girl

Daddy just bought a yacht much to Mama’s dismay, she told him not to but he never listens and buys what he wants. A new boat means new boating clothes and Mama ever the proper one made sure I was dressed in the best. She found my new sailor dress at Lazarus on a freshly brought in rack of clothes. I do have to say of all the sailor dresses I’ve had to wear this is my favorite. It is an off white dress with blue trim and red sailor knot bow in the front, plus the fabric is this so I won’t be too hot out in the sun. Mama said it was A Kate Greenaway Keepsake dress, I don’t know who that is but I hear she is a great designer of children’s clothes and Mama said I should be honored to wear one of her creations. I mean it is a nice dress and all but it is still just a dress. Now my friend Betty, her Mama sews all of her clothes and she always has the best looking dresses in school well at least I think so.

Today we are heading to the yacht club now that Daddy bought a yacht we are now card carrying members of the yacht club. It seems a little pretentious to me but I’ll go anyways because I heard that Burt Conway’s Dad owns a yacht and I want to see if our yacht is bigger than his so I can hold that over Burt’s head when he is mean to Betty. I asked Mama if Betty could come with us today but she told me maybe next time because she was afraid Betty would embarrass her for some reason. I don’t see why she would I mean I’m usually the one that embarrasses her. Accidents just kind of find me. Just last weekend after church I was walking slowly and lady like to the car like Mama is always instructing me to and I tripped over a large rock and landed face first into a big mud puddle. I was covered from head to toe in mud and gross water,  put a hole in my new stockings and my shoes squished when I walked in them.

Daddy is very understanding of my clumsiness, he usually holds my hand when we go somewhere in case I do fall he can catch me. On Sunday he skipped church and went to buy a yacht much to Mama’s chagrin.
The yacht is beautiful, all white with gold stripes down it. It’s tall to, I think it has 3 levels in it Daddy said, I really don’t care about that. I just love to sail, Daddy always takes me sailing on the weekends during the summer. Sometimes we go out for a few days and come home all sunburned, when that happens Mama usually throws a fit since young ladies of 10 aren’t suppose to be sunburned and look like a pirate. I don’t know where Mama gets these silly ideals but I go along with them for the most part because it is just easier than fighting with her.

Thank you for reading another one of my stories, I hope to be bringing more of those to the blog soon.

Until next time,
~Kristen

The Sister Dresses

This past fall while at a flea market I found this set of yellow cotton sister dresses. So adorable and the price was right that they just had to come home with me, if only I had 2 girls close enough together to have them wear them but alas my oldest is a 11 and the youngest is 18 months old. While I was photographing these I kept wondering about the girls who originally wore them. So I decided to come up with my story. This story is completely fictional and original to me.

The Sister Dresses

Mama, Patty and I went shopping for some new Easter dresses since Mama didn’t have the time to make new dresses for us since she started her new job as an office clerk for Papa’s dentist office. She made us try on 6 or 7 dresses before settling between a soft buttery yellow and a pair of pink dresses. Patty kept grabbing the pink dress in her size as she loves the color pink but I asked if we could get the yellow dresses instead. Mama said “Patty don’t cry please, we will get you the pink dress next time sweetheart but for Easter you must wear yellow this year.”

Patty always gets what she wants, so imagine my surprise when Mama chose the yellow dresses like I asked. I knew if I asked if we could get different colored dresses that she would say no because Mama insists that we match for every holiday. For Christmas Mama made us wear dark green plaid, I hate green and I hate plaid. I looked like a human gift complete with a giant red bow on the top of my head. I almost had to walk sideways through doorways so I wouldn’t knock my bow off the top of my head it was so large. Patty of course just loved that stupid big bow, I took mine off and threw it in the back of the closet when Mama told us to get ready for bed. Mama still asks what happened to that stupid bow, after I threw it in the back of the closet I haven’t seen it since and I did try to look for it. I’m pretty sure there are Borrowers living in our house as we are always losing socks but that is a story for another time.

Well Mama got our dresses cleaned and starched for Easter Sunday, Patty and I wore little white gloves, white shoes and stockings and pearl necklace that Daddy got us for Christmas. Grandmother bought us matching yellow hats with small white daisies on the brim, I loved how I looked that Easter morning. Patty fussed the whole way to church because her dress was yellow not pink even though Mama bought our dresses 3 weeks ago. Papa finally got her settled down right before we pulled into the church parking lot.

After church we went to Grandmother’s house for Easter dinner and to hunt Easter eggs, we were very careful not to get our dresses dirty but Patty found some old lipstick and got a bit of it on her dress and Mama was not happy. Between Mama and Grandmothers tricks to get lipstick out but that was one stubborn stain.

Only I got to wear my dress one other time after that Easter and it was to church in June, I grew out of my dress after that. I’ll never forget that Easter and my yellow dress.

The end.

Until Next time,

~Kris
http://www.kvclothing.com

This listing process

Good heavens I haven’t written a post since September. Between homeschooling, soccer, preschool, business and my husband’s activities which included running for our county Recorder office. He won by the way. Our lives have been crazy busy, but if you have been keeping tabs on the shop you should have noticed all of the new listings I’ve been busy working on.

Several weeks ago I took somewhere between 500 pictures that required editing and listing, it evened out to be about 100 new pieces for the shop. I try to take 5 photographs of each item to show all the angles and important trappings.

I’m going to talk about the process I go through for a piece after I have acquired it.

Cleaning: I clean almost every garment even if it is just a freshening up.

Steaming: I steam the wrinkles out of everything, I never use an iron on my clothing. Mostly due to the fact irons and I don’t get along, plus when I use my steamer I get the added bonus of a facial.

Photograph: As I stated before I try to get take at least 5 photographs of each piece to show every angle, imperfection,  what makes it unique, label etc. I then take my camera home and edit all of those lovely pictures I took, usually just cropping them a bit and resize them a tad.

Measure: I measure every piece and hand write my listing out in a notebook that comes to the studio and home with me. I have filled 2 notebooks already and I’m on my 3rd one for this year. I used to use bits of paper but I would lose them, so now I stick to notebooks. Plus if I ever happen to accidentally delete a listing, I can look through my notebooks and rewrite the listing out.

Research: Once I get my notebook home I go through and do research on each piece, if there is a brand label even better I try to find something comparable not only to help with SEO Tags but for price as well as history. I use the Vintage Fashion Guild daily as they have a lovely Label Resource and are just a great resource for all things vintage clothing related.

List:  Once all of that work is done, I get to go through Etsy to list this is where my handy dandy notebook comes out. Once I have something listed I draw a diagonal line through that listing and write the amount I have it listed for so I know it is done.

This isn’t a very sophisticated procedure but it works for me until I can find a more efficient way to list which will probably come in once I get a computer up in the studio for me to work from.

Until Next Time,
~Kristen

A Sewing Wish

Sometimes I wish I could sew as well as my Mom and Nana Janet, especially when I am listing vintage sewing patterns and I find one that I really would love to be made into something for me instead of listing it in my Etsy shop.
Today was one of those days as I listed several new vintage patterns, as I looked at the pattern imaging how the dress would look on myself I realized I need to learn to sew well. I can do basic stitches, patches and buttons but my skills of sewing from a pattern is sorely lacking.

Perhaps I should start attending the sewing lessons my daughter takes in the winter time as she will be starting on patterns soon from what I have been told by her sewing instructor.  I remember my Mom driving to Steubenville Ohio to learn to sew when I was a small child and with that knowledge she would sew my siblings and I new clothes. My favorite thing she ever made me was a pair on white and yellow striped pants. However the second time I wore them my brother punched me in the nose and I bled all over them before I could get a paper towel. Sadly the blood stain never came out, but I remember those pants fondly.

~Kris

Buckles and Belts

I rarely buy belts, not that I don’t like them I just don’t come across to many that strike my fancy. That is until last September when I found a light blue scale belt, when I say scale it literally has scales like a fish or a dragon. I’m pretty sure I snatched it up as quickly as I could and threw my money at the booth owner and ran the opposite direction laughing gleefully the whole way home.

This week I finally got around to photographing said belt and it will be up in the shop this week so be sure to keep an eye out for it.

Isn’t it great?

Until Next Time,
~Kris

Let’s go swimming

As it is Memorial Day Weekend and the officially unofficial kick off to summer I thought I would share a few swimsuits that have recently come to the shop. If you know me in real life  you would know that I love to swim and when I mean swim, I literally could spend hours every day just swimming laps.  However not having a pool to swim laps in or a sitter to watch my minions that is a moot point these days.

Hot Pink One Piece

Modest Floral One Piece

90’s La Blanca One Piece

70’s Blue Strapless One Piece

Blue Hibiscus 2 piece

Swimming isn’t just a great way to cool off but is so low impact that it makes for a great work out without hurting your body not to mention it works many muscle groups and is a great cardio workout.

To check each of these gorgeous suits out you can find them here

Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe out there.

Until next time,

~Kristen

Vintage Style Show at the Ohio Valley River Museum

Back in December I did a style show at the Puskarich Public Library. After the show I was approached about doing a style show at the Ohio Valley River Museum in Clarington Ohio on April 23rd for their Ladies Day at the Museum. After much debate with my husband, I decided to do the show. So off I went looking for models again. Charlie and Brandi graciously agreed right away and I asked Sarah and Abby if they were interested it was a quick resounding yes.

The Ohio Valley River Museum features exhibits on Ohio River riverboats, locks and dams exhibits, and more.

The morning of the style show started out a little over cast but beautiful. Since the ride down was over an hour we (models, my 2 girls and I) either carpooled or met at the museum. For this particular show I was asked to keep my speech part short since there were vendors

Good Afternoon and Welcome to the Ohio Valley River Museum. My name is Kristen Willis of Kris’s Vintage Clothing. Today I will be showcasing outfits from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. I hope you enjoy this step back into yester-year.

So let us begin.

Sarah: Is wearing a 1960s Candy Jr Pink and White dress decorated with small embroidered flowers

Charlie: 1950’s Blue strip dress with large white collar and cuffs gives this dress a school Marm look.

Abby: 1950’s lipstick red double button front khaki a-line skirt. Very bright red skirt made of khaki material. A 19560’s white cotton blouse with double buttons pairs nicely with the skirt.

Brandi: 1950’s White and Teal Blue Pin Vertical Stripes Shirtwaist Dress.

Sarah: 1950’s/1960’s Light blue and white print sundress.
Sleeveless dress with large white buttons down the front of the dress, almost a shirtwaist appearance

Charlie: 1970’s Pale blue dotted Swiss sleeveless maxi dress Pale blue dress with floral bouquet print on dotted Swiss material.

Abby: 1960’s Inspired by 1920’s Drop Waist Ivory dress trimmed with black ric-rac and 10 buttons

Brandi: 1950’s Aqua Patio Dress trimmed with white lace and black grosgrain ribbon

Sarah: 1950’s/1960’s White sleeveless sundress Sleeveless white sundress with 2 horizontal stripes across the waist, pleated skirt and an accordion folded pleat bust.

Charlie: 1950’s Navy Blue Shirtwaist Dress. Pin Up style shirtwaist dress, the buttons end just past the waist, heavy pleated skirt

Abby: 1950’s Pretty green and white checkered sundress is sure to to be eye catching.

Brandi: 1960’s Blue and white stripe dress with a bright red bow

Sarah: 1970s/1980s Floral Summer Maxi Dress.You can wear on or off the shoulders this dress has ruched bodice that is stretchy. Long flowing skirt with a ruffle

Charlie: 1950’s Dark Gray and White checkered shirtwaist dress.

Abby: 1950’s/1960’s Dress has a blue and white bodice print and a solid blue skirt along with matching blue bolero

Brandi: Vintage 1960’s Red and White Checkered Gingham MOD dress with white flower print all over the dress

Sarah: 1960’s flower power mini dress. Large print flower print dress with long sleeves, button cuffs, zipper down the back and small square collar.

Charlie: 1970’s Jody of California Halter Top Bohemian Maxi Dress, Patch work like details makes this dress the perfect for any summer activity.

Abby: 1950’s Sleeveless sky blue and white stripe shirtwaist sundress

Brandi: 1960’s MOD bright floral print dress Drop waist bright floral print dress inspired by the 1920’s drop waist dress. Print is a mixture of flowers, foliage, and butterflies in bright colors such as pink, light green, light blue, yellow and white

Abby’s picture was missing from the camera for this dress

 

 

Sarah: 1960’s Youth Fair Sleeveless Green Checkered Dress. Adorable checkered print dress with large belt loops as a decoration. Each loop has 2 buttons on the top of the loop for decoration only.

Charlie: 1950’s Sage Green, Beige, Tan and Brown Stripe Shirtwaist Dress

Abby: 1950’s Yellow linen dress. Front has a faux zipper look, the metal zipper is down the back.

Brandi: 1950’s Blue Floral Patio Dress.

Sarah: 1970’s Pink and white floral print A flirty number just begs to be worn to a Summers eve party or out for coffee with friends.

Charlie: 1950’s Pale purple halter dress is ready for any Pin Up photo shoot.

Abby: 1950’s Champagne colored lace dress, lace is floral pattern. Perfect for a vintage wedding dress or a cocktail party.

Brandi: 1960’s White and navy blue color black a-line sheath dress Great Navy blue color block down the center of the dress with a small white panel going across right below the bust complete with decorative blue button

Sarah: 1960’s Gold and White Lace Shift Dress. Ivory dress with gold and white lace overlay, there are small gold flowers over the lace

.Charlie: 1970’s Aqua prom/debutante dress Wear the lace shawl collar on or off the shoulders, with a half tulip skirt over a ruffle lace tiered flouncy skirt

Abby: 1960’s Minty blue/aqua jacket, this mid length jacket is perfect for spring showers or chilly mornings

Brandi: 1970s sleeveless ivory wedding dress with a high collar is reminiscent of Victorian Revival

That concludes our styles show for today, I want to thank each of my models for helping me showcase each of these outfits for you. I also want to thank the Ohio Valley River Museum for inviting me to share my love of vintage with each of you. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the rest of your day.

 

It’s the Little Things

I finally have been working in my studio more. Now that the baby is 7 months old and is big enough to babywear on my back it makes working up there so much easier. Happy Baby makes for a more productive Mama that is for sure. I have dedicated at least 1 day a week to taking pictures and writing the listings out in my notebook that I bring home and write out in my Etsy listings.

I know it seems counterproductive to write my listing out in a notebook first then on the computer but I find it easier that way if I lose the information on the computer I still have a hard copy to fall back on.

Today was not picture day as I like to call it but a day where I cleaned and straightened and hung more hats and clothing I finished cleaning up. I really need a way to buy Command 3M hooks in bulk but I haven’t found a great way to do so just yet. Yes I’ve checked Amazon and eBay without any luck so the search continues.

Now that the playroom is finished I had both boys up there while the oldest was getting a sewing lesson down the street, they literally played in their room the whole 2 hours we were there. I’m sure that won’t last forever but at this time I really don’t care.

Now that we are almost a whole month into the new year, I have decided on a plan for my shop. I will be listing all the of the jewelry I have and once it is all sold I will not be adding any more jewelry to the shop. I’m also thinking about phasing out any home wares as well actually I’m thinking I am going to do it. I want to focus on vintage clothing and accessories only.

Winter Fashion Show

Good Afternoon and Welcome to the Vintage Winter Fashion show, I am Kristen Willis owner of Kris’s Vintage Clothing.

Before we get started I want to thank the Puskarich Library for hosting this event and letting me share my love of vintage with each of you. I would also like to thank the lovely ladies who agreed to be my models for this fashion show.

Coco Chanel said “Every Day is a fashion show and the world is the runway”

So let’s go back to the days of glamour and style, when a party meant dressing up in your new outfit instead of jeans and a t-shirt. Not that there is anything wrong with jeans and a t-shirt but who doesn’t love getting dressed up for a night out on the town? I know I do.

This afternoon we are showcasing party dresses and winter apparel from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. While each era has their own unique style I am drawn to the 70’s maxi dresses and the 50’s and 60’s winter coats. Where looking glamorous was an everyday occurrence and not just for special occasions.

So lets go back and talk about Frannie’s clothes. This story begins almost 8 years ago long before I opened my Etsy shop, even though selling vintage clothing is something I had wanted to do for a very long time.

My older sister’s Grandmother passed away unexpectedly, my sister is the only grandchild of Frannie Udeck. She was a woman of many talents and one who loved to play bingo and she played several nights a week and from the stories I’ve been told she was quite the character. I only remember meeting her once and that was at my sister’s wedding almost 16 years ago now.

After she passed away, my sister was told by her Dad to go in and take whatever she wanted because he was just going to have an estate auction since there wasn’t anything that he wanted in the house not to mention he lived in Florida while Frannie lived here in Ohio.

Frannie’s whole house was a treasure trove of trinkets, jewelry, clothing and dolls. It was like stepping back in time to the 1970’s.

My sister knew her grandmother kept all of her clothing from years past and instead of throwing them away or selling them, so my sister told me come on up and take whatever I want.

Frannie’s clothing were the very first thing I ever had for my shop, most of it is from the 1970’s occasionally the 1960’s and very few pieces from the 1980’s. Her memory lives on through each item I sell from my shop, here is a small sample of clothing found in Frannie’s Closet.

April K. is wearing one of my favorite Frannie Dresses, The epitome of the Little Black Dress with the addition of bling, rhinestone cluster below the breasts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April J. is wearing a white with silver lurex dress, I’m honestly surprised if Frannie wore this as she was quite short in stature. This is your formal style Maxi dress, if you aren’t familiar with a maxi dress it is a floor or ankle length dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandi is wearing a black dress with white and silver paisley skirt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April K. is wearing another one of Frannie dresses in a pretty blue with silver accents around the collar and cuffs, It is paired with a pretty set of gloves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As it is the Holiday season, let us look back at to the dresses of yesteryear where gowns were beautiful, flowing and alluring.

Elise is wearing a J.C. Penney dress that just flows around her.

“J.C. Penney had its origins in the store opened in 1902 by James Cash Penney (1876-1971) and William Henry McManus, who opened the Golden Rule dry goods store in the small mining town of Kemmerer, Wyoming. This store was so successful that the partners opened more stores. The headquarters was moved to Salt Lake City in 1909 and in 1913 the name was changed to J. C. Penney Company when Mr. Penney acquired majority holdings in the company.

As the company grew, more and more stores opened and the company acquired other companies. The first of these was Crescent Corset Company, which J.C. Penney bought in 1920. They also began developing their own store brands, starting with Big Mac work clothes for men in 1922. By 1930 there were over 1000 J.C. Penney stores.

In 1963 Penney’s distributed a catalogue for the first time. Also in the 1960s they started offering more than just dry goods, adding appliances and other durable goods. Today J.C. Penney still relies heavily on house brands, such as Arizona Jeans Company And a.n.a.”

The Red dress that Charlie is wearing is one of my favorite red dresses I currently have, the beautiful bodice with its embroidery gives this dress an elegance and stands apart from everyone else at any party this is worn to.

Before we go any further, real fur and faux furs will be showcased during this fashion show, if you have anything against real fur please note that these animals have been dead for several decades and we do not want their death to be in vain. So let us continue

 

 

 

 

 

April J wearing a short black faux fur jacket, great for brief moments in the cold winter air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dress April is wearing is white lace dress with pinkish red skirt, a bow accent really makes this dress pop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elise: is wearing a beautiful cream Faux Fur Coat by Intrigue, this is the kind of coat you that will keep you warm and fashionable on your way to and from any event this winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underneath the white faux fur coat is a beautiful red dress, that is ready for any event wither it be a Christmas party or a night at the opera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie is wearing a Chocolate Brown Velvet Cape Perfect for Fall and Winter to keep you toasty warm. 3 large buttons are the only closure for this lovely cape. I would say this is an open size cape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underneath the coat Charlie is wearing a golden yellow dress which is fully embroidered bodice and mid-way down the skirt. Features a large bow at the back of the bodice, a metal zipper down the back, short sleeves, full pleated skirt and an attached crinoline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandi is wearing a purple gray coat with real mink fur collar and cuffs by , I love the rich brown of the mink. “For many women in postwar Britain a fur coat – preferably mink – represented the height of luxury, the ultimate object of desire. In popular culture the ambition to own a fur coat became a defining quality of femininity, tantamount to a secondary sexual characteristic.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandi is wearing a empire waist dress with scalloped collar and cuffs, showcasing a yellow skirt, I feel this dress is something that Snow White would wear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elise is wearing a heavy green coat with real artic fox fur at the collar, I love the look of artic fox it is one of my favorite fur as it is very soft and luxurious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elise is wearing a metallic green strapless dress, when I found this dress it had a string of green and purple feathers attached to it by 4 stitches and the skirt had been hemmed up and it was very uneven. Once I removed the ugly feathers and took the hem down this ugly duckling turned into a swan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie is wearing a plaid dress that came my way via Carol Spiker, and it looks just gorgeous on Charlie it is by Celyne Design INC. The shimmering gold within the plaid is brought out by the necklace Charlie is wearing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandi is wearing a Nieman Marcus sweater set. “Carrie Marcus Neiman, Al Neiman, and Mrs. Neiman’s brother, Herbert Marcus, founded Neiman Marcus in 1907. The first store was in downtown Dallas, Texas. From the beginning the goal of the trio was to establish a store in which customer service was unsurpassed. “It’s never a good sale for Neiman Marcus,” Herbert Marcus said, “unless it’s a good buy for the customer.”

In 1925 son Stanley Marcus began working at Neiman Marcus. It was Stanley who developed the image of Neiman Marcus as a luxury department store. He started the tradition of having in-house fashion shows and beginning in 1938 he established the Neiman Marcus Award for Excellence in Fashion. Stanley Marcus became the president of Neiman Marcus in 1950. The following year, in the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue, the store started what has become one of their most famous features — the addition of unusual and very extravagant gifts. The publication of the catalogue is always a much-awaited event, with lots of press coverage.

Today the Neiman Marcus Group includes the Neiman Marcus stores, Bergdorf Goodman, and the Horchow catalog.”  

 

April  is wearing a lovely teal green Leslie Fay 2 piece outfit. “Leslie Fay was the clothing business founded by Fred Pomerantz. In 1942, Fred Pomerantz began making uniforms for the women in the US armed services. The government had done a study of statistics concerning the measurements of the typical female figure, and this information was provided to Pomerantz in order to help him make uniforms that properly fit.

After the war ended, Pomerantz decided to produce a line of women’s clothing using the same sizing as he had used during the war. In 1947 he founded Leslie Fay, which he named after his daughter. Leslie Fay became a major maker of affordable and attractive dresses and sportswear marketed toward the middle aged.

In 1965, Herbert Kasper joined the firm, designing under the Joan Leslie label, a slightly higher priced line.

Through the 1980s, the company continued to prosper, but in 1993, Leslie Fay was bankrupt, having suffered a scandal involving fraud. Compounding their problems was a strike at their manufacturing plant, which resulted in the firing of all workers, and the ultimate closure of the factory, one of the last large unionized clothing manufacturing factories in the USA.

The company was able to reorganize and remain open. They are not known for a fashion forward look. Their lines include Joan Leslie, David Warren, and Outlander, which are marketed mainly through department stores.”

April J is wearing a beautiful plain skirt by P.S. I Love You, I have spent hours trying to research this brand to no avail however it is the epitome of a Christmas skirt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie is wearing a lovely wool outfit by Albert Nipon. “In the early 1970s, accountant turned fashion designer Albert Nipon turned a small maternity clothing company based in Philadelphia into an internationally known producer of ultra-feminine, beautifully tailored women’s dresses and suits.  By 1984, dress sales alone reached $60 million and Nipon counted Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara Walters, Rosalynn Carter and Nancy Reagan among his many loyal customers.  Nipon’s fall was as rapid as his rise; in 1984, he was indicted for tax evasion and bribery in an IRS investigation and served 20 months in a federal penitentiary.  After his release from prison, the Nipon company declared bankruptcy but survived intact, eventually expanding into men’s apparel.” 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandi is wearing a homemade plaid skirt and a Pendleton jacket. The Pendleton Woolen Mill of Oregon opened in 1909, producing Indian blankets. In time, the blankets were used to make bathrobes and coats. By 1924 they started making the famous Pendleton man’s wool shirt and by 1929 they were producing a full line of menswear.

Even without the jacket this plaid skirt is lovely with just a white blouse. 

In 1949 Pendleton began developing a line of sportswear separates for women. Most notable was their ‘49er jacket – hip length, long-sleeved casual jacket with wide collar, patch pockets, and large shell buttons down the front. The 49er is still being made by Pendleton today.

 

 

 

April is wearing a Pendleton skirt in teal green and bright reds.

“For many years, Pendleton raised their own sheep and spun and wove the wool. They sold the fabric as well as the blankets and finished clothing. At one time Pendleton used 1% of all the wool produced in the US.

Pendleton worked exclusively in wool until 1972, when they produced their first spring line. Blue Pendleton labels indicate men’s clothing, and white labels are on women’s.” 

 

 

 

 

Elise is keeping warm and professional in this Hannah Troy outfit complete with blouse underneath. “Hannah Troy was a ready-to-wear firm that specialized in adaptations of Italian designs. Troy began her business in 1937 and remained open into the late 1960s. She was known for clothes that fit the petite woman, and specialized in both day dresses and evening wear. George Saman was the designer of the label in the late 1950s, and Murray Neiman did the designing in the 1960s.” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandi is wearing a tweed dress with jacket by Galeries Layfette the material is from Armand Hallenstein. From a little research I was given Armand Hallenstein was a fabric supplier and several stores made their house designs using exclusive fabric from Armand Hallenstein.

 

 

 

 

 

After Christmas is over New Year’s Eve and traditionally black and white were worn to New Year’s Eve Parties, Here is a small sample of black party dresses.

April J is wearing a Little Black dress by Oleg Cassini. “Oleg Cassini (1913-2006) first started designing in 1936, working for various stores in New York City. In 1940 he went to Hollywood where he designed costumes for 20th Century Fox. There, he met and married actress Gene Tierney in 1941. By the early 1950s he was back in New York, where he was designing under his own name. His look was very sexy and, at times, flamboyant.

But he was best known as the “Couturier to Camelot,” and his fashion collaboration with First Lady Jackie Kennedy. That collaboration had a profound impact on the way American women dressed, with the “Jackie O” look coming to mean simple designs with easy fit, straight lines, boxy jackets, and very restrained use of trims or ornamentation. Since the mid 1960s, he did little top line ready-to-wear and licensed his name extensively in swimwear, hosiery, foundations, sportswear, fur, and costume jewelry, to name but a few lines of products.

One of Oleg Cassini’s last lines was the Platinum Collection, made to order evening and bridal gowns based on his 1960s designs for Mrs. Kennedy.” 

 

 

April K, is wearing a black dress in the New Wave Style by Wild Dress, When I first spotted this dress the skirt is what drew me in and I knew it I needed it in my shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie is wearing a formal black velvet dress with white off the shoulder draping by Bianchi. “House of Bianchi was a famous name in bridal and formal wear that started back in 1949 in Boston and Medford, Massachusetts, by the family of its namesake. Its designs were sold by bridal shops nationwide until 2001, when it suddenly closed its doors without fulfilling its commitments to orders being processed at the time. The sudden collapse of the venerable company has been blamed on a change in management and on financial difficulties.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandi is wearing another one of Frannie’s dresses, many of the clothing I found in Frannies closet did not have labels in them other than Dry Clean Only, Size tags and ILGWU. “ILGWU or the International Ladies Garment Worker Union, was formed in 1900. In 1935 the union became part of CIO. In 1974 the labels were changed to a red, white, and blue color scheme. This was in conjunction with their efforts to urge Americans to not buy imported goods: Buy American: The Job You Save May Be Your Own. The ILGWU remained active up until 1995, when they merged with another union, Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, to form UNITE.”

 

 

 

 

 

April J wearing a beautiful and elegant faux fur wrap shawl will keep you toasty warm during those cold snowy months of the year. Beautiful orange satin lining, with a eye hook fastener in the front and arm ribbons on each side.  Built in shoulders for a form fitted look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 April J is wearing a polka dot dress that has ruched sides in plain black, front panels are black with gold polka dots. Sleeves have slightly puffed shoulders and are sheer with polka dots all over them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April K Is wearing a Gorgeous silver bead applique on the right shoulder, it is in the shape wings, and there is also an applique on the matching belt.
The beautiful draping front gives this dress an elegant look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie is wearing a 1960’s Piano Shawl of black brocade and seed bead appliques all over it, this shawl or cape if you will is homemade and originally had fringe all around the hem when I found it. The fringe was in such disrepair and had large sections missing I eventually removed it all together for a cleaner look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie is also wearing a Frannie Dress Beautiful 1950’s Brocade Black Dress with a contrasting black leaf print all over the dress. Metal Zipper down the back of the dress. Simply a Gorgeous Dress great for a party dress or the new Little Black Dress in your closet.
This dress originally had fur on the cuffs, however they were uneven and weren’t in the best of condition so I removed them and hemmed the sleeves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That concludes today’s fashion show, I want again thank the Puskarich library for hosting today’s show and being very supportive of my small business.  I also want to the lovely ladies that modeled for me today. Brandi Stearns, April Kovaks, April Jones, Charlie Edwards and Elise Davis.

I would also like to thank my oldest daughter Katherine who is wearing my youngest Abigail and for helping keep the models moving and in order for me today.

Before we close is there any questions?

Thank you for coming, I hope each of you have a lovely Holiday season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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