One of the reasons I adore vintage clothing so much is that really good vintage clothing is absolutely timeless! When new collections from the runways start rolling out I can't help but notice all the nods to fashions of the past.  When selecting the vintage inspired clothing in my shop I always have a vintage reference in mind. So rather than keeping these ideas and inspiration photos in my head (they're actually all in my Pinterest boards!) I thought I would collect and share them in this cohesive way.  Haha, and who are we kidding, we all know how much I...

I have been selling vintage clothing online for several years now so I thought I would share some tips on cleaning and storing vintage clothing with you! I am going to keep this pretty concise and simple and perhaps in future posts I will expand a bit more on certain topics.  CLEANING VINTAGE CLOTHING 1. As a general rule of thumb, if it looks very delicate and is an antique, do not attempt wash it. This is applicable to antique garments in silk, crepe, satin or features ornamentation such as beading and embroidery. The best thing to do is spot wash it...

Damascening is the product of chiseling and inlaying different metals, typically gold or silver, into a dark, oxidize steel background. In jewelry, usually there are little scenes or patterns made. It's a beautiful process, traditionally hand done. Each piece is carefully hand chiseled, and then silver and gold foil from large spools are laid by hand in them. This art form has a history that goes back to Japan, as a way to decorate katanas, samurai swords. Damascening has been practiced by many cultures, but somewhere along the line began to be emulated, where pieces would be painted, rather than actually inlayed....

The Victorian Era spans from 1837 to 1901, the length of time Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire. In my opinion, the Victorian Era was the last era for truly magnificent clothing. There's the Edwardian Era of course...which is actually one of my favorite eras for fashion, but for me, the previous era really holds so much fantasy and wonderment. It amazes me that these amazing clothes were worn DAILY by women. Pieces of Art I say! Of course I am aware most people did not wear gowns of sumptuous silks, brocade, silk velvet... but even the clothing worn by...

Vintage magazines are a wonderful source of information for vintage clothing research and learning more about vintage fashion for the everyday woman. I happened upon these pages from McCalls, October 1934 depicting fashions for Autumn wear. The captions are delightful (and great for research, especially for fabric and clothing terminology) as are the illustrations!   The fashion trends to note for October 1934 are as follows: (as noted from the image above) Winter Suits, Wrapped Coats, Shirtwaist Frocks, Satin-Top Frocks, Buttoned Up Clothes, Interesting Backs, Slits, A Lowline (to show off your décolletage), and a new color scheme of pale grey-blue...

When dating and learning about vintage clothing, one of the many things you will research is fabric identification for vintage clothes so I'm absolutely thrilled to be sharing these vintage 1940s "Fashion Frocks" fabric swatch samples so you (and I) can learn more about vintage fabrics used in garments from the 1940s era. Fashion Frocks was a company that manufactured fabrics and clothing starting in the 1930s. These Fashion Frocks Sample Pages are from Miss Amy on Flickr and it really is such a wealth of information! Here is a fabric swatch sample for GABARDINE from a 1946 sample. Gabardine...

Who knew there were so many different types of sleeves a garment could have! Here is a quick reference guide to 16 different types of sleeves often found with vintage dresses and blouses. SHOP SHORT SLEEVE DRESSES   SHOP SHORT SLEEVE TOPS   SHOP LONG SLEEVE TOPS 

Learn more about vintage clothing and the construction of vintage clothes with this handy reference guide to popular collars and necklines often found with vintage dresses and vintage blouses.