Verity Vintage Studio

Item of the Week - Vintage Tan Pillbox Hat

This lovely little vintage hat with pleating and feather is Item of the Week in my Etsy shop, half price for one week only - slashed from $10.

Why I Like Thrift Stores - The Houndstooth Sweater-Blouse

(This post was supposed to be finished last week, but due to a crazy busy weekend, it was delayed until today.)

Getting ready for a wedding entails several major shopping trips, where we include visiting some large thrift stores. Some new-to-me clothes made their way home, among them this lovely vintage style feminine sweater, which I spotted on a mannequin as soon as I stepped in the door, and hovered around it until someone could take it off the mannequin for me. My first impression was - ooh, that looks so 1950s!

 

Fitted sweaters in a shorter length, worn without a belt, were very popular in the 1950s, as were allover prints and sweater sets. This one is a classic, with its V neck and hip length, wide ribbing and a giant houndstooth design. Super 1950s style.

 

Here I dressed it up as a go-to-town outfit, but it also could be styled more simply for an everyday or house outfit.

 

It's also more than just a pullover, with the pretty lace detailing at the neck and the use of contrast at neck, hem, and cuffs.

 

I found I have a dearth of skirts to wear it with, so that will need to be a wardrobe upgrade at some point in the future! I wasn't really happy with this pairing (also a thrift store find from years ago), but didn't have much choice.

 

But it does go so well with my newest hat, snagged at an antique store earlier this year. The straw beret is fairly fragile, but I couldn't resist the big black velvet bow.

 

It can be worn at various angles, and I believe would also work to accessorize for the 1930s, though I'm pretty sure it's a late '40s or 1950s hat. 

 

The sweater also I could see as having 1930s potential, if worn with a longer bias-cut skirt, ruffles at the throat, and a belt. That's the fun thing about simple pieces like this - they can cross decades of fashion. (Obviously, since this is a modern sweater! :-)

I will enjoy wearing it this fall, and finding new ways to style it. Light sweaters with short sleeves are a favorite of mine when the air starts to turn, but it's still warm during the days. Especially for everyday, since as I've mentioned before, sweaters are fitted and vintage appropriate, but without movement restriction or the need to be pressed before wearing.

 

So I consider this one as a wonderful addition to my autumn wardrobe, and am so glad I spotted it at the thrift store! 

Item of the Week - Lot of 2 Vintage 1950s Sewing Patterns

Item of the Week in my Etsy shop is this lot of 2 vintage patterns (complete, minus envelopes), half price for one week - slashed from $8.

 

Also, there's a sale going on! Hop on over to my Etsy shop to get your coupon code and do a little shopping. :-)

Gray Skirt Makeover

This has been a very procrastinated-upon project. I started the makeover several months ago, then left it lay around without being finished for a long time. Finally I buckled down and finished it, and in less than a half-hour it was completed! Another reminder that procrastination never pays. :-)

 

Anyway, this skirt started out as a thrift store find: a very long, straight skirt I used to wear a lot in the summer. A solid gray that goes with anything, in a non-wrinkling fabric (though after being stuck in a redo-or-mend stack for a long time it did get some wrinkles in it). I had dressed it up years ago by doing some embroidery on the front above the hem, so it was also personalized.

 

Yet it was always too long to be practical. After I lost weight last year, this skirt settled down around my hips and what had been an ankle length skirt now puddled on the floor! It went from being impractical to being impossible.

 

I considered just getting rid of it, but liking the color, fabric and embroidery, I decided to try doing something else entirely. My first makeover.

 

I cut it off just under the zipper, which made the length about right. I wanted to cut the waistband out of the remnant, but the darts made that impossible. So I cut out a waistband from another fabric. Not the closest color, but close enough. I usually wear my blouses out over the skirt band anyway.

 

Marking the center of the front of the skirt, and the waistband, I pinned it together and began to play with the extra fabric. 

 

I tried several ways of pleating the extra fabric.

 

And decided on just a single box pleat in the front. For the back I did long darts to use up the extra.

 

From there on, it was just like finishing any skirt. I put in a short zipper by hand, and whipstitched down the waistband. 

Now I have a much more practical skirt that will actually get some wear!

 

I'm quite pleased with my first attempt at a makeover. I think there are more pieces in my closet that deserve a new lease on life as well. 

 

It's nice to have what feels like a new addition to the wardrobe without all the work of making it from scratch. 

 

Since I'm wearing it in these photos, I have to show you another favorite thrift store find - a classic pullover sweater. It's another one of those modern pieces that can easily become vintage with the right accessorizing.

 

A simple V neck and pretty puffed sleeves make it suitable for 1930s and 1940s wear. Plus it's comfortable! One of my favorite ways to dress vintage even when I don't feel like dressing up.

 

I think more makeovers are on the radar for the future! (After wedding sewing, though, I think. :-)